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In an instant, the memory of her soft kiss washed over me. Her lips had fit perfectly against mine, molding to me, and I hadn’t been able to resist. I’d allowed the kiss to start off gentle, but the beast inside me had won out for the briefest of seconds. The taste of her blood on my tongue had been the sweetest of sins.
One day soon, I’d bite her again.
My restraint was tenuous for several long moments before I forced my arousal back into place. There wasn’t time for that, not when Lexie was wandering like this.
She needed me, and I wasn’t about to let her down.
As she walked, I trailed her from a distance, my ears perking up to catch the faint cadence of her footsteps on the pavement. Her scent was a delicate thread that led me through the labyrinthine alleyways and bustling streets, letting me know exactly where she was at any given moment should I lose sight of her.
Briefly, I focused on the world around her. The distant hum of traffic on the Vegas strip was punctuated by the occasional blast of horns and the revving of engines. Laughter and conversations spilled out from bars and clubs, mingling with the pulsing beats of music that echoed through the streets.
Men catcalled from street corners, and a screeching cat fight echoed in the distance. A dog howled somewhere close by, and off to the right, a man staggered along with a liquor bottle in his hand.
But amidst the cacophony of city sounds, it was Lexie’s footsteps that resonated most in my ears. Each step she took was a melodic rhythm, a cadence that drew me closer to her. The soft rustle of her clothing, the subtle intake of breath as she navigated the night, all of it was a siren’s call that I couldn’t resist.
As she strode along the sidewalk, a man emerged from the shadows. His eyes gleamed with malice, and I recognized the malevolent intent in his movements. He closed in on my Lexie, who remained blissfully unaware of the danger lurking behind her. The fur on the back of my neck rose, and I had to quiet a growl lest I give myself away.
I couldn’t allow him to reach her, not when she was so vulnerable. With a silent surge of strength, I lunged from the darkness, my teeth bared with a silent snarl. The man had barely registered my presence before I pounced, my jaws clamping down on his throat. A guttural gurgle escaped him as I silenced him with my teeth. The bitter taste of his blood was stark on my tongue as my jaws sunk into his flesh. He didn’t have time to even make a sound. Keeping as quiet as I could, I dragged him into a nearby alleyway, all while keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get into any more trouble.
With the immediate threat neutralized, I continued to shadow her, keeping at a distance. The primal wolf that resided within my soul was ready to leap out, to reveal my true nature to her and claim her as my mate, but the human part of me, the part that had lived among humans for centuries, understood the delicate balance of their world.
She wasn’t ready to see me, not like this.
From experience, I knew that revealing my true nature might be too much for her too soon. It could shatter her sense of reality, leaving her vulnerable and frightened. In the past, I’d revealed my identity to society, and it had only ended in bloodshed. I knew the myths and the stories that surrounded my existence. Humans were afraid of what they didn’t understand, and she would be, too.
For the time being, I would keep my distance. I would bide my time, and when she was ready, I would tell her everything.
I glanced up at the full moon, cursing its existence for the thousandth time. Any other night, I could choose when I transformed, but not tonight. I wished she’d chosen a different night to come looking for me.
Then I could have gone to her and given her what she needed.
Hanging back, I slunk back into the shadows and let them conceal me, allowing me to blend seamlessly into the night. With a soft growl, I padded along after her, keeping her none the wiser.
I knew what she was doing. She was trying to force me out of hiding by choosing to walk along the worst part of town. It was remarkably dangerous, or at least it would be if I wasn’t protecting her, but she didn’t know what I was. She didn’t know I was a powerful beast, that I had no equal save for one man on this earth.
My paw twitched. Once she was mine, she would never wander like this again.
Her eyes wove this way and that, searching the shadows for me, but I wouldn’t let her see me, not yet at least.
It wasn’t long before another man made a move towards her, his intentions as sinister as the first. I tailed him as he slunk along a side alleyway. He grabbed his cock and adjusted himself, a malicious sneer crossing his features. Just as he made a move to step out into the light of the dim street, I leapt at him and used the force of my body to launch his body right into a brick wall. His head bounced off the hard surface, and his eyes rolled back in his head. In an instant, he crumpled to the ground, knocked out cold.
I hadn’t killed him. This time he got lucky.
I moved on quickly, wasting no time as I followed my mate through the streets. There were several groups of men congregated outside of a derelict seedy bar that catcalled her. I could practically taste the tension in the air. They knew she didn’t belong in this dangerous part of town, and it made my fur bristle with unease.
“Hey there, beautiful! Why don’t you come over here and show us a good time?”
I could smell her fear. Her footsteps quickened, but the lecherous group of men kept at it, leering at her with dangerous intent now.
“Sorry, not interested,” she called out.
They laughed at her, and I wanted nothing more than to show them what happened to men that threatened my mate.
“Come on, sweetheart. Bring those pretty tits over here!”
The fur on the back of my neck rose with fury. How dare they?
I loped in their direction, fully intending to silence them for good when her musical voice rang out all around me. I clenched my teeth, my wolf instincts urging me to pounce and defend her. The words they shouted at her were laced with disrespect and menace, and I could see the frustration playing out over her face as she attempted to escape their unwelcome attention.
