"Please forgive me, Killian," I pleaded in barely a whisper.
His head dipped, and his lips brushed mine, hesitant at first. A low growl rumbled from his chest as my hands slid around his neck, pulling him closer. Then, our mouths collided in a rush of heat and desperation.
Our kiss wasn’t romantic, and it certainly wasn’t sweet like I had grown accustomed to from him. It was punishing. He devoured me, letting all his anger and frustration pour into the bruising kiss. My hands snaked under his shirt, trying to avoid his bandaged, mostly healed wounds. I needed to feel his skin against mine, to be close to him again.
As my fingertips brushed his hip, sliding up along his stomach, he froze. He growled again, this time in warning, and I looked at him, confused. Within a split second, he flipped me onto my stomach. My hands shot out to brace myself, but he pressed me down, flat into the leaves and dirt.
“No touching,” he said, the rough words edged with another warning growl.
I could feel his hardness straining against my ass, and I ground against him, trying to convince him to act. I knew he was at war with his pride and his instincts, the same way I often found myself.
Killian groaned as my ass ground against his knot, and his hands frantically worked to pull my damp pants down. Cold air chilled my exposed skin, but soon the warmth of his body blanketed mine. I could feel his velvet length nestled between my cheeks, aching to slip inside my core.
Before I could stop myself, a desperate plea left my lips, half moaned with need.
"I missed you. Please, Killian," I begged, my lips muffled by the forest floor.
And just as I expected to feel his thickness enter me, he was gone. His weight, his warmth, and his intoxicating oakmoss scent, all retreated as he regained his senses and pulled away, fleeing from me as if I were something toxic. He fastened his fatigues, looking down with a mix of fear and longing that quickly hardened back into anger.
Then he turned and walked away.
I watched as he hurried away from me, not looking back, desperate to put distance between us. Within me, something broke as I lay there, discarded and rejected. The pain stabbed so deeply, it hurt to breathe. Somewhere far in the distance, Talon's wolf howled, noting my sorrow through our bond.
Where are you? What happened? Are you okay, Rowan!? Answer me.His frantic and concerned words slipped through my mind.
There was no way that Killian couldn't feel my pain through the packmate-bond, but he still didn't turn.
As his silhouette grew further from me, I collected myself, dressing and brushing the forest debris from my clothes. I was about to respond to Talon and make my way towards the rest of them when I noticed something moving near Killian.
He was almost out of sight, so I focused my eyes, peering into the darkness. I touched my wolf again, calling to her to help guide my senses, and suddenly the world sharpened. Two enormous creatures stalked Killian, following behind him, slinking in theshadows downwind to conceal their scent. They moved from tree to tree with stealth.
Direworgs.
Without needing to call to her or force it, the shift came on its own, sudden and instinctive. It didn’t happen through conscious effort, but as naturally as breathing or blinking, as effortlessly as my heart beating.
A searing pain tore through me, but it lasted only a moment before giving way to something else. It was as if the wolf had been waiting for the right moment. She had refused to surface before, but now she sensed the genuine danger, the imminent need, and that Killian was in trouble.
Someone I cared about needed me.
Even if he had just rejected me.
My body distorted and reshaped, bones breaking and muscles twisting, every nerve alive with pain. Finally, my wolf surged forward, powerful and certain.
Chapter 10: Killian
FUCK!
What did I just do?
Crane's pain was sharp.
Stabbing.
I had done that.
I had wounded her.
She kept reaching for me.
