“I’ll slow it down a little. I’ve just been dying to try it without restraint, like the wholeTwilightlightning ball thing.”
Lightning ball? The scene from the movie popped into my head where the vampire family playedbaseball in the storm to cover the sound of them playing at full strength.Full strength? Chervin had said that. Did that mean… was he somethingnothuman? My pulse quickened. Could this be him? Could it be that easy?
“Hey, uh, question? Did you happen to be on the walking path last night?” I assessed the man whose build was lean and muscular. He had blond hair held back by the sweatband, and it looked as if he wore black eyeliner under his eyes. Nothing about the man matched up with the werewolf I’d seen, but did they carry any of their human features when they turned? Chervin had superhuman strength and speed, which had to mean something.
My heart lodged itself in my throat as I waited for his answer. “The walking path? No, I don’t think so. I joined the Unity Pack Run last night. It was so liberating, and, gods, so fucking cool to run with such a diverse group.”
Pack run? What did that mean? Even as I questioned it, I thought of the mixed animal sounds and voices I’d heard from the woods the night before—multiple species running together. And this man before me, who had super speed, said he ran with a pack last night. Mixed emotions filled me with the realization that he was probably not human, but also probably not who I was looking for.
“You’re not a wolf, then?” I asked carefully, feeling foolish for even saying the words.
Chervin scoffed a laugh. “Gods no. I’m a cheetah, as I saidearlier.”
“Cheetah, right.” He’d said cheetah, not cheater. Like anactualcheetah? Somehow, there was a werewolfanda cheetah man on the same island. What were the odds? My mind was a swirling tidal wave as I tried to process the information, and yet, now that I really looked at him, I could almost see some feline features.
A familiar growl sounded behind me, but before I could turn around, a strong arm wrapped around my stomach, and I was pulled against a hard chest.
“Mine.” The possessive snarl did something weird to me, even as Ishouldprotest being grabbed and held in a firm grip, but for some reason, I didn’t even try to fight him off.
The cheetah man on the court lifted both hands. “Sorry, man. We were just shooting the shit, no harm intended.”
I felt the chest behind me rise and fall as he huffed a loud breath. His nose was buried in my hair, making me want to melt into him. His low, rumbly voice sounded next to my ear. “Go!”
Somehow, I knew it wasn’t directed at me. Chervin clearly understood it, too. He gave a nod, but met my gaze with a questioning expression. “You okay with that, Bowen?”
Was I okay with being left alone with a strong brute who wouldn’t even let mespeakto another man? Aside from the fact that he was saving me from having to pretend to play pickleball or carry on a conversation, I couldn’t ignore the way he made me feel. Heatrushed beneath my skin, and my heart raced as the unknown man—butknownwerewolf—held me. Yeah, I was more than okay, which was probably a little fucked up, but here we were.
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, Chervin. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Sure. Maybe I’ll hit you up for a rematch.” The comment was met with a growl from over my shoulder, and the man’s face fell. “Maybe not.”
He gathered his things and left me standing there, locked in the embrace of a fierce mythological creature. A human nose—not a wolfish snout—buried against the side of my neck and inhaled deeply, making the heat in my body rush south.
I waited for him to say or do something…anything… but he didn’t. I coughed to clear my throat and forced myself to speak. “As nice as this is, maybe a proper introduction is in order.”
The man behind me stiffened and muttered, “Fuck.” His hold loosened, and I felt him pull away. Not just pull away but put distance between us, leaving my back feeling cold at the loss of his hard body against mine.
When I turned around, he was already walking away from me. No. Fuck that. He didn’t get to turn me into a puddle of goo with his possessiveness and then leave me. “Hey, wait!”
He waved his hand over his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I got carried away, Igotta go.”
I hurried after and grabbed his arm. “Hold on, I’ve been looking for you.”
That stopped him in his tracks. His head fell, and he breathed in a deep breath. “You have?”
The doubt and hope I heard in those two words damn near broke me. “Yes. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Now, can you please turn around so I can actually see your face?”
I’d never worked this hard to talk to someone before because avoidance was my preferred method, but damn, I needed to know who this man was. It was the only thing that was keeping me from getting lost in nightmares.
Another deep exhale, and I could see his hands clench into fists. He turned around slowly, and I drew in a sharp breath as his face came into view. “It’s you!”
I recognized the shaggy black hair, short beard, and wide eyes. It was the man who’d been standing behind me in the lobby the first time I’d heard the growl. Only, I didn’t know it was coming from him; I’d been looking for an animal that was trying to get my attention.
The man towered over me, and he wore baggy clothes that hid the hard chest I’d felt at my back. He gave me a hesitant smile. “Are you… disappointed?”
The worry in those big eyes of his had me reaching out to squeeze his arm, which wasn’t a typical action for me. I wasn’t really the touchy-feely type, at least not with people. But there was something about him that made me want to reassure him. Plus… he was afreakingwerewolf, and I wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass me by.
“No! I’m not disappointed, just surprised, is all. You work here, right?”
