Page 28 of Alpha Hunt

I draw on all my training, using every skill I’ve learned to stay ahead of Edirn. I zigzag through the trees, trying to throw him off my trail. I double back on myself, hoping to confuse him. I even use the terrain to my advantage, leaping from rock to rock across a shallow stream.

But somehow, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to shake him. He’s always there, just behind me, his presence a constant pressure at my back. It’s as if he can anticipate my every move. Like he knows me better than I know myself.

Bullshit! I’m imagining things. Letting my fear distort my thoughts.

Although is it really fear?

Of course it is!

Distantly, I hear shouts echoing through the forest, the voices of the other males who are still searching for me. But they’re far away, too far to be of any importance. The only one who matters right now is Edirn, and he’s getting closer with every passing second.

My breath comes in ragged gasps, my lungs screaming with the effort of my frantic race. Sweat trickles down my face, stinging my eyes, but I don’t dare slow down. I can’t let him catch me.

I can’t!

And yet, even as I think it, I know it’s a lie. Some perverse part of me wants to be caught, wants to feel his hands on my body, his breath on my skin. It’s a desire I’ve been denying for too long, a need that’s been building inside me, growing stronger with every encounter.

It’s not him. I just want a mate. The wolf wants it.

Not Edirn…not him…it can’t be him!

I hear him behind me, his footsteps getting closer, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he catches me. My heart races, my skin prickling.

What will happen when he does?

The thought sends a delicious tremor through me, terror and longing at war. I’m torn between the desire to escape and the need to surrender.

No surrender! Run, dammit!

I can practically feel him behind me. Hear his breath. Sense the heat of his skin. My own skin burns. Beneath it, I feel the silken sweep of my wolf pelt, my animal connecting with the emotions inside me. And I know it’s not fear now.

My wolf wants this.

Don’t!

I can’t let her out now. The rules forbid it. But as much as I’m focused on the path ahead, she’s looking behind. My beast reaches out…

For the first time in my life, I shove those animal instincts away. Because there’s no way she’s right about this.

She’s wrong!

He’s getting closer. Panic rises in my throat, threatening to choke me, but I force it down.

Run!

Up ahead, I spot a small gully cutting through the forest floor. It’s not wide, but it’s deep enough to give me a chance. If I can just make it across, maybe I can lose him in the dense underbrush on the other side.

I gather myself, preparing to leap, my muscles coiling like springs. I can feel the power surging through me, the adrenaline sharpening my focus to a razor’s edge.

Just a few more steps…

I launch myself forward, my body arcing through the air. For a moment, I’m flying, the wind rushing past my face, the world falling away beneath me.

And then, in a heartbeat, it all comes crashing down.

Edirn slams into me from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist as he tackles me. We hit hard, the impact driving the breath from my lungs. I struggle, trying to break free, but it’s no use. He’s too strong, his body a solid wall of muscle pressing me into the earth.

“Let me go!” I gasp, twisting beneath him. But even as I say it, I know it’s futile. He’s caught me fair and square.

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