My jaw dropped, and I felt,Awe, Emma.
“Wait. Did you hear that?” I could tell by the volume of her voice she was coming over to the windowsill. Shit! Did I say that loud enough for her to feel it? Well, that's new and frustrating for me. I needed to get out of here before they found me.
I slowly crept my way around to the side of her house as I heard feet shuffling, hoping that I was fast enough to get away because I did not want to get caught spying on their girl time together. Emma would roast me over a fire.
“I thought I heard something…,” I turned the corner just as I heard her open the window further to look outside.
I knew this was my moment to disappear unseen, and I snuck away, going deeper into the forest to cover myself, but I kept thinking about what she said. How she thought she was too broken to have a mate. I hated that fake cheery voice that she gave, it made me grind my teeth and want to hit something.
How could she not feel it? How could she not see how she makes us all come alive? How she made me feel whole and not broken? How she could hear me as no other person had been able to do. My memory suddenly flashed back to us in the gym and her expression when I ran away. Confused, disappointed, and yet, understanding, like she expected that kind of reaction.
After what I just heard her say, that brought on a new layer of shame to my reaction. My wolf scratched at my chest, letting me know that he was sad we hurt his mate. That he never wanted to do that. He was pushing me to go back, scoop her up into our arms, and nuzzle her until she forgave us.
My hand rubbed at my chest, trying to ease the throb underneath. I needed to show her that not only did her voice call to me, it called to my wolf. I needed to convince her that she was capable of calling a mate to her.
An idea started to take root, and I smiled. Yes. I knew what I needed to do. I just needed to wait until the pack run and show her how much she affected my wolf and me.
The whole crew gathered around our house. Gears, Dino, Duce, Rabid, and I were all on the porch, waiting for Rabid to do his leader thing before we all shifted. I caught sight of Celine in the crowd with Emma, and I called for her.
Temptress, come up here. We don’t want you to be surrounded by shifting wolves without protection.
She looked up at me and nodded as she smiled. She whispered to Emma, who rolled her eyes but motioned for her to go. As she weaved through the crowd, I couldn't help but be in awe of her stunning beauty in the sunset. She had a warm glow to her skin. Her blonde hair sparkled even as it was getting dark, being a beacon of light for my eyes. Her ocean-blue eyes tracked the people around her, but as soon as they collided with mine, I was struck stiff by the sheer magnitude.
When her small smirk graced her lips, I couldn't help but feel like she was crazy to think that she couldn't find a mate. That someone wouldn't want to fall down at her feet, begging for any scraps of love she had to give.
She worked her way up the steps, and I had to make a conscious effort to keep my arms at my side. I looked around and saw that I wasn't the only one. Gears, who usually scanned the group, had his eyes glued to her, watching her every movement. Dino was stealing glances as he scowled out to the side, and Duce had already taken a step towards her, putting his hand out to help her up the last step. The only one who wasn't looking at her was Rabid, but it was obvious to me from his clenched hands and tight jaw that he was desperately trying to not look at her.
I heard the porch creak as Rabid took a step forward, and his booming voice called out, “Is everyone here?” There was a resounding yes from the crowd, and he smiled. “I think everyone knows the rules: no running out of boundaries, no all-out brawls, and no kills. This is not only the opportunity for all of us to become further in tune with our wolves but also to bond as a pack."
Everyone nodded, used to hearing this from him. "This pack run, we have a guest with us,” he turned towards Celine, who stood up straight and smiled out to everyone. “Once we all shift, I am going to have you all sniff her before the run, so your wolf knows that she is not a danger to you and our pack." He nodded to Celine, and she gave him a thumbs-up. There were a few chuckles from the crowd as I noticed he worked hard not to give in to his own.
Rabid will stand next to you as each wolf comes up to sniff you.
Celine nodded in acknowledgment but whispered out the side of her mouth, "What if his wolf doesn't like me?"
I smiled and shook my head as I faced her like I would if I was actually talking to her.He hardly ever shifts. His wolf is volatile, unstable. Whatever happened when he was a kid broke something in his wolf, and now whenever he lets his wolf out, he freaks out and kills someone. Then shifts back to let Rabid deal with the mess. It's one of the reasons he had such rigid militant control over his wolf. He was so scared to hurt someone again that he kept himself in check, on a tight leash.
Celine looked at Rabid talking to some of the older members, joking with a few of them, and she frowned as she said under her breath, “That's unfair. It's not his fault.”
Something about how she said that hit me funny, and I tried to ask her about it.What do you mean-
“The moon is rising, so it's time!” Rabid growled out, and a few of the prospects howled in the air. Rabid then turned to Celine and put his hand out. “Stand next to me so that we give them all room to shift.”
Celine turned and put her hand on my bicep, squeezing it lightly as she whispered just to me, “Can’t wait to see your wolf, Mountain Man.” My heart did a flip in my chest, and I could feel my wolf busting at the seams, wanting to strut in front of his mate and show her his fine silvery fur.
As soon as Celine was secure next to Rabid, he let out a loud howl, signaling our time to shift. I felt the magic of my wolf take over, gently putting me into the backseat as my body started to shift. Bones started to break and shape as fur grew from each follicle, I could feel it all, but the magic from my wolf made it so it was painless.
As soon as my wolf was in full control, he bobbed and weaved his way over to Celine. My wolf looked up at her as her eyes widened, and then as she scanned the whole crowd. “Wow.” I heard her breathe out in astonishment, and my wolf couldn’t hold back any longer. He immediately licked at her fingers, and she let out a small gasp as she looked at me. “Oh, my… is that Bricks?” She crouched down and gently ran her fingers through my fur. Oh man, that felt good. So good, in fact, that my wolf pushed into her hand harder, practically begging her to do it more. She giggled as she sunk both her hands in and nuzzled my neck. “Your fur is so soft.”
I could feel my tongue loll out, my wolf enjoying all of this attention from his mate, when he looked up at Rabid, who was frowning at us. “We need others to get her scent, Bricks.” When I didn't make any move to leave, he slammed me with, “It's for her safety.” My wolf immediately stiffened with her arms still around me, exploring, and whined as we backed away.
“Awe, I think you made him sad.” She turned to look up at Rabid, who was looking at the sky in a please-help-me kind of way.
As soon as I was out of the way, a light brown wolf shot forward and tackled Celine. She landed on her back with a “whoomph.” My wolf was about to go into full kill mode until it saw it was Duce licking Celine’s face all over. She was laughing as she batted him away. “Eww, gross, Duce!” She started to shove him away, and he playfully nipped at her hands until she sat up, fists on her hips as she scolded him. “Hey! No bitey bitey. That's for the bedroom only!” That made his wolf move forward again, and, this time, Rabid grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him off her.
“That's enough of that.”
Celine turned towards the all-black wolf that was behind her, sniffing at her lightly before sitting down and watching her. When she went to pet him, he snapped at her, and she scrunched her face up. “Oh! This one has to be Dino. Well then, fine. I bet your fur isn't soft anyways.”
