And only when I’m halfway into the forest do I realize that her scent is stronger out here than it is when she’s around me. That’s probably because I’m in wolf form, my senses heightened, but her scent being evident out here is wrong.
It’s wrong.
It shouldn’t be out here at all.
My wolf snarls, my muzzle lowering to the ground to trace the scent like a breadcrumb trail toward the depths of the forest. The night is eerily dark, save for the faint glow of the full moon, which is now retreating into the embrace of the grayish clouds enveloping the night sky. There’s a casual hoot of an owl, the hiss of a snake slithering through the rocks, the humming of the earth’s vibrations rippling through my bones.
And there’s something else, something stronger. Something powerful enough to explode my heart and tear me across in a hasty sprint through the forest between the mountains. The scent of sweet jasmine grows stronger, and it’sthe only air I want to breathe, lungs full, wolf almost sated but missing the one thing that could possibly quench this insatiable thirst my wolf feels.
Having Annika in my arms, pressed to my body, crushed to my lips…
As if the mere thought is strong enough to manifest her into my sight, I see her ahead, running with a pink sack flung over her shoulder, as if she used a nightgown as a makeshift bag. She’s wearing a black bodysuit that hugs her curves snugly, looking like a shadow creeping in the night stealthily. Every agile step is made with grace, like she’s a trained professional in espionage.
My heart treads carefully now, the pattering slowing down as if time itself slows, and my vision tunnels, blurring everything else around me to the focal point of Annika racing through the woods, running away from me.
Escaping me…
Escaping the fated mate bond.
My wolf won’t have it, won’t allow such a primal crime to occur, so I pounce forward with all the might bestowed upon me as the leader of this pack, the speed bringing me closer, my powerful paws crushing leaves and stones loud enough to grab her attention.
She looks back, and for a split second, meets my beady wolf eyes, hers widening with horror as she clocks my size, my furry form. She turns and continues to run, attempting to go faster, her adrenaline pulsing off her like an invisible shield. I can hear her heart echoing through the valley, thundering in my chest as if the beat is my own, and there’s nothing that can stop me from leaping forward with intense speed and agility, until she’s so close, I can almost taste her.
The taste is on my tongue when I hiss at her, begging her to stop in a language she doesn’t understand, my wolf wishing she wouldn’t run from me. I don’t know if it’s the sound that startles her, or the mere chase, but she trips over a loose stone, and stumbles forward, landing on her knees, her makeshift sack spilling out a set of clothes.
“Ouch!” she yelps, and my heart stops, feeling the pain of scraped knees as if they were my own. I slow down, stalking forward carefully, as she turns her horror-stricken eyes on me.
“No…no…” she whimpers, pressing her eyes shut and recoiling as if she’s bracing for the impact of my gnarly, sharp teeth latching on her neck.
I mean, sure, I’d want to sink my teeth into her neck and drink in her pheromones, tasting her blood on my tongue. But not to hurt her. Just to claim her, just to taste her golden flesh and mark her as my mate, leaving the indents of my teeth for a lifetime for her to wear like the only jewelry she’d ever need.
“Open your eyes, Annika…”my wolf purrs inside my head, begging, a plea for her to see me in my most authentic form. Of course, she can’t hear me. She can’t see that the wolf stalking forward bears the same greenish-blue eyes my human does, my chestnut brown fur like the hair on the top of my human head.
As I advance slowly, carefully, Annika peeps through one eye, her breath visibly catching in her throat when she sees me towering over her like a looming, dreadful force that she’s about to surrender her life to. Fearfully, not willingly. Not in the way I would have preferred.
“Annika…look at me…”my wolf whispers, whimpering and lowering my furry head in an attempt to make her see that I wish her no harm. But she only presses her eyelids shut moretightly, barely breathing now, her shoulders tight as she braces herself.
I step forward, my airways filling with the intoxicating scent of her, turning me delirious, and I lift a front paw, gently pressing it upon her shoulder. She opens her eyes and gasps, falling back as I’m left practically pinning her to the ground, looming over her as she stares at me like I just walked out of her worst nightmare.
As the sensations of the mate bond pulse from her shoulder into the soft cushions of my paws, her eyes meet mine, and there’s a glimmer of recognition in her warm, chocolate-brown orbs, her eyebrows lifting as if realization is hitting her.
But she shuts her eyes again, signaling her denial, and I do the only thing I can think of doing.
I shift into human form, five fingers pressed to her shoulder, my knees on either side of her waist.
“Annika…” I whisper, and this time, she can hear me. That’s when she opens her eyes, and more shock floods her paling cheeks.
“Henry…?”
Chapter 7 - Annika
One Hour Ago
When I decided not to stay in the tower, I meant it. I’ve spent the last hour, maybe, pacing the floor in this cabin, trying to figure out how to go forward.
I’m procrastinating, and I have no idea why. It’s like there’s a chain around my chest, keeping my heart prisoner, and yet, I have no reason to feel this way. Not even the marriage license I signed should hold any weight. I’ve never cared for those things, anyway. I know how destructive marriages can be—my mother went through hell that drained the life force out of her until it made her so sick that she was useless to my father, who walked out on her.
Even though the monster draining her energy had left, her health had already deteriorated enough for her to leave behind two girls to fend for themselves. I’d taken on the role of mother to my younger sister at the ripe age of eighteen, because she needed to complete school and make something of her life that wouldn’t lead her down the same road as our mother.
