Page 2 of Thor's Unexpected Mate

Shoving the wolf side of me as far down as it would go without forcing myself to shift back, I took a deep breath and crept closer. Stones and leaves shifted under my paws, making some noise here and there, but not enough to be heard over the sounds of the cicadas in the trees. Finally, I was within twenty feet of the man, my body hunkered low against the rock to stay out of sight. He seemed calm, but maybe a little out of it. Considering the amount of blood he’d lost and the tibia poking through his right leg, I figured he was probably a bit delirious from the pain.

However, his distress gave me a moment to study him and make sure he was safe. I took another deep whiff of his scent, pushing the floral parts of it aside and focused on his blood. From what I could tell, there was no hint of magic or witch. They had a very distinct smell and one I was intimately familiar with, considering Baldr’s mother had been a witch. That was why he had his visions. We shared a father, of course, but my own mother had been a werewolf, so no special powers for me.

And this injured human was definitely not a witch.

I breathed him in deeper, making certain that I didn’t smell any hint of silver or wolfsbane on him, either. They were the trademark tools of hunters. Or at least they had been in the old days. I could only go by what my father had passed down from his father.

But that left a question unanswered. Why did his scent drive me so crazy? Was it the full moon? My heightened senses thanks to the Skoll Alpha being on the move? Was I just being paranoid for no reason? Or maybe the stress of taking over an entire pack at such a young age without warning had finally gotten to me and I’d snapped at last. My brothers had warned me to take it easy, but I never listened to them.

A cloud shifted past the moon, allowing the moonlight to flood the area. It struck the stranger’s skin, and he looked up, his face practically glowing. In an instant, I felt my heart begin to race. My chest swelled and I found myself getting to my feet.

He… He was… beautiful.

At the same moment that I locked eyes on him, my front paw slipped, knocking a stone out from its mooring. There was a brief instant where I knew I should bolt, but it was as if my paws were glued to the ground. The moon wouldn’t allow me to run, and her power was absolute.

The next moment the rock clunked as it rolled down the gulch and the man suddenly turned in my direction. His gaze fell on me, and I saw his eyes widen with fear. He scrambled back for a moment, dragging his injured leg through the leaves. I cocked my head to the side, trying to look as cute as possible. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I started forward, not wanting him to be any further from me than necessary.

“Nice doggie,” he said, his voice shaking with fear. “Please don’t eat me…”

I wagged my tail, trying to look friendly as I got closer.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he muttered, his face turning as white as a sheet. He waved a tiny pocketknife in my direction. “Stay back!”

I started to move and instead of holding his ground, he tried to run. I was nearly on top of him before his injured leg caught on a stone and was yanked viciously to the side. He cried out in pain, his voice rattling off the stones. But the next moment it was cut off as I watched his eyes roll back and he slumped to the ground. I ran over to him, sniffing and listening.

His breath was shallow, but his heartbeat was still strong.

I let out a wolfy sigh. Thank the moon goddess, he was alright.

Taking a deep breath, I forced the wolf back, allowing my body to shift into its human form once more. I felt myself grow taller, my fingers extended into the leaf litter, and the fur fell away, disintegrating into nothing but dust around me. I rubbed my hands over my body as I stood up, trying to get rid of the itchy feeling always left behind when I shifted. Then my gaze fell back to the injured man on the ground.

He really was beautiful.

My eyes widened as I crouched down next to him, taking in his wonderfully wiry, lithe form. He was average height for a human with pale skin that glowed in the moonlight. My gaze wandered up his body, taking in every inch of him. I’d been right about his sleeveless hoodie. It was red. I couldn’t help myself as I reached up and pulled the hood away from his head, revealing a spiky tuft of auburn hair.

Except for the bone sticking out of his right leg, he was absolutely gorgeous from head to toe. Even in my human form, his scent was overwhelmingly sweet and made my entire body break out in goosebumps. But as my fingers brushed a lock of red hair from his forehead, our skin made contact and a shudder went through me like lightning.

Mate.

“Oh fuck…” I growled deep in my chest as I felt my eyes shift into their wolven gold. “Oh no. That… That can’t be right.”

However, a quick glance between my legs at my suddenly rock-hard cock told me everything I needed to know. Between that, the full moon, and the sudden need to protect him at all costs, I knew what had happened.

“Really?” I asked in a whiny tone as I glared up at the moon. “You sent me a human mate?” I glanced down at him again. “And a man? I don’t know what to do with that!”

Images flashed through my brain of exactly what I could do with him.

“For fuck’s sake. What did I do to deserve this?”

For a moment, I contemplated the idea of leaving him behind. He probably wouldn’t survive the night, and that would pretty much take care of the entire problem. But as I looked back up at the moon again, I let out a long sigh.

I couldn’t leave him.

“Moonlight guides your fate,” I muttered, repeating Baldr’s words.

I reached out, scooping the human stranger up into my arms.

He had better be wrong about this one. Although, it was only after another sigh that I admitted the truth to myself.

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