I stare at a strip of sunlight flickering on the water. If alphas like Thaddeus Dire didn’t hunt us and the wilds weren’t riddled with dangers, we’d live long, happy lives like everyone else. Instead, we’re hunted by anyone brave enough—or foolish enough—to venture from pack lands in search of glory, or whatever it is they’re seeking.
Closing my eyes, I take a breath and wonder what it’s like to be on the other side. I lost my pack before I could appreciate it, and now I crave one more than anything.
Will it be everything that I’ve hoped for, or will I long to run back into the wilds and escape?
A low whistle carries on the wind, bringing Revyn’s scent with it. “If I’d known how good you look wet, Sienna—” I spin around to find him tucked beneath the shade of a nearby tree, his onyx eyes glittering as his gaze travels the length of my body. “Hey, gorgeous. You still mad at me?”
My breath catches as my gaze rakes down his naked torso. Heat blossoms beneath my skin as his eyes flare, and a slow, sinful curve falls across his lips. He knows how easily he can get under my skin.Damn him.The eight-inch scar on his thigh has healed well, and the twitching appendage hanging between his legs looks exactly as I remember it: dangerously tempting—which is precisely why I tried to cut the damn thing off. Hiscock swells from the attention, proudly showing off the vein that runs from root to tip beneath the head, and a distant memory of Revyn’s heartbeat on my tongue makes my pulse jump.
The last thing I need is for him to think I’ve missed him—or his dick. I tear my gaze away but land mere inches above, eyeing the dark trail leading to his navel, then surveying his scarred abs before I finally shut my eyes to block him out. That only lasts a second because he’ll take advantage of any opportunity to catch me off guard, and I’m not about to give him one.
I stare at his arrogant mouth and avoid all other parts of him. “If you killed the vampire, you could have at least taken his clothes,” I hiss, blowing out a breath. The vampire had a leaner build, so there’s no way Revyn could have buttoned anything even if he had put on the other man’s clothes, but walking around the trials butt naked is a fuckingchoice.
His grin turns wolfish. “And deny you the pleasure of scenting me?”
I flip him off and walk the other way. The low rumble under his breath sends a wave of heat through my body. I block him out as best I can and continue moving, but he keeps pace with me easily, studying me instead of our surroundings. If there were any nearby threats, his presence alone likely scared them off.
At this rate, we might both fail the trial.
Revyn scratches the facial hair along his jaw and stretches bronzed arms over his head like he doesn’t have a care in the world. His hair has gotten longer since I last saw him, the lone silver streak brushed back from his forehead while the rest curls long past his ears. Were he in a pack, he would have mated decades ago and sired multiple heirs by now. As it stands, he’s walking a dangerous path of solitude that should have gotten him killed before we ever met. Yet he persists, stubbornly clinging to the life he’s been given and making the most of it.
I envy his self-assuredness, though I would never admit it. The worst part might be that he genuinely doesn’t care about the admittance trials to Heartsflame; if he did, he would have secured his seat before coming to find me. The fact that he’s in my hair instead of watching from the boundary line speaks volumes for his intentions.
He isn’t here for the academy; he’s here for me.
His voice echoes in my head—I’m not going anywhere, Sienna—and my traitorous heart stumbles. It’s not romantic; it’s obsessive.
At least, that’s what I try convincing myself.
I stop in my tracks and take a shallow breath, ignoring the way my chest tightens at his scent. In human form, I can handle the taste of summer sun and salted earth wafting off him without falling into submission, but it’s near impossible in wolf form. If I’m going to survive these trials and secure my entry into Heartsflame, neither of us can shift or I’m fucked.
Which means that he’s going to be naked the entire time.
Great.
“Something wrong?” His fingertips trail my forearm as we come to a stop. “If you want to go after the vampire, he’s not far. I left him at a crossing a few miles that way.” He nods to our left. “Killing him would earn us both spots.”
“He’s strong?” I lift my brow. “How can you tell?”
Revyn’s smile is dirtier than it has any right to be. “Kiss me, and I’ll tell you.” My heart skips a beat, and Revyn fuckingsmirksas his eyes flick to my lips.
“Fuck off,” I growl, shoving him away from me. “You have no right toanypart of me, asshole.” I stomp through the mud and pretend he isn’t following me, but that only lasts as long as it takes him to catch up. Five point three seconds, which means that he gave me a head start.
“Sienna—”
“Don’t.”
“You never let me explain.”
“I’m not interested in excuses.”
His bare feet sink in the mud as he stalls and watches me walk away. I don’t need to catch his reflection in the water’s edge to see the pinch of his full lips or the flush on his cheeks; I’ve seen it all before when I caught him in the lie in the first place. My heart aches anew with each heavy beat, the ringing in my ears turning shrill as my mind wanders back to that day.
I never used to be this blistering inferno of resentment, but as much as the pack Alphas are to blame for my misery, so is Revyn. Where they wronged me by rejection, he wronged me by omission, and losing my trust is what got us into this mess. If he’d been honest with me from the start, we might still be together.
A spark of longing stirs inside my chest, but I stamp it out as quickly as possible. Becoming anyone’s mate is out of the question. I won’t be someone’s accessory to get into a pack; I need toearnit. Taking Revyn as a mate is even worse; we’llbothbe rejected from any pack we approach. All I get for mating Revyn is . . . the man himself.
In another life, that would be enough.
