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“Not this late,” the attendant said. “Unless you want junk food, which there’s plenty of in the mini-mart.”
“Ugh,” Dani said, pressing a hand to her stomach. The idea of eating another bag of salty, fried food made her want to throw up. “No more chips and snack cakes.”
“Thanks,” Row said to the attendant. He and Dani got into the SUV, and he suggested, “It’s a wooded town. We could go hunting.”
“You mean you could go hunting and I could graze? What if there are hunters? I don’t want to get shot.” Deer were very likely to be shot by hunters. Not that Row wasn’t also a candidate for being shot, because he was a big bear, but she was definitely in danger if humans with guns were around.
“I’ll keep you safe.”
Using the map program on his phone, he found a heavily wooded area nearby. It took twenty minutes to find a road that skirted along the woods. Row parked and opened up the back to get their camping supplies ready for after they shifted, and Dani got out. Excitement coursed through her at the thought of shifting and running.
The sound of wolves could be heard in the distance, and Dani’s heart sank. Row would never let her shift if there was a wolf pack nearby.
“Ah, damn it,” he muttered. “We must be in pack territory. Get back in the car, Dani.”
Dani opened her mouth to respond when something caught her attention. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. Sorting through the scents of winter and woods, she found a deep, spicy smell that made her heart pound and her skin tighten.
She was aware that Row was calling her name, but she didn’t answer. He stepped around the side of the vehicle as she stared into the dark woods. “Dani?”
She turned her head slowly and looked at him. “I smell him.”
“Him? Him who?”
“Mine. My…mine.” Her whole body shook, and she exploded into her shift, far faster than she’d ever done before. One moment she was standing on two legs, and the next she was in her shifted form, pawing the ground with a snort. She glanced at Row for a heartbeat and then leaped toward the woods.
Row yelled after her, “Dani! Wait, it’s too dangerous, they’ll kill you!”
Dani didn’t stop. She couldn’t. The source of the spicy scent was calling to her, and she couldn’t ignore it. Every feminine instinct within her demanded she find it, told her that the male who belonged to the scent was her truemate. She’d never been more certain of anything in her life than she was that the spicy-scented male was hers.
She could hear Row bellowing after her in his bear shift, but she was unable to stop racing through the woods. She darted this way and that, around trees and shrubs, as she zeroed in on the scent, leaving Row behind. Her heart pounded in anticipation.
Shifting into her human form, she stumbled to a stop and fell to her knees, catching herself on her hands. The ice and snow bit into her skin, but she was too distracted by the wild thoughts banging around in her mind to care. A large wolf with gray and black fur stalked through the shadows toward her. She could see him clearly in the bright light of the full moon. A million years of instinct as prey told her to flee from him, but as she stared into the amber eyes of the male whose scent had captivated her, she was unable to run away.
She straightened, settling back on her heels and shaking the snow from her hands. The wolf growled, but she knew it wasn’t meant as a warning. He drew close, lowering his head and whining softly as he laid on his belly and crawled forward.
She smiled. “I know who you are, and I’m not afraid.”
He stopped moving and lifted his head, canting it slightly. Blinking bright amber eyes at her, the wolf nodded and then began to shift. She watched with anticipation as he changed from wolf to man, slipping to his knees as he transformed entirely.
She drew in a sharp breath. “You’re beautiful.” He had muscles on top of muscles and short, dark hair. There appeared to be something wrong with the skin on the left side of his body—it was mottled and rough-looking. Immediately her heart went out to him for whatever he’d suffered in the past.
He snorted. “Look in the mirror, sweetheart.You’rebeautiful.” He glanced around them, tilting his head as if he were listening. “I think we’re alone, but I don’t want you to be cold. I’m Adam.”
“I’m Dancer, but you can call me Dani.”
He grasped her hands and stood, and she moved with him. As she rose, she ran her fingertips up his arms to his shoulders, feeling the marks on his skin, which were oddly smooth. “Adam?” she whispered.
“They’re burn scars,” he said roughly.
She stared up at him. They were so close that their bodies were almost touching chest to hip, but a few inches separated them. She felt anchored to him as his hands tightened on her hips.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He shook his head slightly. “Why?”
“Because you were hurt and I wish I’d been there to help you.” She closed her eyes and inhaled. His spicy scent wrapped around her, making her weak in the knees.
His fingers dug into her flesh, and he snarled. “Where have you been all my life?”
