I shifted and in seconds I was covered in fur and on four legs. We had to find him because I’d hurt him and he was the last person on earth that I wanted to wound.
My wolf put his nose to the ground and followed his trail deeper into the woods. Zale’s beast’s pawprints were erratic, like he was running blind and not paying attention to where he was going because he was running away from me.
The snow crunched under my wolf’s paws. Branches whipped past. And my beast launched himself over a log as Zale’s scent became fresher. We were closing in on his wolf.
A long mournful howl broke the silence and my wolf responded with a plea before bounding through the trees after Zale’s beast.
TEN
ZALE
My wolf wanted to run forever and forget about what we’d left behind.
But we’d picked up Hawthorn’s scent. He’d shifted and was coming after us. My beast said that was a good sign, him following us through the snowy woods, but I wondered if he wasn’t coming to fire my ass.
I couldn’t work with him anymore and with little other available work in Ridgedale, I’d be moving on and out of his life. That was what he wanted and I’d give him exactly that, though I needed to tell him how much he’d hurt me before I got the next bus out of town.
I’d never seen Hawthorn’s wolf but as he was an alpha, his beast was probably bigger and faster than mine. Maybe we should stop and wait for him. He could shift and give me a tongue-lashing and it’d be over.
My wolf wanted to slow down, convinced my boss regretted his outburst. And maybe he was but I wasn’t ready to forgive him, if ever.
No, I decided we have to keep going through the trees and deeper into the woods. Make him prove he could scent and track me before he said what he’d come to say.
His wolf thundered behind us. I caught a glimpse of him as my beast leaped over a stream. I was right in thinking his wolf was huge but he wasn’t powering over the snow. Nope he was letting my beast set the pace.
We darted left around a massive pine and the other wolf did the same. After sailing over fallen logs, he followed, closer than before but not overtaking me.
I experienced a snippet of the cold air that rushed past my beast but his thick fur was designed to withstand this weather. He thrived on it and maybe if I’d shifted more often since we’d arrived in town, I wouldn’t have slept with Hawthorn or I’d have told him I wanted more than a casual relationship.
I instructed my beast to circle back to where we’d originally shifted because when I took my skin, I wanted to get dressed and not have my dick contracting in the cold while Hawthorn looked on.
He was closer now and that pull I experienced whenever he was near was stronger now we were in our fur. I couldn’t cry inside my wolf but the emotions were similar. I wanted to thump Hawthorn’s chest and tell him what an ass he was and how much I cared for him.
My beast pushed me to say it but I pretended to not know whatitwas, so he slowed down when we reached the clearing near where I’d disrobed. Hawthorn’s beast padded over the snow toward me. My wolf was gleeful at meeting his counterpart but I sulked, wanting nothing to do with my boss or his wolf.
The huge wolf walked up to my beast. He paused and his tail wagged. I told my wolf to ignore him but he was excited at meeting Hawthorn’s beast. The wolf came right up to us andpressed his nose against my wolf’s. But I was determined to not signal I’d forgiven him.
The wolf nuzzling and now licking us had my heart constricting. My wolf was begging me to acknowledge what he’d sensed since the moment we met but I was pouting and refusing to agree to anything.
Hawthorn’s beast pressed himself onto our side and I told my wolf to ignore it. The other wolf knocked my shoulder and we tumbled through the snow, wrestling and nipping. His teeth grazed my scruff, and my wolf twisted and got his jaws around his front leg, applying gentle pressure.
Our wolves rolled apart and faced each other, both panting clouds of steam in the cold air. He took off running again. This time I chased him through the trees as snow flew under our paws. He led us to a small stream that was half-frozen. A deer had been here recently. I could smell it.
We ran together and moved in sync without needing to communicate. When I flushed a rabbit from the underbrush, he was already there to cut off its escape. We didn't bother to catch it but the hunt was enough. Working together, anticipating each other's movements just as we'd learned to move around each other in the bakery.
Our beasts paused at the base of a huge oak tree. Both of us were panting, with our tongues hanging out. For the first time in days, I felt whole.
My wolf had shown me something I'd been too scared to see. Hawthorn and I fit together and always had.
His beast did something that made my heart clench. He lowered his head and exposed his throat. He was submitting to me, an omega. Alphas didn't ever do that. He moved closer and his scent changed. It was still wild, but now it was laced with heat. My own scent sharpened with arousal. It wasn’t the playful energy from before. This was primal.
Instinct prodded me.
He was my mate.
This wasn’t just want or attraction. It was a bone-deep certainty that he was mine and I was his and we were meant to be together. That every moment since I'd walked into his bakery had been leading to this. My wolf had known. His wolf had too. They'd been trying to tell us all along.
Hawthorn's wolf pressed his forehead against mine. His growl vibrated through both of us. I sensed what he was feeling. Not through words but through the connection thrumming between us.
