Pride's Run (22 page)

As the daylight disappears and douses the
woods in darkness, I can feel the full moon taunting me.

I shy away from it and stare at the
snow-dusted ground beneath my feet, trying to focus on anything and
everything except that old familiar call of the wild and what it’s
about to do to me.

At the glacier-capped peak of the mountain,
ice shards crunch beneath my boots, the sound cutting through the
silence of the night. I peer over the jagged cliff and my glance
instantly darts to some campers hiking through the lush green
valley some eight hundred feet below.

Deep inside my wolf stirs, letting me know
what she wants. What she’s been trained to do. The hairs on the
back of my neck prickle and a shiver moves through me. I carefully
back away from the embankment, away from temptation.

My eyes slip shut as I diligently fight an
internal battle to defy nature. I realize it’s impossible, but it
still doesn’t stop me from trying to resist the power the moon has
over my kind.

When a rough, callused palm touches my cheek,
the gentle caress a clear attempt to settle my unease, my lids
spring open, and I suck in a sharp breath.

“It’s okay, Pride. I’m here.”

The softness in Logan’s voice draws me in and
trickles down my spine like warm summer rain. I can feel him—too
close. I try to inch away, but he doesn’t let me. He grips my arms
and pulls me to him. When our bodies collide, my head jerks up with
a start and my gaze clashes with his. The silver glow from the full
moon highlights the pewter in his eyes and just below the surface I
can see his wolf pacing.

Strong fingers rake through my long, tangled
hair and draw my head against his chest. He dips his chin and
buries his face in my knotted curls. With the softest voice, he
murmurs, “You have to trust me.”

Trust?

I eye him with uncertainty. After everything
we’ve been through I want to trust him, but I know what my wolf
wants.

What she’s capable of.

I shake my head and struggle to pull away but
he grasps me tight and splays one large palm over the small of my
back, his warm, powerful hand attempting to chase away my
unease.

“I can get you through this,” he assures me.
A gentle tug on my hair forces me to look at him. “I promise I
won’t let you hurt anyone.”

His soothing words do little to calm me. Not
when I know what my wolf is capable of.

“What if you can’t? What if I—”

“You won’t.” He pulls me in tighter to offer
reassurance and presses his mouth against my temple. His soft lips
brush over my skin and in a moment of weakness I accept his warmth,
my wolf taking comfort in his quiet strength and allowing it to
help me forget what I am and the danger I pose to those innocent
people below.

Logan makes a strange noise, a half-laugh,
half-growl and dips his head. With our lips only inches apart, his
hair brushes over my cheek and he pulls me closer, anchoring me to
him. As he packages me in his arms, my throat constricts and heat
explodes inside me.

“Logan,” I begin and wet my lips. When I see
turbulence in his eyes, I wonder if he’s going to pull away from me
again, or is this the moment when he’s finally going to kiss
me.

“Yes?”

Before I can answer his lips find mine and I
gasp as a shiver wracks my body. But Logan doesn’t pull back,
doesn’t address my shock. Instead, as foreign sensations explode
inside me, he deepens the kiss and takes full possession of my
mouth.

When he growls, need unfurls inside me and a
fine shudder licks up my spine, catching me off guard. As intense
pleasure courses through my veins, it instantly distracts me from
the temptation below. For a moment I forget about those campers,
the full moon, and the hunger gnawing in my stomach. I concentrate
only on the sensations slamming into me as I let them pull me under
like a tsunami wave. Never in my life have I felt such heat in my
blood, such excitement bubbling up inside me.

His hands settle on my hips and when he draws
me closer, I can’t seem to think with any clarity. When his fingers
bite into my skin hard enough to leave a bruise, I begin to unravel
like an old woolen scarf.

His heat reaches out to me and a split second
later my world tilts on its axis. Feeling dizzy, I focus on the
sweet cinnamon flavor of his mouth, knowing I’m about to melt like
a summertime Popsicle. Good God, I’ve never been kissed like this
before.

Never like this.

“Kiss me back, Pride,” he murmurs into my
mouth. I part my lips and as his scent swirls around me sweat
breaks out on my body.

