Page 35 of Rejected Mate

Her vibration radiated through me as we ended up outside the bar and headed toward the woods.

"Slow down." I chuckled. She halted and then her eyes and face were all aglow, reflected in the moon above.

"I could shift; I can feel the urge to do so. I haven't felt this way in weeks, not since I've been at the casino."

Part of me wanted to ask her what she was talking about. How I'd never seen her shift and didn't know she could do so being a half-breed. But the other part of me didn't want to ruin this moment. I wanted to savor her looking at me like she was interested and not like I was a fucking monster.

"I just want to strip and shift." Her excitement was obvious.

I kept my hand in hers as we dashed deeper into the woods.

Now, I was the one running with her, and there was something sexual about being with another wolf, one that was my mate and I was supposed to be imprinting on.

I was running beside her into the woods, and we could hear the howls and it made us even more excited until we stopped by a tree. And it was there that we spoke with our body language and not our voices as we peeled off our clothes while focusing on each other.

She didn't look away, not like she did in the bar, or other times when I'd approached her. No, she was hungry to shift, and I was hungry to join her. I couldn't help but intently study her body, and she did the same with mine. I closed my eyes once I was naked and my clothes had been stacked in a pile.

The drug to keep me from going back into a coma still pumped through me and I felt stronger than I had in a long time. My wolf howled in my chest, eager to be free and run with Fagua.

It was weird shifting like this. I never was so careful before. It was a caveman moment for me, so at times I loved just shifting and my clothes ripping at the seams. But this felt a little too sophisticated for my well-being, something I wasn't used to, at all.

“I’m nervous.” She let out a small laugh. “Does it hurt? Shifting all the way? What if I get stuck as a wolf?”

“It doesn’t hurt as much as you’d think. Guess that’s the moon’s magic helping us. And as far as getting trapped in your other form, we can figure that out. It will help to return to this spot, something to trigger the memory of this moment and help you return to your human form.”

"I'll mark the tree with my lipstick, so we know where to come back to. Smell it."

I did as she commanded. And as she put her lipstick on top of our clothes, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I sank into myself, trying to find the animal within me as Fagua did the same. It didn't take long. We were both turning into the wolves we really were. I felt the lengthening of my limbs, and my back started to bend and my face no longer felt human. It had been a while since I'd shifted.

I'd never seen Fagua in her wolf form, but I relished the moment of being in mine. I told myself that seeing her this way was only for me. That my brothers hadn't witnessed this. One thing I could pretend was between her and I alone and no one else.

I felt a tap on my back, and as I opened my eyes, sure enough she was staring at me. She was clearly the most beautiful wolf I'd ever seen. I expected her to be flirting with me, toying with the idea of us both being in our wolf form.

Her fur was a mix of black and gray, most likely to show that although she was a shifter, she was a half-breed. She leapt up in the air, and I couldn't help but follow as she headed deeper into the woods. Ignoring the other wolves that passed us by, it was the first time we'd had a moment together like this. One that we could enjoy, far more than I'd envisaged we ever would.

Her yip brought me chasing after her, and my heart felt lighter than it ever had. I felt like I could do anything. Like I could fly. There was no denying she was supposed to be mine.

We approached a lake, and she leapt in. Something I hated doing in this form, but with her, anything was possible. I realized more than ever, she wasn’t my enemy but my mate, and I wanted to imprint on her more than ever.

11

Fagua

I'd tried shifting before, but I could never complete a full shift; it was only ever parts of me that transitioned. And I could never hold the partial shifts for long. But finally being fully in my wolf was incredible, so incredible that I didn't want the night to end. To see my fur, my paws, and everything else about me that had changed. The crazy part was I thought I would share this moment with Winter or Sky, never with Husk.

We resumed our human form and Husk approached me carefully, staring at me, as if he could read my mind.

"I-I didn't think I could do that." I let out a breathless laugh. "Never been able to do a full shift before. It was so exhilarating."

"You regret sharing it with me?" He met my stare and my breath caught in my chest.

I shook my head. "No. It's not that. I've never shared it with anyone. Sometimes I thought there was no way I could shift completely, until now."

He nodded. "I think it's this place. I think being among other wolves and not being different has brought out the passion to shift. Don't worry, you're not the only one who feels that way."

I could have moved away from him. We were both naked, and judging by his cock, he was getting excited from the idea of exploring my body with his eyes.

I'd never seen Husk like this; he was vulnerable and so close to me. I should have moved away or even attempted to put my clothes on. The heat of attraction between us was so overwhelming and something I'd never experienced with him before.

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