Archive of Our Own ^beta

He had been in this form for far too long.

He should be dead by now.

The wolf that had once been a man called ‘Ben’- a name he despised the mention of, however rarely that happened- did yet know, vaguely, what had happened to him.

His father had gone to leave. He had gone to stop him. Somehow, with a rage he’d been suppressing for years, Ben had killed Han. Chewie had nearly killed him for that; Luke had tried.

He’d tried to run to Snoke, but his mother had stopped him. She’d tried to stop Chewie and Luke from trying to kill her son- to render her completely alone save for the two of them and their ever rare company- but they’d only begun working together after that.

So, his mother, a witch- to save him- turned him into a wolf. And kept him. She called him Kylo and said Ben had run off.

He’d gone nearly crazy in the two decades he trotted after her. Fifteen years in, he had gone crazy- for a night. He’d hunted Chewie down and killed him, quickly and viciously, and he did not know why. Staring down at the familiar form of his godfather, but bloodied and dead, a cold ice had run through his long-inhuman veins. He’d thought about leaving; his mother cried nearly every night, whispering to the wolf, wondering if he even knew who she was anymore, who he was. And he barely had, even then, two decades ago.

But he knew enough to chew and rip at his godfather until he’d be unrecognizable to even a familiar gaze, and he dragged it through enough familiar bushels and rivers so that his signature would be lost to even a witch, and then, he’d dragged that body home. Leia had wept and fenced in her yard, but even if she knew, impossibly, that the body was Chewie, she didn’t stop Kylo from eating it.

He’d gotten out. He was a wild animal, after all. He’d gone looking for Luke; he had not found him. He was always sure to slink back into his prison before his mother could notice his absence.

After mating, anyway. His reservations, disgust, about his urges had long since disappeared, forgotten entirely in favor of the need to knot.

Then, two decades in- longer than a wolf ought to live… His mother had grown ill. He’d known what that meant- not from memory, but out of instinct. Still, the small trace of Ben that still existed had prevented Kylo from doing what a wolf might want to do- or, perhaps, the urge was unique to Kylo… Bite down on her throat, giving her a merciful, quick death. He’d come inside the house for the first time in well over a decade and curled up beside her like a dog, licking at her lap, sometimes being guided to drag something towards her.

She died within a year, and somehow, Ben had the chance to mourn his mother before Kylo had him stalking out the door and sneaking out the fence, on the hunt for Luke once more.

His mother had been old. Men died younger than women did. Luke was probably dead.

Kylo had nothing better to do than look for him, anyway.

If she’d died sooner, Ben might have been himself enough to find a witch and try to lure her help out of her- he was a man. He ought to be a man. But Ben would never have traded even a few years of his mother’s life, not even for the entirety of his.

And Kylo had no desire to search for witches. Kylo had a desire to hunt, and kill, and mate, and sleep, and little else.

Eventually, slowly, he’d acquired something of a pack… Three other males and three females. He’d named them all, still enough of a man to do so in his head.

Ushar and Vicrul, two close companions.

Trudgen. An enemy, but a good ally- good enough to allow around.

Kuruk, Ap’lek, and Cardo. Their mates, all strong. Kuruk and Kylo were close. Ap’lek was a skilled hunter. Cardo produced so much milk for the pups.

He liked them all. They could sense he was different; similar enough to allow him to act as the de facto leader, ‘alpha’, as the humans might have called it. But whenever he mated with one of the wolves that grew from the pups, the females ran his mate off. If he found her and led her back, they killed her. It only took him two times to stop that .

But, then again, they always ran off all of the pups once they were older. Kylo only had six constant companions. Why they never allowed him a mate was beyond him, but he was far too afraid of being alone again to try and test that.

When they were gathered on a hill, the pups picking at their kills, Kuruk grumbled and came closer to Kylo, drawing his attention. He tilted his head to the side, waiting for further prompting. She grumbled again and looked at the river with her wild eyes-

A human girl. Humans were not rare in their territory, and though it made Kylo seething with anger and an urge to kill , he’d long since learned that his companions did not like it when he went near a human. They’d eaten the few he’d killed and dragged back to them, but they grumbled at him, licking him clean for far too long and as if he were tainted.

Kylo did not know, then, Kuruk’s intention in pointing the girl out. She wore long dresses that were not at all similar to the ones he could barely remember his mother wearing. He walked forward just a little, waiting for the wind to shift and carry the girl’s scent to him. He could only vaguely smell human .

And shift, the wind did, carrying with it the smell of milk and leather and sweet pastries, and the distinct aroma of a woman in heat. Did Kuruk think she was injured? Was she still so hungry as to think Kylo ought to kill her?

He walked forward, looking back at the others as if waiting for someone to grumble a warning. They all seemed to notice her, but none of them said anything. More curious at this point than anything else, Kylo trotted along towards the river, still rather far from her.

The girl paused and looked up, then recoiled and fell onto her bottom on the riverbank. Kylo eyed her, lapping up water from the river.

“Oh,” said the girl, and Kylo was surprised to learn he could still understand a human speaking. “I… Suppose the wolves out here must… Be used to humans?”

Kylo grumbled. Not really . She could not understand him, but he’d pretend to talk with her, anyway. Until he killed her.

She was beautiful. Tall for a woman, her figure thin. Her hair was long and haphazardly done, a shimmering brown that was streaked with lighter shades, some as pale as honey, as if she were outside a lot. Sharp features, short and small and feminine. There were just enough traces of Ben left to know that something buried deep within the wolf longed for her.

The woman stood, and if she was older than twenty, it would be a surprise to him- much younger, though, and he’d eat his own tail. She went back to collecting water in her bucket, a bucket she’d tipped over and nearly lost-

She dropped it again, jumping, when his companions and their pups travelled closer. “Okay- one of you I can handle. Might even survive. Seven, and- what, two dozen pups? Please, run off. I’m not bothering you.”

Did the girl know Kylo could understand her? He didn’t think so.

The bucket was pushed away from the rocks that had caught it by the current; the girl cursed and tried to chase it, but she wasn’t fast enough.

Kylo, for reasons unbeknownst to him, loped forward and snatched the metal bucket with ease. He made no move to come closer to her, or drop it on the bank. If she wanted her treasure, she’d be brave and come up to him.

She eyed him warily, then glanced over at the other wolves, who were glaring at her, waiting for their alpha. The girl sighed and looked at Kylo, studying him.

“Older wolf, I think,” she breathed. “You look like you’ve been through a lot and survived. But you’re not grey at all- maybe, you’ve just been through a lot as a young guy. Are you going to kill me, pet?”

Kylo snarled at the word pet , but made no move towards her.

“Are you going to kill me?”

Kylo remained silent.

“Pet?” she echoed after a moment, as if intuiting that that had been the reason he snarled- and he snarled again. “Okay,” she said. “I apologize for calling you that.” She took several steps closer, eyeing him warily. “I’m Rey,” she barely breathed. “Rey Niima.”

Rey. Something about her talking to him like this… Soothed him. As if in reward, he took a tentative step forward. Rey did, too.

“I’m… An indentured servant, now,” she barely breathed. “I used to be a seamstress’ apprentice.”

Kylo suppressed a growl. As if in mercy, he slowly walked forward. Rey tensed but looked down at him; he guided the bucket carefully into her hand, and as soon as her grip on it tightened, he released it and took a few steps away again.

“You’re an odd one, killer,” Rey breathed.

Kylo snarled angrily, snapping, and she fell back- but kept hold of her bucket.

“Okay- not that, either,” she said, looking and smelling thoroughly terrified.

As if to say not a killer , Kylo pounced on her; she jumped and tried to throw him off, and though she was strong, he remained there. He lowered his snout, meeting her terrified gaze as she tried unsuccessfully to scramble away.

And he licked her throat. She grew still and let out a whimper.

He brushed his teeth along her and she cried out, but then he licked her again.

I could kill you. I won’t. Understand that, girl- Rey.

She breathed heavily, eyes squeezing shut as if waiting to die. He stopped licking her- it made him feel strange, and she tasted so very lovely. He did not want to be tempted with either of the two things that that could mean for him. When he did not bite her, eventually, her eyes opened again, big and beautiful and hazel. She relaxed after a moment.

