“Yeah,” Koe muttered from behind her. Because she was facing away from him, she didn’t see his eyes roam her body, his hand lifting to rub at the strange sensation that blossomed in his chest.
Chapter 20
Thrall’s truck hit a pothole and jostled Narae awake. Inexplicably, that pissed Daemon off. He knew it wasn’t Thrall’s fault, but it still irked him that Narae’s rest was interrupted. He knew the second she remembered where she was because he could hear her heart rate hike as she sucked in a sharp breath.
“Shhhh,” he crooned from behind her, his arms tightening around her. “It’s okay. We’re almost home. We just entered Allegiance territory.”
“Home?” she breathed.
He didn’t know why he’d chosen that word. Maybe to make her feel welcome. Maybe it was so she knew it was a safe place.
Narae broke free of Daemon’s arms as she sat up and stared out the window, straightening her hair and her blood-caked shirt. At first, she looked lost in thought, staring out the window, but then something shifted, and her gaze snagged on the land. She was looking at the terrain as if she’d never seen an open field before. Daemon couldn’t tear his eyes from Narae. The look of absoluteawe and yearning on her face as she stared out at Allegiance pack territory broke his heart. He’d crossed this open field a thousand times and had never once looked at it with even a fraction of the appreciation glowing in Narae’s eyes. His gaze slid from Narae to the sea of waving spring wheat that was just now in its full lush green. Inside, Demon nudged him, forcing Daemon to ask, “Narae, when’s the last time your wolf ran free?”
Eyes misting, she shrugged and looked away from the window to stare down at her hands. “Females aren’t allowed to do that in the Biter pack.”
At the same time, both Thrall and Daemon thundered, “What?”
Thrall twisted in his seat to glance at her.
Narae swallowed hard. “We gotta stay close to the house. We don’t go any further than the yard.
And that pissed Daemon off. Wolves had to run. They had to! It fucked them up to be prevented from being let loose. It was like caging a wild animal. Itwascaging a wild animal! “Pull over,” he snarled, and Thrall didn’t hesitate.
Climbing from the truck, Daemon held the door wide and ordered, Narae. “Out.”
She looked at him in uncertainty.
“Come on,” he held out his hand, and when she took it, he helped her from the truck. Determined gaze going to Thrall, he informed, “We’ll meet you at the manor.”
Thrall jerked his chin down in a nod, a smile wrecking his face as he reached for his phone, his fingers hurriedly opening his phone and going straight to his playlist in search of a song.
Daemon slammed the truck door closed and started stalking toward the wheat field. Glancing over his shoulder, he barked, “Come on, Narae.” He watched as she stepped off the road tentatively and eased down into the barrow pit behind him. Extending his hand, he felt all warm and tingly when she accepted his help up out of the pit on the other side.
They hadn’t had a lot of snow the previous winter, and spring had been dry too, so the spring wheat was only just now waist high to him. He was glad for it. He wanted to see Narae’s wolf run.
Rolling his head on his shoulders, he bellowed, “Let’s go, trouble.” Then, in an impossibly fast shift, his wolf exploded from him in its magnificent, inky black glory. Demon took off at a dead run, so he didn’t see Narae stall behind him.
Thrall rolled the passenger side window down when Narae turned to look at him. Grinning, Thrall yelled, “Demon’s winning the race!”
And that was all it took. The smile that lifted Narae’s lips had Thrall’s heart skipping a beat with giddy anticipation. He watched as she turned and shifted, and the second Thrall saw Narae’s all-black wolf, a slighter and sleeker replica of Demon, he knew it was meant to be.
Nara’s wolf blasted off through the spring wheat, the silken shafts splitting like waves on the sea as she shot through. Glancing down, Thrall hit play on the truck’s stereo receiver; the song he’d hunted for started blasting through the Bluetooth. Run Boy Run by Woodkid blared through the speakers as Thrall hit the gas, lowering all the windows on the truck so the sweet Montana wind could lash him, and he’d feel like he was part of the run too. Hiseyes were half on the road in front of him and half on the two black streaks of fur shooting across the field. It was fucking beautiful watching a wild animal be set free, and that’s exactly what he was looking at. It took mere moments for Narae to catch up with Demon, and she stalled beside him just a second before she kicked on her jets and started pulling away from him.
Shocked, Thrall breathed, “Holy shit!” Tears filled his eyes at the sight. No one’s wolf should be kept from this. Not ever! Especially Narae’s impressive beast, because until now, no one had been faster than Demon. No one! And Demon was twice the size of Narae’s wolf, so what she was doing right now should be impossible.
Yelling out the window gleefully, Thrall whooped, “Let her buck, girl!” He glanced at the speedometer, fighting to keep the Raptor on the rutted dirt road, a cloud of dust pluming behind the truck. The needle was practically buried, and while Demon was close behind Narae, Thrall’s truck, racing alongside them on the road, was falling behind. Again, Thrall breathed, “Holy fucking shit!” He’d never seen anything like Narae. She was givingDemon hell, and it was the best thing Thrall had ever witnessed. To himself, throat thick with emotion, he watched her graceful lope and breathed, “Run, girl, run.” His eyes slid to Demon, and he could tell the beast was giving it his all to catch Narae, and he couldn’t. It was fucking awesome!
Chapter 21
When Narae’s wolf caught up with Demon, Daemon was surprised. But when she pushed harder and started pulling away from him, he was shocked to his marrow. Yeah, wolves that had been denied a run tended to make up for it with one impressive run. But that usually lasted just a fraction of the run, a short spurt of adrenaline that typically faded as quickly as it came. But what Narae was doing wasn’t a spurt. Her she-wolf was fast and powerful in a way that Daemon had never seen. Simultaneously proud and competitive, Demon pushed harder, wanting to pass Narae to lead her to the compound. Hell, he was twice her size; the feat should have been easy. When he only managed to catch up to her, it pissed him off. He was supposed to be impressive to her, not the other way around. She had nothing to prove to him; he was already sold on her. Needing to prove his worth, he dug down deep and was surprised at how hard he had to work to take the lead. It was a damn good thing they were close to the manor because he knew he wouldn’t be able to maintain the pace. Luckily, Narae fell into pace beside him. Daemon thought she’dfight for the lead again, but instead, she stayed at his side, and that’s how they ran. Lurch for lurch, their wolves raced toward home. Chests heaving, mouths panting, paws pounding the Earth, nothing had ever felt more right to Daemon. He wanted to run like this with her forever.
The manor came into sight over the next rolling hill, and Narae slowed. Dameon did too. He knew she’d be trepidatious. Anyone would. Their compound looked like a fortress in the middle of a sea of wheat. The tall stone wall that surrounded the manor gave it an imposing feel. It didn’t help that the sky was quickly turning black with another summer storm rapidly approaching. It felt slightly oppressive, even to him. Or maybe that was just nerves about having to explain to Koe about the bite he’d put on Jury’s sister. Fuck, things were about to go bad, he just knew it.
Narae slowed to a trot, and Daemon stayed by her side. When she slowed even more to a nervous walk, he shifted, reclaiming his skin, his clothes regenerating with the change's blessing.
Chest heaving, he walked beside Narae and answered questions he knew she had to have.
“The Alpha of the Allegiance pack is Koe Ontiveros.” He jerked his head to the road where Thrall’s truck was slowly catching up. “Thrall’s the Beta, and I’m lead Enforcer. There are twelve of us in the pack. All males, no females.” He glanced down at her, “Until now.”
