Page 43 of Emerald Flame
“Good. You’ve definitely figured it out.”
When he started to rise into the air, she joined him, grateful her levitation ability matched his.
She switched to telepathy.Do you have a favorite place to run?
I do, but there will be wolves everywhere.
It shouldn’t matter.
He caught her around the waist and guided her up through the security spell.
Wait a minute. Warren, you didn’t have any trouble at all, did you? Passing through my spell I mean. Could you see it?
I could. It has a faint purple-and-green aura.
It does, and I’m amazed. Your warlock abilities are growing.
His smile grew crooked.Looks like it, but mostly I’m a wolf. And you’re sure about that ride?
More than anything.He held out his arm. She hopped onto his booted foot and let him take her away from the security spell.
Once more, Kiara’s heart pounded heavily in her chest. She suddenly understood exactly what was happening between them because Maeve had shared her recent bonding experience with her. Maeve, very much a witch, had discovered she was alpha-mate material so that when she rescued Braden from the Graveyard, her proximity to the powerful wolf had ignited Maeve’s capacity to become an alpha female to Braden’s wolf.
Somehow, Kiara hadn’t considered she might have the same make-up as Maeve and as Fergus’s bonded mate, Mary.
As he flew toward the east, and well above the treetops, her mouth suddenly went dry. She hadn’t thought her relationship with Warren would ever be more than a brief love affair.
What is it?Warren’s voice was deep even within her mind.I can feel you’ve grown tense.
There was no way she was going to discuss something as serious and overwhelming as being a wolf’s mate.It’s something I’m mulling, but I’ll let it go.
He slowed then hovered in the air, his arm still tight around her waist. She was ridiculously in sync with him as he pulled her against him.How can I help?He searched her eyes.You’ve shown me kindness in taking me out into the forest. Let me do the same for you?
Her breath caught and her throat suddenly ached. She planted her hands on his chest, loving the feel of his muscular body beneath her fingers. The part of her that was becoming wolf especially loved the sensation. Her nostrils flared as she drank in his musky-storm scent once more.
Can you trust me right now, Warren? Because I really don’t want to talk right now.She let a smile touch her lips.I need you to shift and to let me ride you as you run. That’s all.
His concerned expression gave way to a grin. Holding her tight, he angled them both toward a break in the trees. His voice pierced her mind again.Before Julio made his move this year, I often ran this track at dawn. I’ve missed it.
He landed them both in a small clearing where a couple of trees had been cut down to stumps. He released her, but wasted no time. He held out his hands and let his wolf come.
The shift was seamless as hisalterbody transformed even absorbing his clothes. He was so beautiful in his wolf form with buff fur. He was larger than a normal wolf which was what had made her think of doing this in the first place. He glanced back at her and yipped then set his muzzle toward the running path. He waited for her to take up her position.
In the distance, she could see other wolves racing along.
She smiled because she knew his animal instincts would have him pushing to overtake the wolves.
She leaped onto his back and using levitation, pressed her body tight against his. He lifted his neck and arched then let out a howl.
The sound cut straight through her, sending a thrill the length of her body. She gripped the fur at the base of his neck near his shoulders and held on.
As Warren began to run, it took a few bumpy strides for her to get used to riding him, just as she could tell he wasn’t accustomed to having a passenger. But when they synced up, the experience was just as she’d hoped. She became one with each fluid stretch of his legs as he began to race down the track. The path was made of crushed granite and gave him an excellent footing.
Kiara let her worries go and gave herself fully to the moment. She felt the humid night air on her face, but his speed made it cool and delicious. The pine scent flew into her nostrils and spread feel-good through her brain. The sensation of Warren’s wolf-body, as he ran hard, was an experience that made her feel like she was riding on the back of a steam locomotive. Each gathering of his fore then hind legs was like a machine that couldn’t be stopped.
He quickly closed the distance between the three wolves racing through the forest in front of him. He leaped suddenly into the air adding a powerful thrust of levitation to his forward momentum. She gave a cry of sheer delight as he sailed through the air.
When he landed on the hard path once more, he eased back into his stride, then glanced behind her. She did as well. But the wolves Warren had passed gave no indication they’d seen them.
