“I don’t know… What if something happens between us?” I said.
“Are you planning something to happen between us?”
“No… I hadn’t planned to hook up with you-know-who, but it happened, and then I got pregnant, and then I got kidnapped, and then I lost the baby,” I said.
“You don’t want that… so nothing is happening between us,” he said.
“And you do?” I asked.
“Of course, I do. You’re beautiful and intriguing and just everything I’d want,” he said.
“Oh,” I said.
“Oh? That’s all you have to say to that,” he said.
“I don’t know what to say to that. No one has actually said that to me,” I said.
“Because they're idiots,” he said.
I didn’t say anything else. I really didn’t know what to say. Daxyn hadn’t really complimented me. We were drinking, and then we were hooking up. Brenden had told me I was beautiful, sure, but it felt like he was just saying it to say it. He never seemed to know what to say. I’d try to get his attention, and he didn’t seem interested until I showed someone else attention, and then he would be short with me and push me away. Then here was this really good-looking guy telling me all the right things. I stared at him—really stared at him.
He was six feet, towering seven inches above me. His skin was golden and warm, as if he’d been in the sun his whole life. Hisamber eyes melted me every time I looked into them. Up close, you could see the little flecks of gold sprinkled throughout. His stubble took over his jawline, making it a little softer. His dimples popped out when he flashed a full smile. He was the kind of person you had to actively decide to stop looking at. He called me beautiful and intriguing.
“Let’s get this run done,” I said, breaking the awkward silence that had built between us.
“Sooo… I’m chasing you?” he asked.
“No… no enjoyment for you,” I said.
“Oh, but my little doe, it’s so much fun watching you from behind,” he said.
“I bet it is… now let’s go,” I said.
He ran down the road, me chasing him. We played the same game we always had when he led the run, him slowing down just enough to let me get close enough before taking off again.
“Hey… Hey, hold on,” I said, before I started coughing profusely.
He turned around and ran back toward me. Perfect. Just perfect.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he ran up to me.
As soon as I saw his feet in my vision, I reached my arm out to him, placing it on his arm. Then I shot forward and screamed, “you’re it.”
He stood there, confused for a moment, before he started chasing me.
“If you wanted me to chase you, that’s all you had to say… Remember, I enjoy this… a little too much,” he said.
I didn’t respond and kept running. I turned from the road and into the woods, zigging and zagging. He could have already caught me, but for his own selfish reasons, he stayed right behind me. Itook a sharp right turn, and then my eyes locked onto another set of eyes. I came to a stop. He ran right into me.
“Zalayuh, what are—oh. Get behind me right now!” he said, before he grabbed me and shoved me behind him.
The gray wolf stared at us. It was huge. It stood at least four feet. My breath was ragged from both running and pure fear. I didn’t think my heart could beat any harder, but it was.
“I know you’re a werewolf… but trust me, you should move on,” Quinn said, with his palm stretched out.
The wolf was snarling at us, his head drawn lower than his shoulders. I didn’t know much about wolves, but I knew that was what a dog did before they attacked. He crept forward a little more, the predator watching his prey.
“Listen… I’m not begging you, I’m warning you to fucking go. Why are you even shifted this early?” Quinn said.
