one
LIV
The fadingenergy of the orchard’s dying fruit trees sent a faint but sickly buzz through the air as my feet pounded the dirt again and again.
Our city’s constant rain was only a drizzle, so I didn't bother trying to use my magic to keep it off my skin or out of my hair.The water disappeared before it hit the ground, so I didn't have to dodge puddles, at least.
Jonah was late.
Again.
His tardiness had become a daily problem.
The braid I had my platinum blonde hair tied back in was already soaked, and the sports bra and exercise shorts I wore were equally wet.
I'd started running without him, following our usual five-mile loop through Crescent Orchard. He would catch me, or he wouldn't.
A lot of the time, he did.
Sometimes, he didn't.
It wasn't like the wolves could or would try to remove me from their property for running without him.
I also didn't know anywhere else with a running loop as long and flat as the orchard's, so I wasn't just going to leave because Jonah didn't show. Even if the trees' dying energy irritated me from time to time.
But if he was late because he was fucking the Alpha, I was going to kill him.
Her too, probably.
Hell, maybe I'd just kill all of the werewolves on the property. Wipe out the whole villa. Overrun it with poisonous plants, and watch them slowly strangle every?—
The sound of another pair of feet thudding against dirt had me turning my head, finding Jonah jogging to catch up with me.His legs were so long, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to reach me. It never was.
Always a pinnacle of pettiness, I tapped into the bottomless well of magic that made my life hell, and ran as fast as I could. That well had gotten particularly brutal since I'd discovered that Jonah was my fated mate.
I was basically a living battery. Spring magic was all about growth. Energy. Fresh starts. And I was the queen of spring.
A shitty title to have, really.
An even shittier role to play.
The many cracks, bruises, and blisters in various stages of healing on my feet could attest to that.
I would've given anything just to be a fucking werewolf. I'd challenge Gwen for her throne, kill her, and take my place as Jonah's?—
Fuck it.
I was spiraling again.
When was I not spiraling these days?
Jonah's arm brushed mine as his ridiculously long, muscular thighs propelled him to my side despite my pettiness. My magic was almost bottomless, but that didn't mean my body could move unnaturally fast. I was five feet and three inches of battery, which meant no amount of food could make me thicker or curvier, and he was nearly six and a half feet of muscle.
I jerked my arm away from his on instinct. Knowing he had feelings for Gwen didn't exactly make me want to touch him, fated mate or not.
"Sorry. Meetings went long again." Jonah's expression was neutral, when I glanced over at him. His smooth, dark brown skin glistened with the rain beaded on his skin at random. I didn't watch it roll down the thick, chiseled muscles on his bare abdomen, even though there was no denying that the man was attractive.
He grabbed my arm when I tripped over a branch I hadn't noticed that had fallen in my path.I shook his hand off again.
