Page 79 of Rejected By the Winter Wolf

He laughs behind me.

I reach the tree line, and two steps later, Kian attacks. I squeal when we go down in a tumble of limbs, and he forces me onto the ground. I buck him off and climb back to my feet, scrambling through the trees.

“What the fuck?” I yell.

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t try to taunt me. I risk a glance over my shoulder, wondering where the hell he went, and slam into his chest.

He shoves me into a tree.

I knee him in the balls.

He’s not expecting it and keels over, choking. As much as I’d like to stick around and watch the aftermath, I get the hell out of there. That’s always the first thing they teach you in self-defense. Don’t wait around to see if your move worked.

Adrenaline sings through my veins, waking me up inside. I steal power from the earth with every step, healing my sore muscles and replenishing my strength.

I run another few minutes, weaving between trees, then slow to a stop.

Kian is gone.

I spin in a low circle. My heart is hammering too loud for me to concentrate on anything else, and this part of the forest is thick with vegetation.

The snarl that rips through it, though, is hard to miss.

There’s a flash of white fur, blurring toward me.

I barely have time to get my hands up.

Kian shifts as he collides with me, and down I go.

He lands on top of me, stretching my arms up over my head. His hard body is touching every inch of me—and what comes to mind is far dirtier than he’s going to kill me. In fact, I think I’d rather go back to those morbid thoughts than entertain the desire coursing through me. It makes me want to curse him and wrap my legs around his hips at the same time.

But then he opens his mouth and ruins it.

“It didn’t work.” He frowns.

“What does that mean?”

His gaze flicks from my eyes to my throat. “Maybe you just need something scarier. You think I won’t kill you.”

“I’m pretty sure you won’t.” I narrow my eyes. “But why do I need something scarier?”

“To bring out your power again.”

I pause. “What?”

“I tasted it, you know. The night we met. And now your power is barely there, like it’s…”

I pull at my wrists, still pinned above my head. “Let go of me.”

“No.”

“Kian.”

He dips his head down to mine, pressing his lips to my ear. “My wolf is content for the first time since you had your arms wrapped around me on the bike. So would you rather we stay like this, or I can shift back…”

My blush is so hot, it hurts.

“Was he worried when I left?” I ask lightly. “About a little witch?”