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I stalked toward the shower and opened the glass door without wasting another moment. Tori jumped in surprise, fear flashing in her eyes as she turned her head. Laughter bubbled out of her when she saw me, chasing away the haunted look. Her soulful eyes raked over my body, and when they landed on my heavy erection, she licked her lips.
I smirked, preening under her hooded gaze. In less than a heartbeat, I had the shower door shut and her wrapped in my arms, dominating her mouth with mine.
As I roamed my hands over her slick, wet skin, she shivered in my arms as I controlled the kiss that she was more than happy to reciprocate. I pushed my cock against her belly, swallowing her little moans of pleasure.
Breaking the kiss, I trailed my lips down her jaw to her neck and her ear. “Maybe after we work off some of this tension in here, we could go on a morning run together, little wolf.” The idea made my body tense even tighter, and I couldn’t wait for both releases.
Tori stopped dead and started trembling. The sweet scent of her arousal was gone, replaced by the familiar sour scent of fear, but this wasn’t just fear. This waspanic.
She struggled in my embrace and pushed me back, but I held her tighter. “Tori, what’s wrong?”
Fear clouded her eyes, and she bared her teeth. With every ounce of energy she possessed, she threw me backward, and I went hurtling through the glass wall of my shower.
Glass cut into my back and feet, but I felt nothing as I launched to a crouch when Tori bolted out of the bathroom. What the fuck? What had caused her to run? It seemed she was acting on pure instinct, fight or flight. The little wolf was afraid, and I needed to get through to her. Before her fragile psyche shattered and she turned completely feral.
I was on her heels as she scoped out the room with a frenetic energy, pacing, trying to find a way to escape.
Lifting my hands and lowering my tone, I said, “Tori, easy. Easy.” I didn’t understand what had caused her to panic in such a way. Whatever I’d done, it had terrified her completely.
I forced my alpha wolf down and chased her to the corner of the room. I worried she’d hurt herself if she tried to get out by using the stairs or jumping out of the window.
My alpha instincts battled with me to pin her down and force her to submit for attacking me. But my mind kept rationalizing that wasn’t what had happened. I’d scared her, forcing her to run. However, my wolf didn’t want to be rational. He wanted her submission.
I kept my hands in the air for her to see. “Tori, you’re okay. You have nothing to fear from me. I’d never hurt you. I could never hurt you.”
Her shivering turned into entire body shakes, and tears burst from her eyes as she spewed her words. “You’re a wolf, too. How did I not notice? How did I let this happen?” She slammed her fist into the wall. “How did I not know? Stupid, Tori. You’re so stupid.”
“Tori, calm down. Please calm down.”
She wasn’t listening to me. Her chest heaved, her breaths shallow and heavy. Tears streamed down her beautiful face. Her frightened eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life.
I trembled at her reaction to finding out I was a wolf, too. Her fear was no act. Something had made her react this way, made her unhinged. I was physically ill from her fear and self-loathing. What had happened to her? How had she not recognized the scent or auras of another shifter, many other shifters? It was one of the first things young shifters were taught,
She gripped her head as she focused on her breathing. This was what she had been battling with yesterday when I met her at the tavern. The feral part was working its way up to the surface. This little wolf had been on her own for a long time.
My wolf should’ve been calming her down, taking away the animalistic edge of shifting. But since she was a lone wolf, relaxing her would take more than just the presence of another wolf.
I couldn’t believe it was too late for her, though. For most of our time together, she was sane and put together. Her feral side wasn’t controlling her. From what I witnessed between yesterday and today, her feral side only battled for dominance when she was afraid or uncertain.
“Tori, listen to me.”
She shook her head and continued to hit her head against the wall.
“Tori, stop and listen.”
A threatening growl reverberated from her as she continued to rock herself.
“Please, Tori. I need you to sit down.”
I stepped toward her. Her eyes narrowed, and she let loose a deep growl.
Raising my hands in surrender, I stepped back and crouched until I was level with her. “Tori. I’m not going to come near you. I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to calm down and stop hurting yourself, okay? Please.”
She cocked her head at me, and I sucked in my breath at the blank look in her eyes. It only happened in a flash, but at that moment, she wasn’t human. Finally, she stopped hitting her head against the wall. I couldn’t believe how much easier I could breathe after she stopped hurting herself.
“I’d never hurt you. I could never hurt you. I only want to help. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m just like you. I’m here to help.” I kept speaking to her in low, gentle murmurs like she was a child or a scared animal—which she was. I prayed that my words were sinking in. “I’m like you. I won’t hurt you.”
Her breathing started to calm down, and mine followed suit.
