Page 64 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

“Hey, Bri. I have a question. I know it’s still new, but do you think you could try out those fertility powers and see if you could maybe… block a pregnancy?”

Brielle’s eyes went wide. “Well, I’ve never done it before, but she did say that most omega powers took practice to learn… So, I could try? Do you feel a heat coming on or something?”

“No, nothing like that.” I smiled. “Just more uncertainty with the information about me being half-fae if I’ll even go into heat or require one to conceive. And this is too new, and we’re not close to ready for a baby with all we’ve got going on.”

She nodded. “I get it. If you’re willing to wait until we’re back in Johnson City, I could see about an implant or IUD foryou, but frankly, those are spotty at best with our magic, and that’s not accounting for your fae half. Hmm.” She tapped her chin idly. “Worst that can happen is I can’t figure it out.”

Brielle leaned forward and placed her hand on my forearm, then closed her eyes. After a moment, she popped them back open. “You too, buddy.” She waved for Dirge to proffer up an arm. He did, and as soon as her eyes fell closed, he shot me a wide-eyed look.

At first, nothing happened. We stood quietly while she hummed under her breath. But then heat blossomed, radiating through my abdomen. It didn’t hurt, but it did start to itch after a few minutes, and I had to resist the urge to scratch. And then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.

She blinked up at us slowly, swaying a little from her seat on the couch. “That was interesting.”

“Do you think it worked?” Dirge asked, and I noticed him subtly adjusting the waistband of his pants. I wondered if he’d gotten itchy too.

“I am 99.9% certain that you two will not be having babies any time soon. We can recheck in a few months, but… My wolf seemed to know exactly what to do, just like with Gracelyn.” She smiled tiredly, and Kane appeared at her side.

“What are you doing over here?” he asked, rubbing her shoulders lightly.

“Testing out what my wolf can do. I could use an energy recharge, though, if you’re done arranging things.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.

“I think that’s our cue to leave. Thank you, Bri.” I leaned in for a quick hug, then let Dirge lead me out of the hangar.

There was a small trail cut into the deciduous forest bordering the lake, and Dirge arrowed toward it as if he’d been here a hundred times before.

He was over three hundred years old… Maybe he had?

I didn’t ask, though, because I didn’t want to break the spellbeing woven between us as we walked, fingers linked, through the lovely wood. Soft, still-damp leaves bent underfoot with hardly a crunch as we followed the winding path. I couldn’t tell you whose pack lands these were or how far we walked. All I knew was that the sound of running water reached us eventually, and a rocky outcropping came into view between the trees.

The sound got louder and louder until we stopped at the edge of the rocks. Dirge squeezed my fingertips with excitement, looking back at me with a giddy grin.

“Trust me?” he asked.

“Umm, yes?” I said, confused. Trust him to?—

He scooped me up in his arms so quickly that I couldn’t dodge him. In three great strides, we were at the top of the rock, and I was still confused as I clung to his T-shirt.

“Hold your breath.”

“What?”

He didn’t answer, though. He just leapt.

Wind rushed past us, our surroundings went dark, and after a short screech, I remembered to clamp my mouth shut. Just in time, as water rushed over my head a heartbeat later. Dirge kept me crushed to his chest as we made entry, and it wasn’t until I felt his strong kicks pushing us back to the surface of the water that I shoved free, kicking and stroking my own way to the top.

I broke the surface with a shocked gasp, dragging in air as he surfaced two feet away.

“Are you crazy!” I shouted and splashed him.

He ducked back from the spray and laughed, his grin showing off his straight, white teeth. “Not crazy, just a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Tell me you didn’t feel like we were flying.”

“Flying to ourdeaths, maybe!” I splashed him again, not really angry. But my pulse was pounding, my heart in my throat. The water was chilly, right on the edge of being uncomfortable.

In one strong stroke, he closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around me as he kept himself afloat with his legs.

“I’ve been here a few times in the past, and one of the local pack showed me this spot. It’s private, far from the main lands. Most people using the airstrip pass right on by without ever knowing it’s here. A crime, if you ask me.”

“It is beautiful,” I murmured against the warmth of his neck. The heat radiating off him was enough to keep me cozy, despite the water temperature. The sound of running water had come from here, I realized, as I noticed the waterfall at one end of the grotto. The pool below us was deep, so deep the bottom wasn’t visible in the limited light let in through the opening in the rocks above.

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