Page 15 of The Beast's Betrayed Mate
He had been in wolf shape for less than an hour. Even though he felt as though some part of him had craved it for his whole life, the thought of getting into a fight with another wolf was not appealing to him.
He growled softly back, replying to the challenge he had detected from the other with a soft reprove.
I don’t wish to engage, that reprove said.Leave.
For a moment he thought the wolf would adhere. That it would slink off into the darkness of night. He wasn’t sure what he felt about that. He still had questions. Many, many questions. And if this was the wolf that bit him…
But when the wolf set off at a run, heading straight toward him, paws pounding the ground and those yellow eyes glowing a threat at him, he thought no. This is not the wolf that bit me. This is someone else, something else.
The wolf had inky black fur that caught the light of the lamps as it passed through it.
Fuck, Peter thought.
Should he meet it, or should he tuck his tail and run?
He felt fairly certain that the other wolf would kill him in a clash. It was as big as him, if not bigger. And it had clearly not turned for the first time that same afternoon.
“Peter!”
He turned his head around to Olive as she stopped a few feet behind him, arm pulled back. She threw something black and plastic, sending it flying toward the approaching wolf and by some miracle hitting it square between the eyes. It gave a yelp, tumbling forward as it lost its footing from the surprise.
“Run!” Olive yelled.
Peter frowned, if it could be called that, at the wolf now rolling on the ground.
What the hell had she thrown?
He didn’t need more encouragement, though. He turned, following in her wake as she’d already hauled ass. Her scent was in the air. A mix of eucalyptus, jasmine, and something peppery that he couldn’t place. He drew it into his nostrils, bursting through the gate and across the street. She was in the alley; he was stopping traffic. Angry horns and shocked exclamations following him as he raced to the sidewalk.
We can’t go to mine. It might find us there.
He knew she’d heard him, but he also knew that if he was following her scent this easily then so would the other wolf.
That thought made him halt at the entrance to the alley and turn around.
The other wolf was just appearing at the gate of the park.
Leave us alone, Peter said.We’re no threat to you.
The wolf stared at him for another moment, then turned and disappeared out of sight.
Peter let out a soft sigh of relief.
There, done and dusted.
But then there was a noise in his ears that was irresistible once he began to hear it, once he began to really listen to it. The beating of hearts all around him. He could almost scent them, imagine what it would be like to sink his teeth into them.
He was shocked at how strong the inclination was.
He noticed those around him, staring. The people who had been milling on the sidewalk had come to a halt. There was fear, fascination. Some looked as though they wanted to try and reach out to him, see what his reaction would be if they held out a hand and tried to call him to them like they might do with a stray. One of them had a phone to his ear, eyes wide. Peter realized he couldn’t linger. He hurried into the alley, wishing he could turn back into human form. Trying to make his wolf retreat, requesting it to give up the hunt and let him have full control again.
His wolf wasn’t having it.
Instead, it picked up that other scent again. The one that smelled of eucalyptus and jasmine and something peppery. Peter strained against it, but it wasn’t bloodlust that filled him. It was desire. The rawest desire he had ever experienced, and his pace picked up.
Find her. Corner her. Take her.
Jesus, he thought.No, I won’t.
