Page 23 of Beta Hybrid

Does that mean something’s dead, or hurt?

No. Not necessarily. You—I—can smell blood when it’s pumping quickly through a body.

I shudder. Like a vampire?

A soft growl rumbles. Not dissimilar, he admits. Come. I won’t run ahead of you.

Don’t you hate that? Holding back for me?

Those silver eyes turn on me. You mean getting to run with you? To experience this with my mate? No. He nuzzles into my side.

I’m still connected to him—his vision and other wolfy senses. He starts off at a slow, easy pace, and I can keep up with him. Are your senses always like this? Isn’t it a lot? As we sink into the thick woods, the smells become more intense. Almost overpowering. My head turns on a swivel, trying to identify everything.

It can be. Especially when I’m looking for something in particular. Cai’s pace quickens.

I can feel his heart beat a little faster. I would have worried he wanted to sprint, full-out, as fast as those strong legs could carry him. Pleasure, fulfilment pulses from him, though. He’s happy, at ease. But under that, now that I focus, now that we’re connected… as soon as I try to dig a little deeper, embarrassment flushes through.

Whatever he wants to call it, it’s his animalistic drive to pound me. Amusement turns my mouth up.

Sorry, he says. I can’t help it.

Isn’t it the female who goes into heat?

It’s not that, he snaps, still running side by side. My father called it the Mating Ritual. If you were a wolf, you’d feel it too.

Well, I’m not a wolf, I snap back.

There—no— Cai stutters.

His paws are loud as they brush past the dirt. It’s an abrasive sound. Part of me wishes I could walk and keep pace with him. The woods, nature, it’s a sacred space. I want to slowly cherish each moment. To run my hands over the bark of each tree. To wiggle my toes in the soft earth. To bathe in the streams, or go swimming. I wonder if he could catch a fish. Do wolves even like swimming?

My mind catches up to Cai. What is it?

There, uh, there’s one way you could feel this too. To be, well, more on the same wavelength.

In the woods, I glance at him. Still running, our gazes don’t physically meet, but in our minds they do. How?

Cai slows to a stop. My breaks take a few more seconds to kick in, but at least I don’t stumble. I sit on the ground opposite him, staring into those bright, silver eyes as darkness finally falls.

One day, when I accept you as beta. It’s an official bond between us, that connects us even deeper. You would feel it with me, it would be intense like this for both of us.

It’s still a little strange to look at him as a wolf, and be able to hear him in my mind. I take a moment to think on that. Our relationship has been nothing but turbulent, and this whole, being-together thing is still very new.

Do alphas usually do that so soon? I don’t know what his parents’ mating was like, it was before I was born, long before I was left to the pack.

Cai tilts his wolfy head, considering. Again, it depends on the couple. It’s very go-at-your-own pace. I know you’re feeling displaced. I know our time together has been… hectic. This is completely up to you, Zen. He pads closer to me, brushing his cold nose against my cheek, along my neck.

I nuzzle into him, too. I’ll think about it. Thanks. I lean against a tree. We weren’t running for long, but we covered a lot of ground. I wonder what it’s like for him, being so turned on. Is it nice, or more like frustrating? Agony?

I try to picture myself feeling that way, a gnawing hunger between my legs, needing to get off. No, that doesn’t sound nice at all. I run a hand over his ears, unsure how to touch him while he’s in wolf form. Cai?

Hmm?

Did you ever consider being with someone else? After you… when I was gone?

Cai sobers and settles back to look at me. Those silver eyes darken. No.

Why not? You can’t have expected me to come back.

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