Page 8 of What's Rogue Got To Do With It

LARKIN

The first thing that registered as consciousness clawed through the darkness was warmth. Instead of the bone deep cold of the forest floor and the metallic bite of the trap, heat wrapped round me as if I was in a cocoon.

Is it kindness? My wolf was pushing toward the surface scenting our surroundings.

I should have jolted up in fight or flight mode, trying to survive. But I was floating and my beast was purring though he usually got annoyed if I used that word.

We’re safe.

Yes.

But it didn’t seem possible. Perhaps I’d been drugged though it was rare for human medication to have such an effect on shifters. If we had to be medicated, a shifter physician pumped us with ten times the amount they’d use on a human.

Wherever I was, there was no immediate danger. There was no cold wind biting my cheeks, the pain from the trap had lessenedand the scent of blood, while present, was dry rather than oozing over my skin.

My wolf urged me to sniff but all I caught was the scent of an untamed forest. Not the dust of the small town or a human scent but something wild. Had it been raining? The aroma mingled with a fresh smell that had a hint of shifter.

A fox, my wolf alerted me.

I breathed in and out, trying to contain my anxiety. Being in the company of a shifter didn’t have to be a disaster. He’d helped me when I was close to death but once I recovered, he’d tell me to get lost because his scent suggested he was an alpha and alphas didn’t respond well to lone omegas.

But instead of panic churning in my belly, that sense of quiet I experienced earlier warned me it wasn’t that bad.

With the little strength I had, I forced my eyes open, blinking against the soft light. Where was I? I was staring at a ceiling of wooden beams and a fire crackled nearby. I wasn’t in a hospital but someone’s home or perhaps a hunting cabin. Maybe it was the same person who’d set the trap though probably not. Hunters didn’t make a habit of rescuing what they’d caught.

I was covered in a patchwork quilt that had the same enticing scent my wolf picked up on.

I want to roll around in it. He was teeheeing and reminded me of a puppy.

What’s with you?

"You're awake."

If I wasn’t before, I was now and I bumped my head against the wall with a loud thunk. The voice sent goosebumps sprawling over my skin because it was layered not just with kindness but love. But that couldn’t be right. My senses must be faulty.

A face accompanied the voice and I was glad I was lying down. Gods he was gorgeous with a strong jaw and what my omega dad had called an aristocratic nose ‘cause it tilted at the tip.

I turned on my side toward him, not wanting him to see my arousal outlined under the quilt. I couldn’t wrap my mind around being intoxicated by a shifter when I could have died however many hours ago. His beast, like mine, was a predator and in the wild, our kind usually avoided one another.

"How are you feeling?"

I swallowed, willing a response to pop into my head and when I found one, I said, “Confused.” I pulled my knees close to my chest, again hiding my engorged cock. "What... where am I?"

He explained he’d found me caught in the trap set by poachers and memories flooded back. I tensed, recalling the cloying aroma of blood and the pain that had my wolf howling. I tried to sit up, needing to get away from this place that reminded me of being a prisoner.

"Hey. You need to take it easy. You lost a lot of blood.” He added that my wound was infected when he discovered me and he couldn’t gauge how long I’d been unconscious. He placed a hand on my shoulder and heat surged through me. My body tingled and I lay back, conflicted at how safe I felt and yet I should have been sprinting away. Okay maybe a fast limp ‘cause I was in pain.

"You're a fox." Those words would make anyone think the injury had affected my brain. Why would I state the obvious? A smile tugged at his mouth. Glad he was amused but I was tempted to pull the covers over my head and pretend I needed to sleep.

"Guilty.” He smoothed out the quilt and his hands were dangerously close to my crotch. “And you're a wolf.”

Oh we were playing samies. What was next? I’d say he was an alpha and he’d reply I was an omega.

“And you don’t scent pack although there is a hint of one there… possibly from long ago?"

His nose told him that? Or his fox did? What else was his beast whispering in his ear?

"I should go."

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