Page 83 of A Wolf's Heart

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LILA

Iwas fucking beaming. I didn’t know where this energy was coming from—I wasn’t sure why excitement coursed through me, sending me off the edge—but I knew I had to run.

I ran so fast on all four paws, the pads were the only thing touching the ground, and just barely, at that. I wanted as little scent to be left behind as possible. I knew these guys now. It wasn’t like when I’d had to run from them for my life; I knew what they were capable of, I knew more of their skills, and I was going to make this as difficult for them as possible.

The wind whipping through my fur, kicking up the dirt, jumping off rocks and tree limbs where I could, I blasted through the conservation forest. Cartway Park was still locked down, so I knew it would be safe to run through without being seen. I was speed, I was lighting, I was undetectable, and I felt it with everything inside my soul.

Lightning, eh?Weylin’s voice echoed in my head.

Shit.

Pack link, angel. Your excitement causes you to project quite loudly. We will have to work on that.Rainor sounded further away.

You’ve split up, I concluded. It was amazing that, even though their voices were in my mind, I could make out the difference in distance. Rainor was much further away from me than Weylin, though I couldn’t tell how far it was exactly. Wait…Kagey Pagey, where are you?

Weylin laughed through the link, and he must have also tripped up, because there was a bit of cursing before he said,Give him a good chase, babe. He likes it.

I slowed to a standstill, my ears twitching, picking up any sound around me. Squirrels in a tree, a leaf falling to the ground. My eyes skimmed my surroundings, focusing far and wide. Nothing.

Where is he? Weylin?

Just whatever you do, don’t blink.Well, that wasn’t helpful.

Rainor?

Use your senses.I rolled my wolfy eyes. What did he think I was doing?

I took a few tentative sniffs of the air and froze. Rich, spicy whiskey. How? How was he this close to me so soon? I’d had a four-minute lead. I took a few steps, sniffed, turned, and took a few more, sniffed, turned, and took a few more. I repeated this to get a sense of what direction he was coming from. His scent was strong in the west, but the wind was blowing. How did that change it?

I waited for the others to chime in and tell me, but they were silent. My hackles stood on end, my wolf knowing something was eerily off. I glanced around but still saw nothing. He was getting close, though.

How the hell was a massive black wolf able to quietly and stealthily sneak up on someone in the middle of broad daylight?

I looked up to the trees, scanning the branches, before looking back down, and that was when I saw him.

Kage was low to the ground, his predator eyes locked on me as he almost lay alongside a fallen tree. I knew there was no use in running away from him, so I figured I’d try to throw him off.

I ran towards him.

Kage stood, ready for my attack as I jumped on his back. He shook out his shoulder, a light movement for him, but my momentum sent me flying.

For a little alpha, you have much to learn.

I don’t want to learn, I want to play.I ran at him again, teeth bared and ready to bite. Kage bared his teeth and nipped at me first, catching me in the leg.

Son of a— I laughed. It hurt but it was fun. My wolf took off again, into the woods.Can’t catch me, slowpoke, I yelled.

He chuckled. Kage chuckled! Victory would be mine!!!

Goddamn it! I halted, staring at the wolf before me. Kage’s head was down low, his eyes tracking my every move, his ears perked up and listening.How?

The forest isn’t linear. Stop running in a straight line, he said. You make this too easy.

There was no use in attacking Kage; I couldn’t overpower him. There was no point in outrunning him; he was a freaking ghost, popping in and out of nowhere. So, I did something my wolf promised would help. I walked up to him, showing no threat, showing no fear.

I ran my nose into his fur, breathing in the heady spiced rum scent that was all him. The scent I used to loathe every time I ran the territory line, the scent I cursed whenever I caught it in the neutral zone, the scent I fought so hard against in the beginning. I bumped into him, rubbing my body alongside his and transferring his scent to me and, hopefully, my scent onto him. Because I wanted him.

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