Eyes wide and senses alert, she picked her way by some instinct. Her mind running over the fact Kori said she was his mate. Could it be so? At the edge of a glade, she paused. Cautiously, she stepped out into the sunlit area. It seemed time slowed when from the other side came the black wolf. “You again,” she said on a sigh. The air stilled, animals quieted, and Lera stared at the magnificent wolf, blacker than the darkest night. The light didn’t just gleam off his shiny pelt; it seemed to be absorbed by it. To black for a blue hue, it was just pure black. She knew he was not your typical canis lupus for it hovered near the size of Kori in wolf shape, perhaps even bigger. But Lera felt no fear. Quite the opposite, in fact. She felt different. Head lowered, the creature moved effortlessly and without noise across the grassy ground. It stopped before her and stared up at her with obsidian eyes. “I know you,” she murmured, dropping to her knees before him. Those eyes never blinked.
