Page 89 of Wolf Mate

I sensed a presence following me, and my heart raced.

It had to be Raffe.

When I spun around, though, my breath caught. It was definitelynotRaffe, and I needed to run.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

My blood jolted to a hum as Dave’s face twisted in agony.

His teeth protruded from his mouth, and he groaned. “Dammit, you smell so fucking delicious.”

The limbs of the fir tree over his head began to shake, and he took a few steps back.

“What the—” Dave glanced overhead and scowled. “Is that Slade again?”

Slade again?I wanted to ask, but not when he was like this. “It’s me, so back away. If you attack me, you’ll get hurt.” My blood hummed with the power flooding from my body. Dave had been nice to me, and I didn’t want to hurt him, especially when I could read that he was struggling against his natural inclination.

“You’re doing that?” He blinked a few times then hunched over. “Why do you smell so damngood? You did once in the cafeteria, but nothing likethis.”

Lafayette had said the same thing about my scent when my magic went wild. He’d assumed that the vampire who’d attacked me hadn’t been able to control his urges. If I didn’t want to be a beacon for vampires, I needed to calm my blood. “I … I don’t know.” My panic surged, and the trees whipped and bent like they had the other night.

The tingles at the nape of my neck flared, and I couldn’t get an image to surface in my mind to soothe me—deer, the shelter animals, especially not Raffe. It was as if my blood was keeping me focused on my pain and the vampire in front of me.

“Can you stop it?” He wheezed as his face contorted. “You need to go. I don’t want to hurt you or Josie.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I spun and started to run, hoping that distance would get me back to a controllable level.

“Don’t fuckingrun,” Dave snarled. “The predator in me will take over, and I will chase you. Walk slowly.”

He couldn’t be serious.

The trees to my left cracked, and a section of branches crashed to the ground. I gritted out, “You tell me not to run and say something likethat?” Everything inside me urged me to get away from him as quickly as possible.

Something blurred past me, and I thought my life was over.

The three firs to my left trembled behind me in the direction of the threat, and an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me aside.

I fought, desperate to get away. Then I noticed the buzzing where the person was touching me and calmed.

“Run to the apartment,” Raffe said, his voice a mixture of an animalistic growl and a human voice. “I’ll handle this.” He set me behind him and stepped between Dave and me.

His back muscles bunched, and fur broke out along his arms.

“Wait.” I touched his back, wanting to make sure he heard me. “Dave didn’t attack me.” Or I didn’t think he had. “He told me to leave. That he didn’t want to hurt me.” Or Josie, which was odd, but not relevant, because she wasn’t even here. His mention of her was odd, but he was struggling, so he probably had no clue what he was saying.

“What?” Raffe clenched his arms, but his fur had stopped spreading.

Dave hissed, and from what I could tell, he hadn’t moved from where he’d been standing. He said, “Get her out of here. If you don’t, I’ll lose control. Wolf shifter here or not.”

“I can’t risk you attacking her later.” Raffe’s clenched hands shook.

Without thinking, I smacked him in the back. I didn’t hit him hard, but my hand hurt as if I’d punched a brick. How the hell was that possible? “You’re going to kill him? Don’t be stupid. Let’s get out of here. My blood is going haywire. Once I calm down, he’ll be fine.” I hated how my heart leaped at the fact that Raffe was here.

“Fuck yeah, I’ll kill him. He wanted to hurt you. That’s unacceptable.” He answered the question so simply, like we were talking about what to eat for dinner, not someone’s life.

Trusting my instincts, I touched his back. The contact wasn’t solely for him but for me as well, and my blood settled into a fizz. I didn’t understand why Raffe had such an influence over me, but touching him helped me control my blood more than anything else did.

I’d also expended a lot of energy, and I sagged into him. “Raffe, please. Can you take me home?”

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