by Cathryn Fox
As those thoughts bounce around in my head and pull my attention, I veer away from Logan, and push through the trees until they thin out. With my mind preoccupied I miss a low hanging branch. Thorny fingers reach out to me, and slash through my fur. I flick my tongue and taste the warm rivulets of blood as they taint my tawny coat.
I’m about to take another step, but before my foot comes down Logan leaps out of nowhere and blocks my path. Standing before me, eyes feral, and lips peeled back, he pounces and I land on the unforgiving ground with a hard knock.
Belly up and pinned beneath his thick paws, I look up at him and my wolf makes a low guttural sound. As my heart races, I expose my canines and I can’t help but think this is the moment—the moment when the big bad wolf finally turns on me.
He presses his nose to the open cut on my cheek before it has time to heal, and pulls the scent of my blood into his lungs. He lifts his head skyward and lets loose a long, agonized howl.
I’m not sure what suddenly prompted him to turn on me. Perhaps hunger has finally gotten the better of him. Or perhaps the scent of my blood caused his baser instincts to kick in.
Regardless of the reason, it’s not in my nature to go down without a fight, and I haven’t accepted death just yet. I attempt to struggle out from underneath him but he’s so big and so strong I can’t seem to gain any leverage. I do, however, manage to work one paw free and slash out at him, catching fur beneath my nails as my mother’s words of warning come rushing back.
Trust no one but family.
The gouge doesn’t seem to slow him a bit. Air rushes from my lungs as he flattens himself along the length of me, and secures my body beneath his. I extend my nails and angle my head to search for a weapon, ready to fight to the death if necessary, but that’s when I see the bear trap. One I nearly stepped straight into. As understanding pushes back my rage, a low, distressed howl crawls out of my throat.
As I watch the gash on his face close, his warm crimson flesh mending beneath his black fur, chaos erupts inside me. I swallow, hard, because Logan doesn’t deserve what I did to him. If not for his quick reactions, I could have lost a leg, or worse…
The pewter in his eyes bleeds into his inky black pupils and when he looks deep into my eyes, I get the sense that he can see past the fur, the eyes, the girl and see into my soul, and can see how damaged I really am. Feeling vulnerable and exposed my body trembles like a leaf in a wind-storm.
“Hey,” he says, shifting his body over mine to offer his warmth. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” As he stares down at me, I work to think, to breathe. “Pride,” he begins, his hurt apparent in his expression. “I told you I’m not going to harm you. When are you going to start believing me?”
Rattled, and feeling like I’ve betrayed him somehow, I give a savage shake of my head and instead of answering I blurt out, “I shouldn’t have missed that.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because you…”
“Because I what?”
We exchanged a look and then I try to back pedal. “Never mind.” I push at him. “Get off me.”
He doesn’t get off, instead his body moves on top of mine and there is something about the weight of him pressing down on me that causes my senses to stir in the most primal way.
His muzzle is close to mine and I can feel his warm breath on my face, ruffling my fur. His paw goes to his cheek and his mood shifts. His tone is light and teasing when he says, “For a small wolf, you’re pretty badass.”
“Don’t forget it,” I say, wanting to sound more confident than I feel.
Tortured eyes meet mine and he gives a slow shake of his head when he says, “Oh no, I’d never forget it.”
Something that resembles need flashes in those rich pewter orbs of his, but I know I must be mistaken. I’m a runt, no match for an alpha like him. I push at him again, hating the direction my thoughts are taking me because no alpha wolf in his right mind would give a girl like me a second look.
I try to work my feet under his belly to shove him off, desperately needing to disentangle myself from him, but my efforts prove futile.
As he gives me a look I can’t decipher, heat surges inside my body and there is nothing I can do to tamp down my sudden fever. My brain stalls. Good God, no one has ever looked at me like that before.
His eyes sweep over my features, slowly, leisurely, taking his time to drink me in, and I become very aware of the way my body is responding.
He gives a slow shake of his head and says, “You really are one of a kind.”
Feeling completely flustered by his closeness, I force myself to breathe naturally as I push at him, not at all sure what is happening between us.
My heart thumps as he inches to the side to remove most of his weight but he still doesn’t clear his body of mine. Our hind legs tangle and one heavy paw remains draped over me, holding me down.
A shooting star scuttles across the sky and just then the near full moon slips behind a cloud, dousing the woods in darkness. As his pewter eyes penetrate the dark night, they settle on my muzzle and he makes a noise as he trails a gentle paw over my stomach. I shiver, not because he’s touching me, but because of the way he’s touching me—softly, gently.
Intimately.
As the forest closes in on us and the air ripples with his scent, I feel like I’m being pulled under, the prey of some magical alpha spell. Suddenly, time seems suspended and no one appears to exist out here in the wild except me, this alpha and this moment. My pulse pounds in my neck and as Logan zeroes in on it, I realize he knows what his closeness is doing to me.
I search for my voice, even though I’m not sure what I’m about to say. “Logan-” I begin, suddenly needing this moment to end as much as I need it to continue.
“Tell me more about Stone,” he says.
His question helps breaks the strange spell he seems to have over me and catches me by surprise.
