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Tristan licks me again, nuzzling his head into my side until I take a few steps. “You deserve everything perfect in the world, Eliana. I don’t understand you either. Why would you even think that?”
My ears twitch and I don’t respond. I can’t exactly answer him, so I continue to pad my way forward into the untouched snow of the meadow.
Tristan pounces on me, knocking my legs out from under me and making me roll. Snow sticks to every inch of my fur, turning my mahogany coat white. I bark and throw him off again by twisting my body.
He doesn’t give up and jumps on top of me once more, planting his big paws to my chest. He licks the tip of my nose, risking losing his tongue as I try to playfully bite him. “You can’t ignore my question. Tell me. If you can tell me why, I can give you my reason. You know I am in it for you for life. We’re a pack.”
But are we?
He doesn’t know about my pregnancy, and that might change things between us. I just want things to go back to when we were human. Who knew that the first week surviving on the island would be something I missed? It’s not the fear or the horrors of the situation. It’s the fact that these men stayed by my side, and we were working together for the same thing. Now, I don’t know where any of us fall regarding each other. I hate being separated. I hate feeling as if I will never see any of the others again. I also hate that I’m not miserable here. What kind of alpha leader would that make me? Being okay with just having another alpha take care of me and another pack that was never intended to be mine isn’t great. I suck.
“Eliana...” Tristan’s voice trickles through my head, the softness of his words stealing my breath away. I don’t think he heard what was on my mind, but I’m sure he can feel my emotions.
I wiggle beneath him with a pathetic whimper. He reacts by sliding off and snuggling his snout into the fur of my throat.
“I can feel your pity. Please stop. I just need some time, okay? I feel as if I haven’t had a chance to catch my breath.” I get to my paws and shake off the snow, my whole body twisting back and forth. The gesture comes so naturally. I wonder if I stayed in my wolf form longer and longer if I would want to transform back into a woman.
“I’d miss that sexy body of yours, but I do I enjoy this wild side of yours.” Tristan pads closer and shoves his head under my stomach, lifting me up.
I bark at his playfulness and dart a few feet away, shooting across the snow. He charges me again, setting me off. I dodge around him and run toward the cabin. Zooming past the porch, I skid on the snow as I circle to the back. Having the world move around me so quickly and feeling my paws hit the ground with my strength gets to me in a good way. I could keep running forever. It’s as if my wolf craves it.
“Go straight. We can run for a bit.” Tristan catches up to me, pressing his big body into my side, keeping my pace. Alone, I feel giant and strong. Beastly. With him by my side, I feel small, but I don’t feel any weaker. I feel safer.
We run together through the forest, and Tristan guides me down a long, muddy path that looks as if it’s used by the wolves regularly. He nudges my side, herding me and keeping me straight. I follow his silent commands until we reach another meadow... No, not a meadow. It’s a lake. A magnificent, glittering frozen lake.
Slowing down, Tristan maneuvers behind me and nips at my back legs, getting me to run faster. I realize too late as he pushes me onto the ice, and I slide a few feet and spin until I lose my footing and land on the frozen lake.
He barks and skids next to me, rolling and scrambling back up. “Have you ever been ice-skating, Eliana?”
I try to get back up only to slip and fall onto my side. “I wouldn’t exactly call this ice-skating.”
“Here, let me help you. We don’t need skates for this. Just let me guide you.” Tristan nudges me with his nose until I position my body with my belly on the lake. My damp fur cools the rest of me, but I’m not freezing yet.
And then the cute bastard sticks his head right between my back legs and pushes forward, sending me sliding faster and faster until he falls. I spin on the ice with a yip and a bark.
“Tristan! If you keep pushing me out here, I’m never going to be able to make it back to shore.” I carefully push up to my feet and take a slow step, using my nails to scratch the ice for leverage.
“Someone will come fishing for us if we get stuck. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened to me.” Tristan laughs through my mind, the lightness of his voice stirs everything good in me, bringing it back to life when I thought it fell into an eternal slumber.
I play-growl and cautiously stride forward, taking it one step at a time. Tristan charges toward me, not even caring that he keeps slipping. It triggers my need to run, and I break into a sprint, managing to stay upright even as I slide, sometimes running in place, but I remain ahead of him until I reach the other side of the lake. The moment my paws hit the snow and stop sliding, I pick up speed and dart between two trees. Tristan barks behind me, our wolves loud enough that I’m sure the rest of the pack can hear.
“Yeah, we can.” Slater barrels in front of me, cutting me off. “So can the Twilight Cove pack. We have to move. They’re heading toward our community, and we need to cut them off. You should’ve stayed there. They’ll be able to catch your scent if they’re looking for you.” Slater growls with his words, his alpha attitude seeping through reminding me of Ravi. “I told you to keep her at the cabin, Tristan.”
Ugh. He is not scolding him. He’s not treating us as if we are young puppies, especially not after our passionate kiss. I’m not going to be treated like this.
“I’m sorry,” Tristan says, bounding up beside me. “She broke free of your room, and I thought it wouldn’t hurt if we stayed close.”
“Don’t apologize to him. He shouldn’t have locked me in his fucking bedroom.” I growl with my thought, my hackles rising on my back.
I expect Slater to plow into me. Any other alpha would try to put me in my place, knocking me over and pinning me down until I call for mercy. But he doesn’t.
He puffs a breath through his nostrils, sending a cloud toward the sky. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that, but I thought you would do exactly what you are doing now. You don’t know how to control your nature yet. Your wolf side will tease and taunt you until you give in, pushing away your humanity. You’re still a pup. Both of you.”
Again, he makes me feel childish. That’s not exactly what I want from a man I’m attracted to.
He growls, the low rumble of his wolf reverberating through me. He must’ve heard my thought. “Come on. We don’t have time to argue with intruders in our territory. I want you to rub your body against everything you can. You need to create a clear scent trail. We’re going to set a trap. You should take a piss or something as well. I want to send the wolves hunting instead of stalking our cabin.”
He wants me to pee? No fucking way. Just the idea of some assholes sniffing my body fluids grosses me out. I don’t want them hunting me at all.