Caught up in the moment I let myself get lost
in his touch. His hands slide to my back and he holds me tighter.
Despite the urgency of the situation, he doesn’t rush things.
Instead, we exchange kisses for a long time, until heat spreads
through my entire body and my blood fires from simmer to
inferno.

A raging fever builds inside me, but this
time it’s not from his touch, or from the brush of his lips over
mine. Powerless to resist the pull of the moon, I break free from
his hold and step back. Logan’s silver eyes rake over me and it’s
all I can do to catch my breath as my primal side wrestles for
dominance.

My clothes rip and I realize that I’ve left
no time to remove them. But I can’t think about such things right
now, not with the way my wolf is clawing its way out of my body. As
always, blinding pain sears my insides and I clutch my stomach.
Heat boils my blood and I arch my back and let loose a deep,
guttural moan.

“Stay with me, Pride. Listen to my
voice.”

My legs wobble and I drop to the ground next
to my shredded clothes. The groaning of my joints, sliding and
shifting into place, cuts through the quiet around us. Tawny
colored fur sprouts from my skin and shelters my exposed flesh from
the harsh mountain elements.

Logan drops to the snow-packed ground beside
me, waiting for me to complete my transformation before he begins
his own. His age and strength make him much more adept at
prolonging the change.

My muzzle punches out of my mouth, and the
world around me begins to alter, fading in and out of existence.
Blood pumps quickly through my veins and that’s when I notice the
hunger churning inside me. I turn away from Logan and savagely toss
my head from side to side.

“Focus on me,” Logan’s deep voice
commands.

My nails extend and with much effort I angle
my chin to see him. Rainbows of color swirl before my eyes, and
then the forest fades to a dull gray. I try to concentrate on his
voice. But the pain is too much. Burning. Intense. I cry out.

As my cartilage slides into place, my girlish
scream turns into a dark howl. It echoes off the mountain and sends
a flock of birds into flight. Silence falls once more as I pull my
lips back to expose sharp fangs.

A split second later, the last of my bones
reform and as the pain begins to ebb, I gingerly sit back on my
haunches and proceed to groom myself as I draw my next breath as a
wolf.

Looking through the eyes of the beast, I
glance around, fully aware of the boy studying my every movement.
With my transformation complete, I watch him in return. Modesty
aside, Logan sheds his clothes and his loud howl cuts the twilight
as he joins me in primal form.

A few seconds later he stands before me as a
beautiful boy trapped in a wolf’s body-a lethal combination of
power, muscle and intellect. The cool night wind ruffles the dark
fur on his streamlined body as he circles me, coming dangerously
close to my undisciplined wolf, and I wonder what he’s going to do
next.

His paws sink into the snow, each step
tentative, careful. He’d been so confident before my shift, but now
that he’s staring at my wolf, wild and hungry beneath the full
moon, I can see the caution in his eyes. Is he finally aware of
what I’m capable of or is something else making him nervous?

A noise at the base of the mountain cracks
the still air. Instincts sharpened, my ears perk up and I listen
carefully. From my perch I can hear their voices, their laughter,
and take joy in the sound of their blood rushing through their
veins. It teases my hunger to the point of distraction. Driven by
dark need, I canter to the cliff’s edge and run my tongue over
sharp canines.

“
Hey,”
Logan barks out.

I turn back to him.

“
I bet you can’t catch me.”
He twists
around and with lightning speed bolts through the thick forest.

I scent the air and let loose a yelp, my wolf
unable to resist the chase, the thrill of the hunt. Feeling feral,
I dig my talon-like nails into the hard ground and with a swish of
my tail I take off after him, following his distinct, earthy aroma,
one I’ve grown quite fond of over the past few days. As I watch him
weave his muscled body in and out of the tall, threadbare trees, I
wonder where he’s leading me. I also wonder what will happen when I
catch him.

Will my instincts to kill rule my actions?
Can I trust that his animal bloodlust won’t take over?

