She’s not mine.Logic battles with the shifter, entangled within the mortal mind of this form, and every reason why thenîkâkîstiswill remain incomplete. Even the fact Carina’s never once mentioned him, which means he’s probably family rather than a mate, doesn’t quell the instincts.
“Stay here. Watch her. Come find me when she’s done.”
Spinning on my heel in the grass, I flee towards the north side of Carina’s property, into the patch of trees. My body morphs, limbs stretching and ripping my pants and shirt, but I don’t give two fucks when the scraps of cloth are abandoned on the ground. I launch myself deeper into the woods, until reaching a distance that’ll ensure I don’t kill someone.
Fate couldn’t findanyoneelse to be mynîkâkîstis? Anyone at fucking all?
Time fades and I run, circling the town a few times while she says her goodbyes. My wolf is pleased to be free, while the man is thrilled this trip will end without bloodshed from either side.
It doesn’t take long before my senses are startled to source her again, sensing the instance she enters the forest with Conan and Xander beside her.
Her knuckles are white, gripped around the straps of her backpack as she stares at me approaching. Her purple eyes are as large as the threat on my life she’s become. Her scent iswhat destroys me. The sweet trace I’ve come to both adore and despise in the past day is overlaid withhim, when she should only ever smell like me.
I jog to her side and press myself into her thighs. The others make themselves conveniently busy as my form twines against hers, replacing his scent with my own. She giggles, her tone light and so fuckinghappy, and strikingly different from any interaction with her so far.
If she knew the wolf is scent-marking her in the most subtle way he can, she wouldn’t be laughing.
“Someone’s friendly.”
Conan and Xander eventually wander around a tree to shift, and once they’re gone and her scent is more like me again, I lower onto my haunches for her to climb on. She settles into the dip between my shoulders, and her little nails dig into my skin as she leans down and we begin the journey home.
The sun is settingover the trees by the time we arrive. Most of the pack is gathered in the camp’s centre around the fire for supper, which gives our arrival an audience. No one speaks as I walk her straight to my cabin, where she gets off me and heads for the chairs while I shift and pull on clean shorts from the chest.
“Who’s the male?” The words rumble out before I can stop them; the topic pressed on my mind during the trip. Being in wolf form didn’t help since he alternated between wanting her home and safe, and wanting to return for him.
“The…” Her nose wrinkles. “Oh, you mean, Jasper? He’s my cousin.”
Cousin.I relive all the touches—none of them intimate—the things he said to her—clearly someone who cares. Cousin, not mate.
Better.
Carina, not realizing she saved his life, drops into one of the chairs and begins rooting through her backpack. The simple confidence that this cabin is temporarily hers has my chest feeling something I refuse to name. After all, it was designed for her, with a mate in mind.Her.
But nothereither.
No, I need to get her far away from me, to make releasing her in a few days easier.
“Here.” She stretches a hand my way, two glass vials in her grip. “Have your dad drink one for pain. Should work right away. Save the other for a few days from now or when he needs the reprieve.”
My fingers brush hers as I take them. She’s warmer than the air should call for; all the emotions of her day built up in a small form. Grateful, I tuck them close for safekeeping. “Thank you. I mean it, Carina. Thank you for this.”
“Can I stay here?” she asks, knotting her hands into the fabric of my sweater—using something of mine to ease her anxiety. “Today’s been a lot and being stared at out there isn’t… Please don’t make me.”
The hopelessness in her tone, the sound of a captive pleading for safety, has me dying inside a bit.
It’d be best if she stayed inside, not only tonight, but all week. If the others are never around her, there will be no need to worry about anyone. And here, it’ll make avoiding easier.
“Sure. I’ll bring you some food shortly.”
“It’s fine, I’m not hungry.” She smiles sheepishly, except it barely reaches those lavender eyes of hers. “Just tired.”
Listening to her grumbling stomach all night isn’t something I’ll stand for, so no matter what she claims, I’ll return with food. But with a nod of my head, I acknowledge her and take off outside before either of us comes up with a reason to continue talking.
Outside, the air smells better. Clearer. Not like her.
Xander’s cabin is closest to mine, and he joins me in fresh clothes. “Since you’re not having to watch her every second of the day, did you want me to make space for her somewhere else?”
I should. Ireallyfucking should. Now that she won’t take off, and she’s staying willingly, I can lock her away so when the time comes to hand her over, my wolf won’t destroy my insides for endangering ournîkâkîstis.
