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His rich, bold scent started to leak into my senses, and my wolf rolled in closer to it. My mind slowed down and my thoughts cleared up, not the garbled mess they had been seconds before.
Ridge stroked my skin, and I didn’t want him to stop. The skin-on-skin contact was heaven, and I was back in my own body, not some mental wormhole I couldn’t get out of.
I was calm enough now and had enough of my bearings, but I didn’t want Ridge to let go. Our breathing matched up; I inhaled when he did and exhaled when he exhaled. We stayed like that for quite some time. While I was relieved that Ridge could help me calm down, it made it harder to face what I had to do.
“I think I need to leave town. Soon.”
Ridge went stone-cold stiff in my embrace. He had a hard edge to his tone as he said, “You’re not going anywhere until these waves of going feral are completely gone. You’re staying here.”
There was no arguing when he used that firm tone. Usually, that’d have me up in arms, but his safety and that of everyone else here wore heavy on my heart. If anything happened to them, I’d never forgive myself.
“Ridge, it’s the smart thing to do. The hunters have been after me specifically for some time. I can’t risk bringing them to Blackwood Creek. I can’t risk bringing them to you.”
Ridge didn’t say anything, but I felt the ripple of his muscles as he tensed. He knew I was right. He had to protect this town. That was his primary purpose. He’d told me that himself. I was honored that he wanted to shelter me, but the risk wasn’t worth it.
“Why?” His voice was hesitant. I could tell he expected another brush-off, and I was afraid I’d disappoint him again because he couldn’t know the truth. “Why are they after you specifically? What was it you didn’t tell me earlier? I can tell you left something out.”
I held back the tears and buried my face deeper into his neck, taking in several hits of his scent like he was a drug and I was a junkie. For once, I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted someone, especially him, to know everything about me.
However, I wouldn’t talk about this. He didn’t need to know I was so unwanted that my own father was hunting me down.
“Maybe if you can teach me how to calm my wolf down, I can get out of here and still not go completely feral. That way, I can make sure I don’t accidentally lead them here.” I spoke softly because saying it out loud made me realize the more I was forced to leave, the more I wanted to stay. I snuggled tighter into Ridge’s arms. He gave me such peace, something I had craved and been denied too many times to count.
Ridge’s chest heaved. I figured he hated this talk, but he couldn’t deny that I was right.
“I want to help you free your wolf so you can live in harmony with it, and if this is the only way you’ll accept my help, then I’ll help you.”
My body relaxed so fast, I hadn’t realized I was wound up so tight.
“We’ll go running tonight and try to get your wolf to give up some control after your shift.”
The tension crept back in immediately.
“Don’t worry,” he soothed. “I’ll be with you the whole time. I won’t let anything happen.”
I never thought I’d see the day when I put so much faith in someone else, but today was that day. I truly believed Ridge wouldn’t let anything happen.
I was a bundle of nerves as we waited for it to be late enough to minimize the chances of humans in the woods. I hated that we had to wait so long. I would have rather just gotten it over and done with, but it’d be stupid to shift and run around where any human could come across us.
I couldn’t stop seeing my ex’s face when he watched me shift and attack him that first time, and I struggled to wrap my mind around the fact that I’d be shifting, willingly, into an animal. It was like a sci-fi movie, but if I truly wanted to stop running from something that lived inside me, I had to shift. More importantly, I wanted to avoid leading hunters to safe, charming little Blackwood Creek. The only way I stood a chance of eventually running away without going feral was by facing my wolf head-on and getting it out of the way.
When the clock struck midnight, we made our way out of the manor. Ridge held my hand as we left and made our way into the thick woods near his property. As we pushed ourselves deeper into the forest, the scents and sounds of the night were everywhere, heightened by my emotional state. It seemed like we had walked for a long time when Ridge stopped in a clearing of trees.
“This is where I like to shift because it’s a great starting and end point. Why don’t you try shifting?”
I tried to hide my fear, but second thoughts swarmed my head, and I started to freeze. My body shook, and my teeth began chattering a bit. “Maybe we should try this some other time. Maybe we should figure out the murder first or something.”
Stepping back toward the manor, I gasped at his soft hold of my hands. He pulled me closer to him.
“Tori, you’re going to be fine. I promise. We’ll take it slow, okay?”
His syrupy-sweet voice made me want to please him because he was so kind and generous. What the hell happened to the cranky me who’d give him shit? Why couldn’t I bring her back? This softer version was causing me nothing but problems.
Ridge stepped back and maintained eyesight with me while he bent and took off his shoes.
“Take your shoes off, Tori.”
Hesitantly, I bent over and did as instructed, and when I stood up, my mouth went dry and my pussy clenched, desire flooding my body. Ridge had unbuttoned his shirt, slowly peeling it away from his body. His masculine frame stood before me as he undid his pants.
