Chapter 622

noveldrama

Jesse lets go of his leash on the shadows a bit, letting them pool, and then dropping his hands and tipping two perfect little shadow kittens out on the cushion between them.

"Oh my...oh my god," Daphne whispers, delighted, leaning down and peering at the little half-substantial kittens before her, the details of their soft fur perfectly rendered, their little grey eyes shiny and bright as they peer up at her in the moonlight. "They're so...Jesse!" she laughs and looks up at him, delighted, making his face break into a bright smile. "They're so cute! Why did you say this was scary!?"

"Because it...can be scary," he says, laughing lightly and running a hand through his hair as she squeaks and leans down to peer at the kittens again, at the way they gambol about with little puffs of shadow breaking into the air with every tiny footfall. "It was scary, the first time, when I didn't have as much control."

"These two couldn't possibly be scary," Daphne coos, reaching out a finger. She hesitates, though, and then looks up into Jesse's face. "Can I touch them?"

He nods to her and is glad she doesn't see the shiver that passes through him as she looks back at the shadows, reaching out and stroking a hand over one kitten's head, and then the other. "That's so crazy...they're like...half real, half smoke," she murmurs.

"Yeah, I don't really know how to describe it," Jesse says, taking a deep breath. "My mom and I are going to experiment with it - I get the feeling that I can like...make them as sharp or as soft as I want? But..." he shrugs. "I just don't really know yet."

"That's so cool," Daphne sighs, sitting up straight and glancing between Jesse and the kittens. "Are they always...cats?"

"I can make them whatever I want," Jesse says with a shrug, puffing the kittens away into ambiguous shadow and then reforming them again into two elaborate smokey knives and then two tiny crocodiles that snap their teeth and make Daphne laugh. Then, grinning, he turns them back into the kittens again. "But...the panthers feel right. Feel best."

"Is that what they are?" she asks, sitting back against the window frame and absently petting one of the panther kittens that climbs into her lap. "Not house cats?"

Jesse laughs, likewise leaning back against the frame. "How dare you suggest my terrifying shadow panthers are house cats."

"Oh, but they're so cute," Daphne murmurs, reaching for the other one, which hops into her palm. "I just want to give them a saucer of milk and let them curl up in a patch of sunlight."

"Oh, I'm sure they'd oblige," Jesse murmurs, turning again towards the wolf inside his soul, asking him for the thousandth time if he's sure - that there's nothing there. But his wolf just tilts his head back, giving a mournful howl and then standing up and shaking out his fur, confused. Because even though Daphne smells better than anyone they've ever met...there's just no bond. It's not there.

"What are their names?" Daphne murmurs, watching delightedly as the kittens crawl over her lap, pouncing at her skirts, one standing on her leg to bat a tiny paw at her hair, completely oblivious to the bitterness racing through Jesse's veins as his eyes fasten on her perfect lips, spread wide into the prettiest smile he's ever seen.

"You name them," he says,

impulsive, quite suddenly wanting her to be a part of this - to give a name to this shadowy fraction of kis soul that he can pour out at will

Because even if his wolf in that

it wasn't Daphne who woke this magic, he still wants her mark on it. Still wants, quite desperately, for it to be hers.

"Me?" Daphne asks, looking up into his brown eyes in surprise.

"You," Jesse says, staring at her, memorizing the way she looks in this perfect moment. "Who else?"

She blushes then, looking down at the shadows in her lap, and his heart breaks clear in half.

"All right," she says slowly, after a minute, reaching out a finger to tap one kitten on the nose. "This one is Tempest, Storm of Dawn," she murmurs, making Jesse's face break into a wide grin.

“And this one," she says, moving her finger over to the next kitten, who sits up straight and looks eagerly up into her eyes, "is Mittens!"

Jesse bursts out into peals of

laughter and a moment later Daphne

back hard against the stone on. either side of the window seat, their joy echoing out through the castle, ringing against the stone.

goes with him, both of theon next!

"I'm sorry," Daphne says, leaning forward and wiping a tear from one eye when her laughter subsides. "I'll come up with something better -"

“No,” Jesse says, shaking his head, still laughing a bit, his eyes crinkled into little slits of joy. "No, please, it's perfect – I love it —“ "Jesse, you can't have a magical shadow panther named Mittens -"

But he reaches out and grabs her hand, leaning close and beaming into her face. "Daphne, I couldn't name him anything else now," he says quietly holding her gaze. "And I wouldn't want to."

Softly, Daphne curls her fingers against Jesse's own, nodding and looking steadily into his warm brown eyes. "All right then," she whispers. "Mittens it

is."