“You’re very strange, indeed,” she all but whimpered. “I’ve got the message- you’re not a killer, though you could be. Please, let me up.”

Pleased and proud and more than a little surprised, Kylo walked past her to the other side of the river bank and swivelled. As Rey got to her feet and finally filled her bucket, his companions met his gaze. Ushar grumbled something familiar- something soothing- and they wandered off in the direction of home. Rey watched them, then glanced over at Kylo.

“Your friends are strange, too.”

That, they could agree upon.

“I’ll try to figure out a name for you- maybe, I’ll ask Maz to use her magic. Just don’t bite my head off if I call you the wrong thing. For some reason, it doesn’t feel like we’ll be rid of one another any time soon.”

Kylo tensed, looking at her. A witch? This ‘Maz’ must surely be. If Rey was a witch, it would explain her strange ability to intuit something ‘strange’ about Kylo.

And for the first time in a long time, Ben roared up in desperation- the wolf stepped forward and whined. Rey looked at him, alarmed. Help me , he willed. Help me, please, Rey .

Rey reached out, frowning; Kylo was back, snarling and stepping away. “I haven’t got any scraps,” she muttered. “If you’re smelling blood- don’t pay it no mind. You’ll find no food there . Though, during another time, I suppose that’s a new idea on where I can hide some. Maybe. The thought is a bit… Repulsive, but I’m getting too thin.”

Kylo walked forward, and gently- looking up at her, making eye contact- he took her skirt in his teeth.

“I have to get this water back. No time to play at the moment, my new friend,” she said. “I’m free for the night after that, though. Wait here- Plutt’s always got his gun. Can you understand me? You seem to, somehow. I wonder… Do all wolves? And dogs, perhaps?”

Kylo grumbled something he hoped was a no . She eyed him curiously, then stood with her bucket.

“I’ll be right back. Ten, maybe twenty minutes. No longer than an hour, even if someone bothers me. Okay, friend?”

Kylo licked her ankle, surprised only after the fact to find it bare rather than clad in a stocking. Rey walked off after giving him a smile, and Kylo moved to the trees, waiting for his girl to return.

When she did, it was nearly an hour later, and she smelled like sweat and fire and dirt. She looked thoroughly ravaged.

“Please,” she breathed softly.

Kylo was stalking forward at once to greet her, anger in him. Are you alright? I’ll kill them for you. Whomever. Are you alright? My… Friend.

Rey rubbed his back and he stopped, tensing. “I hate it here,” she barely breathed. “I hate him.”

Kylo grumbled. He walked towards the direction she came from. I’ll rip out his throat. We’ll eat him together. I won’t even snarl when you start a fire to cook him first.

“Please,” she barely breathed. “Could you take me off? Somewhere that Plutt isn’t?”

And in a moment, Kylo was nudging her the other way. He led her to his home with his companions, and the pups hid from her, his companions stiffening and keeping back, but no one ran her off. She looked mightily terrified, and she was far too tall for the den. He led her off to his own corner, plush with leaves he’d gathered as little more than a force of habit to serve as his bed. She sat down tentatively.

“Maybe, I’ll stay here,” she barely breathed. “Maybe I’m a bit too old to be raised by wolves, but…”

Yes. Stay. Kylo licked her skin clean, and she let him. She stroked his fur, and though he grumbled his disapproval, he didn’t snarl or snap. He at least tried to pretend it wasn’t soothing, though.

She was starving, he realized, when her stomach grumbled. He got to his feet and urged her towards the exit-

“Please,” she said. “I’m so tired.”

But he kept nudging, and eventually, she gave in, getting up and letting him direct her outside. He found a carcass with enough meat left on it, dragging it closer.

“I can’t eat like you can. I have to cook it, or I’d… Get sick, if not die.”

Kylo rolled his eyes and started dragging sticks closer, and eventually, she understood-

“You know that. You expect me to… Cook it?”

Kylo tried to nod, but it didn’t work. Regardless, she made a fire and sat in front of it, looking at the carcass.

“I have no knife,” she said. “This is very kind, my friend, but-”

Kylo, with great care, bit off a chunk and kicked a stick forward, and she seemed to understand, because she picked up the stick and jabbed it through the meat, careful not to stab him in the process. He released the meat and, hunger roused by the act, he set about cleaning the bones as she cooked her food, stroking him.

“Thank you,” she breathed softly, sounding so moved and gentle.

Kylo licked her hand, and she looked over, nose curling at the blood-riddled drool he left behind. She stroked his head instead, a sensation that took a moment to get used to.

It felt so good. And like he should not be allowing it. He did, though.

When her meat was cooked, she looked down at it and looked conflicted. “This is so gross,” she said after a moment. “And Plutt’s liable to starve me to death now. Here goes- cheers, friend.” Rey took a bite, grimacing as she went. She ate quite a bit, though, then gently pushed the remnants onto the ground.

Kylo ate it, and then, she killed the fire and they headed back into the den again.

Stay, Rey. Stay and I’ll feed you and clean you and keep you safe. Stay with me. Away from Plutt.

Rey lay down, curling up, looking cold. Kylo grumbled and lay half on top of her, and to his surprise, she leaned into him, curling into a ball. “So warm,” she barely breathed. “You’re soft and coarse at the same time.”

He licked her throat. That’s it, mate. I’ll look after you and keep you warm. Stay. Stay.

His body seemed to think he could be with her. It took everything in him not to nudge her to her knees and rip the dress off of her, tear it to tatters beneath his teeth.

He felt alive for the first time in decades.

When she shifted sometime later, she noticed his irksome urge. She blinked down at it. “Oh,” she said.

He licked her throat. I’m not a fool. I’m a wolf, Rey, and you’re a woman. Settle down.

She only shifted more, gently easing his head to rest above her breasts. “If I was a wolf, I’d be very happy right about now, I’m sure. Even happier if you were a man. Never met one so kind.”

Bitterness flooded him.

“I suppose I am happy. Happy to have you. In another life, maybe, the Lord will bless us with… Compatibility. I wonder if we’ll recognize each other. Maybe we’ll fall together, as if meant to be…”

She babbled, softer and softer, until her words fell into the softest snores he’d ever heard. Only then did he let himself fall asleep after her.

~

In the early hours of the morning, Rey awoke to find her friend still half atop her, his heavy weight a comfort that reminded her of the mutts she used to curl up with as a girl- but he was so very different, and of that she was certain. His nose, wet and soft, was tucked against the spot her neck gave way to shoulder, and her skin was wet. As if in explanation, his tongue thoughtlessly lapped out to keep his nose wet, and in doing so, he licked her as well.

She hugged him tightly and ran fingers through his fur, brushing out the knots and mats carefully, gently. He woke up some time later, trailing his nose along her neck and sniffing. He grumbled, then licked her jaw.

“Goodmorning, love,” Rey said softly. That earned her an eager lick, and she smiled. “There we are- something to call you until you have a name.”

Eventually, after just lazing contently in the wolfs’ den and holding tightly onto her new friend, Rey had to sit up. “I need to check the sun- the time,” she said reluctantly. “They’ll go looking for me if I’m not back.”

The wolf snarled, gently pressing her into the bed as if to bid her stay. He didn’t hold her down; when she got up, anyway, he let her, grumbling his disapproval. He still followed her out of the den.

“No sun yet,” she breathed. Then, she sighed. “Perhaps I should get back. Being there when he wakes up- Plutt would not be so angry as if I showed up at high noon.”

Her friend snarled at the mention of Plutt, as if he knew . He snapped at the air, then nudged a carcass.

“You want to kill Plutt?” Rey asked, amused.

He licked her hand. Was he-

Was he saying yes?

Bewildered, Rey thought about that for a moment. Plutt would still be asleep. His death would mean her freedom- and the freedom of his other servants, and maybe his slaves. The wolf looked expectantly up at her, determination is his big eyes. Rey crouched down to run fingers over his face.

Now, in the darkness, Rey could see the color of his eyes- or, more accurately, colors. Whiskey brown around the pupil, in uneven, jagged circles. Some shade between brown and green on the edges. “Such beautiful eyes, love,” she breathed.

He licked her throat generously, then gently nudged her eye- it closed instinctively.

“You think my eyes are beautiful?”

