Page 14 of By the Blood Moon

Snap.This time, the noise came from his right.

Finn was toying with him.

Cornered like this, with his back pressed up against a tree and sensing Finn’s wolf all around him, a shiver ran down Jaime’s spine. But not in fear. Well, nottotallyin fear. Now that he wasn’t caught up in running away, it hit him how creepy it was to be alone in the woods at night.

But he wasn’t alone, not really. And his raging erection didn’t lie—Jaime wassointo being chased through the woods.

A howl cut through the quiet, sounding too far away to be Finn but close enough to send a real bolt of fear through him. Ok, so Jaime only enjoyed being chased through the woods byFinn.He definitely didn’t want to be chased by anything else.

Jaime stepped away from the tree, thinking he’d change direction and run back toward their house and further away from the distant howling, only to smack face-first into a warm, hairy chest.

Chapter 5

Finn

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

If Finn could bottle the scent of Jaime, flushed and panting and so aroused, he would.

He’d enjoyed the chase even more than he thought he would—the primal part of his brain itching to catch Jaime, to claim him and make him his own. His wolf was eager to show the rest of the forest thathewas the only one who could.

Finn wanted to howl for all to hear that this beautiful, ethereal man would submit to him, and only him.

And Jaimewasethereal. It was the only word to describe the way he moved, his bright red cloak dancing as he ran. Finn had always wondered if Jaime was a descendent of one of the fae that died out long ago, and tonight he was even more certain of it. Jaime wove gracefully through the trees, settling into this instinctual dance of theirs and darting away when Finn had nearly snatched the hem of his cloak.

Jaime was enchanting him with each movement, taunting him tochaseandcatchandclaim, and if Finn hadn’t alreadyloved him more deeply than he had words to articulate, he would have fallen all over again tonight.

The relief of finally relaxing the reins after months of struggling with his surging lupine instincts was intoxicating, soothing his aching bones. And the spark in Jaime’s eyes, bright even through the gloom as Finn stalked him through the trees, told him that he was enjoying this as well.

So, Finn had thought to drag their game out a little longer—had planned to taunt Jaime into fleeing again, his wolf intent on catching him on the run. But then Jaime was startled by the howling of the very normal, permanently four-legged wolf Finn had chased off before they began, and the scent of real fear hit his nose.

This game was theirs—only theirs. Nothing else could, or would, touch Jaime tonight.

It was time for Finn to show him that.

He succumbed to his baser instincts, the need to taste, to bury inside Jaime and fuck his knot into him hard and deep until he howled his release to the blood orange moon overwhelmed him.

Our mate.

Catch him.

Knot him.

Breed him.

Make him ours.

Ours.

Ours.

Jaime didn’t see the tackle coming. Finn waited for him to step away from the tree, the quiet around them luring him into a false sense of ease—as if escape was actually possible. But Jaime hadn’t taken three full strides before Finn was there, his oversized arms wrapping around him as he brought them both tumbling to the ground.

He twisted, taking the brunt of the fall and cradling Jaime’s head so he landed on top of Finn with anoof, arms and legs splayed out in a graceful tangle. For a second they both just lay there, panting, their chests heaving against each other.

“Caught you,fae boy,” Finn said, displaying all of his teeth in a feral grin.

There was a wild gleam in Jaime’s eyes, and Finn knew he’d won back his attention. “It’s not going to be that easy,wolf boy.” Quicker than Finn thought possible, Jaime scrambled up, and was almost away again before Finn reacted, fisting the red cloak and rolling so that Jaime was pinned underneath him.

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