by Alisa Woods
If Daniel did manage to summon his inner witch, who was to say he wouldn’t be just the same?
He dusted himself off and visually checked the others. Everyone, including the petite witch with the pretty green eyes, seemed unharmed.
“I think we’re done for the day,” Daniel said.
Skylar seemed to want to say something to him, but she held back. Daniel turned and strode away. He wanted nothing to do with magic for a while.
Skylar was going nuts cooped up at the estate.
Not that the company was terrible—she was surrounded by gorgeous shifter men all day long, coming and going on whatever business they had, tending to the horses, keeping watch over Mama River, or just cycling through, checking in. But magic practice had been put on hold for two days now while Daniel took care of some business with the Army. That seemed highly suspicious to her—she suspected he was unnerved by Zoe’s overpowering display of magic, not that he had any real “business” to take care of—but she was just grateful he hadn’t kicked her out altogether. And while the hunkalicious men at the estate sent her witchy heart pitter-pattering, there was only one man her secret inner wolf was pining for—Daniel Wilding.
Until he decided to come back, Skylar spent most of her down time in the forest.
On this fine afternoon, it was alive with sounds and smells that soothed her secret wolfy-needs. As she hiked through the ferns and around the fallen logs, she was amazed how much a simple stroll through the woods could bring that part of her to the surface. It was a bittersweet feeling of home with a missing chunk called mate. But this freedom to just commune with nature was something she could only do here, so she’d spent hours wandering the deer paths and charting out hidden streams.
She’d already been in the forest for several hours today and was just now winding back. The peak blaze of the sun had passed, but it was still hot as it started to sink lower in the sky. When she reached the edge of the forest, which was still charred from Zoe’s outburst, Skylar was surprised to see a figure marching across the field toward her. She shaded her eyes—it was Daniel. Her heart lurched a little, and her wolf perked up immediately. She hadn’t quite broken out of the forest yet, so he couldn’t see her… but he was headed straight for her.
She stepped out into the sun. “Hey, hot stuff. You’re back.”
He stumbled to a stop, squinting at her. She kept her smile bright but hoped she hadn’t just scared him off. After a long hesitation, he continued tromping through the tall grass of the field.
“Hey,” he said. “I didn’t know you were out here. Going for another naked run?” The edge of his smile quirked a little, and it flushed an unexpected heat through her. He stopped in front of her, his blue eyes twinkling with humor.
She put on her full flirtation mode. “Is that an invitation?”
The smile dropped from his face, and her heart lurched again. But the aura that shimmered around his body wasn’t pulsing red with anger or offense, but a purplish kind of heat. Lust. Auras didn’t always make their presence known, only when she was making an effort to read them or when the emotion was particularly strong. He stepped closer with an intense look that she could read even without an aura… and suddenly, it was difficult to breathe normally.
“I was just planning on a walk,” he said, quietly, blue eyes blazing. “But I could be talked into other things.”
“Is that right?” Did she want to talk him into something? Her wolf was whimpering yes, yes, yes. But that was precisely why she shouldn’t—the insanely masculine scent of him wafting over her was already making her wolf want to burst forth, not to mention those broad shoulders and barely concealed muscles under his tight-fitting t-shirt.
She swallowed.
He eased even closer. “Definitely yes,” he breathed. Then he blinked and pulled back a little. “But that would be… unprofessional.”
She nodded, a little too fast. “Given that we’re working together.”
“Exactly.” But there was still a shine in his eyes, and he wasn’t backing away anymore.
The sinking feeling trickling through her was either disappointment or relief—maybe both. “I should probably thank you for that,” she said.
He frowned. “For what, exactly?”
“For still letting me work with your wolves. And not sending me packing after what happened the other day.” Jumping Daniel’s crazy-hot body was probably a terrible idea, but staying on his good side definitely wasn’t—she would take all the time she could get here in the forest and among the wolves. Being close to Daniel was just an added bonus. At least, that’s how she explained it to her secret wolf… after telling her to stop whining.
He looked at her quizzically. “That wasn’t your fault.”
“Well, I did encourage her.” Then she rushed out, “But I’m fairly sure it was an accident. She just needs to learn a bit more control.”
“Control. Right.” He nodded like this made sense to him, but he backed off a little more, putting space between them.
She cocked her head. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to try?”
He was back to frowning. “Try what?”
“To bring out your inner witch.” She gave him a small smile. “We could go in the forest, where no one will see. The others don’t have to know.”
He hesitated a long time before answering, flicking looks to the shadowed trees behind her. “I don’t know…”
“C’mon,” she said, peering up into his scrunched-up face. Why was it troubling him so much? “Let me practice on you. That way, when Zoe is ready to try again, I’ll be ready for her. You want her on the team, right?”
He seemed even more conflicted. “Yes.”
“Then show her you’re not afraid of your own white wolf,” she said, tilting her head toward the forest.