He licked her throat.

Rey hugged him, pressing kisses into his throat, and he dropped his snout over her back. “I think I love you already, friend,” she breathed. “Plutt will be asleep- but he has a gun. It will be dangerous. Safer, maybe, if your pack helps.”

The wolf summoned his wolves. None of them were sleeping, of course- wolves hunted during the night, slept during the day. His pack specifically usually hunted at dawn or dusk, though. His nap had probably only been because of her.

They came out, ready to hunt. Rey, feeling frightened and reluctant and yet so very ready for the monster Plutt to be dead, led the seven wolves and the largest of the pups towards Plutt’s plantation.

Finn was the guard tonight, thankfully.

“What- what?” was all Finn could manage.

“I’m a fairytale princess, it seems,” Rey mumbled. “The sort who can inspire a wolf to inspire his friends to kill the villain.”

Her friend licked her hand, and for some reason, it warmed her heart even more this time.

“Rey…” Finn breathed. “That’s- that’s-”

“Mind your business, Finn. If this works-... Get free. Get away. Get north. Whatever you need to.”

Finn’s face tensed just a bit, and he reached forward, dragging her into an embrace. She heard her friend snarl, but he made no move to stop them. “I’ll meet you at Dameron’s. Whether this works or not, you- insane woman.”

Rey kissed his cheek, and her wolf let out another, different, clearly unhappy sound. “Poe’s a good man. He’ll help you.”

“You better be there, Rey,” Finn said, voice shaky. “Or I’ll wait there until the town finds me there. Got it?”

“Fine. I’m bringing my friend, and his friends, if they’ll come. So you’d better keep Poe’s itchy trigger finger in check, because I’ll skin the lot of you and feed what’s left to their babies.”

“Yeah.”

Finn hurried away, then, muttering about getting the others ready to get gone, too.

The six other wolves were more than a little reluctant to come in, but her friend seemed to be urging them on. She led them to Plutt’s room.

Inside, Baz was asleep, naked. So, when Rey had refused him and ran, he’d found some other poor soul to terrorize for the night. Her cheeks were still wet.

Rey lifted her up and set her to the side-

And the wolves attacked Plutt in his bed. Baz awoke, screaming and terrified, and Rey felt insane as she comforted the girl, covering her.

The wolves didn’t seem hungry; they’d had several carcasses near their den, so Rey supposed that made sense. Still, they ripped him to bits and began dragging him off. They had little mouths to feed.

Only her friend remained at the end, walking over as Baz scrambled into her dress. There were no guards other than Plutt at night; his operation was small enough, and his gun close enough, that it had never been needed before.

She wondered if the others would escape. They had to, even the ones like Baz, who’d never have allowed the plot to go forward had she learned of it before it was already too late.

Baz and Rey locked eyes as Baz nervously made her way to the door.

“Don’t tell me where you’ll go,” Rey said softly. “Just get there safely, and find happiness.”

Baz looked at the bloody remains of Plutt’s death, then over at Rey again. “Goodbye,” she said softly.

“Goodbye.”

Baz would not be invited to the Dameron house, and it wounded Rey a little… But Baz was a smart girl. She’d manage. She always did.

Rey stood after a few moments, then gathered anything she could find that was valuable or of use. He snarled at the gun she lifted. “Sorry. This is for men, though, not wolves.”

She led him to Poe’s house, sneaking in back.

Poe fixed a shotgun at her immediately, and on instinct alone, she had her barrel pointed at him, too. They locked eyes and lowered their weapons at the same time.

“Rey,” Finn said, pushing past Poe to hug her.

Her friend still did not like that.

“Is that a damned wolf? That you’ve brought into my house?” Poe demanded. Poe, a rancher, was… Not fond of wolves.

Her friend snarled in defense of himself, leaning into Rey.

“That’s the damned wolf that got us our freedom, Poe, and he didn’t pay a second look to your animals,” Rey said, stroking fingers through her friend’s fur.

Poe grumbled at Finn, who said nothing for a long time. “For the record,” Finn said quietly. “He did kill Plutt for us. And he listens to her.”

Her friend grumbled at that. “He helps me. He’s not a pet. He’s a friend.”

“She’s insane,” Poe said.

“She always has been,” Finn said.

“I didn’t hear anything,” Poe said. “Meaning the townsfolk won’t go looking unless someone tells them. Do you think anyone will?”

“No,” Rey said.

“Maybe Baz, but I doubt it. She’d just been dragged to his bed for the night,” Finn said.

“Baz and I are friends. She’d have warned me , if no one else, if she planned on that,” Rey said with a frown. “Who else is here?”

“Kay, Tai, Cal, Voe, Hennix, Jannah. And those neighbors- Hux and his wife, Rose,” Poe answered. “Seems he’s more trustworthy than I thought… For now.”

Rey nodded, and Finn glanced at the wolf. “Maybe,” he said. “You should introduce them to the beast that helped free them.”

“He did most of the work, really,” Rey said. She looked over at him, and he looked weary. “I doubt he wants to meet them, but… I’m still tired. If no one’s coming, is it safe to sleep?”

“Yeah,” Poe said, sighing. “I’ll keep watch. Leave the gun to Finn if you’re off to bed. The wolf does not get on my furniture. He’s probably already dripping fleas.”

He snarled again, then glared up at Rey, and as if he pushed the thought into her mind- I will kill him. “Don’t you dare,” she breathed, and her wolf looked- surprised.

“What?” Poe said.

“Nothing,” Rey grumbled. “Goodnight.”

“Are you hungry?” Finn asked with a frown.

“No. My friend got me food last night. The others will need it more than I would, anyway.”

“The wolf fed you? And you let it?”

“Him,” Rey corrected Poe hotly. “Goodnight, both of you.”

Her friend lapped at her hand as she led him to a bedroom. If he wasn’t allowed on the bed, though, she wouldn’t-

But he urged her towards it, laying beside it. With a sigh, she lay down on a stiff bed that was still more comfortable than any she’d been in before, reaching down to lazily run fingers through his fur until she drifted off to sleep once more.

~

The girl followed him back to his den when she awoke, after talking with her friends about where they’d all go, when they’d all meet again. They’d scoffed and argued when she said she would be following Kylo, but Rey was having none of that. He was seething with a predatory pride as he led his spoil back to his den, marching her inside.

He tried to nudge her clothing off, and while she did remove everything but her chemise, she pushed him away when he tried to get that off of her.

Still, it was more bare than he’d seen any woman (other than the one who’d lain with Plutt, but he’d not spared her a glance before she was dressed and leaving.) He was content with that, cleaning her everywhere she’d allow him.

The fact that he was waiting to be allowed bothered him. Mine. My mate. Mine.

But Ben was still too present for Kylo to do as he pleased, if ever faded. Moreover, the girl’s touch, presence, seemed to keep him as solid as he could be.

Days turned to weeks, and weeks into two months, give or take. Rey adjusted to sleeping during the day, but she begrudgingly agreed to wait in the den with the smaller pups when they hunted after the first time she tried to follow. She’d gotten lost and nearly killed by a stag. He was still limping from his violent defending of her, but that stag- tall and healthy and plump- had been the tastiest thing he’d ever eaten.

Well. As a wolf.

And, of course, his mate was safe. That was all he cared about now.

As fall turned to winter, Rey was not allowed in the little bundle the other wolves made, so Kylo considered himself uninvited, too. They curled into one another.

“I could stay here forever,” Rey breathed. “I was not expecting that.”

Kylo lapped at her, and she stroked him. She looked down at him.

“A wolf’s wife. How odd. I could be burned for this, sex or not, I’m sure.”

My wife . Kylo pressed into her. My wife, my mate, my love. Mine, mine, mine.

“I love you, my sweet. I’ll have to take you to Maz soon. I need you to have a name.”

With that, Kylo led her towards the exit as soon as they woke up. She stopped to put on her layers, shivering regardless.

“It’s a day’s trip,” she said. “I hope you know how to keep me warm, love.”

Kylo nudged into her, too cold for lapping her fragile skin. I will always keep you warm.

Rey buried her cold fingers into his fur as they walked, and he did keep her warm, forging a little den for her and laying more fully on top of her to keep her warm.

