Instinct ruled her. She didn’t understand it, but her body heated, and challenge rose hard and fast inside her. Somehow, sheknewwhat he needed. Whatsheneeded. “Oh. I didn’t realize you wanted to crawl away and lick your wounds.” She broke his hold and moved for the doorway, barely able to breathe.
He was on her before she bent for her boots, flattening her against the door, his body unyielding behind her.
Her nipples hardened to sharp diamonds against the wood, and her knees nearly gave out on her. She tried to swallow again, but her throat had stopped working.
“I know what you’re doing. Stop it,” he growled. “Put on your boots and take your sweet ass home. I’ll deal with you tomorrow.”
She shoved him back with her hips and turned, fumbling for the doorknob. “Deal with me? I don’t think you’re Alpha enough, dog boy.” When his eyes flared in surprise, she took advantage, yanking the heavy oak open to reveal the punishing storm. Then, going all-in and almost instantly regretting it, she pivoted and took out his knee with a precise kick to the side.
He went down onto his other knee.
Then she ran.
Rain splatteredher face and smashed her hair against her skull, but she careened right into the storm, pivoting for the forest. She had seconds to seek shelter. Her socks stuck in the mud, so she lifted her knees high, pumping her arms for all she was worth.
They both needed this. What, she wasn’t completely sure. Hopefully this wasn’t a horrible mistake.
She ran down a trail between trees, their boughs protecting her somewhat from the rain. Then she turned, finding a barely there trail and dodged left, weaving and winding, going on instinct.
Seth’s bellow of her name catapulted through the storm. Her body shivered from head to toe.
She gulped and slowed, taking another turn and becoming more strategic. The entire forest smelled like pine and spruce, hopefully masking her scent. If he wanted her, he’d have to earn her.
The wind pierced the shelter of the boughs, seeping right through her shirt, making her shiver. Yet she persisted. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Quickly, she turned but saw nothing.
Yet she knew he was there.
She kept going, paused, and then stilled. Waited. Breathing quietly.
He stepped out from behind a tree ahead of her, his eyes burning an unholy blue in the night. Rain sluiced over his bare chest, molding his jeans to his muscled legs, his black hair wild in the wind. “What the hell are you doing?”
She wasn’t sure. Not even close. “You want me?”
Slowly, he nodded, heat swelling from him.
“Then you’re gonna have to earn me,” she said, meaning every word. Nobody had ever come close—except this wolf.
“You should reconsider,” he said, his voice gritty.
She took a step back. “Too late.” Much too late. So she turned and ran. Hard and with every ounce of strength she had. She caught sight of him up ahead, again, and slid in the mud to turn.
His laugh rode the wind, arrogant and angry.
She ran harder.
He played with her, forcing her to twist and turn, keeping her running. Finally, she emerged in a small field set against the rocks and pivoted to watch him prowl from the tree line.
He’dherdedher there.
Standing her ground, her legs wobbling from the run as well as fear, she let her teeth show. “That all you got? Wolf?”
The animal danced just beneath his skin. He changed in that moment. Oh, he was still human, and most people wouldn’t have noticed, but he’d bitten her. He’d mated her. She saw the second the wolf took control.
Using her last bit of strength, she swiveled in the rain and ran full-out for the trees.
He caught her around the waist, spinning and throwing them both to the wet earth. He landed on his back, cradling her on top of him, protecting her from injury. Then he rolled them over. “You have lost your mind.”
She bucked and fought, scraping her nails down his arm. “I lost my mind the second I met you,” she snapped, her head ringing, and her body on fire for him.