“What do you want to know?”
“Would he hurt you if he found you?” Logan’s paw goes from my stomach to the small scar at my collarbone. He tracks it lightly, carefully.
“He could try,” I say. With my breathing hampered, I work to keep the quiver from my voice as his intimate touch pushes me past my comfort zone.
That brings a smile to his face, but it’s short lived. “Has he ever—you know—touched you?”
I shake my head. “I don’t like to be touched.”
“But he’s an alpha, and alphas can be…” he pauses, and he seems to be searching for the right word.
“Do you mean forceful?”
His teeth clench and anger clouds his pewter eyes. “Yeah.”
“No.”
“So you were going to be put in his cell during the full moon.”
I nod.
“What would you have done?”
My nostrils flare as a burst of anger moves through me. “I would have fought him.”
“Would you have won?”
“No.” I turn my head away.
“It’s okay, Pride.” He nudges me until I turn to face him. “I’m not going to let anyone take you back. I promise.”
My body tightens and the genuine concern in his eyes becomes my undoing. I bite my tongue and my defenses crumble like the dry leaves beneath me as everything about this boy generates a need deep inside me.
A long moment passes between us, both lost in our thoughts, then in the softest voice he asks, “If you were free, and if it wasn’t with Stone, would you think about having a family?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been free, so I’ve never given it any thought.” I pause and remind myself that I wouldn’t want to breed a genetic defect into any family. “If I had to answer I’d say no.”
In a move so fast that it takes me by surprise Logan slides off me and climbs to all fours. His thick muscles shift as he gives a quick hard shake of his head and focuses on the forest. His face is dark and troubled and I’m not sure what I said to cause his sudden mood sh
ift.
He stays quiet for a long moment as he stares past my shoulder. I see tension in his posture as his eyes search the dark, but I have no idea what he’s searching for. Then he releases a heavy sigh and looks to the sky.
“The moon is getting higher and we need supplies. Let’s get moving.”
And just like that, I’m left staring at his back, unable to figure out what happened between us.
11
After returning to our human forms we pull on our dirty clothes and Logan insists I wear the boots as we go searching for supplies. Silence encompasses us and we listen to the night sounds and quietly make our way through the forest.
Strides determined, we climb down the mountain and when we approach the valley floor we hear voices, music and laughter. Flames from a bonfire shoot to the sky and create a soft glow around us. The smell of smoke and something sweet reaches my nostrils. My stomach growls.
Logan turns to me. “Why don’t you wait here and I’ll go check it out.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t come? I might be able to get in and out quicker than you.”
He frowns. “No, I’d rather you stay here so you can keep an eye and ear out for hunters, okay?”
Before he goes I untie the boots. He makes a move to pull off his socks but I stop him.
“No, you take both. I need to air out my blisters, anyway.”
He agrees without argument and as he slips into the boots, I find a rock to sit on and fold my arms around myself to fight off a shiver. Although I believe the shiver has more to do with Logan and what he’s doing to me rather than the situation we’ve found ourselves in.
Moments pass as I listen to the distant laughter, and a tight ache begins in my core. As I breathe in the sweet sugary scents wafting through the air, I can’t deny there is a side of me that craves that kind of normalcy.
What would it be like to go to real school, to hang out with friends after class, and only take to the forest with my kind on run night? I think about my mother and how much she must have missed that life and how much she longed for me to have that kind of freedom.
As I sit there and wait, I scan the forest, but when I spot a movement in the near distance my senses go on high alert. I listen and watch for a long time, until the sound of feet shuffling across the fallen leaves reaches my ears.
When timber crunches loudly, and a boy’s voice reaches out to me, I know the intruder is human. He’s humming a song, and hardly trying to be quiet, which leads me to believe he’s not a hunter—no hunter in his right mind would go thrashing through the woods the way this guy is. I scent the air and as I breathe deep, I listen to his blood rush through his body.
I jump from my seated position and prepare, my wolf waiting to be unleashed. A moment later a boy who looks around the same age as Logan walks from the woods. He has a bundle of wood in his arms and a flashlight tucked into his armpit.
When he sees me he jumps back and both his timber and flashlight topple to the ground.
“Christ,” he curses, and clutches his chest like the scare has taken ten years off his life. He quickly gathers up his light and sweeps it over me. As his glance darts around, confusion flares in his eyes.
“What are you doing out here?” he asks.
I look him over. In comparison to Logan he’s a bit shorter, and not quite as muscular. His brown hair is cropped, tapered around his ears, and his green eyes might look confused but they also look kind. My wolf doesn’t sense danger, so she settles.
“What are you doing out here?” I ask in return.
He nods toward his group. “Gathering wood for our fire.” Then his brow furrows, suspicion trickles along the deep grooves. “Are you alone?”
I open my mouth to answer, but don’t get the chance. Logan steps up beside me and in a possessive move puts his arm around me and pulls me close. “No. She’s with me.”
I glance at him, startled by his sudden protective movement. I can feel his heart crashing hard against his chest and the muscles along his side ripple as he anchors me to him. As I absorb the warm strength of his body a shiver trickles down my spine. His closeness overwhelms me but in front of company I resist the urge to pull away.
