Page 36 of The Hidden Falling
Fuck.
She crosses her arms over her chest, and my eyes flick down on their own accord. Her breasts strain against her dark t-shirt, rising softly with her breaths, and I can’t help but imagine how they would feel in my hands. How they would look with my teeth marks on them. I clench my jaw and will my cock to go down.
This attraction I have to her is going to end up being a pain in my ass.
I drag my eyes away and up, slowly looking over her throat and pausing before coming back to her eyes. She scoffs at my perusal, giving me a hard look before turning and walking away from me. I chuckle under my breath. Doesn’t she know never to turn her back on a predator?
And I’m not just any predator.
Catching up to her in a few short steps, I place my hand in between her shoulder blades and shove her forward against the nearest tree. She makes a small sound that I ignore while I keep her pinned there. I like her helplessness under my touch. “I wasn’t done talking,” I say, my voice low. I dip down so I can see her eyes from the side while she spits curses at me.
“You asshole! Get off of me!”
“Now where is the fun in that? Are you going to be a good little wolf and have some manners?” I ask her, smirking at the tiny growls she makes.
Adorable.
I findnothingadorable.
I growl to myself.
“You’re talking to me about manners?” She brings her head back, trying to hit me, and I bring my free hand to her ponytail, wrapping my hands in the strands and then wrenching her head back.
I look down into her seething eyes and smirk. “Are you going to be good?” She says nothing, so I tug on her hair more and press her more firmly into the tree.
The breath wooshes out of her as we lock eyes, and I get lost in their depths. Her pupils start to dilate, and I know her wolf is watching me from within her. I let Drax come to my own eyes, showing both of them that I’m not fucking around.
Finally, after a tense moment, she slumps forward. I shake her head a little, wanting words. “Yes,” she grits out between clenched teeth, I release her, watching as she straightens her clothes. Anger pours off her in waves that makes me run my tongue over my teeth in anticipation of how she will react.
I may tower over her with my six four frame, but she’s a little fighter.
I examine her tattoo that I saw when we first encountered each other with interest. It’s on her right forearm and the language is old, so extremely old that I can’t make out what it says, but the runes on her wrist I recognize. They symbolize the old wolf Gods, Zahariss and Cazier. “Why do you have the old Gods on you?” I nod at her arm when her eyes meet mine in question.
She brings her hand up to touch it, and she shrugs. “Why wouldn’t I? We are wolves, are we not?” She scuffles a booted foot in the dirt.
“There are different kinds of wolves, and no one follows the old Gods anymore. They follow the Highers rule. You’re what? Late twenties, and you follow the old Gods?” I tilt my head at her. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Twenty-eight, and I’ve always followed them. The whole pack does. We give our blessings to them for the life we have here and the food they provide us. They are the land we walk upon after all. They also gave us our wolves, so why wouldn’t we give thanks to them and honor them?”
“The legends state they had gone mad, especially the male, Cazier. Between Zahariss and him, the lands started to rot with their madness, and they disappeared, leaving us with no explanation. Why would anyone want to honor Gods that were out of control and abandoned us?” I walk deeper into the forest before looking over my shoulder when she doesn’t follow. I look from her to the spot next to me, my meaning very clear. She huffs before stepping beside me, keeping some distance between us. So I immediately close that distance, not letting her get what she wants.
“You’re ridiculous,” she mumbles under her breath before answering me. “I don’t know about them abandoning us, but they have given us the gift of our wolves. How can we not honor them for that and all they have created?” she says, trying again to move away, but giving up when I again move closer. “Legend does state that Cazier did go a little mad because he couldn’t be with his mate, and Zahariss wasn’t doing well without him. He lived in the below while she lived on the lands. It was pretty much impossible for them to even be next to each other for long periods of time. She walked above, and he traced her footsteps below. They were so close to each other, but never touching. I feel sad for them and the life they led. Wouldn’t you go a bit mad being separated from your mate? Not being able to go to them?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t particularly care either. Having a mate is of no concern to me, especially if it turns you mad.” I lift a shoulder. I don’t care for or want a mate. Having your life intertwined with someone else’s without your control? Fuck no.
“Do we actually agree on something? I’m shocked.” I believe her on this. Her eyes are wide as she looks at me, and her brows scrunch together as if she truly can’t believe we agree on something.
I grunt and move on. “So you follow the old Gods because they gave you your wolf?”
She nods. “I do, and so do my pack. The Gods may not be here with us, but they are here in everything we see and touch.” She runs her hand on the leaf of a bush as we pass. “Do you not feel it?” she asks, and I give her a look. “You’re missing out. Though I guess it’s all blood and guts with you being an Elite and all.
“We are Elites. We do what we must.” I tell her, ignoring the way she side-eyes me. “Did you know we would be in The Deadlands?”
Her eyebrows raise at my question, and I continue to watch her as we walk. She shakes her head slowly. “It was a chance meeting, and we acted. How would we have any idea you were in there? We had been in The Deadlands for a few days to collect Luicium.” At my confusion she adds. “The glowing liquid from some of the dead trees. We put it in jars and use them as light in places around Eridian. Anyway, we were just in the same place at the same time, that’s all.”
She’s lying. I can tell by the way she avoids my eyes when she’s done talking, pretending to watch the ground while she walks, and the way her fingers twitch at her sides while she speaks.
What are you hiding, little wolf?