When they arrived at a familiar place, Kylo stopped dead and snarled.

His mother’s house. Fence still in the backyard.

“It’s alright,” Rey coaxed. Kylo sat down, and Rey frowned. “Please, love. Please .”

He looked up at her.

He’d done so much for her. She’d not… She’d not let someone fence him in again, would she?

No. Never.

Eventually, he was able to force himself onto his feet, nipping at her dress to soothe his violent urges to kill whoever he found in that house.

There was a short woman inside. Tan and old. She smelled familiar- no, her things did. If she was an older witch from around here, probably a friend of his mother’s. She’d probably visited, and if she had, his mother had probably forced him into the yard for it.

“Rey,” said the woman fondly. “I’m glad to see you again.”

“You, too, Maz.”

“Come back to be my apprentice again?”

Rey looked down at Kylo. “Not exactly.”

Maz turned towards the wolf, and her eyes widened at once. As if she recognized him. “Oh,” she said.

“This is my friend,” Rey said. “I need a name for him.”

“Once… He was called Ben,” Maz said, and Kylo twitched into Rey. “Now, it seems more appropriate to call him Kylo.”

“He has names already?” Rey asked in shock.

“He was… Yes, he does.”

Rey took a step forward, her hand moving from Kylo’s back to his head. “Tell me, Maz. He’s kept me alive , and healthy and happy and safe, for months. He and his pack killed Plutt for us. He’s my friend, and I love him dearly. Tell me.”

Maz pursed her lips, looking at Kylo, before sitting down. “Sit, Rey.”

Rey sat on a settee, and without waiting for any permission, Kylo hopped up and lounged across her lap. She stroked him.

“I’m sure I’ve mentioned the woman who used to live here,” Maz said softly.

“Of course. Leia, that was her name.”

Kylo stiffened, and Rey looked down. “He can understand us, can’t he?”

“Maybe.”

Kylo lapped her hand.

“He does that to say yes . He grumbles as an I don’t like that but I won’t stop you . He snarls as no .”

“Sounds like he still understands, then,” Maz said, voice… Sad.

“Still?”

“Leia had a husband and son, once,” Maz barely breathed.

“You said she was a widow, like you,” Rey said.

“Yes. At the end.”

“Okay…”

“Her son said his father tried to abandon them, but no one believed him- well. Leia chose not to make up her mind. If he was lying, then her son was a liar and a murderer with no motive. If he was telling the truth, her husband had tried to abandon her, and her son was persecuted pointlessly.”

Kylo grumbled. Rey stroked him soothingly.

“Her brother and his godfather went after him, so she… Turned him into a wolf. To protect him. He was just as he’d always been… At first. That sort of magic has consequences.”

“What?” Rey asked, absolutely… Something. Kylo could not read her emotions- at the moment, he did not want to- but there was so much of it in her voice.

“He slowly… Changed. Angrier, defensive, cruel. Like a wolf. Eventually, he ran off and killed my husband… His godfather.”

Kylo looked over at Maz suddenly. He’d known Chewie had taken a wife, but he’d never met her. Maz did not look at the wolf.

“Leia tried to contain him- what was left of her son. Tried to turn him back, but she couldn’t do it alone, and after Chewie, I stopped trying to help. She died twenty years ago. And he is, somehow, still alive, still in his prime. That should not be possible, and yet…”

Rey wrapped around Kylo, clutching him. “I’m so sorry about Chewie,” she breathed. “But, please. Please . Turn him back into a man- or turn me into a wolf. I don’t care. I don’t care . Please. Please.”

Kylo snarled at that, then stood on the ground.

“Stop it!” Rey roared. “We’ll be together! We can be together . You lap at me when I talk about God making us lovers in the next life- so why can’t we find a way in this one?”

Not that , he willed her to know.

“Then what?!”

He bit his leg and snarled. YOU CANNOT BE LIKE ME.

She blinked, then frowned. Sadness overcame her. “I cannot be like you?”

He gave a snarl.

“You can hear him?” Maz asked.

“Only sometimes,” Rey whimpered. “Usually, when he seems desperate for me to understand. Like a whisper in the back of my mind. I… Thought I was imagining it, until it kept happening, and it kept making sense with how he behaved…”

“His mother did say he was a witch, too,” Maz said softly. “Unpracticed, untaught- but a witch.”

Rey slunk forward onto her knees and dragged Kylo closer to hug him. “Please, Maz. Anything. Put us together. Make us whole.”

“I don’t know how,” Maz said softly. “And I could not forgive him.”

“Don’t do it for him ,” Rey said. “Do it for me! Please! After all we’ve been through- all I’ve done for you. Please, Maz, I beg of you. I beg of you, please .”

Maz stared at Kylo for a long time.

And Ben whined. Pleadingly. Softly.

Maz looked away. “Why did you kill him?”

Anger. Wolf. Han left. Chewie didn’t care- didn’t want to. Wolf. Anger.

Rey repeated the words softly.

Maz stood. “I’m sure you’ve travelled far, from the looks of it. I’m sure you remember where your room is, Rey. We’ll talk later.”

Rey walked Kylo to Ben’s old room. The same furniture lay in the same places. He was left bitter and empty as she crawled into bed; he hopped up onto it, not wanting to, but needing to be close to her.

And for the first time, he urged her onto her knees. She let him- until he started brushing away her clothes.

“Ben,” she said, falling away.

You call me that when I fuck you. Kylo all other times. Words were difficult to think.

Rey recoiled, staring down at him, breathing heavily. He waited, against every cell in his body urging him not to.

He could hold her down. He could claim and knot her.

Ben would not have that, and now- here and now and with her- Ben was stronger than he had been since he’d become a wolf in the first place.

Rey stroked his head. “I’ve never-... I’ve never. I… I’m scared. Scared of this form. Of you like this- in that way. Scared of it at all, the thought of it with a man- except for you, as a man.”

He moved forward to nudge into her throat. Waited for you. So long for you. Need you. Gentle. Gentle as I can. Slow. Slow as I can. Love you. Need you, Rey. Wife. Mate. Love.

She cried into him, clutching tightly. “I love you, too,” she whimpered. She cried into him for a long time, clutching onto him.

She got up and locked the door, then slowly pulled off her clothes. She lit the hearth and lay down, but she was still shivering.

He dragged the wardrobe open, and sure enough, his clothes were in there. Mine. Wear. Yours. Ours.

“This… Of course. If you were- her son… Of course these clothes are yours,” Rey said, as if in awe. She walked to the wardrobe, and she pulled on one of his old tunics, short enough to still leave access for what he needed tonight, thick enough to help her stay warm.

Things would be so much more convenient if she had fur.

She. Cannot. Be. Like. Us.

She closed the wardrobe slowly. “I’ve worn it before. Worn your clothes before. Kept them patched up.”

He leaned into her, the lines between Kylo and Ben blurring, until-

Until he felt like himself, strangely. A whole, complete soul, leaning into his lover. She walked to the bed again, then, and arranged herself on her knees. He urged her chest down; she was strong, but so small. She’d crumbled a few thrusts in under his weight. He kissed her cheek, her throat, and nudged her reassuringly.

He gazed down at her flesh, almost surprised to find it slickening. He nudged into her leg, lapping at her skin slowly. He didn’t know how to arouse a woman as a man, much less a wolf.

He would die trying, though. He would not take her before she was ready. And he had to take her.

~

Rey dragged pillows beneath her chest, breath hard and heavy, face flushed with shame. Rey. Wife. Mate. Love.

The way he’d nudged her so surely, feeling no need to explain. They way she’d known, and yet done nothing until her brain could not grapple with the shame.

She was so utterly and irrevocably his.

She’s insane. A wolf’s wife. I could be burned for this.

He’d never let her be. She’d beg him to bite out her throat, and he would. She felt it in her bones.

She was a witch. A witch with not enough training- but in these times, in this world, a spell to avoid such a fate was taught quite early on. Even without him, she could spare herself the worst.

She did not want to die. She wanted to be his bitch in heat to be bred and cared for and fed.

She turned positively crimson at the thought, flooded with shame and arousal. He nudged into her thigh, teasing her, and without fur in her face she could see him not as a wolf, but as her friend, her lover- Ben, Kylo, the soul she felt more clearly and wholly than her own.

