Page 24 of Wolf Bitten

His large wolfy head turned toward me, and he scoffed. He inched back into me harder, essentially telling me to shush and get on.

I didn’t fight because I wasn’t sure how well I could walk.

“Just let him carry you.” Slade shivered and moaned. “We need to get back and warm up.”

He was right, and I didn’t want Warin and the others to find us and attack. There were only five shifters with us. It wasn’t like Slade and I could fight much.

My connection with Raffe snapped, yanking me toward my mate. Even if I’d wanted to fight longer, I was at their mercy. I still couldn’t feel my hands and feet, but I managed to crawl haphazardly onto Raffe’s back.

Keith rolled his milk-chocolate eyes at me, his look devoid of warmth.

Even my being kidnapped hadn’t thawed his dislike for me. Lovely.

Once I was settled on Raffe’s back, he chuffed, a sound I hadn’t heard a wolf make but had read about in textbooks. The warm spot in my chest morphed into happiness, but it had an edge to it that screamedworry.

It was amazing how large Raffe was in animal form, even bigger than I’d remembered. Fitting perfectly on his back, I wrapped my arms around his neck. The warmth spread through me, making the mud even itchier, and the wounds on my neck and wrist burned again.

Raffe trotted off at a quick pace, his muscles rolling underneath me. I buried my face in his neck, not wanting to see the trees as we raced by. I wanted to get lost in his touch and the way our connection soared between us. The strange presence within me settled as well, and I’d have felt normal if it hadn’t been for the discomfort of my wounds and the cold.

Little by little, my core temperature rose despite the freezing air brushing past me. My feet were still frozen because my socks were wet and dirty, but I was no longer on the brink of hyperthermia.

Part of me was thankful. I hadn’t realized how close to death I’d gotten. I started sweating everywhere Raffe and I were touching, but I shivered anyway. He’d soon regret having me ride on his back—I could feel the mud flaking off me and coating his fur.

Raffe’s gait slowed, and I raised my head. The fir trees were thinning, but I didn’t see any vehicles.

Ten wolves ran past us in the direction we’d come from.

I glanced over my shoulder, watching them go. Josie and Lucy were the only ones still with us. Adam, Keith, and Slade were gone.

My throat tightened. “Are the others okay?” I’d been so out of it that I hadn’t considered that we’d been moving too fast for Slade to keep up. I was an awful friend.

Raffe nodded.

Not being able to talk to him frustrated me. I wanted to ask more questions, but when I faced forward, I noticed that Raffe was leaving the path. The ground was less level, and I had to hang on tighter to keep from falling off.

After a few minutes, he came to a stop and lowered himself like he wanted me to get off. I climbed down and stood, my feet frozen like ice.

He backed away, and I saw how much mud clung to his fur. No wonder he didn’t want to be close to me. I hadn’t showered in the bunker, afraid that someone would walk in on me, and I must stink on top of everything else.

I flinched, thinking how uncomfortable he must have been. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

Bones cracked, and I inhaled sharply, realizing something was wrong. My blood jolted as I took a shaky step toward him. “Raffe—” I rasped.

His top half suddenly stood upright, his hind legs holding him up. More cracks sounded, and he stood taller—and realization settled over me.

He was shifting back into human form.

The strange presence inside me inched forward as if it were just as fascinated with watching my mate change as I was. His dark fur retracted inside his skin, revealing his smooth olive complexion and muscular arms. My eyes focused on the wolf tattoo on his upper arm as it came back into view. Within a minute, human Raffe stood before me, every inch of him on display for my viewing pleasure, with no traces of mud on him. Something inside me expanded, and theyanking had me stumbling toward him again.

“Thank gods.” He closed the distance between us. He wrapped me in his arms, feeling warmer in human form. “I was afraid I’d never find you, and I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“I’m okay with that,” I responded with a half laugh. The past three-ish days had been hell.

“Good. I still can’t believe you’re here, and I never want to experience this again. I can’t handle it,” he murmured and tilted my head up to kiss me.

I flinched back, not wanting him to kiss mud, but he shook his head. “Your face is mostly clean from when you were riding on me.”

My hesitation vanished, and our tongues collided. His minty taste washed through me and made me feel like I’d finally come home. The only thing different was the beard that rubbed my face.

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