As I lay on the ground, my heart pounds in my chest, and I quickly push myself up with trembling hands. My legs flail awkwardly beneath me, desperate to find their footing on the loose dirt. I feel the urgency in every muscle, scrambling to my feet with clumsy haste, my knees nearly buckling in the process. The world tilts for a moment as I finally stand upright, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I glance around, ready to move at a moment's notice.
The darkness is more sinister now, with other threats out there. What if another alpha catches me? Will they be as swayed by my words as the beta was? Or will my fantasy quickly dissolve into a nightmare?
Wade’s caw sounds close, and it takes everything in me not to launch myself in his direction. Because not only does he represent every desire I’ve shoved down over the years, but he’s also a sort of safety from being out in this maze alone. The urge to run evaporates, and I hold my ground as I sense him getting closer.
Chapter
Four
“Bunny,”Ozwald sing-songs through the stalks, and I shiver with pleasure at his voice. He’s so close.
I move silently in front of him, slipping down a new path. Moving only to prolong the anticipation. I come to a full stop as a shadowy figure detaches from the end of the new path. Pure black on black, the shiny feathers on his mask catching the light of the full moon. Wade. I pretend to retreat, and he chuckles low.
“You didn’t run far, Sugar,” he says. “Not that you had much of a chance of getting away. Not with your perfume infused in my lungs. My grandma would be scandalized at the thoughts running through my head because you smell just like her homemade cinnamon rolls. I’ve never wanted to knot her pastries before, though…”
My inner thighs grow damp, and my stomach quivers.Yes, please.Is it too early to beg? Probably.
Inhaling deeply, I take tiny steps back, growing the distance between us because he hasn’t advanced further. I can feel his eyes devouring me. And I know that even without the mask, I wouldn't be able to see their color properly in the dark. But I easily conjure them in my imagination. Steady and intense violeteyes—that have a ring of yellow around his irises that makes it hard not to stare when bringing him files.
“Mmmm,” he purrs, “I’ll let you run again. It can be our little secret.”
A shaky exhale falls from my lips as I debate doing so. When I don’t turn and run, he takes slow, measured steps toward me. His musk brushes against my senses first, and my whole body lights up. The undertones of maple wood are still there, but the pure syrup makes my mouth water and my nipples harden.
“You’re dirty,” he says quietly as his gaze slips down my body. “Are you a clumsy bunny, Sugar?”
My tongue darts out to moisten my lips, but it doesn’t help much because my whole mouth is dry. He tilts his head, looking very much like an inquisitive crow waiting for my answer.
“Another hunter caught me.”
His nostrils flare, and he closes the space, gripping my chin and dipping his head to my neck to inhale. “Beta,” he says, his fingers tightening before he lifts his head and stares down at me. “But you’re smart and got away. I like that.”
Warmth spreads through my body, the opposite of goosebumps, as his thumb absently runs along my jawline.
“Are you shy, Sugar?” he asks, his tone dipping low. An involuntary shiver runs down my spine, and he chuckles. “That’s okay. We’ll have you moaning our names before the night’s through.”
“With masks,” I remind him.
He grins. “With masks, Sugar, as promised.”
I love the way the nickname rolls off his tongue, sounding like a caress each time. Sure, he doesn’t know my name and really doesn’t have many options, but I could become addicted to that.
“Bunny,” Ozwald calls out again.
Wade freezes and watches over my shoulder for his pack mate to appear, but he doesn’t call out to tell him where we are. His gaze dips down to me again, and he tilts my chin up. “I caught you this time, and I get the first kiss.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to pull away before he presses his lips to mine. They are soft and warm as he moves them against mine. Then he dips his tongue along the seam of mine, asking—no demanding—entry. I open beneath him like a flower blooming for the moon, and he growls with pleasure as he tastes me for the first time.
I’m lost to the sensations he’s awakening inside of me. How long has it been since I’ve kissed a guy? Was it this good last time? The short answers; too long, and I might be ruined for the rest of my life.
He nips at my lower lip as he breaks off the kiss, leaving me wanton and needy. I’m nowhere near a heat, but holy shit, does this alpha make me feel like I’m on the verge of one.
“Sampling the catch before we’ve arrived?” Ozwald says. He sounds like he’s just walked out of the boardroom, and when Wade spins me around to face him, it’s a pure shock to my system to see him still looking like more of an animal than a lawyer.
“She’s sweet,” Wade replies, his nose trailing over the side of my neck while his hands loosely hold me around the waist. He knows I’m done running. And his inner beast is satisfied with my surrender.
I have a feeling Ozwald’s inner beast will not be as placated. An almost crazy light shines from his eyes as he advances. His pale blue eyes are the only light thing about him. Intensity seeps off of him; I can smell it in his pheromones. “I heard you scream earlier, Bunny. Did you almost fall into another trap?”
“A beta,” Wade growls for me.