She didn’t mind seeing him as a wolf. She minded the shame that followed that.

YOU CANNOT BE LIKE ME.

But she wanted to be. She wanted to be his bitch in heat to be bred and cared for and fed.

She could not suppress the moan that escaped her lips as he nudged a warm, wet nose into her folds. He let out a new sound- similar to a grumble, but brighter, kind. Approval. He gave one tentative lap and she whimpered, leaning back, unable to suppress the urge to sway her hips.

Mine. My sweet Rey. Taste so good. Need you. Want you. Love you .

She let out a pleasured sob into the pillow- his pillow- and nodded.

More lapping until, between her own shamefully, eagerly offered arousal and his tongue, she was dripping into the mattress. She felt so high, dizzy with arousal, her stomach churning and her cunt swollen and hungry for him.

Insane. Absolutely insane.

He mounted her gently, with ease, his front legs wrapping around her hips, holding her. Her knees were denting the bed so dramatically under his weight, and she moaned.

Just his bitch to be bred and cared for and fed. Just his bitch.

Her cunt spasmed in angry hunger, the one part of her that could feel no shame. He guided himself inside of her-

His tapered head entered with ease, but she moaned loudly into the pillow as he seemed to grow thicker the more he slid in. He slowed, letting out a soft, disgruntled sound, leaning forward to lap at her shoulders.

Sweet girl. Taking me so good. Sweet, beautiful love.

She moaned and nodded, and soon, he was seated inside of her.

So long. Never woman. Just you.

She pressed back into him, willing her body to adjust. It was not as wholly offensive as she’d feared.

She felt good. She felt her walls fluttering around him, accepting him with ease.

Just his bitch. Just his bitch. Just his bitch.

Talk to me.

She could not find it in her to act ashamed, even if she was. She was too ashamed to admit how much she loved it. She reached out to him mentally, inviting him inside-

He started thrusting, not at all gentle, but like he was trying to be. She moaned and rocked backwards, and he snarled- but it was a good snarl, a hungry snarl, she could feel and sense and hear the difference.

Just his bitch.

Another, deeper snarl.

Wife. Mate. Bitch. Love.

She moaned and nodded. “Ben,” she purred. “Harder. Faster. Fuck-... Fuck me. Take me. Breed me.”

More snarling. He did as she asked, clutching her more tightly, pressing more of his strong weight into her, and she felt so utterly full, so utterly divine as his foreign-feeling cock slammed into her time and time again. He was battering something within her that drove her absolutely mad.

“Yes… Yes… Yes, yes, yes, yes,” she could not help but chant, but she was mindful enough to keep her voice muted, her lips pressed into the pillow.

Knew it. Should have been fucking you all this time. Mine, mine, mine, mine .

“Yours,” she ground out. He lapped at her back, then nipped her arm gently, possessively, and she felt herself clench harder.

Claimed by a wolf. Mated by a wolf. Her wolf- her Ben. Made to be compatible. Submitting wholeheartedly to it.

Just your bitch, Ben. Just your bitch.

Just my bitch. My bitch, Rey.

She was climaxing suddenly, biting down on the pillow and whimpering. He kept it up; when she came again, he swelled inside of her and began pumping her full, hips still thrusting if ever embedded within her.

Take it, take it, take it all, every drop, every last drop.

And she did, until it felt like her belly would burst. Eventually, he pulled out and away, and she collapsed to the side as he peppered her with long swipes of his tongue, his snout easily making its way beneath her tunic to lap at everything. She whimpered as his tongue found her nipples.

Need you, mine, mine, mine. Sweet, sweet Rey. Mine.

Eventually, they drifted off to sleep together, with Kylo flicking his tongue out at her periodically until well after she fell asleep.

~

When Kylo and Rey made their way into the living room quite a while after they’d left it, Maz was reading from an old, familiar book.

“You fuck a wolf,” was all Maz said, and her opinion of such a matter was not clear.

Rey tensed and turned crimson, and Kylo felt himself prickle. “That- was… The first. Will you have me burned for that, Maz?”

Maz’s nose turned up. “No. There’s not a travesty in this world deserving of such a fate. And I suppose he’s a man within- a consenting man. Do not do it in my house again.”

It was my bed.

“It was his bed,” Rey echoed in defense.

Maz paused. “I suppose it must have been,” she said softly after a few moments. “And yet, it is now my house.”

“Will you help us?”

“I will try.”

“Thank you, Maz,” Rey breathed.

“Mmm. I’ll send you a dream when I’ve discovered a way. There’s a stallion out back- old and nearing death. You can take him back to where ever you came from, and I suppose he and his pack can have the stallion- if they kill him quickly. I’m rather fond of him.”

Rey looked down at Kylo for confirmation.

Always quick kills. Always, when possible.

“Of course,” Rey said.

“There’s stew in the kitchen, if you’re hungry before you’re off, and water in a pot beside it. Help yourselves.”

“Thank you, Maz.”

“You’re welcome, Rey.”

Rey led Kylo into the kitchen, setting a bowl of stew and a bowl of water on the ground. Grumbling, and feeling far too much like a pet , Kylo ate and drank from his bowls as Rey sat down on the ground with her own.

She was an angel, he decided. There was a perfectly good table, and she was sitting on the dirt floor with him. A perfect, pure angel.

Who likely still had the remnants of his seed buried within her. He could still smell it on her.

Once they were full and Rey had cleaned their dishes, she led him out back. Kylo scowled at the familiar prison he’d been trapped in for far too long. The stallion did not like the sight of the wolf, but Rey seemed to have a way with all animals, not just his companions- she calmed the beast, and gently made sure he was begrudgingly alright with Kylo’s presence. It took hours, but eventually, it was done, and Rey mounted the thing, and together, they set out for the den.

Kylo summoned his pack and killed the unsuspecting, exhausted stallion quickly, and together, the pack feasted. Kylo was sure to leave more than enough for Rey, snapping and snarling at the pups when they tried to bite the hind leg he’d decided was hers. He dragged it off towards her and she guarded it herself; she preferred to just pick up the little pups with a gentle hand, and guide the larger ones’ snouts away.

The pups all adored her, and by now knew better than to try and nip at her fragile skin. The tiny ones still nibbled, but rarely broke skin… Rey always kept Kylo from snapping at them when they did.

One of the pups- one of Kuruk and Ushar’s- was quite fond of her. She’d crawl up into Rey’s lap, nuzzle to rest by her breasts. She was a bit too big for the latter by now, but Rey still curled into her.

“I’ve named her Joy,” Rey breathed as Joy wrestled with one of her brothers from Rey’s lap. “It was going to be ‘Joyous’, but I decided Joy would suffice. She’s a sweet little girl.”

Kylo flicked his tail against Rey, too invested in the raw, bloody horse meat to go and nuzzle her. Rey was not fond of getting so much blood on her, anyway.

Rey scratched fingers into the spot above his tail, though, and he had little choice but to press into the touch.

If the witch did not find a solution soon, he’d be little more than a pet.

After the horse was barely more than bones, the pack made their way back into the den as dawn broke. Kylo draped himself over Rey once more, until he could not help himself.

He nudged her to her knees again and she sighed but shifted, this time keeping herself covered for the cold. When Kylo mounted her, the others seemed to look over in confusion. Rey flushed and buried her head in her arms, and Kylo struggled to figure out how to tease her clit with his current body, current muscles.

Eventually, he discovered how, and Rey began to moan and clench in a desperate attempt not to squirm, as when she squirmed, he lost the sensitive bud for a few moments.

It was normal for the pups and other companions to poke about in curiosity when two wolves mated. Rey did not seem to like it, but if she was in any distress, she hid it. Kylo sunk into her once she’d orgasmed, and he fucked three more out of her. Joy was licking her face for most of the time.

When Kylo knotted, it took far longer for it to deflate, and Rey was grinding back into him the whole time. He leaned into her, a bit unsteady on his hind legs, until he carefully guided her onto her stomach. She moaned and nodded, clutching him tightly to her chest. He licked and lapped at her throat, her face, snarling at Joy when she got in his way.

When his knot did deflate, Rey did not let him off of her, so he curled into her instead, and she clutched him until they drifted off to sleep.

