“I’ll give you ten.”
His confidence is disgusting.
I throw myself out into the weather, dodging past Hazard, who’s coming inside. My heart thuds with excitement as I get into a sprint, heading in one direction and then turning sharply and changing direction. We played this when I was a child, my mother and I. She said it was good for skill building. I find the creek swollen and flooded and send myself flying over it before running up the other side and pulling myself up into a tree.
I sit, perched there happily until I hear a howl. No way. That cheat. Four other howls echo, and I sit up straighter. My spot might evade one, but not five. I slip from the tree and run up the creek before jumping out and slipping under an overhang.
I hear them get close and move on and check my phone. Almost. But, just then, Wrath appears in front of the overhang, cold water splashing everywhere. He crouches, staring into the overhang with glowing silver eyes.
He looks fae. He sucks his lower lip into his mouth and then lets it go, smiling.
“There you are, beautiful girl. And now you owe me my prize.”
I scowl and crawl out beside him. “All right, what do you want?” I’m cold and wet and annoyed that it didn’t even take them any effort to find me. That hiding spot has hidden me from the Foster Pack a dozen times over the years.
“A kiss.”
I step back, glancing around me like I’ll run. He can’t be serious.
“A kiss?” I whisper.
“If you run, I’ll chase you.” The threat, the danger in his voice, urges me to do just that. I tense. “One kiss.”
I stop. “I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage-“
He presses his finger against my lips. “I want this. I’m asking for it. That’s different. Do you want it?”
If we were back in the house, I probably would have said no and been able to mean it, but out here with the prince of fae staring here with his shifter eyes, his wolf so close to the surface, having found me when no one else has ever been able to-
“I want it.”
I move towards him and wrap my arms around his neck, bringing myself up to his level so that I can press my lips against his. Our kiss starts slow, almost awkwardly, but, in moments, it gains momentum, and I lose myself in the dance, the earthy taste, his hands on my ass.
He’s all the things I want and can’t have.
The world is dipping and diving, falling away and making sense in a way it never has.
His kiss puts every kiss I’ve ever had to shame, leaving all the other men looking like self-absorbed idiots.
His kiss is a mastery of the senses, an art form all of itself.
I want to stay like this forever.
“Wrath!” Khaos barks.
Wrath breaks away from me with a chuckle, licking his lips. My blood heats further at the way he’s staring at me.
I tear my startled stare away and find four pairs of eyes staring at us. Shit. I climb out the opposite side of the bank without looking back at them, trudging back towards the house. The icy water has soaked the bottom of my jeans, a fact I didn’t care about until now.
I stop. The tall trees sway around me, but I’m alone, and right now, I feel it deep in my soul. Wolves aren’t supposed to be alone. Would finding someone to share this life with be that bad?
I think about it all the way back to the cabin and long into the night.
Wrath
She avoids us forthe next three days; if one of us walks into a room, she walks out. She gets up early and disappears into the woods and returns at dusk with whatever she’s hunted. I track her down but keep my distance, following by scent alone. She knows I’m here; I know it, but we’re stuck playing this game.
Why?
