Page 68 of Bonded Through Bite

Yeah. I can’t say it either. I hope to hell it’s not happening. The wolf is not acting territorial over Samantha, so maybe the amount of blood they shared wasn’t too much, but even a drop is a risk. She’s days old, with no control over herself. I should have never let her out of the house.

Zack throws a quick glance at Samantha and then faces Santiago again with a frown. “You should be taking better care of her.”

“She doesn’t appreciate being talked over like she’s not here,” Samantha snarks.

“I’m sorry, dove, but it’s true. They never should have let you into the forest without protection.”

Instead of snapping back at him, Samantha shudders lightly. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispers.

“I should go hunt that thing down,” San says, whirling a dagger in one hand as his eyes scan the trees.

“It’s long gone now,” the wolf says. “I’ll be able to recognize the smell if I get closer again. And if this thing is responsible for Alyssa’s death, then it’s not your kill to make, Wacerra.”

“We need to get Samantha back to the house,” I say before San has time to start a fight. He glares at me, but when he notices Samantha curling against my chest, he relents.

“Let’s go then. Can you walk if you lean against me?” Santiago asks the wolf.

“I might be better off limping as a wolf,” he says.

Samantha growls. “He can’t walk on that leg!”

“I’ll carry him,” Santiago says, quick to appease her, and the growl cuts off.

“No, I⁠—”

“We don’t want to piss her off more than we already have. Just hop on,” Santiago cuts off the wolf and crouches in front of him, offering a piggyback ride. Zack looks torn between laughter and indignation, but one look at Samantha sobers him up.

“He’s naked,” Samantha whispers way too loudly not to be overheard. The corner of the wolf’s mouth twitches and Santiago groans.

“Just get on.”

“Fine, fine. No one is ever going to believe this tale,” the wolf mutters. Santiago doesn’t even flinch under his bulk. I know alphas are generally strong, but this one looks like he works out. A lot. Samantha for sure seems to appreciate those muscles.

Or maybe it’s Santiago she’s drooling after.

“I thought werewolves were supposed to be unreasonable brutes,” Samantha whispers to me, quietly this time.

“He’s Courtkenay. They are a law unto themselves. Wolf royalty.”

“Oh.”

I leave Santiago to deal with him and start moving toward the house. In the bond, I can feel how hungry she still is. There are going to be problems if she can’t tolerate anyone but Santiago’s blood mixed with mine.

Maybe the wolf would be willing to donate for an experiment.

Damned wolf.

I can’t think of what would have happened if he hadn’t been there, but now there’s a chance he’s bonding with Samantha. I don’t know how much he drank and then she offered him her blood again. She’s too young and can’t control her bonds at all.

Even I haven’t drunk from her yet and it galls me that the wolf got to taste her blood first after the transformation. I wanted to explain it all to her when we got a moment of calm. Make sure she knew what exchanging blood can mean.

When she’s older, she can control most of it, but right now she has no protections. No shields. Every drop of blood she shares risks a bond. Every bite strengthens the ties between her and the other person.

She doesn’t even know how to control the pleasure of her bites. I’m still hard from the last one. Almost like she read my mind, she nuzzles my throat and bites my earlobe. I stumble and barely catch myself before we go tumbling down.

“Fuck me. Against a tree, while you run, I don’t care. I need you inside me right this second.” She’s licking blood from my lobe and her hands against me are like a vise. If I had a heartbeat, it would be skipping right about now.

“Let me get you to a bed first,” I try to say, but she bites me again and I’m lost. If she needs this to take her mind off things, to feel safe, then I’m all for it. There’s barely anything left of the shirt she has on, so I rip the rest away.