He took her every day after that. He’d nudge at her stomach as if longing for pups he knew they could not make, and she would grow solemn and reserved for an hour or so, but he could not stop himself.

The others were nearly in heat when she said anything of it at all.

“One day,” she breathed as he nudged her stomach. “We’ll have children. Of one sort or another. I know it- I can feel it.”

He gave her generous kisses for that.

When the others were in heat, he could not stop himself from taking Rey as often as his companions took their mates, as the pups took one another. She did not seem to mind.

After his companions ran off the eldest pups, Rey was saddened. As the next set of litters were born, though, she was soothed.

For some reason- not the first time, but a rarity- Kuruk did not let any of her pups near her, and nearly killed one before Rey rescued it. She gently coaxed Ap’lek and Cardo into letting the pups nurse from them.

After they no longer needed nursing, the five of them were Rey’s pups, really. Rey’s and Kylo’s.

“John, Margaret, William, Robert, and Magdalene,” Rey dubbed them. She smiled and stroked the wolf in her lap. “And Joy, of course.”

Not long after the pups were strong enough to be away from the teat, Rey awoke in a cold sweat, and Kylo knew what that meant. The mated pair and their pups set out for the witch again.

“You…” Maz said, looking down at the pups.

“From his pack,” Rey said quickly. “Obviously, I could not-... I could not be able.”

Maz looked at the grey and white and tawny pups, then at Kylo’s black fur, and nodded. “Right,” she said softly. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes,” Rey breathed.

“Stew in the kitchen, dear.”

“Thank you, Maz.”

The pups made a mess, but Rey cleaned it up. After they were fed and watered, they went back into the living room. Joy was unnerved, but she trusted Rey perhaps a frightening amount.

She’d be run off come summer. Perhaps it was for the best; they could look after her this way.

“There are… Complications,” Maz said softly. “I did look into the simplest method- turning you into a wolf. But there is no reason that Kylo should have lived much longer than a decade. Unless you just so happened to have the exact same complication as him, you’d die in a decade, leaving him alone once more. I doubt that is a suitable option.”

“No,” Rey said, stroking him as he stiffened at the prospect. “I’d never do that to him. Ever.”

“Well,” Maz said softly. “From the looks of it, turning him fully human once more is not an option, either. He’s been a wolf for far too long. He’d be mad within a year- possibly, immediately. And that’s no way for either of you to live.”

“No,” Rey breathed.

“So there is but one option- transform you both into something you can both be.”

Rey looked over at her pups with sad eyes. “Alright…” she said.

“As it turns out, there are not many things that a transformed human can become afterwards,” Maz said.

“What are you proposing?”

“Werewolves. With very specific rules.”

Rey looked at Maz, blinking softly. “Alright…”

“When the moon is waxing, you’d both be human,” Maz said. “When the moon is waning, you’d both be wolves. When the moon is empty, you’d both be little more than wraiths- dark, shadow-like beings. When the moon is full, you’d both be monsters- blood-thirsty, desperate to kill and eat all but one another. And perhaps the pups- sometimes… Often, I suppose… The monsters still care for anything they cared for before. I’ve never heard of a werewolf killing their kin, and I went looking.”

Rey looked at Kylo.

It was a fate worse than a wolf.

But he could be with her. He could fuck her as she wanted- needed- to be fucked. He could kiss her and walk upright and use his hands. He could draw for her and sing and dance with her.

He could still hunt, too. And be a wolf, sometimes.

For the price of being a wraith and a monster, too.

“Neither of you would ever die,” Maz went on. “And the transformations would be quite painful. Some yearn for death because of them- not all. But it’s never less than excruciating. Any children you had would be… Different. If conceived as humans, they’d be what you would more generally imagine a werewolf to be- deceptively human, transforming into a wolf at night, and a wolfman under the fullest moon. If conceived as wolves, they’d be particularly fearsome, gruesome wolves. Fiercely loyal, overprotective, but violent and aggressive. If conceived as monsters, they would be a more gentle version of a monster. If conceived as wraiths, they’d be little more than shadows drifting through the world, likely following you around for eternity. The humans and wolves would be mortal. The monsters and wraiths would not be.”

Rey took it all in, and Kylo looked up at her.

He would do anything she desired. Anything at all. He’d be a monster always for her; he’d be a wraith always for her. He’d be in excruciating pain always, for her. Anything for Rey.

“What do you think, my love?” Rey asked, sounding overwhelmed.

Anything for you. Rey, wife, mate, love.

Rey’s face twisted up with honoured, loving tears, and Kylo lapped at her.

Together, even if we stay like this. Mine. I’m yours. Together. However you want.

“My sweet love,” Rey breathed, stroking him. “This is no way to be. Not forever. And I’d still die in a few decades, and you would not.”

Kylo was flooded with bitterness. I would not stop trying until I died, to meet you in the next life. Even as worms together.

Rey laughed softly. “Look at that. You managed a full sentence.”

Kylo grumbled, and Rey laughed again. It was a beautiful sound, worth more than all of the gold, meat, and jewels in the world combined. More than anything else that was not her combined.

“We’ll- we’ll do it. We’ll do it,” Rey said.

Maz stood. “Return in early October. It will be ready, quite ironically, on All Hallow’s Eve, but I’ll need help for the last few steps. You’ll go and spend your final days as fully human as a human, please- for me, Rey. Fuck the wolf, if you must. But live - don’t just rest in a den all day and sit around looking after pups at night. Please.”

Rey looked down at Kylo, running her fingers along his fur. “Alright,” she said softly.

~

Her friends had gone north to freedom. Finn and Poe had to hide their affair, but they did so under the guise that Poe was married to Kay and Finn to Jannah, under the guise of being neighbors. Ari and Rose had followed, too. The others had scattered, but her closest friends were all together, and that is where she took Kylo and their pups for the summer. She was worried about the pack, but Kylo had assured her that they’d be fine, and that they’d see them again. He had come and gone always, and always, they persevered. They lost the older pups sometimes, and it was tragic, but never the six adults, never the little ones. They were a strong, ferocious pack.

Poe still did not like Kylo, but he came around to the pups. Kay and Rose were quite fond of Kylo, and Kylo pretended not to like the attention. Rey could watch him stand there, grumbling, grumpy, as they stroked him- but stand there, he did, tail more than announcing his joy.

Rey explained it all to them… Save for the… Bestiality. She did not think they’d react well to it. Luckily, none of them ever followed them to the den Kylo had made his family out in the woods that they slept in.

She still slept in a den, but only to be with her love. When she was awake, she lived and flourished with her friends. Kylo wondered if he could guide the rest of the pack north. Colder winters, but there was more than enough food for them, it seemed. They’d been too successful down south; the other species’ numbers were dwindling. The species up north needed some dwindling.

When Kylo and Rey set out for Maz once more, they left the pups with her friends. It broke Rey’s heart, and that broke Kylo’s, it seemed. He would not stop fretting through their journey, always about her.

Kylo did not like the backyard, Rey had gathered. After they returned to Maz, and as she helped finish the potions, he kept scowling hatefully at the door. He always went to fetch what the witches needed- unless it was in the backyard. And if it was in Maz’s room, the room that had been his mother’s, he always lingered in it for too long and returned sullen, forlorn.

“What happened to Leia?” Rey asked him one night as All Hallow’s Eve approached.

When he did not answer, she did not pry.

But when she fell asleep in his bed, curled into him, she dreamed about what happened- Han’s attempted departure, the persecution of Ben by his uncles, Leia’s spell on her unwilling, horrified son. Decades of strife and turmoil as Ben slowly gave way to Kylo. The death of Chewie. The prison. Leia’s death and Kylo’s escape- his freedom.

Seeing Rey. Loving her at once. All the way up to present.

The way Kylo and Ben bobbed back and forth- ever the same soul, separated by magic. The way Rey drew him to wholeness.

She woke up in tears. She was all but useless to Maz for her love and sorrow and longing, but they managed.

On All Hallow’s Eve, a new moon, the potions were ready. Kylo’s was on a plate on the floor, and Rey held her own in a phial. Maz chanted and danced naked before them, performing the rite.

“So mote it be,” Maz said, and the mated pair consumed their potions as quickly as they could.

