Page 5 of Defiant
“I … this was my first time,” I tell him. “I’m a late bloomer. My wolf showed up in class and I just couldn’t help it.”
Still, he doesn’t move and as the sun disappears out of sight behind him and the night air plucks at my skin, I’m reminded of my nudity. My hands move to cover my nipples and my crotch. I wait again until I can’t stand the silence and I ask, “Can I get up, Mr. Maddox?”
“No.” His growl is soft and low and every nerve-ending in my body stands at attention.
My throat grows dry.
He doesn’t move, just hovers over me and I blink up at him, not quite panicked, but nervous—on edge, unsure what he wants.
His expression flickers and something about it makes my blood run cold, though I’m not sure what.
Did I do something? Something I don’t even know about?
Pack business is like fucking mob business. You don’t get to know until you’re in, and once you’re in, you can never get out. So I’m laying here, clueless and freaked out and tears start to fill my eyes, which is fucking embarrassing, so I close them to hide my shame.
“Get up now,” Black orders a second later.
I’m not sure if he’s doing so out of pity, or because he has a pack howl to get to, but I comply quickly, blinking away my tears and looking back up at him.
His hands are balled into tight fists. His nostrils flare and he bites his lip. “Did you shred your clothes when you shifted?”
I shake my head. “No, I left them near campus.”
He grinds his teeth together and turns away from me for a second, not quite giving me his back as he peers into the trees. “Shift so we can go back to them.”
I nod and close my eyes. But my wolf is nowhere to be found. When my lashes pop open, I find Black close—close enough for me to get a hint of the woodsmoke and caramel scent of his.
His eyes flash in annoyance. “I saidshift.” There’s a note of command in his voice that hits low in my belly and makes my knees ache.
I hate that my voice gets fucking breathy when I respond; I sound like a fool. “I can’t. My wolf’s gone.”
2
Elena
My wolf appearedand then abandoned me. Why? I can’t stop the shamed tears that come to my eyes and one streaks traitorously down my cheek.
“What am I doing wrong? Why did my wolf disappear? I’ve never even seen her before and now…” I’ve never heard about anything like this.
Even though my mom’s always been a tight-lipped bitch about shifting and the magic that changes us, I’ve learned tidbits. You should be able to call your wolf at will. Why isn’t mine coming back?
A huge, rough hand lands on my shoulder, and I stare up at Black, my eyes going round as the heat from his skin soaks into mine. The wind whips up and drags his hair across his face making him look like some kind of ancient warrior as he says, “I’ll fix it.”
My throat tightens and I nod gratefully up at him before swiping at my cheek and erasing the evidence of my breakdown. I haven’t cried in three years. Not since … I blow out a breath and say with a shaky smile. “Guess I’ll have to walk back to campus.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have—”
“That wasn’t an offer. It was an order.”
There’s a determined set to his jaw that I can see, even with the beard, and I realize that I won’t get to just escape from this encounter and sweep it into the box of unwanted memories.
No, for some reason, Black Maddox wants to draw out this first meeting with me. Maybe he doesn’t trust me. I guess that’s reasonable on his part. Would I trust some college girl who just entered my territory if I was him? Probably not.
Until initiation, he doesn’t meet any of the pack children. Too many become glimmers. And his job is to run a pack and keep the wolves from tearing one another apart, not cultivate hope for those who’ll never belong. Or so Mom has always said.
Silence reigns as I keep my hands across my intimate areas and turn and walk back across the tiny stream. I don’t particularly want Black Maddox staring at my naked ass but it’s better than the alternatives.