Logan tosses me a glance over one powerful
shoulder, and begins to slow to a trot. As I hurry to catch up, I
note the way his dark gaze zeroes in on my throat which makes me
wonder, does this boy have what it takes to tame me, or will
tonight end in total and utter bloodshed for all?

When I stop a few feet away from him, pacing
like the wild animal I am, anxious to kill, to feed, I look past
his shoulder and notice the small crevice in the rock wall. Logan
takes a cautious step backward and when he disappears into the
cave, I let loose a deep, guttural howl. The low-pitched sound
serrates the quiet night and sends the wildlife scurrying through
the forest.

From the cavern I see a flash of pewter and
it sends my wolf into chase. Untamed, I pounce inside the small
opening. I look from the left to the right, but before I can locate
Logan, his low growl punctures the black and he leaps through the
air, pinning me belly up beneath him. My wolf howls and I push him
off me. He rolls to the side and I climb on top of his powerful
body determined to restrain him beneath my paws.

Logan, however, has other ideas. With ease,
he flips me back over. He uses his power and strength to restrain
me beneath him, and when I feel his sharp fangs cut into my throat,
I let loose an agonized yelp.

He holds me down and as blood pours from my
neck the smell saturates the tight quarters. As I feel the sting of
his fangs, I know in an instant, it’s kill or be killed.

I struggle beneath him, my paws thrashing,
yet I’m still unable to gain purchase. With animal bloodlust ruling
me, I fight, bite and scratch until I exhaust myself, but Logan
still doesn’t waver, still doesn’t let go of my throat.

That’s when it hits me. If he was going to
snap my neck, wouldn’t he have done it by now? I stop
struggling.

“
Are you done
?” he asks fiercely.

Confused and breathing hard I don’t answer.
Instead I stare at him, and note the warm heat in his eyes as they
lock on mine. That flash of heat does something to my wolf.
Something primal. Something that settles my bloodlust.

“
Are you done, Pride
?” he asks
again.

“
I thought you were going to
—,” I
answer, breathless.

“
I know what you thought
.”

“
It’s…it’s my wolf
,” I say
apologetically. “
She doesn’t know any better.
”

With that Logan eases back and releases his
hold on me. I take that opportunity to flip onto my feet. Crouching
low I watch him, watch the way his streamlined body flexes as he
stalks toward the entrance. He uses his shoulder to roll a boulder
in front of the small opening, locking himself inside with the
dangerous wolf while keeping the rest of the world out.

“
What are you doing
?” I ask cautiously
as my body heals the puncture marks on my throat.

“
Protecting you. Like
I
promised
.”

But when he turns back and I see the hungry
way he’s looking at me, needy sensations erupt in my stomach and my
caution turns to anticipation.

Because everything inside me tells me his
hunger isn’t for my blood.

Energy arcs between us as Logan stalks close.
My entire body shivers, my wolf suddenly so completely aware of the
alpha it’s all I can do to draw in air.

Then it occurs to me. This is the distraction
he’s been planning. A female is programmed to seek an alpha,
especially on shift night—a night when a male takes his mate. I
don’t miss the significance in what he’s doing, what he’s asking of
me.

He moves in close. My wolf lets loose a howl,
a basic animal response to the dominant male who’s about to lay
claim to her.

He touches me with his paw and a shudder
races through me. “
I won’t do anything to hurt you, Pride
,”
he whispers.

“
I know
,” I say as my stomach
flutters.

And I do know.

My paw closes over his, then moves to his
fur. We touch quietly, and I move my mitt over his coat, a careful
exploration of his wolf.

Secure inside our cave I take pleasure in
caressing the magnificent wolf who saved those hikers from me—a boy
who saved me from myself.

There is no denying that Logan has touched
something deep within me and stirred feelings I didn’t even know
existed. It’s also clear that with his help I’ve come such a long
way in such a short period of time.

A deep sense of gratitude washes over me, and
my heart turns over in my chest. Without Logan distracting me from
my hunger and safely guiding me through the forest and into this
cave as the full moon toyed with my wild side, I don’t know what I
would have done. No, that’s not true. A shiver moves through me
because I know exactly what I would have done.