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I knew where to find him, though.
“I’m going for a run.”
“Is this part of your grand plan?” Kane’s sarcasm was unwelcomed, but he didn’t relent. “Stretch your legs before you save the day?”
“Just keep an eye on Ruby,” I said over my shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”
I could tell he was bristling at my command, but I ignored his glare and shut down any further argument by shifting to my wolf. His attitude made me wonder if he was really all about giving up leadership to me or if that was his code for me being a figurehead in name only while he ran the pack from the sidelines. There’d be some ego busting happening if that were the case.
If I was to become queen, he’d have to get used to taking orders—at least outside of the bedroom.
Something to tackle later.
The automatic doors at the back of the main hall swooshed open, and I bolted into the lush grass of the expansive yard, set on tracking Levi down in the forest.
The air was ripe, heady with moss and turned-up earth, and the scent of wolf was sharp in my muzzle. He was shedding aggression mixed with confusion, leaving an unmistakable trail for me to track him. I knew it was on purpose. He wanted me to find him. The pulse along our connection was full of need. Even though I was sending a call out to him to stay calm, I knew he wasn’t getting it fully. Our thread wasn’t a two-way street—not completely, not yet anyway and I needed it to be.
I skirted along the perimeter of the forest, head down, focused on finding an entry point that would hide my approach. The leaves rustled in the breeze, and the smell of the sea stung my nose. I huffed, holding back a sneeze, then dove into the brush where a small tunnel gave me access to the undergrowth, keeping me disguised from Levi’s keen senses.
I wanted to take him by surprise so I could watch him as he struggled for control. I needed to confirm my theory before I put my plan into action, and that could only be done if Levi thought he was alone. I toned down my homing beacon, muting my psychic caresses against his unconscious mind and limited my own echolocation ability to detect his essence then slinked through the undergrowth.
I didn’t need wolf ears to know what direction to go. By the thrashing ahead, twigs snapping, leaves rustling, I knew I’d found him.
I slipped between two brushes, then partially shifted into semi-werebeast mode so I could leap, then scramble into a tree, cringing as my claws scraped and gouged through the bark.
Levi was below me, sprawled on the forest floor, his body mid-transition, twisted in a way that looked painful. His head was in wolf form, his muzzle digging into his side where his ribs stretched and expanded, pulling his flesh taut as the bones seemed to pop out of place then back again.
I could see the agony on his face as he arched back, his muzzle to the sky, jaw stretched beyond normal. I knew the pain that came from partial shifts, but my body was made to accommodate it. The male werewolf wasn’t equipped to handle the muscle ripping, bone-jarring shifts.
He moaned a strangled sound as his body shifted back to human, and he collapsed into the forest dirt, panting, his body shaking with violent tremors.
Levi, I called to him through my thoughts, pulsing the thread that bound us. Stop fighting the shift.
He jolted, his eyes narrowed, then lifted his face and howled, his fangs dropping, claws sprouting, fur rolling over his body like his skin was tearing to shreds in order to make room for his wolf. He shuddered, his whole body vibrating as he fought to release his locked joints.
“Levi,” I said out loud, crouching in the tree above him. “Let go.”
He looked up, his eyes, dark pools of blue, filled with pain. He huffed through a few deep breaths, his teeth clenched, jaw locked in a grimace.
“Stop fighting,” I said, pulsing the thread between us with intention. “Let your beast out.” Because that’s what my bite had ignited in him and, presumably, Johnny. I’d unleashed a beast version of both men similar to my own.
He groaned, fell back to the ground, his back arching so that he was on his heels and shoulders, his spine curved like a bridge. His abs were pulled so tight that I could see every twitch of his muscles as he screamed.
He reached clawed hands toward me. His jaw opened wider once again, fangs dropping past his chin. His body sprouted fur.
In this half-formed state, it was the closest he’d ever be to the werebeast form.
And it was what I needed from him to make my plan work.
I leapt from the tree to land at his side. His eyes flashed to me with frenzy. He raked his claws down my arm, opening rivulets, drawing a stream of blood. I held steady as I leaned into him, gritting my teeth and baring my throat.
“You know what to do.” I pulsed him again with my intention. Bite me.
He froze, whimpered. He was fighting the urges I knew were surging through him. I leaned closer as I snaked my arms around his body, yanking him closer, forcing him to my throat.
“Bite me, Levi. Listen to your instincts!”
He howled, an eerie guttural sound, and the wash of his hot breath was the only warning I got before he sunk his fangs deep into my throat and marked me with his bite.
