“You’re not some helpless damsel. You can do this.”
A distant howl cuts through the night, freezing the blood in my veins. I stop dead in my tracks, ears straining to pinpoint the direction. It came from behind me, far off but clear.
No. No, it can’t be. They’re not looking for me. They don’t care enough to bother.
But what if they are?
The thought sends a fresh surge of adrenaline coursing through my body. I pick up my pace, no longer caring about stealth. My footsteps seem thunderously loud in the quiet forest, but I can’t bring myself to slow down. The need to put distance between myself and that howl overrides everything else.
Branches whip at my face as I push through the undergrowth, leaving stinging scratches in their wake. My lungs burn with each ragged breath.
A heavy weight slams into my back, knocking the air from my lungs. I hit the forest floor hard, leaves and twigs digging into my palms as I scream.
Heart pounding, I scramble to my feet, spinning around wildly.
A massive black wolf stands mere feet away. A familiar ethereal glow surrounds him, casting the nearby trees in an otherworldly light.
My savior.
He pants heavily, sides heaving with each breath. His head tilts to one side, regarding me with a human-like curiosity. There’s no aggression in his stance, just… interest.
“You,”
I whisper, my voice barely audible over the thundering of my own pulse.
The wolf’s ears prick forward at the sound. He takes a step closer, and I instinctively back away. My heel catches on a root, nearly sending me sprawling again.
He pauses, head cocking to the other side now. A low whine escapes him, sounding apologetic.
I swallow hard, trying to steady my breathing.
“Why are you back? I told you to go.”
But, of course, he doesn’t answer.
Time isn’t my friend, so I lay down the ground rules.
“Look. I’m trying to get out of here, okay? You can come with me if you want, but no more skulking around in the shadows. And definitely no pouncing on me anymore. If I sprain my ankle, I’m never getting out of here. Got it?”
Not even a flick of his ears to show acknowledgement.
He has to be a shifter, though. There’s no way some random, glowing wolf just exists on its own in the wild.
“You’re a rogue, right?”
Ear flick.
I guess that’s his way of saying yes.
“Okay. I don’t know why you won’t shift, but that’s not my business. Either help me or stay out of my way. That’s all I’m asking.”
No ear flick, or tail wag, or any change in his body language whatsoever.
Fine. Don’t answer. Two can play the quiet game.
Turning my attention to my mission, I glance around. Which way was I headed?
East, because I need to head east toward the city. But which way is east? Now that I’m all turned around, I’m not sure. The stars peek through branches above, but their patterns mean nothing to me. That definitely is something we covered in training, and would be helpful to know about now.
My feet crunch over dead leaves as I pick a direction that seems right and start walking. The wolf’s massive paw steps behind me pause. A low rumble draws my attention back to him as he winds around me.
He plants himself in my path, blocking the way forward.
“What now?”
His head tilts to the right, ears perked forward.
“That way?”
Another ear flick. Progress.
I change course, following his suggestion. The tension in my shoulders eases as he falls into step beside me. His ethereal glow provides better light than my dying flashlight ever did.
My hand reaches out, brushing over his side. The fur feels softer than I expected, almost silk-like between my fingers. He doesn’t pull away.
His presence keeps the worst of my fears at bay, lulling me into comfort.
“I’m heading to Sterling City,”
I say, breaking the silence after a while.
“It’s the closest human settlement I know of. Should be about east of pack territory.”
Not sure how far east, but I do know it isn’t far-by car. Walking is a different story.
His steady pace never falters.
“I can’t stay with the pack anymore. Humans don’t belong in wolf packs. I was stupid to think otherwise.”
A branch snaps under my boot, but I’m no longer paranoid about making a little noise.
“The thing is, I don’t know the first thing about being human. I lived a normal human life until Alpha took me in, but that was a long time ago. A really long time ago. Haven’t been back since.”
The wolf’s ears swivel toward me, listening.
“I don’t even know how to get a job, or rent an apartment, or-“
My foot catches on an exposed root. The ground rushes up to meet my face, but sharp teeth snag the back of my shirt. The wolf’s quick reaction saves me from eating dirt.
He lets go once I’m back on my feet.
“Thanks.”
Ear swivel again.
See? He’s listening. We’re having a conversation.
It’s shocking how lonely I feel. It hasn’t been that long since I was happy. Only days, really. And yet it feels like months since the last time I could talk to someone comfortably.
I’m not usually this much of a talker. It isn’t like I won’t, but I spent most of my time around Rafe listening.
Well, whatever. The wolf doesn’t seem to mind, and-
“Fenris, why the hell did you bring her here?”
-shit.
My heart plummets to Earth’s core, taking my blood pressure with it. My knees? Traitorous things, they buckle, causing me to stumble three paces, ending in a drunken sway.
Someone grabs my arm with a hand that’s hard and cold as iron, hauling me upright as my feet scramble.
It takes a few seconds, but my brain and body sync back up. My heart starts beating again, even if it is a little too fast and furious, and I curse myself nine ways from Sunday for being so stupid as to trust some random fucking shifter in pack territory.
Of course he brought me back.
Of. Fucking. Course.
Idiot!
As I’m busy berating myself, iron-hand-guy spins me around.
My breath catches in my throat as I stare up at the man towering over me. His scowl is enough to shrivel my soul and every last millimeter of my self-worth, and I know his frosty gray eyes are coming for my dreams.
The nightmare kind.
He’s handsome, too. Because of course he is. All dark and broody and serial killer-esque.
Black tattoos snake up his neck and disappear beneath the collar of his shirt, intricate designs that shouldn’t exist on a shifter’s skin. The patterns seem to shift in the moonlight, as if alive with their own dark energy.
He smells like a walking ad for some expensive cologne. The kind with half-naked guys on TV. Warm, dark, sexy. Nothing like Rafe, who smells like the forest.
This is something else entirely, something I can’t name, though it makes my head spin. Or maybe it’s my bottomed-out blood pressure.
“I asked you a question.”
His voice rolls through me like thunder, deep and commanding. Each word drips with barely contained violence. Also, I’m pretty sure he didn’t ask me anything.
But maybe he did, when I was busy ogling him.
My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. The grip on my arm tightens, and pain shoots through my muscles. It feels like he’s going to pop it right off, no chainsaw necessary.
He steps closer, and I catch more details I wish I hadn’t. A scar cuts through his left eyebrow. He has a scar under his bottom lip, like he used to have a piercing there. Those gray eyes hold secrets darker than the spaces between stars.
Okay, the last part is really just the lower half of my body coming online to whatever strange pheromones he’s putting out.
Everything about him screams danger. Power. Authority. And sex. Lots of sex.
My brain is suddenly inundated with way too many theories on how the man’s chest looks under his shirt, in ways it never did with Rafe.
And then, through the sudden sexual haze that clouds my intellect, it clicks.
The massive black wolf. The ethereal glow. The way he moved through the forest like he owned it.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.