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“Fuck!” His common sense returned, allowing him to pick up two pairs of footsteps rushing in their direction. Probably because the horses were going haywire. The black one kicked at its stall while the two mares issued blood-chilling cries. He had no idea how he hadn’t heard them until now.
“Shit.” He lurched to his feet, scrambling to snatch an item of clothing from the floor. Her pants. Only they were torn.
He looked down to meet her gaze and went cold. The lust that consumed them both had faded. Now, Loren watched him horrified, and the guilt hit him so brutally he staggered with the force of it.
“Fuck… I… I’ll hold them off,” he told her. “When we’re gone, get to the house.”
He didn’t give her the chance to argue. Already, he’d stepped from the barn, surging to meet Micha and Naomi. Just paces from the door, he barred their path and prayed they couldn’t sense Loren within.
“What’s going on?” Micha asked, an eyebrow raised.
The horses were still agitated, their cries drowning out any other noise.
“I think they smelled a predator,” Bill said. “We should all take to the perimeter to be on the safe side. You two head south. I’ll go north.”
Micha and Naomi shared a look.
“What about Loren?” the blond asked, displaying an uncharacteristic but genuine concern. “She isn’t in the house—”
“She’s out doing a bit of training on her own,” Bill lied. “I’ll find her and tell her to head back. Now go!”
They both took off in the direction he indicated. Already, he was impressed with their skill. For a new made, Naomi had a decent grasp of her instincts. He just hoped both were far out of range when he finally took off, clearing the way for Loren to exit the barn. Despite every cell in his body warning him not to, he circled back and watched her leave while keeping his distance.
The darkness shielded her well, but his enhanced eyesight still caught the pale, milky limbs, bared to the elements. The sight made his jaw ache, his erection unbearable. Invoking the shift was the only method of relief—and even then, just barely.
He ached to follow her and finish what they’d started. Soon. Before…
Before he could even think of breaking the bond. If he cemented their joining for good, it would be too late. There would be no undoing it.
Enough!Groaning, he shed his clothes and took off for the north field. It was a good idea to patrol anyway. With Micha and Naomi, he could cover more territory in half the time.
Already, he could sense them both on the other end of the property, moving parallel to his position. Within minutes, they cleared most of the land, presumably finding no hint of a predator who could have spooked the animals so badly.
Because there wasn’t one, of course. As he ran, Bill struggled to compose a more convincing explanation. He could always blame the weather. A rodent. Something other than the truth.
Though Naomi and Micha, to an extent, may have been naïve, they weren’t stupid. Sooner or later, they would sense the bond between their Alpha and his mate. Already, Micha seemed to recognize it. For all their sakes, he needed to address the reality. And soon.
Though, there was always the possibility that he would fail in his challenge to Lukka, and everything afterward would be a moot point. Perhaps death wasn’t a bad thing in that case…
No. He shied away from seriously considering that possibility. Turning his focus to the feel of the earth beneath him, he ran faster, clearing the full perimeter and gaining on Micha and Naomi. They were moving slower than he would have expected. Had they decided to wait for him?
Suddenly, his hackles raised as he picked up a scent that didn’t belong. Not here and not now.
Shit.
He bounded through the trees in the direction of it, alarmed to find that Micha and Naomi were in the same location.
And they were in danger—there was no mistaking the animalistic musk that grew thicker with every yard he gained.Fuck.So much for training.
His ragtag pack was about to be tested for the first time—and he could only pray that this altercation went far differently than the last.
14
Chilled to the bone, Loren tore into the house and latched onto the first piece of clothing she could find—a pair of sweatpants in Micha’s prized pile of hand-me-downs. With a mental note to replace the garment later, she pulled them on and struggled to regain control of her breathing.
The house was empty, but the loneliness resonated more intensely than even the days in her father’s house. This felt…
Intentional. She had no doubt in her mind that Micha and Naomi would return first, but McGoven would stay out as long as humanely—or lycanly?—possible, if only to prolong facing the inevitable.
