Page 7 of Wolf Caged
Lucas released my arm and pulled his shirt off, making me forget my need to say goodbye to my friends as my wolf howled in response to the delicious sight of his carved chest and abs. He toed off his boots and shucked his jeans, and that howl became a growl as I glimpsed all of him.
Only glimpsed.
He shifted into his dark wolf form before I could drink him in, robbing me of the pleasure of gazing upon his perfection.
The sight of him letting his wolf out beckoned me to do the same, instinct driving me to run with him, with my fated mate.
I wanted to take my time stripping, letting him see all of me, but he growled, impatience ringing through it, and it was so cold that I found myself rushing to ditch my shoes and dress, and my underwear.
I shifted the moment I was naked, payback for what he had done to me, and took off towards the nearest lake, the scent of water telling me where it was. It wasn’t a far run through thesnowy forest, the distance short enough that it wouldn’t satisfy my need to be chased by Lucas, hunted by him.
My paws flew over the leaf litter, the cold lost on me as I raced through the night, the chill air kissing my fur.
Lucas broke off to my left and my sharp senses tracked him.
Curiosity rolled through me as he came across me, herding me towards my right, making me change course as he brushed against me. He pranced around me, yipping and nipping at my flank. I nipped back at him, nudged and rubbed against him as we ran, and then broke away from him, trying to run back towards the direction I could smell water.
He came up beside me again, loosing a growl this time, a command I felt all the way down to my soul. He wanted me to go somewhere else. I glanced at him, my heightened vision easily making him out despite the pitch darkness. He pointed his snout towards somewhere in the distance.
Towards his home.
Eagerness rolled through me, hunger sweeping me up in it and making me turn towards that direction. My paws pounded the dirt track as I picked it up, one that wound through the forest and was familiar to me.
Lucas nipped at my heels and I ran harder, streaking ahead of him, a thrill bolting down my spine as he gave chase.
My breaths fogged in the air as I put on another burst of speed, increasing the distance between us, and Lucas snarled and redoubled his effort to capture me. He closed the gap, narrowing it down to only a few lengths of my sleek body.
Each leap over a fallen branch, or dance around a tree in my path, heightened my awareness of him and that hunger that was close to shredding my restraint as I imagined him catching me, shifting back and pinning me beneath his powerful body on the ground and taking me.
Lucas used my distraction against me, closing the distance down to nothing and smacking my rump with his head. He nipped with his fangs, the sharp sting of them against my flesh sending heat skittering through my veins. So hot I almost tripped and face-planted into the dirt.
When he tried to nip me again, I dodged, leaping to one side, and he almost hit a tree that came between us.
His eyes flashed with irritation and amusement.
And then he took off past me.
Into a clearing.
I slowed to a trot.
I didn’t recognise this place or the ancient barn that stood in the centre of it.
Lucas didn’t slow until he was at the open door of the towering dark wooden building. He stopped and looked back at me, jerked his head and disappeared inside.
My breaths came faster, my heart pumping harder as I listened and focused my senses, stretching them as far and wide around me as I could manage. I couldn’t sense any movement nearby or hear anything above my heartbeat and rapid breaths.
We were alone.
Excitement coursed through me, making my head a little light as I eased towards the barn. My vision wobbled and I shook my head, clearing it. Heat prickled down my spine, and my limbs tingled. Maybe I should have listened to my mother when she had wanted to tell me what my first heat would be like, because this giddiness wasn’t at all what I had expected.
I trotted into the darkness, shaking off my nerves as the gloom embraced me and my eyes adjusted to it, revealing the enormous open space and a large box covered by a cloth.
Lucas stood near it, snagging my attention as he shifted back. I growled, hunger rushing through me at the sight of him in all his glory. My shift came over me without me even thinking aboutit, my bones elongating and fur receding as I straightened to my full height.
I stood before him, feeling a little dizzy as his gaze raked over me, scorching a trail down my bare body that made my blood thrum with need.
I had never been so aware of someone’s eyes on me.
