Page 105 of Never Submit

We run together through the last rays of sunlight, keeping pace with each other until the gold disappears and turns to diamond. Only I’m not out of breath.

My wolf can run forever. And she wants to.Iwant to.

Air erupts from my lungs when Mathis pounces on me from behind. I hadn’t heard him move, and then suddenly he’s there, pushing me down to the ground.

What are you doing?I cry out.

He nips at the back of my neck and I roll underneath, scrambling to right myself and find purchase. He’s bigger, stronger, and he’s everywhere.I’m forcing you to have a little fun.

Snow crunches underneath us. It’s thicker in this part of the forest and undisturbed by other living creatures. Only small tracks from birds and chipmunks showed in the snow before. Until we got there.

Mathis widens his stance, and the space between his four legs gives me room to push myself free from underneath him.

You’re crazy!

No, I’m letting loose. He howls at me and the fur lifts between my shoulder blades.

A lupine smile pries his lips apart and I take off.

Let’s see if he’s fast enough to catch up to me. He might be bigger but I’ve got longer legs and my smaller frame allows me to easily maneuver between the trees.

Their trunks press closer together and I fly over the snow-crusted ground.

This. This is freedom. This is something I’ve never experienced in my life, a complete untethering from society, the restrictions and the weight of the expectations.

Out here, I’m part of nature, I'm part of the night, and I’m faster than I’ve ever been before. More alive.

I’ve always been a believer of things happening for a reason. I’m not quick to call it fate, but for some reason, tonight time feels poised. As though I’m on the verge of something extraordinary happening.

Mathis chases behind me and I stop suddenly, whirling on him. Forcing him to pull up short. He skids to a halt and we crash together in a puddle of moonlight.

You should know that you’re never going to be able to escape me, Mathis warns.

He burrows his nose at the crook of my neck and inhales deeply. The sensations are indescribable. My lungswork but in the body of a wolf, everything has changed. I’m still me, but I’m…more.

What if I don’t want to escape? What if, no matter how far I run, I want you to be able to catch me?

Then it’s a good thing I’m the alpha.

Mathis’s body shakes with laughter. He draws his head back and snakes his tongue across my snout. The touch is electric. Hot enough to melt the snow.

Did you always want to be an alpha?I ask.

I never had another choice. It was born into me and I know in my bones there is no one else who can do what I do.

That, I lick him back, is called having a huge ego.

That’s not the only thing that’s huge about me, sweetheart, he purrs.

I want to kiss him. I want to do whatever it is wolves do to each other when they have a need. Such a pressing fucking need to be close to him and feel his body on me.

In me.

I’d say you were lying but I’ve had the pleasure before, I say.

Not for a long time.

I growl and wiggle closer to him.In Dax’s cave. You fucked me against a wallof stone.

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