chapter 35

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been running. All she knew was she had to breathe, to get away from all the staring eyes.

Heather was tired of feeling like the freak. It was like she didn’t belong in the human world or the shifter world. She was volatile around humans and, as far as she knew, she was the only vegan werewolf.

Why couldn’t she just accept her fate and bond with David? Why did she have to push everything good away?

Being in her fur brought out her feral instincts and made the mating heat worse. And that was exactly what it was. She wanted to fuck David.

His body was hard and strong. Watching him work around the house in just his jeans was pure torture. She wanted to drag her claws down those ripped abs and sink her fangs into the thick muscle along his shoulder.

Heather shook the thoughts away and focused on the punishing pace as she raced through the unfamiliar forest. She’d never ventured this far. Darkness shrouded the land, but her night vision aided her in traversing the rugged terrain.

Once she was far enough and her body ached from exertion, she stopped and shifted back into her skin. She felt clammy and out of breath. Heather sat down and leaned against a tree. Tears pricked her eyes.

Why couldn’t she accept her fate? Why did she have to be a freak?

A war played inside her, and she felt so lost. She had no parents to guide her. No mother to teach her about these new feelings bombarding her.

Her sister couldn’t understand what she was going through. She was the perfect shifter. Strong, vocal, and a meat-eater.

She cried harder, needing the release. “What are you so afraid of?”

Heather gasped, rolling to her side to see where the voice came from. It was David, standing in the shadows in his human form. “How did you get here?”

“I followed you. I was worried.”

She hugged her knees, trying to hide her nudity—another freakish thing for a shifter to do. “You don’t have to put yourself out. You don’t have to pretend to care.”

There was no denying the growl, the masculine authority made her pussy tingle. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here, Heather.” His tone was deeper, darker than normal.

“I’ve been walking on eggshells the past six months, trying to please you, to give you everything you need, not to scare you away. Nothing’s enough for you, is it?”

“I never asked for anything.”

“Is that your way of saying thank you?” he asked. “You’re not being fair to me.”

“What do you want me to do? Bend over like a good little bitch?” “Fuck, Heather. I’ve only treated you with kindness, but you make me out to be a monster. And I think you’re the only one who doesn’t believe we’re mates.”

The word hung heavily in the air.

The entire forest seemed to silence at that moment. “I never said that,” she said.

“Then what? You hate me so much you’d rather spend your life alone?”

She turned to glance at him. The moonlight highlighted his naked form. He was the perfect male specimen. And, even though she wouldn’t admit it, she liked this dominant side of him better.

It was starting to get annoying having him dote over her every chance he got. She was already so uncertain about everything in her life, she almost craved a male who could take control. To ground her.

“I’m not sure what I want.” It wasn’t so easy bringing down her walls, but it felt liberating.

“Stop pushing me away,” he said. “Even when I can scent your desire, you deny me.”

“I’m used to everyone rejecting me. If I open up, you could do the same.”

He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.” “Why not?”

“Because I’ve been waiting for you, dreaming about the day I’d find my mate. From that first day in the forest, I knew you were the one. I think you did, too.”

“It scared me. I wasn’t ready. I lost my family and found my mate on the same day.”

“And now?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know what I am or how I should feel.

Sometimes I feel like a rogue wolf.”

“Well, you’re not.” He took a step closer. “You’re mine. There’s only so long we can put off the inevitable.”

“Your pack tolerates me.”

“No, they want you to accept them. Besides, if they don’t accept you, they don’t accept me. Mates are for life. That’s a long time, Heather.” He reached out a hand, beckoning for hers.

She bit her lip.

Her natural tendency was to reject, but instead, she obliged him. He hoisted her up to her feet, their nude bodies briefly crashing against one another. His body was rock hard with the muscle and strength of a male wolf. Every cell inside her came firing to life, the coolness thawing in an instant.

He kept her close, breathing in at her neckline. She felt her body react to the heat and rugged scent of his skin. The man was tall and built of solid muscle.

“Bethany was human, and I know Caleb had a lot of trouble courting her. It’s supposed to be easier with shifters, as natural as breathing.” He ran his tongue along the shell of her ear. “Don’t fight what your wolf wants.”

She closed her eyes, savoring all the sensations bombarding her. The rush of the leaves in the branches above her, the glow of the moon, the feel of David’s body, the deep whisper of his voice, and the way her pussy tingled just from their proximity.

He ran his hand down her back, and all the little hairs on her skin stood on end. As his fingers grazed the top of her ass, she gasped.

“You’re a virgin. That’s good,” he said.

“It is?”

“I don’t like the idea of sharing what’s mine,” he said.

She liked the thought of being owned by him, claimed by his wolf. Her deep-seated wolven instincts kept rushing to the surface.

It was impossible to fight them, and did she even want to? Her sister had accepted the new pack. Even her eccentric uncle had settled in. It was time for her to stop pushing back against the inevitable.

If her mother were still alive, she’d be celebrating this day.

Becoming a mated she-wolf was an honor, the beginning of forever. Since becoming orphaned, nothing had the same joy. But, deep down, she knew she couldn’t mourn her old life indefinitely.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“You need to stop fighting the mating heat. It’s not healthy. It’s not natural.”

It felt too sudden to go from accepting her fate to fucking in the span of an hour. “You want to claim me right here, right now?” she asked.

“Yes, but there’s no rush. Knowing you accept me as your mate is good enough for me tonight. This is a day I’ve been waiting patiently for.”

She smiled. “You have been patient. I’m sorry for being such a bitch.”

Heather recalled how far he went to impress her, to make her feel included. He didn’t single her out for being vegan.

Instead, he bought her things she loved, researched ways to cook for her. There wasn’t a thing he did that went unnoticed by her. He was one in a million and all hers if she could give up her stubbornness.

As soon as she acknowledged the mating bond, her wolf and human selves seemed to instantly be at peace with one another. The war constantly playing inside her settled down to a simmer. She was meant to be with David, she knew that now.

****

David filled gas canisters at the highway truck stop. One of the joys of living off the grid.

They ran their property with the help of several generators. He usually hated coming out here, but nothing could get his mood down now.

He’d finally made progress with Heather. After months of dealing with her pushing him away, she’d opened up, admitting she felt the mating call.

Now he needed to be sure not to scare her off. To show her he wanted her for life, not just sex.

The other night when he’d seen her in the forest, naked and near feral, she’d been a beautiful sight. He loved all those lush curves, so unique amongst she-wolves.

There was a depth to her that pulled him in. Every instinct within him told him to claim her, to force her to her knees and take her virginity.

But he called on his human side to keep his cool and hold back. Now he was sporting blue balls and anxious to get things moving forward.

She was getting closer to the mating heat. He could feel it. It was more important than ever for her to accept him, but he wouldn’t push her before she was ready.

“You’re cute.”

David turned around, the gas nozzle still in his hand. It was one of the truck-stop whores, and he had no interest. His loyalties were wholly with Heather now.

“Thanks.” He returned to his work. Three more canisters to fill. “I’d even fuck you for free, big boy.”

She was getting close to him, despite the fact he’d been trying his best to ignore her.