What the hell is happening?Rocking back on my heels, I rub a hand down my face to confuse the scent of her with my own skin. Anything to make the pulsing in my body end.
“Why are you on our land?”
Her foot drags behind her in her feeble attempt to escape, but she’s too obvious to not notice. My head tips towards her feet, brows lifting to silently ask,You’re really going to try?
She darts off, in the direction of the road most often used by humans heading into town. Once she’s about a dozen feet away—and obviously believing herself safe—she spins around and throws both palms into the air.
Water out of seemingly nowhere splashes my face, drenching my clothes from head to toe before she launches herself deeper into the woods.
Charming.Though probably not the most effective spell because I’m still able to give chase.
Letting her go would be stupid because she could be my path to Carina Hargrove. But as she continues running, it’s not kidnapping my body is attuning to, but a different kind of hunger. A darker, more depraved one, driven by the ache in my gums begging me to bite down on her neck, hold her in place, and fuck her into the ground until she understands why little witches don’t travel outside the safety of coven lines.
Catch her.
Keep her.
Keep her? My wolf is fucked in the head.
And yet…I obey the urge. Not to keep her, of course, but to stop her. To beg her to remove whatever she’s so clearly cursed me with that’s making this unbearable and uncontrollable feeling direct my thoughts.
My longer legs eat up all the distance she’s managed in the course of my inner torment, until I’m passing her entirely, hands lifting to block her advance. She slams to a stop and nearly rams into me. Her breaths are heavy and her head roves, seeking another escape route.
“I won’t hurt you, I swear. Don’t attack.”
A rumble twists my stomach. Thethoughtof harming her feels wrong. It shouldn’t, given her species, but fuck if my partial lies from earlier are now the complete truth.
Holding her breath, she stares at me warily before, slowly, her arms drop to her side. Her lips part and my senses tune every other scent of the forest out, all to hear her voice when she gives me her name.
“The splash was nothing. Take a step closer, I’ll impale you on a tree branch. Don’t test me, wolf.”
Exceptshe’stestingmewith that threat, which annihilates my primal side. The side that desires fighting for dominance and showing the witch why testing me is a mistake.
Hands still up, I say, “I only want answers.”
She chews on the inside of her cheek, considering how much to believe. “Coven didn’t send me. No one knows I’m here. This is all on me.”
“You understand the accords, right?” Although I have complete justification to hold her accountable, if she’s new to the coven, I could allow it to pass. It’ll be Morgan’s fault for not explaining the boundaries.
She rolls her eyes, making me think her fear from earlier was a performance. Even her shoulders are no longer caved in, and her breathing is smoother—relaxed. She meets my gaze head-on, challenging the Alpha inside me that demands dominance from everyone.
“Believe me, I know the rules all too well. I simply choose not to follow them.”
Clearly.
“Look,” she utters after another few seconds, “I’m sorry. I’ll go now, if you promise not to say anything to anyone. I was curious, no other reason.”
Taking my silence as agreement, she moves to step aside, practically tripping in her rush to escape, but I block her with a single step that places me closer to her than earlier. Close enough, the heat from her body radiates, making me want to feel it for myself.
“Curious about what?”
Pink flushes her cheeks, guaranteeing Ihaveto know. “Nothing.”
Another step from her and another block by me.
“Tell me and I’ll let you go.”
Another second of consideration before she huffs in exasperation. “You, okay? I’m curious about shifters.”
