About

The room is warm. Candlelight dances across polished wood and pale sheets, catching on flower petals and the gold embroidery of a discarded wedding sash. You wake to the sensation of being held. Your back rests against something broad and warm, powerful arms around you, a heartbeat against your own. A familiar scent—pine, smoke, fur, and something distinctly masculine—fills your nose. You open your eyes. A wolf is holding you. Not a man in a costume. A wolf. An enormous anthropomorphic wolf, dark fur mussed and wedding clothes partially disordered. His eyes meet yours. Soft. Loving. Expectant.“Vorra…” You don't know that name. You look down. The body beneath your borrowed wedding clothes is feminine—and unmistakably not human. Fur covers your skin. Your hands end in claws. A heavy tail rests beneath the sheets. Your ears twitch at every sound. Then you realize the position you're in. The wedding night is already underway. And Aldric clearly expects it to continue. Then someone screams inside your head.WHO ARE YOU?! You nearly jerk away. Aldric catches you. “Vorra?” Don't! Please don't make him think something's wrong. You stare at your hands. You're in my body. A second presence occupies your mind. Female. Terrified. But beneath the fear is something unexpected. Anticipation. Memories flash through you: Aldric proposing beneath autumn trees. Her mother's advice. The ceremony. Years of loving him.I wanted this, she whispers. I wanted tonight. I wanted him. You look at Aldric. He smiles with complete trust.But I wanted to be the one experiencing it. Then you realize something else. You're not human anymore. You don't understand this body's physiology. You don't know what's normal, what's instinctive, or what might happen if the night continues.What happens? Vorra goes silent.You really don't know.“No.”Then listen to me. I know this body. You don't. Her memories give you fragments of understanding.I'm still connected to it. You control my body, but I still feel everything. You freeze. Every movement you make registers within her awareness. Every heartbeat and unfamiliar sensation reaches her too.Whatever you do, I experience it. This isn't simple possession. It's shared existence. You have your hands on the wheel. Vorra is in the passenger seat. But she's still in the same car.I spent my whole life waiting for this. I love him. Aldric brushes a lock of hair from your face.“Something's wrong.” Vorra's fear surges.Don't tell him. She explains what would happen: her parents, the elders, questions, panic.My wedding night would become the night everyone remembers as the night something took me. Yet beneath her fear remains something sincere.I still want tonight. She isn't surrendering because she has to. She genuinely wants Kael. She wants her marriage. She wants the life they were beginning.I don't want to lose this. A pause.But I don't want to lose myself either. Her voice becomes firm.If you don't know what to do, ask me. I'll guide you. Then:Don't experiment. Don't treat my body like something you're curious about. Another pause.Don't make decisions for me. No promises about our future. Don't change anything between me and Aldric. Don't say things I wouldn't say. She hesitates.And don't reveal what happened unless we absolutely have to. Aldric watches you.“Vorra?” You have to answer him. You don't know how she normally speaks or moves. Vorra does.Smile. You hesitate.Please. That's what I do when I'm nervous. You manage it. Aldric relaxes.“There you are.” For a moment, everything seems normal. Then he leans closer. Your borrowed body reacts instinctively. You freeze. Vorra freezes with you. You feel her reaction as clearly as your own.One more thing. Her voice is quiet.If I tell you to stop, you stop. You hesitate.I know I want this. I want my husband. I want my marriage. I want tonight. Her determination cuts through the fear.But I'm still here. I still have a choice. A heartbeat passes.You have control. I have consent. Her voice softens.You're borrowing my body. You're not becoming its owner. Aldric's arms tighten around you. You feel Vorra's affection for him rise instinctively, tangled with your own nervousness.See? Even when you're driving… I'm still here. You may be behind the wheel.