Page 19 of No Harm No Howl

As if …

Much to Gia’s disbelief, her wolf took off after the frustrating man.

What the hell? Why are you chasing him? We don’t chase men. Any men! I demand that you put a stop to this ridiculousness!Gia was beside herself. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

I will always chase this male. He will always chase me. He is mine!Her wolf growled at her.

Oh, no!Gia scoffed, needing to find a way to bring this shit to a serious halt. She pushed against her wolf, demanding to regain control of their body, but her wolf would have none of it.

As far as their mate was concerned, her wolf wanted him, and she was not about to listen to a damn thing Gia had to say about it. She sighed, knowing she had to go along with whatever was about to happen.

You better not let him bite us!she growled at her wolf.If you do, I will never let you see the light of day again.

Her wolf huffed and went frolicking about with Russ as if Gia hadn’t said a word or demanded control.

Gia tried to relax, but she couldn’t. She was too worried that her wolf would try to take things a little too far for her comfort and get them into something Gia wanted no part of.

Her animal may be driven by instinct, but Gia was not. She was driven by rational thoughts. This whole thing just pissed her off. It was the one part of her dual nature she despised.

Chill. I’m not going to mate him. Well, not today, anyway. This is about getting to know our mate. He’s amazing, right?

Unbelievable. If Gia could kick her own wolf’s ass, she would and not even think twice about it. She should have known better and fought harder against the pull to let her wolf stretch her damn legs. It was nothing but another freaking setup. Between her wolf, Gerri, and now Russ, they were all driving her crazy and getting on her last nerve.

Her wolf and the Russ wolf chased and nipped at each other as Gia stewed in her solitary misery. She tried to stay mad about the situation, but her wolf’s happiness seeped into her own mind. Her wolf was having the time of her life. She had never seen her animal so happy … so carefree. Another crack formed, larger than the last.

TWELVE

RUSS

As much as Russ had wanted to continue his banter with Gia, well, with her wolf form, he knew he had to wrap things up. It was getting late, and she had made him promise not to keep her out too long. He shifted to his human form and waited for her to do the same.

“Can we talk for a minute?” he asked after what seemed like a longer-than-normal wait for her to shift.

Gia’s wolf shook her head, indicating that she did not want to talk. She twitched her tail and ears and bowed down to him. She wanted to keep playing.

“Aww. We’ll play more again soon. I promise.”

It was easy to see that her wolf did not want to give up control. She wanted to stay with Russ and play long into the night. Which would have been great with him, but human Gia would likely have a problem with that. Getting on her bad side was not something he felt like doing at this particular moment … or ever, if he was being perfectly honest.

“Please?” he asked again.

Her wolf huffed before he felt the air around him thicken, filling with Gia’s magic. One second, she stood on four paws. The very next, she stood on two legs.

“What the hell was that about?” she snapped the second she shifted back to her human form.

“What was what about? What do you mean?” Russ asked.

“That playing and whatever that was?”

He wanted to kiss that cute little scowl off her face.

“Our wolves were getting to know each other. I thought you were aware of that. Anyway, I know you didn’t want to stay out late, so I figured it would be a good time to wrap things up for the night,” he said.

“Thanks. I don’t think my wolf would have willingly left on her own,” she huffed, clearly annoyed at her wolf.

“I’d like to make sure you get home safely,” he said. “We can shift back, and you lead the way. Hopefully, my going with you will keep your wolf in check for you.”

“Uhh … yeah. She’s acting a bit sassy at the moment. Thanks, but I can make it back on my own. I don’t want to hold you up. I’m sure you’ve got stuff to do this evening.”

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