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“But …” Owen reached for her again, and she darted around him, running into the living room. He saw she was picking up her clothes as she went, and he took a moment to be surprised … and impressed … at the mess they’d made last night before they tumbled into bed.
She’s lucky her clothes aren’t ripped to shreds.
“Reika, Reika, wait …” he cried, trying to run after her. She was too fast for him, wrapping her clothes into a bundle and tying them to her neck as she shifted into her wolf shape and bolted down the hall. Owen watched her go, anxiety and rage welling inside him.
The situation was far worse than she knew, and denying what had happened between them wouldn’t help anything. Connor wanted Owen’s place and would do anything to get it. He wouldn’t stop until everyone knew that Owen had betrayed his own pack for a Lovell.
The worst part was it didn’t matter if it was true or not.
Owen knew his father would kill him, and Reika, for being together. At the very suggestion that he might have betrayed the pack, his father would have them both killed.
Or he’d do it himself.
Owen clenched his fists, pacing across the room. He had to protect Reika and himself, but he didn’t have the slightest idea how to do that. His brothers were on their way back to the Raff pack right now, and he’d be found guilty and condemned before he even got a chance to defend himself.
And Reika, his beautiful, passionate Reika, would have a target on her head by nightfall, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
THIRTEEN
REIKA
Reika’s claws ticked against the concrete, the beat faster than that of her heart. She wanted the complete absolution of running, the wind in her face, the breath tearing in and out of her lungs. It was the only way to obliterate the feelings running loose in her soul.
Even as she ran so fast that the world around her blurred into nothing but color, her body remembered the night before. The lovely intoxication of the wine might have lowered her inhibitions but not her sensitivity. It was as if her nervous system had made an exact imprint of Owen’s body against hers, and now it would repeat it, over and over, as often as it liked.
By the time she reached the ferry, even her great strength had begun to wane. She padded along slowly, staying away from the main paths as she slipped through parks and gardens. No one would really notice a pretty white dog … so long as they didn’t look too closely.
She approached the ferry and kept out of sight behind stacks of packing crates. Though the morning was busy, she managed to find a quiet moment to slip into the bathroom area and find an empty stall. She shifted back into human form and dressed, taking her time as she unrolled her hastily wrapped clothes.
I forgot my damn underwear! They must be on the floor right next to my dignity.
Sighing, Reika headed out of the bathroom toward the side deck, grateful she still had her pass tucked away in her pocket.
The ferry had begun to plow slowly across the bay, and it felt good to let the breeze whip at her cheeks as the sea birds cried above her.
There was nothing to distract her right now, and the sensations from the night before came back to her all over again. In a moment of weakness, she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the memories were real, more real than the tossing waves and the cool sea breeze.
Owen’s gleaming copper eyes right above hers. His unruly dark red hair and his strong, beautiful hands. With a gasp of need, Reika came out of the moment, snapping her eyes open and fixing them on the far horizon.
It’s just like having a bad dream. It will go away.
Reika blinked, refusing to acknowledge the emotion surging inside her. It didn’t matter how complicated and intense her feelings were. The situation was impossible … it couldn’t be allowed to develop.
She managed to clear her mind, taking deep breaths and taking care to notice the details around her, such as the superb color of the sea, the salty scent that settled on her hair, and the sharpness of the wind.
I will be okay.
After the ferry docked, she walked home, taking her time. She’d have to work this afternoon; there was no getting out of that. She still had a few hours to shower, change, and rest, and when she got back to her apartment, Reika put her mind back on the dull, ordinary routines of her daily life.
Simmering beneath her casual mental images of the boring place she worked and her dread at having to go back there and act like a servile doormat was her anger at herself. She hadn’t fully owned up to it yet, but she was disgusted with herself for sleeping with the enemy.
She knew plenty about the clan wars, and she felt unclean and contaminated for letting one of the Raff pack touch her. As she tidied her apartment and got ready for a shower, she encouraged herself to think of Owen this way so she could stop the relentless pulse of arousal that still throbbed within her.
All of her resolve fell apart once she was under the warm water. Her muscles relaxed, and her joints went loose. As her hands slid across her skin, she could feel Owen’s hands on her as if he was right there behind her.
She felt the hot, soft press of his lips and the strong thrust of his body. She closed her eyes, and just like before, he was waiting for her there. His eyes glowing with gold light, sparkled brighter as they looked at her.
She knew that look was just for her. She didn’t know how she knew it, but it was true … Owen had never looked at anyone, ever, with that much passion and desire.
