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I seize her by the arm and haul her closer. “Keep quiet.” Quickly, I wrap the torn material over the bite mark and under the opposite arm, twice over. She fights me, but I hold her roughly, as I’m not playing.
I need this done fast, yet awareness of how close we are ripples over my skin. Her scent sinks through me, making it almost impossible to concentrate. A heady mix of pheromones flares within me in response to her. My cock throbs. A primal hunger pulses inside me to protect this female from all other males, to claim her, take her.
No female has ever affected me this powerfully before. I grind my back teeth and I jerk her forward, a bit harder than I meant to.
“You have no right to—”
“I have every right.” I growl and swing away, drawing her with me by the arm. “If it means it will save our lives and stop you from collapsing from blood loss, I will do what it takes.” My pulse is out of control, and a possessiveness over her swallows me. What the hell is going on with me?
Her heartbeat accelerates. I can feel it beneath my fingers as I grip her wrist while she snarls at me, baring perfectly white teeth. No chipped or broken teeth. She will be a good exchange for the other pack.
Except adrenaline laces my blood, my wolf surging forward at my thought, demanding we claim her.
When our gazes clash, I get a glimpse of her vulnerability. And damn, it draws me in even further.
My wolf slinks through me, insisting she belongs to us and we need to mark her now. Except something feels off. She feels different. And I won’t jump to conclusions about finding my fated mate that quickly.
I always thought I’d know when I sensed my mate… but this girl isn’t what she seems, so how can I trust what I feel? It almost seems as if she’s hiding behind an invisible veil.
Once we get back home, then I’ll work out what’s going on.
Her cheeks blush each time she glances my way, her eyes dipping down my body. Her embarrassment at my nudity doesn’t fade, and she keeps looking away. I don’t understand her reaction. She’s a wolf… after transformations, we are nude. It’s as natural as breathing, yet her face is red, and she has no control of her roaming eyes.
Once we eventually reach a valley with a small running river, I pause, holding her closer with one arm around her narrow waist, despite her grumbles. No sign of rogue wolves or undead nearby. The woods surrounding us are silent. I sniff the air to confirm we are alone. I didn’t realize how far I’d traveled to find this hellcat. A group of five of us went in opposite directions in the woods to track her.
“Drink and let’s wash your wound. We have a fair distance to travel.”
I expect her to argue, but instead, she crouches and cups her hands under the clear, running water and draws it to her mouth to drink. Fresh water streams from her wet hands, falling back down to the surface of the river in large drops.
I do the same and fill my stomach.
She unravels the torn material I tied across her wound and pushes her long, brown hair over her shoulder. Then she cups more water and splashes it over the bite mark. It flows across her bare shoulder and soaks into her top. The fabric sticks to the perfect curves of her breasts.
My throat goes dry as I stare at the beads of water rippling over her collarbone and sliding beneath her top. A heavy desire closes in around me with the weight of a mountain.
The last streaks of sunlight glint against her raised face, and her bronze eyes seem to glow beneath the flare. Her gorgeous mouth parts as she exhales.
My groin clenches tight.
Such a beautiful creature. Whoever she is, I need to claim her.
I’m burning up to reach over and taste her, to mark her myself. The bite piercing her flesh bubbles with fresh blood. A fiery savagery rips through me at seeing the shifter’s teeth blemishing her perfect skin. I crave to take her, to bury my face into her neck and taste her. To make her mine.
She runs her fingers over the injury and winces.
“How long have you been living in the woods alone?” I ask, trying to understand more about her, and also to distract myself from the effect she has on me.
She stiffens and doesn’t look at me. “A few years.”
“Alone? You’ve done well to survive this long.” A few years? Fuck, that would drive anyone crazy.
She nods as she wraps the fabric back over her bite mark. I reach over and help her tie a knot to keep it in place. As a wolf, she should heal quickly.
“I have my ways,” she says. I see the hunger behind her eyes, the wolf inside her wanting to make a connection. But something doesn’t feel right.
The snap of twigs reaches me.
I freeze, my gaze shooting across the narrow river to where the sound comes from. A shadow flitters amid the trees. My lungs seize.