~

The transformation was wretched and desolate. He felt nothing physically, but emotionally, he felt himself grow despondent and empty, aching for a life he could not have. Aching for sensations he could not feel, a body he did not have, emotions he had no concept of.

The full moon lasted forever, but he found great comfort curling into and joining with his fellow mist- only four words remained in whatever had become of his mind, and he chanted them as he stayed at one with her.

Rey. Wife. Mate. Love. Over and over again for what felt like infinite eternities.

On the next night, the waxing phase began.

And Ben, despite the fact that the moon was not visible, transformed into a human once more, at long last.

A strange sensation as his body was born from the mist it had been. Mental exhaustion at the onslaught of consciousness, of being, of feeling, of thinking and knowing. Of existing. When he existed once more, the first thing his eyes saw was her bare body beside him, panting and shaky. He dragged her closer, marvelling at the feel of human muscles, human existence.

“Rey,” he said, and she looked up at him. First in pained surprise- then, in wide wonder.

“Ben,” she breathed.

Maz had set clothing on a table for them, two tall glasses of water. But Ben could think of nothing but feeling the touch of her against his skin , at long last, and of speaking and her hearing his voice- human words out of a mouth that had not been real in decades. He gently lifted her, curling her up in his arms, and her hand reached forward to cup his face.

“Ben,” she sobbed.

“Rey,” he said, stroking her tangled, sweaty, dirt-riddled hair away. “My beautiful, sweet love. My wife and my soul and my purpose. My everything.”

She surged forward to straddle his lap, tucking herself into him and sobbing. He clutched at her, marvelling at the feelings-

Rey. Just… Rey. There were no words for the wonder she held, the light and love and joy he had grown so used to coming back to him after a torturous night and day of nothingness.

Beautiful, naked woman, with breasts and a cunt and an ass, long, lithe legs, strong, sinewy arms. He ran his hands along her spine, feeling human urges for the first time in so long- and in a much more real way than he had ever gotten to as a bachelor. He felt himself grow hard and savored the arousal that had once been such a scourge to him when he had naught but his hand to get him through the nights.

His wife. His lover. His companion. Held in his arms at long last. “How I’ve longed to hold you so truly,” he breathed. “For a long, beautiful, torturous year.”

“Ben,” was all she managed, and he rocked her back and forth, touching her hair with hands .

Eventually, they chugged the water and dressed. Rey could not tear her eyes away from him, it seemed, and it made his chest swell with so many emotions. Insecurity and pride and hope and love.

“I will have you as I’ve longed for you,” she whimpered. “Finally.”

“We’ll eat first, my love.”

“I don’t want to-”

“We need our strength if I’m going to make love to you the way we desire.”

Rey shuddered and leaned into him, but when she nodded, it was forlorn. He got a small smile, kissing her cheek softly-

She kissed his lips, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She’d seemed so tall when he was a wolf, and he knew that for a woman she was- but he was tall for a man, and that meant he towered over her. He clutched her tightly and kissed her deeply, neither of them really knowing what they were doing, but they enjoyed themselves regardless.

Ben certainly did. From the tortured whimper that Rey gave as he pulled away, she did, too. “Food, sweetheart,” he said softly, guiding her inside.

Maz looked up at him, face twisting. “Yes,” she said softly. “You are Ben, certainly. The perfect mix of your parents’ features.”

Ben looked down at the short woman. “Words do not suffice, and I know that. If mine wound you, silence me, please.”

Maz said nothing, waiting.

“I do not ask forgiveness. I could not hope for it. But… I am… Sorry,” he said. He had not talked in so long; he had never been good at it. “I suppose that’s all I have to offer. It is not nearly enough.”

Maz, to his surprise, set a hand on his arm. “Give Rey the life she longs for,” she barely breathed. “And for as long as she loves you- as long as she is happy with this terrible mistake I’ve helped her make… You have forgiveness from me.”

Ben tried to stifle the grateful sorrow that flooded him, but from the bittersweet gleam in Maz’s eyes, it was apparent that he had not succeeded. “You… Are a kind woman, Maz Kanata.”

Maz smiled at him. “I do verily try.”

Rey set two bowls of stew on the table, and Maz turned and walked away. Ben joined his wife.

Sitting. At a table. With cooked food, and silverware, and hands. And his wife. Rey, his wife.

He groaned at the taste of the food, eyes fluttering. His mother’s venison stew recipe. Food that tasted bland and bitter as a wolf now tasted of nothing but pleasure and home . When he began to cry, Rey said nothing, just held his hand beneath the table as they ate.

With silverware. And hands. And a mouth and human teeth, a human tongue. Human senses.

They made their way to Ben’s room and rid themselves quickly of their clothing, falling into one another. Ben wanted to lavish her, but she had other ideas; she pushed him onto the bed, straddling his hips, and gazed at him in wide wonder, a grin blossoming on her face, love-filled tears sprouting forth.

“Such a beautiful, handsome man,” she breathed, and his heart began to pound. “I had not dreamed you would be so utterly glorious to behold. Well- you’d have been glorious to me if you were the ugliest man I’d ever seen, but… Look at you, my sweet man. Look at you .”

If Ben was truly beautiful, no woman but his mother had ever noted it. His hair was too long, too downy, like a girl’s. His face was long and strange. His eyebrows were too far apart, strangely shaped. His nose was long and ugly. His cheekbones were high and shallow. His lips were lush and pink- like a woman’s. He was covered in birthmarks and freckles and moles that had had people whispering that he was a witch since the day he was born. He had been tall and gangly as a boy, but as a man, he’d filled out- he supposed that might be attractive enough. His ears were large and round, like his mother’s- on her, it had been cute, at least to him. On himself, he only looked ever stranger, at least to himself.

And yet Rey looked at him like he was truly the most attractive man she’d ever seen. He didn’t care if he was ugly or beautiful. He cared that she felt that he was beautiful, and it was apparent that she did.

Rey pulled back to take in the rest of him- his shoulders and arms, his chest, his abdomen, his hips. She grinned at his hardened, ready manhood but hurried down to his legs. She guided him onto his stomach to stroke hands along his back and buttocks.

“Gorgeous, delectable man,” she cooed.

Ben could get used to this.

When Rey turned him around again, her hands found his manhood and he groaned.

Her tiny, agile little hands and fingers felt truly divine, whereas his calloused, large paws - as even when hands, they felt like paws- had only felt like damnation itself. She studied it, and his sack beneath it, in curiosity and ecstatic desire.

“So big,” she breathed. “I’ve only seen a few, and from a distance- but it’s so big . I fear I’m not prepared for you, even with as often as you stretched me until now.”

Ben really, really wanted to never get used to this, and to have it all the time. She pressed a kiss into the head and he let out a strangled, pitiful noise. “Rey, my beautiful love. I will lavish you all night long tomorrow. I need to feel you, now, or I will surely perish.”

Rey let out a breathless giggle and the sound engraved itself into his mind for evermore, echoing. She straddled his hips again and moved her hips until he was notched at her entrance.

She was fucking him tonight, and his mind reeled as his hands found her waist. She placed her tiny hands overtop. “All of you is so big , my darling man. I’m in love with those hands already.”

She pressed down and he grunted and seized forward a bit. “Fuck,” he snarled. “Fuck. So much better. So good, Rey. Fuck. Fuck .”

Her face was so awash with pleasure, so painted red, as she sunk down. Her lips parted and her eyes fluttered, half-lidded, hazel orbs planted on his face. Her head tipped back and she let out a sinful, holy sound. “Oh,” she moaned. “Oh, Ben.”

He let out a choked sound as he struggled not to slam her down into his hips; she rested against them soon enough, hands moving towards his chest. “Big, beautiful, burly man,” she breathed.

“You’re an angel,” he said. “An angel impaled on my cock, and desperately so.”

And for hours, she rode him. It took every bit of strength he had- and possibly some magic, though he could never really tell when he was using it- to keep him from exploding into her every second. When she tired, she collapsed, and he held her and thrusted up into her, relishing the feel of her body against his very human body . When he could tell he did not have long left in him, he rolled above her, his hand finding her clit to work her up to another orgasm. She’d had so many already.

