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It stopped a few feet in front of me. I pulled my lips back, showing my teeth in a snarl. I wasn’t here to cause trouble; I was just out on a run.
The power around me grew thicker still. The wolf was pushing it at me, his magic running all over me like it was trying to suss out my strength, trying to intimidate me. Magic felt like water, sometimes, a trickle or a wave or a tsunami, and the way this wolf pushed his magic at me was like it was trying to drown me. It almost worked—it was an intimidating wolf with a presence that was impossible to ignore. I wasn’t going to back down.
I pushed my magic toward him, letting it swell out around me, all but throwing it at the wolf.
It growled at me, long and low, those cerulean eyes piercing me, pinning me with so much magic, I felt like I could choke on it.
I stared into those eyes, and they drew me in. My wolf recognized his wolf as if it was familiar—as if we’d known each other before.
The other wolf felt it, too. He paused, and I took the opportunity to get the upper hand.
I threw more magic at the wolf. I wasn’t going to accept that I was outmatched until I couldn’t take it anymore, and so far, I still had what it took to face this beast.
The wolf snarled at me, teeth bared and dripping with menace. I growled back at it, and the wolf snapped its teeth.
Before I could do anything else, it lunged toward me. I dropped my body down low, protecting my vitals as best as I could, and waited for the attack. I still didn’t run.
When the wolf was on me, jaws still snapping, I went for the legs. If I could get it down on the ground, I could go for the neck. I was outweighed by the monstrous wolf, but I had speed on my side with my smaller size.
I nipped a leg, and the wolf yelped. It went for me, taking a gash out of my fur. I whined, but it didn’t feel like the skin was broken, and I went for the leg again, swinging my body around, staying out of the way of those gnashing teeth. If I let it catch me, I was done for. The beast was physically bigger and stronger than I was, although our power seemed to be more evenly matched. There was so much magic, I had to focus on the physical fight not to be distracted.
I went for the feet again, but the wolf yanked them away, anticipating my attack this time, and twisted its body around. Teeth grabbed my neck, and with a twist, I was pinned down on the ground, the large body on top of mine, teeth on my neck.
This was it, I thought. This was where I died.
I didn’t whimper or squirm. If it was going to kill me, then let it be done with it right away.
The wolf paused and finally let go of my neck. The deep blue eyes locked on mine, and a shiver ran down my spine. I’d seen those eyes before; I’d felt this magic.
The wolf on top of me started to shift. The fur receded, and the face changed, the snout falling back, giving way to a chiseled face—high cheekbones, square jaw, and a nose just a little crooked, like it had been broken once or twice before.
Bishop.
I shifted, too. Staying in wolf form when he conceded would show cowardice. He was giving me the upper hand in animal form when he was calling a truce of sorts.
When I was in human form, I lay underneath him, naked, and his muscular body pinned me down.
The same musk I’d smelled on him before wrapped around me, drawing me in. My body tightened in all the right places. His scent tugged at my wolf, but not in a way that made me want to fight him.
Oh, no. That pull was the kind of pull that made me want to fuck him.
Warning bells went off. A shifter wasn’t supposed to be affected like this by the scent of another wolf. Not unless…
No.
Bishop was not the wolf for me. We werenotmeant to be together. All the stories about fated mates we’d grown up with were just stories—fairytales in a magical world. Except, I had just seen my alpha and his mate, Liv, realize they were destined to be together.
Get it together.
I forced myself to stop thinking and focused on what I saw instead.
That didn’t help much because holyshit, the man was attractive. He was chiseled like hell, as if the gods themselves had sculpted this Adonis. He had scars on his shoulders, his arm, one along his collarbone that looked like the teeth of an animal had ripped through him.
Wolves healed lightning fast. Our metabolisms were faster thanks to our magic, and something awful had to happen for us to heal slowly enough that it left scars.
“What are you doing here?” Bishop asked.
“Running,” I said. “Are you going to let me up?”
