Page 122 of Smoke and Lure

“Hell, yes.”The low timbre of his voice was a heavy growl, more animal than man.

No announcement or speech was needed for the night lunar run to commence; as soon as Chanin reached over his head and grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt, then dragged it up past his shoulders and off before tossing it to the ground, it started a chain reaction.

Wolves all over the clearing were shedding their clothing, but Chanin only had his eyes set on one.Morlie turned toward him, and he knew that she had been aware of where he was the entire time.Regardless that most of the day, he had kept the link between them closed for his sanity.As mates, they were still hyperaware of each other.

Her gaze made a languid caress of his naked body from his big, wide feet up.He saw the rise and fall of her chest increase to a rapid pace by the time her eyes met his.His heartbeat pulsed heavy and strong below his navel—blood and pulse were all in his cock.

She stared at him, still dressed among many nude forms; her slow, seductive smile told him her being clothed was deliberate.

Unable to hold his wolf back any longer as the hour struck midnight, in a breath, Chanin shifted.

The anxiety was in the air, and the Pack was ready and waiting for their Alpha.

Glancing at Morlie, he watched her catch the spaghetti straps of her sweet dress with her thumbs and bring them down over her delicate shoulders before she shimmied out of it, letting it drift to the ground around her feet.

It was on.

His wolf lowered its haunches, lifted its muzzle as it tipped its head way back, and released a howl so high pitched the branches shook on the trees, and rabbits and small creatures rustled in the bush and scurried over the ground, making their futile escapes as they heard the beast’s warning.

Wolves barked, dug their feet into the earth, kicked dirt around at others, violently wagged tails, growled, and snapped their teeth, ready for the kill, ready for the run, ready to find a mate, for life or the night.

Then, one last look at Morlie, standing bare like Venus in a sea of fur bodies.

He only paused for a moment to ensure she didn’t have difficulty in releasing her wolf.

Once the Alpha wolf saw the silken maple of its mate's fur, it let out a second howl to release the hounds.

“Awwwwwww!”

Like the gunshot signals racers, the Omega Pack tore into the woods led by their Alpha.He didn’t wait for Morlie; this was a night to let instinct lead them.

His mate needed to use her senses to track him even as he tracked their prey.

Find me, mate,he commanded.

Chanin.The relief in her voice was evident as she realized their connection was back and without restraints.Where are you?

Away from town and without a moon to light the land, it was dark, but shifters had keen eyesight, and their wolf's vision was even better.

He could hear the nervousness in her voice, not wanting her to get distracted by all the others running wild in the forest.He encouraged,You know me.Locate my scent, mate.

Peeling away from the others to search out the unique musky scent of the rabbit he could smell, the other part of him wanted to get his mate away and have her all to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move and then bounce away.The deep color of the rabbit's pelage, ranging from grey to brown or black—which his wolf couldn’t fully distinguish—gave the animal an advantage, allowing it to blend in with the darkness, much like a shadow to a certain degree.However, Chanin was doing the exact thing that he’d instructed Morlie, not leaning on his vision but remaining locked on the scent.

He could hear, in the distance, the sounds of his Pack barking, howling, panting, and more than a few moans scattered throughout the woods.It gave him joy to know that, even without the visual appeal of the moon, his Pack could still celebrate who they were.

As he moved fast and kept low in brush and managed the sounds he made as he gained on the cunning rabbit, he felt his energy surge, and the hairs along his spine tingled and rose just enough to let him know his mate was drawing near.

Morlie had found him.

It gave the urgency he needed to stop toying with his prey and seize it.So, he did.He’d tracked the animal long enough to understand its pattern and ways of escaping, and it took him little time to dash forward at just the right instant and snag it along the back of the rabbit's neck, sinking his teeth deep.

His wolf locked its jaw and shook its head violently, snapping the large rabbit's neck.The plump animal ceased its kicking and flailing.

Then, still holding the fur ball in its jaws, the wolf turned and headed back toward its mate.

It wasn’t long before his wolf ran into the path of Morlie’s charging wolf.

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