Right now, with the two of us lying together quietly, I rarely thought about mating. But each time Lachlan and I had sex, I had to fight my urge to bite him. To mark him as mine.
As we spent more time together, the instinct would only grow stronger until I would either have to mate with him or leave him forever. Even without the mating mark, I sensed that I would pine for him until I withered away into nothing.
When the second movie ended, I saw that it was nearly eleven-thirty. Tonight was cloudy again, which meant the woods would be almost completely dark. It would take us at least twenty minutes to walk to the clearing without the moon to light the way. Probably longer.
I rolled over Lachlan, getting to my feet and stretching my arms over my head. He watched me from his position on the couch, his eyes warm as they moved over me.
Deliberately, I moved into the line of the camera lens and stripped my shirt over my head, making sure to hold it in my left hand. I would need it later. “I have an idea,” I said, trailing my finger over the waistband of my jeans. “Let’s go for a walk. It’s a beautiful night.”
Lachlan understood what I was doing immediately. He growled playfully. “Maybe I don’t want to go for a walk. Maybe I want to fuck you right here.”
My mind working quickly, I taunted, “If you want to fuck me, you have to catch me first.”
Turning on my heel, I darted out the front door and around the house toward the tree line. I heard Lach’s heavy steps behind me. I made sure that I didn’t stop until I was hidden in the trees. As I waited for Lachlan to join me, I pulled my shirt on and sniffed the air. Someone had been here recently. Maybe a few hours ago, but their scent had faded too much for me to recognize it easily.
When Lachlan appeared beside me, I knew he smelled it too.
“Someone was here,” I whispered. “Do you recognize the scent?”
He shook his head. “Whoever it was has been gone for hours.”
“We should check the perimeter, make sure there’s no one here now.”
Quickly, we circled the house, finding signs that someone had been in the woods, just far enough away that we wouldn’t notice them, but they were gone now.
A chill crept down my spine, even though the night was warm. I’d been here for days now, and no one had bothered with me except Darrell. Now we were being watched via cameras and by other wolves. Whatever they were planning would happen soon.
Lachlan and I met up where we started and headed deeper into the forest. I let Lachlan take the lead since his sense of smell was better than mine. I focused on making my steps silent in the darkness, keeping my head up so I could sniff the air and my eyes moving constantly along the shadows.
A short while later, we approached the meeting place. Lachlan stopped abruptly, still hidden by the darkness and underbrush. That was when I smelled it.
Blood.
I craned my neck, looking around Lachlan’s shoulder toward the clearing. It was empty.
Lachlan turned toward me, putting his mouth directly against my ear. When he spoke it was barely audible. “I want you to follow right behind me. Step where I step and stop when I stop.”
I gave a single nod of agreement.
Lachlan turned away from me then, moving slowly and stealthily through the brush and trees, circling the clearing. I put my feet in his footprints and watched him closely in case he stopped.
When he did, I peered around him, my eyes widening when I saw a heap leaning against a tree nearby. In the faint light from the stars, I could see Carter’s bloody face. His body was utterly still.
I swallowed the sound that wanted to escape my throat when he gasped, his chest rising in a deep, ragged breath. His exhale ended in a low sigh.
Lachlan crept closer, still silent, and crouched down next to Carter. The wolf looked up at him, blood covering half his face and his right eye swollen shut.
“What happened?” Lach asked.
“I got caught,” Carter replied, coughing a little. The sound was painful and I winced at the wetness of it. Then he grinned, revealing teeth stained with blood. “But I also got away.”
Lachlan’s fingers went to his neck, checking his pulse.
Carter shoved his hand away. “I’ll survive. I’ve taken worse beatings than this before.”
“You may have internal bleeding,” Lachlan argued.
Carter leveled his good eye at Lach, his stare piercing even in the shadows. “I’m already healing. I’ll live.” He reached behind him and Lachlan and I both tensed. When he revealed a small backpack, our bodies loosened a little. “Here is everything you asked for.”
