Page 67 of Wolf Heart

I resist the urge tostomp over to them and demand answers. But the three of them have their heads down and talk in hushed voices that have my wolf whining and backing away inside me like she can sense they’re arguing about me.

And the urge to flee and find the witches on my own tickles the back of my mind.

* * *

Raven

The scent of Aspen and Dex’s mating with the female hangs heavy in the air and my wolf growls so loud my chest vibrates from the sound.

He wants to claim her. Stupid wolf doesn't know what's good for him. All that hooking up with her will do is add trouble to my door and keep me from fulfilling my promise to find a cure for my pack. There is no room for weakness.

I shake my head and let out a long breath, trying to lessen the ache in my chest.

Both Aspen and Dex trip over themselves to show off for her. Each boasts of their hunting prowess. Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels the pull of the female. I snort, shifting so I don't have to watch them show off, yet it gives me a side-view of Juniper and I find I can't look away. She's mesmerizing.

"Tell her about the time you fell in a poison ivy patch thinking it was a blackberry bush," Aspen teases.

Dex rolls his eyes. "Took me over a week to get rid of the rash."

"Why is that?" Juniper asks, twirling a twig through the dirt, but looking up at them through her lashes.

"Took me that long to figure out Aspen was rubbing the leaves on the inside of my clothes."

Her laugh is like the sound of wind chimes tinkling in the breeze. It’s a sweet, melodic sound and something tells me she’s going to be the end of me.

The last rays of the sun dip low on the horizon, casting shadows of gold and red over the lake.

"Wow." Juniper inhales sharply. Her silver eyes shine. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything so stunning."

I want to contradict her that she's tried to save Aspen and Dex when she didn't even know them. How I feel her guilt of the lost ones attacking us and her fucking ass pack hunting her down.

"You're such a pussy," Aspen says, shrugging his shoulders and laying down beside her. "It was a prank."

"Tell yourself that when you bitch about me shaving off all the hair on your balls in your sleep," Dex scoffs.

I can't help but laugh at her shocked expression and her bright, pink cheeks.

"You fucking knew I was trying to impress a girl." Aspen tosses a stick at Dex. "My balls were on fire until the hair grew back."

"Better than your whole body." Dex laughs.

Juniper turns so she's facing him, the sunlight catching her hair and it's like the sun reached down and touched her.

"What's it like? Shifting?" Juniper's head tilts to the side, her eyes shining with intrigue and hopefulness.

I stiffen and bite down on my back teeth. Why can't I just answer her question and move on? Because I know it's fucking different for everyone. And I know what she really wants. To unlock her wolf so she can go back to her pack, go back to that loser she thinks is her mate.

My wolf rumbles a growl.

"It hurts like shit," Dex says, his voice deep and throaty. "But it's the most freeing feeling in the world."

"Really?" Juniper's voice is full of awe. She looks up at the sky and I know she's imagining being in her wolf form, and I feel like claws are digging into my chest.

"Not as good as sex though," Aspen adds with a wink and it takes everything in me not to reach across the distance between us and slam him into the ground.

I can't help but wonder if she's interested in me. I mean, she's seen Aspen and Dex as them. Has, no doubt, been all over their naked bodies, but I'm far from being sure she's attracted to me at all.

Who am I kidding? She doesn't want me or any of us. Her wolf has claimed that loser, Michael, Aspen and Dex told me what happened. I clench my fists, wanting to rip the bastard for hurting her. But she can't feel anything for us but lust. Our curse won't let her fall in love or us with her.

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