~Sebastian~My hands twitch as they tangle into her soft auburn hair, pulling her hard against my lips. The way she melds with me feels so right it’s hard to convince myself this is all for show. But when she whimpers in pain at my lips, a menacing growl rips from me and I pull back, looking into her eyes that try to mask the pain and confusion she is feeling. Reluctantly, I pull my hands from her hair, worried that I somehow hurt her. Shit, I got caught up in the moment. I’m not a gentleman. I’m too big and brazen for my own good.My gloved hand runs along her cheeks and down to her jaw with gentle ease, where she whimpers again. My blood boils as I zero in on the bruises on her jawbone, the ones that are healing even as we speak but look like someone gripped her face with far too much force.“She’s injured,” I snarl, my eyes fiery when they land on an unbothered Alden.
The moment we hit the tree line I already have my shirt off with my hands on my jeans’ button, spinning to find Nickolai frowning at me as he runs my way all the while Wren’s eyes are glued to my tattooed chest. A pink flush runs up her pale cheeks and I can’t stop the knowing grin that finds its way to my lips. She swallows hard before finding a tree to step behind while we all strip down. “Toss your clothes out and I’ll shove them in this bag.” Tank says collecting all our clothes quickly after producing a packing bag the size of a wallet that opens up to be bigger than a woman’s purse. “Did you steal that from Luna?” I ask, raising a brow. Before shifting into my wolf. “Fuck you.” Tank mumbles before shifting into his sandy-colored wolf and collecting the bag in his mouth. Nickolai steps over to me in his gray wolf form, while we wait on Wren to finally reveal herself. She moves from around the tree, her smaller wolf looking near dwarfish to ours. We are big even for the male
Mayhem. Complete and utter mayhem. Tank is in the water thrashing around trying to get a wolf off of his back while others move forward, lying in wait for the right moment to attack. It seems like the whole scouting party is here, which means I only have to kill a few and the others will take off with their tails between their legs. I shuck my jeans, not bothering with my shirt as I shift into my enormous wolf and join the fray. Tank growls in gratitude when I bound over him, latching onto the wolf tearing at his shoulders, and taking him with me. I launch him into the nearest tree base, not even bothering to glance at the wolf again, knowing that the sick sound his bones made is enough to keep him down for at least an hour. A light gray wolf snarls at me and I take my rightful place next to Tank, preparing for more. Sure enough, the remaining five wolves leap forward, trying to overrun us. A formidable warrior can take on three wolves at once. But there is nothing formidable about
~Wren~ We left three days ago, after the first day and the beginning of the second day, It’s fair to assume I will die of exhaustion. Every single part of me aches and screams for a break longer than a few hours, and I mean every part. The hair on my headaches down to the tiny skin molecules on my feet, or, well, currently, my paws. We are all covered in dirt, but none of that seems to bother the guys, which only drives me even more crazy. Because they all smell pretty terrible, along with me, but, damn, they are getting a little grody. It’s near impossible not scrunching my nose in distaste when Nickolai wants to hug me or sidle up next to me. I should just tell him to back off until he smells like himself, but… let’s be honest, his smell isn’t the only thing that wants me to keep my distance from him. He has all but pissed on my leg to lay claim to me as his. Nickolai trots beside me as we try once more to find any way through the growing forces at the border of their pack lands
“You don’t feel it” My voice quivers. Oh holy shit, I’m such a moron. Of course, he doesn’t feel the magnetic pull I do. “I think you are afraid of good things because you have lived a shit life. Nickolai is good for you.” “And you…” “I’m not an option.” He says, standing quickly and grabbing the back of snacks. “Eat your food. You are tired and not thinking straight.” “That wasn’t what I was going to say…” I tell him with a scowl. Sebastian presses his lips together firmly in a straight line, just staring at me, waiting for me to elaborate. “I was going to say ‘And you think I’m Nickolai’s’” His jaw clenches as he glares off into the distance, probably paralyzing some poor squirrel with his angry stare. “Aren’t you?” His gaze swings to mine and I feel pinned in my spot. “I’m no one’s,” I sigh, using my hands to push myself up. “I make my own decisions. Don’t just assume that I am someone without asking me.” “I don’t care whose you are, Birdie. So long as you understand you wo
~Sebastian~ I probably should have kept my hands to myself, or at least kept my gloves on, but I don’t know what tomorrow holds for me. I wasn’t lying when I told Wren that there is some nasty shit coming today. Call it intuition or training, but I can feel it in my bones. The stillness and the distance this pack seems to keep. It’s not Alden’s pack, that much I’m sure of, which leaves only one other pack close enough to get in position in the time they did. Thundering Comet pack. The most ruthless of the packs, aligning with whoever the highest bidder is and training their pack members to maim and then leave the injured for dead. And they are excellent at it. Which is why I have to make sure Wren and Nickolai make it through today. It’s not like I’m planning on dying today. I have no intentions of sacrificing myself if the need doesn’t arise, but I’d be a moron not to expect a fight that may very well be the end of me. It’s a part of who I am, my job. Protecting Nickolai has l
-Get Nicki and Wren out the way we planned!- I order Tank. I jump up from my crouching position, knowing full well I can’t outrun them in wolf form. There are branches I will need to reach for to launch myself over boulders too high for my wolf’s form to take on. This means I have to hall ass to the east to get these guys on my scent and after me enough to draw their attention. I leap over some upturned roots, zigzagging through the trees, being sure to touch almost everyone on the way past, hoping to leave my scent strong enough. The crashing of the brambles and branches behind me alerts me to just how much they know this area and how close they are. They had to have scouted the area well before we arrived because it sounds like they are chasing me in human form, which means they know well enough that they will need the use of hands and not paws. I should have anticipated it, known they were smart enough, but I had been holding on to that little strand of hope that now is long gone
~Wren~“Mate”My world spins on its axis as I stare at the dying man before me, the cold hard knife of reality gutting me once again. My mate. Sebastian is my mate, and he is lying here in a pool of his own blood. I have never in my life seen someone in such a condition. Sebastian’s once perfect muscles shredded as they lie exposed and gushing blood, trying to knit his flesh back together. A huge gash oozes above his ear and his eyes wane in and out of focus.“Seb!” I sob out loud, not caring if anyone hears me or comes back. My hands are holding fast to his cheeks, the only place where his flesh looks to be remaining intact as I gently give him another slap.“I need you to look at me, please.”His hand tries to move, to reach for me, but it fails, as the bulging muscles in his chest are bundled and broken. I reach for his hand, moving it to my cheek for him, letting him touc