Page 19 of Lycan

“Why didn’t you swell as much?” I ran my fingers over the dip of his knot.

He let out a very canine groan and swept me in his arms, swiftly tucking me under his body. His body vibrated with a rumbling purr.

He was really soft and the rub of his fur against my skin comforted me. Since he rested the majority of his weight on his side, with me nestled against him, and slightly under him, he enveloped me.

I rolled to face him and cuddled closer.

A smidge of guilt speared my chest. I shouldn’t enjoy fucking a monster this much.

“You will remain here until my return.”

“Where are you going?” I stiffened against him.

“I will return.” That didn’t answer my question. Would he go feed on Jason and Pam? Panic squeezed my lungs.

“Fenrir,” I hesitated. His head cocked, glow falling over my face. “While you’re gone, I will go—” His growl cut me off. The hair on the back of my neck stood.

ELEVEN

MIA

I pressedmy palms into his chest and a rumble vibrated under them.

“You will not leave.” There was no threat in his tone, just simple statement of fact. I blinked, flabbergasted, and tried to wrap my head around his demand. He hadn’t even let me finish my sentence.

I sank my fingers into his fur again. He seemed to melt into my touch when I ran my fingers through the thick warmth. Unlike before, every time I touched him, he seemed to savor it. “Fenrir,” I started, drawing out the end of his name.

His orange glow flared, as it did whenever he seemed to experience a strong emotion. Ever since he’d washed off and fed, blood no longer spilled from his injuries. He seemed strong and he’d stopped walking gingerly.

“Human. You will do as I say.”

I rolled my lips inside my mouth. I’d sorely underestimated his lack of humanity, which was incredibly illogical on my end considering he was monster. Maybe ‘humanity’ wasn’t the word I was looking for. I’d underestimated his lack of compromise.

“You’re being unreasonable.” I clenched his fur in a stiff grip, tugging hard, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. I glaredup at him. Frankly, I was the unreasonable one by expecting a monster to listen to what I said. A strong, large monster that could end me with a flick of his wrist.

Shoving my palms against his chest, I managed to wriggle to my front, but his grip hadn’t let up so I gave up and lay with my cheek smushed against the floor boards. I struggled to catch my breath. He was so heavy!

“You’re hurting me,” I mumbled, muffled and miffed. His grip immediately loosened, allowing me to climb to my knees, and I sat back on my butt.

As soon as he left, I would take off to warn Jason and Pam to hide. Then be back in time for him not to know I’d left. That would solve all my problems. Or I could leave with Pam and Jason. My stomach dropped at the thought. I scowled up at him. What had he done to me that the thought of never seeing this creature again messed with my head? He smoothly climbed to all fours.

“Listen. While you handle what you have to?—”

“You will stay.” His head swung in my direction, his pointed furred ears flicking side to side.

I opened my mouth then closed it. With a clearing of my throat, I said, “Yes.” He was too stubborn to reason with so I would have to lie. He could think I stayed and for all intents and purposes, all he would know was that Ididstay, as long as I covered my trail. He seemed to have an extra strong nose.

He chuffed loud enough that he fluttered the hair framing my face. Now that the smell of blood no longer coated him, the underlying scent I’d smelled on his fur had become prominent. Pine and fresh air. I laced my hands on my lap, studying them, hoping with every fiber of my being that he couldn’t tell I was lying.

“A human once said he would release me,” he started, inching forward, oh so slowly. I stiffened as his muzzle hovered over my forehead. “He did not.”

“I will stay put?—”

“Silence,” his voice boomed. I sucked in a breath, my heart pounding so hard it thumped in my ears. “Your sweet scent . . .” He sneezed. “Your scent is off.” He snapped his teeth in my face. Breathing became more difficult. I’d frozen in fear. “Enough.”

I clawed to the string of sanity pulsing through my scrambled brain.

“Y-you’re scaring me.”

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