He visibly swallowed. He really was afraid. She didn’t understand that at all. Daniel Wilding was strong, in command, an alpha wolf if she’d ever seen one—that was part of why her wolf was whimpering, even now, for her to leap up into his muscular arms and ride him like she would never let go. What could possibly make this man who oozed confidence and masculinity afraid?
Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, “All right.” It was a bare mumble through his teeth, but he brushed past her and led the way into the cover of the trees and shrubs.
They hiked in silence for several minutes. She would let him decide how far he wanted to go before it was far enough—deep enough in the forest not to be seen or heard by anyone wandering nearby at the edge of the estate. Finally, he stopped shoving aside ferns and turned to face her.
“I’m really the one who should be thanking you.” He’d lost some of that uncertain look from before. “You’re doing great things for the team. I’m glad you’re part of it.”
That sent an unexpected flush through her. She was part of the team. Their strange little pack of magical white wolves. It was the closest she would ever come to having a pack of her own. Tears suddenly pricked her eyes, and she had to look away.
“Hey,” Daniel said, peering at her and stepping closer. “Did I say something wrong?”
She blinked back the tears and told her wolf to stop the whining already, for goddess’s sake! “No, I just…” She fought to put on a smile and look him in the face. “That was a sweet thing to say. Thank you.”
He seemed confused. “Okay.”
“So,” she said brightly, “let’s get started.”
He frowned. “You should know I don’t think this is going to work.”
“That’s the spirit!” she exclaimed.
He huffed a small laugh and smiled. Holy crap, the man was gorgeous when he smiled. She wasn’t sure if she’d even seen a grin on him before, but if she had, it was nothing like this rain of sunshine in the middle of the forest.
The smirk that followed was slaying her heart. “Okay, Ms. Starling,” he said in a rough-and-sexy voice that was going straight to her lady parts. “Tell me what I need to do.”
She tried to ignore the heat flushing through her. “You have to focus on your wolf. Maybe you could shift to truly get in touch with him.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “You’re just trying to get my naked, aren’t you?”
She choked. “No! I was just—”
He was chuckling. Laughing. At her.
She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe you should shift. After all, you’ve seen me naked already. Turnabout’s fair play.”
His chuckling faded away, and the heated look was back. Before she could say anything else, he had shifted into the beautiful, black-shaggy wolf she had seen in the forest the other morning. His bright blue eyes shone, even more brilliant in contrast with his black fur. He wasn’t a white wolf, obviously, but he was gorgeous. As a man. As a wolf. It really didn’t matter.
She was drawn in and found herself kneeling down into the ferns until she was eye-level with his wolf form. She was reaching for him before she even thought about what she was doing, just like before—
He leaned his head away.
She froze, her hand still hanging in the air between them. “I just…” She swallowed. “Your fur is so beautiful. Can I touch it?” Did he even understand her while in wolf form? She’d never been around anyone else when she had shifted, and while her beast was fully part of her while she was in wolf form, she still was able to hear and to think.
Then he dipped his head closer to her, inviting her to touch the top.
She slid one hand into the thick coat, and it was amazingly soft. She dug her fingers into his fur, not hard, but in a gentle, massaging kind of way. He leaned into her, a rumbling sound coming from his chest. She brought her other hand up and stroked his fur, sliding behind his ears, which sent the rumbling sound deeper and stronger.
Her breath was held the entire time. There was something so gentle and sweet about touching him like this, it made her heart ache. She cupped his wolf-cheeks in her hands and peered into his brilliant blue eyes.
“You need to focus on the magic of your wolf,” she said softly, a bare whisper over the twitterings of the forest. “You have a powerful force inside you. You just have to feel your way to it, tap into the elemental magic swimming in your blood. It’s part of who you are. Don’t deny it. Don’t keep it separate.” The tears were pricking again at the backs of her eyes—she wished she could do that very thing. Keeping her wolf nature secret was slowly killing her inside. She could feel it eating away at her, wanting to burst free, and holding Daniel like this in his wolf form was making her inner wolf so agitated she could barely stand it. She wanted to shift. To run with him. To be free to embrace that part of herself.
For Daniel’s part, he had closed his eyes, his wolfy-face still heavy in her hands as he worked on summoning his inner witch. She could sense it, touching him this way, a crackling of magic bristling through his fur and into her fingers. He was a powerful witch—a wolf/witch. She could feel it stirring inside him. But it was distant and flickering, like a flame that could be snuffed out with a slight breeze. Or maybe like smoldering coals that could be brought to life with just the right amount of whispered love across them.
Then that burgeoning magic sputtered and doused.
Daniel pulled back, sliding his face out of her light hold. He shook his head, as if warding something off, then he stepped back further to gather up his clothes in his jaws. He shifted suddenly into a man, with his back turned to her. She quickly got to her feet and turned away, face hot, so he could dress. She heard him sliding on his jeans with a slight growl of frustration leaking out.