The two boys take a minute to size each other up. Then the hiker’s light turns back to me. He fans it over the ground and that’s when he notices my bare feet.
He curses under his breath. “Don’t tell me they ripped you off, too?”
“Yeah, they took everything,” Logan says without missing a beat. I look at him and admire his ability to think so quickly on his feet.
“Everything?” The hiker’s green eyes widen, and he looks almost frantic when he asks, “You’re out here in the cold and you don’t have any supplies?”
Logan unties the boots and hands them to me. “We’ve been sharing as we make our way out,” he says.
“Unbelievable. We ran into another group who had a few things jacked, too.” He shakes his head. “Man, you both need to do something before you get frostbite and lose a limb.”
“We’ve been looking for a park ranger, but can’t seem to find any.”
The hiker lets loose a heavy sigh and looks around the dark forest. “There is nothing you can do tonight so you should probably come back to our camp. We have plenty of food and spare clothes. Come morning we’ll help you both get out of here.” He bends to gather his wood and I exchange an uneasy look with Logan before he drops to the ground to help him.
“The name’s Taylor,” he tosses over his shoulder as he grabs his light and shines it on the path.
“I’m Logan and my girlfriend here is Pride.”
I start at that false statement and shoot a glance at Logan, but he keeps his eyes trained on Taylor and ignores me.
With his arms loaded with timber, Taylor steps ahead. “Follow me,” he says and resumes his whistling as he tromps through the woods.
Logan grabs my arm to keep me a few steps back. We walk slowly and once we have enough distance between us, he turns concerned eyes on me.
“Pride,” he whispers. I look at him and note his furrowed brow as well as the tiny specks of pewter dancing in a stormy sea of blue, an indication that his wolf is concerned.
My hackles rise. “Should we run?”
“No.” His voice is firm, to showcase the seriousness of the situation, I suppose. “Right now with everyone hunting us, we’re probably better off with a group of people. Our scents will mingle and dilute. Besides, no one expects us to socialize out here.”
I nod, but I can tell there is something else bothering him. “What is it?”
“We can’t act like enemies. It would seem suspicious.”
“Okay,” I agree.
“We’re going to have to pretend we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. It’s only logical.”
Since I’ve had no experience in that area I say, “I don’t know how to do that.” For a brief second, I let my mind drift and think about Logan with other girls. But when I do, I get a strange tightness in my chest so I quickly push that image out of my mind.
“Just follow my lead.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to have to touch you.”
We exchange a long look and I know what he’s getting at.
“You can’t flinch.”
I step over a fallen log and hurry along the path. “I won’t.”
Logan uses his free hand to push a branch out of our way. “You’re also going to have to pretend you like it.”
I nod and as my blood rushes quicker, I suddenly wonder how much pretending I’ll have to do. “I can pretend,” I assure him.
As we get closer to the fire we pick up our pace to catch up to Taylor. He drops his lumber and steps up to the group who are all seated around the campfire.
He waves his hand behind him and says, “We have company.”
Curious eyes turn on us and my entire body tenses. Logan drops his wood on top of the pile and grasps my hand. When he gives it a reassuring squeeze I force myse
lf to relax.
“Looks like they had their things jacked as well. They’re out here with no supplies.”
Just then one of the girls jumps up from the log she’d been sitting on, her dark ponytail bouncing from side to side as she shakes her head. “You’re kidding me.” She puckers her lips and gives me a once over. “Look at you,” she says, her voice laced with concern. “You’re underdressed and a complete mess.” She makes a tsking sound and grabs a blanket from her tent. Mumbling under her breath she says, “I’d really like to get my hands on the thieves who stole your gear.”
Not really understanding their genuine kindness my heart crashes hard against my chest. And when this stranger comes to drape a heavy blanket over me, I’m speechless. She runs her hands up and down my arms to warm me and I try not to flinch at her touch.
“Hey pal, what size are you?” one of the boys asks.
“Twelve,” Logan answers.
“Will an eleven do?”
“You bet they will.” The boy tosses Logan a spare pair of boots and he drops to a rock to haul them on. “Thanks, man.”
Once we’re warmed, we sit around the fire and as I adjust myself on the log, Taylor does the introductions. I learn that the girl who jumped to my rescue is Andrea, and the boy who gave up his boots is Jack, her boyfriend. After we exchange pleasantries, Taylor introduces Danielle and Trey, Michael and Brittany, and then he introduces his own girlfriend, Janie. I try to remember the names, four couples in total, as I greet them all.
We get comfortably seated and Logan initiates conversation. There is something about the soft lilt of his voice, his alpha charm and the way he presents a calm demeanor that draws the hikers in and puts everyone at ease. I have no doubt if we were normal teens, Logan would be the most popular boy in high school.
“What are you all doing out here?” Logan asks as shrewd eyes size up each and every one of them.
Taylor grabs two beers from his cooler and says, “Having one last party before we all go off to college in a few days.” He tosses the cans to Logan, who opens them and hands one to me.
I think about turning it down, but the look on Logan’s face changes my mind. I smile to hide what I’m really feeling as the bitter scent stings my nose.
