She's choosing not to run away. In her wolf form, her defenses aren't as strong as they are when she's able to use her logical mind. In wolf form, our mate bond becomes undeniable, the air between us turning electric without even touching her.
That air is filled with her pheromones, like we're standing in a field of jasmine flowers, prompting me to keep my eyes closed before I blink, only for a moment, only long enough to fill my airways with her addicting scent, my wolf reacting when my fur prickles with attention, heat spreading over my body.
When I open my eyes again, Arianna is still standing there.
“We can't go on like this,”I continue, whimpering and lowering my wolf head to signal my surrender.
“I don't know what you're talking about!”Arianna snaps and wheezes, shaking her furry head before spinning on her back paws and sprinting back toward town.
My wolf won't allow her to escape so suddenly, and I quickly give chase, running after her through the forest. Just as she's about to exit the forest, I leap forward, crashing into her and knocking her to the ground. I tumble with her, the impact sending us rolling toward a tree. My instincts kick in to protect her, so my front arms close around her to shield her from hitting the tree trunk.
My back crashes into it, but it isn't painful. Not when I'm focused on the way she pants in wolf form, our bodies touching so closely, I can't make out where I end or begin.
Everything about this moment feels right, and I'm compelled to shift into human form, my eyes never leaving hers, even when she does the same and shifts.
She's still panting uncontrollably, her lips parted as her chest heaves. To my surprise, she doesn't remove herself from my proximity, staring at me expectantly while she rides out the high of the adrenaline pulsing through her veins because of her sprint.
Because of her hormones, too. It's everywhere, but nowhere near where it needs to be. Riding the wave of my own high, I waste no time when I close the distance between our faces and crush my lips to hers.
As I expected, she pulls away, and I flinch, bracing for another slap. But it doesn't come. Instead, she returns her lips to mine, mewling on the kiss as if she's as relieved as I am.
I slide my hand to the back of her head and pull her closer, deepening the kiss. Every nerve ending heightens with the sensation, the sexual chemistry between us undeniable.
The kiss is hot and passionate, our tongues fighting for dominance as if we're both hungry, desperate, famished for this kiss that's long overdue. A kiss that would have happened earlier if we were alone.
That's the only reason I pull back, her swollen, moist lips forming a pout to protest the break as her brows furrow.
I know what she's thinking, recalling that moment I rejected her as my mate, so I keep my hand on her nape to reassure her that this isn't like the last time.
I'm not the same man I was back then.
Gulping to clear my throat, I stare deeply into her eyes when I ask in a hoarse, breathless voice, “Is Noah asleep?”
Arianna confirms that her son is asleep with a timid nod, her cheeks flushed from the intensity of the kiss we shared. In her eyes, I can see a million thoughts flashing through her mind. The pain I'd inflicted in the past, her inner wolf's desire for its one true mate, and the fear of being rejected again.
“I'm not gonna hurt you again, I promise,” I whisper, and it's all I need to say for her to come leaning in, hungrily devouring my lips as we kiss passionately.
I sigh on her plump lips from sheer relief that I wasn't the only one going insane trying to hold back and stop myself from plunging into the madness of this true mate bond.
Chapter 13 - Arianna
I must be out of my mind.
Insane.
Severely demented to be kissing Tyler back when I've been down this road before.
Shifting into my wolf form was my undoing because Tyler came looking for me, and my inner wolf became rabid.
I tried to fight the raging hormones by running away, a last-ditch attempt to be rid of my conflicted feelings, but he'd caught up to me. There was no escaping how intensely attracted I am to the alpha, and in some ways, I'm glad I didn't make it to the house.
I would have been restless; these feelings are more intense than they've ever been before, despite the deep resentment I've been harboring toward him. The heat of my arousal has fully enveloped me, and I know exactly where this is going.
We've only ever kissed once before, and that was the night I lost my virginity.
Even though I'm losing myself to the sensations, his hand on my nape as he guides my head in a slight tilt to keep the kiss deep, there's one thing I can't escape.
My inhibitions. My overthinking mind suddenly becomes shocked that I had the guts to kiss him back. Was it the promise he made to never hurt me again?