“You were doing so well,” she said to the forest in front of her, not wanting to turn around. Even that short glimpse of his naked backside was burned into her mind. Every muscle in the man’s body was carved hard, rippling masculinity from the bulk of his shoulders down to the taper of his waist and deliciously rounded on his bare bottom. It was hard to concentrate on words that would encourage him when all she could think about was touching his bare skin, rather than his fur. “I’m sure with a little more practice, that you’ll be able to—”
“Skylar.” His soft voice was right in her ear, making her jump. She jerked around to face him. He was dressed again with a soft expression on his face. “Thanks for trying, but I just don’t think I’m going to get there. I don’t trust my white wolf enough to bring him out. I don’t really want him to come out.”
She frowned. “But why not?” Her fingers were itching to touch his face, so close and open and peering at her with those heavy-lashed beautiful blue eyes.
He grimaced and hesitated.
“You don’t want to tell me. It’s okay. It’s not my business.” But her heart was squeezing, hoping he would. There was something he was afraid of with this, and she wanted to banish that away. She wanted to bring back that sexy smile to his face.
“No,” he said. “I don’t want to tell you. But you should know. Especially if you’re going to help Zoe.”
She nodded and waited for more, her heart lifting.
“My grandfather was a white wolf,” he said, the muscles in his shoulders bunching up under his t-shirt. “He was also a killer and an adulterer. He slept with his brother’s mate, who just happened to be the alpha of the Wilding pack. Normally, that kind of thing almost literally can’t happen, not with the submission bond.”
She just nodded again—she’d done her research on wolves, so she knew all about the magic submission bond that members of a pack made with their alpha. Or a female wolf made with her mate. It was a literal magical connection in their blood, a pledge to protect and defend, that made it almost impossible to do something like betray the alpha in any way.
“Only a white wolf—a witch, essentially—could have broken that submission bond and fucked the alpha’s mate. His brother’s mate. And then, when he was found out, he murdered them both.”
She grimaced. It was understandable why he wouldn’t want to embrace that part of his family history. “So that’s why you hate witches. I mean, beyond all the normal reasons wolves have to hate us.”
His shoulders dropped, and his expression softened. “Some witches are all right.”
A smile fought its way onto her face. “I don’t know. You probably shouldn’t trust me. I might have secrets you don’t know about.” She bit her lip, dying to tell him about her inner wolf. I’m more than just a witch! But those words couldn’t come out of her mouth.
“What kind of secrets do you have, Ms. Starling?” The husky drop in his voice was surging heat to her lady parts again. He was staring at her lips like he wanted to kiss her.
He leaned closer, and suddenly his fingertips were drawing a hot line across her cheek. Magic sparked between them, dancing along the skin-on-skin contact like it did for all witches, his inner magic reaching out to connect with hers.
She wanted so badly for him to close the gap and kiss her, it literally carved out her chest, forcing air out in a gasping kind of sigh. But she couldn’t let this happen—if she kissed Daniel Wilding, it wouldn’t stop there. She would be tearing those clothes off his body and begging him to take her, hold her… love her. She would want all of it—and coming out as a wolf would mean leaving her coven forever. Her home, her family, all the people she’d ever known and loved…
She stepped back, breaking the intensity between them.
Disappointment shaded his eyes.
“You don’t want to know a witch’s secrets,” she said shakily, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the chill of his disappointment. “Some things are better left uncovered.”
Then she turned and high-tailed it out of there, leaving Daniel standing in the forest alone.
Secrets.
Daniel was dying to know what Skylar Starling’s were, but in the two days since that encounter in the forest when she dug her fingers deep into his fur and nearly let him kiss her, she had backed off and shut down and closed up. Every practice, she was there, helping the others and asking when Zoe was going to rejoin them, but t
hat momentary opening up… was gone.
It bothered him far more than he liked. Far more than it should. Yes, she was hot. Yes, there was this unexpectedly sweet and vulnerable side to her. But she was still a witch. His alpha wolf shouldn’t be going into hyper-protective mode, wanting to hold her and find out her secrets and keep her from harm. She was a fucking witch—she could scorch him with her pinky finger, if she wanted.
But she didn’t want to.
What she wanted was to touch his fur, bring out his inner witch, and gently, carefully, probe as to why he was fighting his white wolf. There was something tremendously vulnerable about her… only he didn’t know what it was. And that was driving his wolf absolutely insane.
This morning was no different.
They were out in the field again, practicing, with Skylar lobbing up various types of magic-crafted birds made out of blue energy, and the white wolves—Kaden, Owen, and Noah—taking turns trying to pop it out of the sky. They’d been at it for an hour or so and were getting pretty good. Daniel just hung back at the edge, talking with Troy and watching Skylar joke around with the others, all while Daniel tried to wrestle his own inner beast into behaving. Or at least not lusting so blatantly after the petite witch wielding magic in the field.
He wasn’t having much luck with that, so he focused on Troy’s problems instead. He’d been avoiding Zoe—they had some kind of falling out—and that needed to come to an end if they were going to get her on the team.
