Page 117 of Mated to the Wolves

“Yeah.” He opens a drawer, revealing a custom display case. Knives of various, lengths, metals, and thicknesses range from Bowie knives to switch blades and tactical ones.

I pick the backward s blade folding knife with the spider edge blade.

It’s similar to the blade I always carried in college. I made sure I was ready to fend off attacks on my own if they happened. The assault numbers are sickening for young women in college.

I spent plenty of Saturday mornings in self-defense classes. I never used my full strength, but it kept me limber and taught me moves I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

Cadoc moves to the center of the room and waves me toward him. I keep a few feet between us, sizing him up.

Cadoc darts forward, grabbing a hunk of my hair. I move into his hold, ball my hand into a fist, and swing down toward his groin.

He jerks out of the way. His grip loosens. I chop at his neck. Cadoc evades me. I use the interruption to swipe at him with the blade.

I kick his instep. He swears, releasing me to dance away and circle back. I track him, moving my body in opposition to his.

I lunge forward. Using the flat side of my hand to go for his neck, I bring the knife up on the opposite side. He dodges and grins.

“Nice job, Brat.”

“I’m not even touching you.”

“I’m not the average person.” He comes toward me, tackling me to the ground.

I kick my legs and bring my knife hand to my side, controlling the blade, and making myself a difficult target. I manage to catch him in the stomach with my foot.

Rolling with the blow, he kneels and smiles. “You’ve got a nice base to start from.”

“I’ve taken plenty of women’s self-defense classes in my time.”

“Good girl.”

It’s criminal how soft those two words make me.

“Are we okay?”

“As long as you keep this blade on you, we’re square. Choose another bigger one that fits comfortably in your hand to hook onto your belt.”

Unlike werewolves of legend, our change is magical. The clothes aren’t destroyed during the transformation.

However, the price we pay for the gift is the pain we still experience.

“Go get dressed. We’ll leave here within the hour. Once we’re in the forest we’ll shift.”

“Not before?”

Cadoc frowns. “I’m not convinced we aren’t being watched. We’ve swept the house for cameras and bugs, but I can’t shake the feeling we’re under surveillance.”

“But you took me on the front porch.” I think back to the blankets he’d covered me with and how he fucked me.

“They’d only see enough to be jealous. One whiff of your sweet pussy would have them salivating anyway, Brat.” Standing he offers his hand. I take it allowing him to pull me up.

“Be quick.” He slaps my ass. I jog away with adrenaline running high. There’re few things I hate more than feeling helpless. This is a good reminder.

I control my destiny, not the other way around.

Thirty minutes later, we’re loping through the woods. Hopping over tree limbs, we follow the path Cadoc and Kirk mapped out.

It feels good to run on all fours without worry of being discovered. Our forested area has a distinct smell, ancient, clean, and powerful.

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