As he exploded within her, she exploded onto him, something he had yet to see, and he groaned as she cried out far too loudly. He could not be forced to give a damn about that, though, leaning forward to flick his tongue into her mouth as they came together.

He relaxed on top of her, careful to distribute his weight for her comfort, and did not consider removing himself from her body until she was fast asleep. He dragged himself off, however, and kneeled beside the bed to pray.

“Heavenly Father,” he breathed out loud, simply because he could. “I do not know if your light or your love finds me still. I do not know if I am welcome in your heart any longer, or if I have ever been, in truth. I ask that you know that in whatever way that you allow, you are in my heart always. I am thankful for the love you have sent my way, and I ask that if you do nothing for me, you keep her safe and happy, whatever she might need to be so. If my parents are up there… I hope they are together. If my uncles are up there… Tell Chewie I beg for his forgiveness. I knew not what I did. I do not expect it, but I beg for it nonetheless. And I ask that you bless Maz, a gracious and kind woman, generous and merciful. I ask that you look over the pack that kept me sane through insanity, and you watch over the pups I could not convince the others to keep around. I ask for strength and courage and righteousness, and I ask for you to know that I will strive for them regardless on my own. Amen.”

After that, he recited his more typical nighttime prayers, the words he had long forgotten coming so easily to him once more.

As he lay in bed, he recited a different sort of prayer- the sort taught to him by his witch mother, and not his christian father- to each of his loved ones.

To his mother. May she be resting and at peace at long last. May she be soothed by the fate that Ben and Rey had found and forged with her old friend’s help.

To his father. May he be happy and sober at long last. May he know that Ben never intended to harm him. May he know that the memory seared Ben’s heart, and that the grief had overtaken the bitter rage that had led him to such an act. May he forgive Ben for not being able, at yet, to forgive Han for leaving.

To his godfather. May he be reunited with his friend now, and may he be reunited with his wife one day. He would never ask for his forgiveness, whether he’d been himself or not.

To his uncle Luke… he had no words to give, so he did not give any, just a passing, bitter thought.

And to Rey. May she forever feel the happiness she seemed to feel with him. May she never regret the ‘terrible mistake’ that Maz believed they made. May she find that Ben could give her any and everything her beautiful, kind heart may so desire.

As he called magically out to her, she rolled into him in her sleep, humming contently. He held her tightly and drifted to sleep. Since he’d found Rey, the wolf had been at peace. But for the first time in nearly a lifetime, Ben felt happiness in a way that no wolf could dream of.

He dreamt of his parents, and of Chewie, and the fates they had found. When he woke, he could not remember them… Instead, he woke to the sight of Rey’s hand brushing reverently along his thighs, up his stomach, over his heart.

“What sweet joy you bring me, my love,” he said softly, his voice deep and groggy from sleep.

She looked up at him with a kind smile and loving eyes. “And you, me, Ben.”

And then, lavish her he did. For as long as the moon was waxing.

But the full moon came sooner than they’d have liked, and Maz left them in the solitude of the house that had once been Ben’s, everything magically enchanted to be protected should the plan not work, and the monsters found their way inside.

As the sun began to set, Ben and Rey made their way to the cursed prison he had spent too long in. They curled into one another, bare to protect the clothing, and waited.

Horrible, searing, God-forsaken agony. Physical, visceral, excruciating pain. But it was nothing compared to the sight of Rey in the same pain.

“What have I done to you?” He said, in the final moments when he could manage words. They were dark and demonic, hellish and gravelly.

“You have made- me whole,” she said, her voice all the same. Not quite so deep, though.

The monsters ravaged the backyard together, until he grabbed her and bred her violently into the dirt. She snarled and screamed, fighting to keep him pulled against her. He bit her and she scraped her nails into him. Slapping, violent, unloving thrusts, even as his monstrous heart managed to love her still. Not an ounce of pleasure, only the blissful sensation of this is what I am meant to do . In, in, in, in. If his cock ever softened, he took no notice of it.

All night. All day. Destruction and then violent, instinctive breeding, until he flooded her with his essence- the essence of hell itself. His unthinking mind could not make sense of it. His near unfeeling heart could not wish to. His body simply moved.

Then, another transformation. Physical, wretched, but more exhausted than panicked.

And they were wolves once more.

Her fur was ruddy and brown, and tawny, and streaked with red. He nuzzled into her, licking her, ensuring she was alright. The bite wounds were closed, just like his scratches were, though they’d been bloodied and half infected when they started their transformation.

Are you alright? Her voice found his mind.

Yes. Are you?

Yes, my love.

They hunted. She was no good, but she’d never done it before. She was wobbly and awkward on her feet. Still, they caught and killed enough food for them and ate the bloodied carcass. He could feel her mind reeling, the disgust at the fact that she was not wholly repulsed by her actions.

He knew. He’d been there. She’d adjust.

He tried to mount her, but she was not in heat. Instinctively, she snapped and snarled at him, then whimpered and nuzzled into him. And for the waning period, they simply found solace in the peaceful life of being a wolf- a wolf with food, a wolf with a mate, a wolf with love. All they needed, all they desired.

Maz returned when they were wraiths once more. When they were humans, Ben went into town to find work until he had enough money to take them and their scarce things up north- largely, whatever Ben had in his room, and what Maz was gracious enough to offer of Leia’s. She even gave him a token of Han and Chewie, but he gently refused the one of Luke. He pretended Rey didn’t take it, anyway, should he regret leaving it later in life.

Monsters again. Vicious, near hateful breeding.

Wolves again. The mated pair, moving faster as wolves, returned to the den-

And found it empty. They did not return.

Kylo felt as if he knew why. They had seen Rey and knew, somehow- perhaps through divinity, perhaps through his mother’s angelic magic, and perhaps through animalistic intuition that Kylo had learned was far stronger than he’d have imagined- that their alpha would find his peace with her, and that the mates’ meeting would mark the beginning of the end for his place with them. Maybe Kuruk had gifted her pups to them as a parting gift.

They lingered, sorrowful, as wraiths, in the den they had called home together for a year. As humans, they returned to Maz and the money waiting to take them to Rey’s friends. They bought land and built a house, and as humans, they worked on Poe’s ranch together.

The first pregnancy was two monsters. They found a safe place for each of them, fearing what might happen if they found each other, and made vows to watch over them unless death managed to find them… And they did.

The second pregnancy was seven pups, all mostly black, each speckled quite oddly with all of the colors in Rey’s coat. Their eyes were brown in the center, like his, but they were the same hazel as Rey’s around the edges. They served as protectors of Poe’s animals, his land, and they adored each animal within too much to let anything harm them.

The third pregnancy was a wraith. It lingered in the barn like a ghost, and the horses and cows quickly grew accustomed to it.

The fourth pregnancy was a human girl.

Ben held her in his arms, stroking her black hair, and wept. Rey, exhausted and being seen to by Rose, a midwife, looked over in tired, beautiful joy. He held their daughter close to her, so that she may, too, look upon the small, divine angel he cradled in his arms.

“She looks like you,” they said together, and they laughed together, too. Katherine, they named her, and they called her Kit or Kittie.

The fifth pregnancy was a human boy. He, too, had black hair and a face that so resembled both of his parents. They named him Benji.

Two more pregnancies, each a single wraith. One made a home in Finn and Jannah’s house, the other in Ari and Rose’s.

One more litter of pups. They protected all four houses, prowling the streets and the nearby woods.

One litter of monsters- three of them- each with a place found. The others had found and invited mates. Ben and Rey were confident this litter would, too.

Another litter of pups, a litter that split up to become the pets of all four households.

No more human children. The thought of watching them age and die was more painful than the others. Kit and Benji were enough for Ben and Rey.

It ached to see their friends grow old, their children grow old. The ranch and its surrounding houses kept to themselves, and Ben and Rey were the constant companions of the descendants of their friends. They watched their own line grow, kept in contact with those that left their sanctuary. The forest filled with wraiths over time, and they had to start looking for mates for their monsters immediately, finding there were far more than either would have ever imagined already existing in the world, always breeding and making more of themselves as soon as they found a mate- which did not seem often.

The world changed around them. The faces and those they called dear changed.

Ben and Rey did not. They grew, perhaps, but they never changed. Ever happy. Ever flourishing. Ever in love.

Eternally.