Page 54 of Bewitching the Wolf

I’m fucking doing this. And you need to have my back, I grit out.

There’s silence. I stand, waiting. Not backing down.

And then I feel my wolf stir, its ears pricking up, its vision sharpening, its claws flexing.

I grind my molars. Stare into the darkness. And then I run, as hard as I can at that fucking barbed-wire fence.

And I jump.

CHAPTER 15

TIPPY

An hour has passed since Jax disappeared.

I’ve picked up the torn and crumpled pages of the tale of Agdar and Leonora, put them back in some semblance of order, and shoved the book to the bottom of my suitcase.

My arousal is fading, gobbled up by the shame of offering my wixen virginity—no, not officering, begging Jax to take it.

Oh goddess, I did, I literally begged.

I try to keep busy tidying the den. I find a broom and sweep as though I can sweep away my humiliation. But the memories keep surfacing.

As time passes, the shame gives way to anxiety. The clock in the kitchen keeps ticking, and still Jax does not return.

Has he gone back to level one?

Surely not. He wouldn’t thwart Traggar’s orders like that. Not even after what happened between us.

But… if he has, and he gets into trouble for that, I’ll own it.

I’ll say it was my fault. That I started it.

Shame boils up again, clenching at my gut, making me want to throw up.

How will I face Aunt Felicia after this? How will I explain the decimated state of the book she lent me? It was no doubt valuable, and she trusted it into my possession. And look how I’ve repaid her. By nearly rutting on the floor with a werewolf.

Almost re-enacting the legend.

Re-enacting—the—legend.

I stop still, the words resonating, and then I recall Clem’s comments on the phone.

Urging me to stop resisting fate.

Why did my aunt give me this book? Why now, this weekend, and not before? She’s had ample opportunity.

Is it some bizarre coincidence that I feel like I am going into heat, that I came so hard and fast at the stroke of Jax’s fingers along my seam? That all I wanted was for him to claim me, take me, even if he hurt me in the process?

What if… what if Jax and I are meant to be together?

It’s a crazy thought. Maybe I’m just trying to bolster my hopes, or excuse my behavior or something.

I glance at the clock again. It’s 6 pm. He’s been gone two hours now, and I’m getting really worried. I screw up my eyes against the tears that are forming. Suddenly, there’s a sharp rap on the door.

I jump up and run to the door, throw it open.

But it’s not him. A pretty human woman with an obviously pregnant belly stands smiling at me. Next to her is a huge handsome minotaur.