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I move onto the ice backwards with my arms outstretched, ready for her to join me. The tip of her nose is a little red, but there are no other signs that she's even aware of the frosty air surrounding us. She smiles and blushes furiously. Extending her arms towards mine, she takes her first step onto the ice.

My heart soars as she glides into my grasp flawlessly and moves just like I told her to. She's a natural.

“I'm beginning to think there's nothing you can't do, Princess,” I praise her, pride ringing through my voice. I continue to move backwards in front of her so that I can watch her every move.

She's still watching her feet, unsure of her abilities yet. When she visibly relaxes, having realized she really is doing this, a megawatt smile breaks out across her face, and she repeats the words I was just thinking, “I really am doing this!” she squeals, drowning me in her happiness.

“You must have an exceptional teacher then,” I tease her.

Her eyes twinkle. “Oh, yes, I do.” She bats her eyelashes at me. “He's so strong and dreamy, ah.” She sighs dramatically, and even though I know she's talking about me, my wolf doesn't catch her sarcasm, and his jealousy floods my veins.

Leera's little giggles abruptly stop, and her eyebrows scrunch together. “Hey, what's wrong?” she asks me with concern in her eyes.

I shake my head. “What? Me? I'm great. What do you mean?” There's no way she could have known that easily how my wolf was feeling without our bond being complete.

She ticks her head to the side. “You still looked happy, but it's like I could feel…not happy feelings coming from you…” she tries to explain.

None of this makes sense, but I wonder if it has to do with whatever strange powers she seems to possess. She's mentioned being able to feel feelings a few times now, and I had thought she was referring more to intuition. I shoot off a quick message to Slate through our mind-link to make a note of it and for us to look into it at a later date.

I release a small laugh, knowing it will help ease her nerves. “I promise everything is perfect. My wolf didn't understand your sarcasm and thought you were genuinely referring to another man,” I finish with another small chuckle.

Her hand flies to her mouth on a small laugh. “Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know tha—”

“He's fine, Leera. Just ancient.” I laugh when he huffs at me in my head. I take that opportunity to kick my skate out, swerving it in the ice to land me right next to my little mate, making a dramatic show of clutching her hand in mine and kissing her knuckles. I love watching her blush consume her delicate skin.

With her hand in mine, steadying her as we skate through the quiet of the forest with the lights around us, I watch her take in every sight, sound, and feeling. I think I may have gotten some things wrong early in our relationship. I thought that the depths of how we feel, how she feels, have to do with her human upbringing, but I'm also beginning to question that. While I know humans do interpret things differently than most wolves, I don't think there are even many humans who feel things on the same level that she does. Even before her powers began, I could just tell.

Leera feels things differently than anyone I've ever met. She absorbs every moment to the absolute fullest that she can. Every slight detail, every single sound, every feeling she gets from the sights and sounds. As if she can read my mind, she closes her eyes and ever so slightly tips her head back, taking it all in: the sounds of our skates on the ice below us with the creaking sounds of the forest around us, the way the air rushes past her face as she moves through the cool winter air, the feel of my rougher hand holding her perfectly soft one. She's taking it all in, feeling everything all at once.

In that moment, with her glowing like an angel ornament, I vow to fill her senses with all the most wonderful experiences for the rest of our existence. I know her parents left large shoes to be filled with all the adventures they were able to take her on, but I'll make sure she keeps experiencing things that bring her the level of peace she's enveloped in right here, in this moment.

She cracks open her eye closest to me and smiles. “Do you have to stare at me like that? I can feel your eyes watching me.”

“Always,” I promise.