Page 7 of Pregnant Wolf's Mate

"Yes, but not tonight," Ray told her firmly, shaking his head to illustrate his point. "You need to calm down and rest or you'll never be able to focus and hone in on her."

Some of the hope died from Macie's gaze, as though she thought he was just saying that to get out of helping her at all. Oddly, feeling the urge to reassure her, Ray added, "Meet me here tomorrow night?"

Ray was absolutely stunned into silence when she lunged forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him so tightly he felt as though his eyes might pop out of his skull.

"Thank you, oh, thank you!"

He was even more astonished when she pulled back just enough to smack a kiss upon his cheek.

When she released him, her eyes were about as round as his and before he could say anything, she darted to her feet. Clearly, in a hurry to escape what she had just done, Macie turned and started to race away.

Ray didn't even attempt to stop her. He was in about as much shock as she had been, and all he could think was, Are you a complete idiot?

Now that he had all but promised her he would encourage her wolf forward, she would blame him entirely if she were still unable to do so. More than that, shifting for the first time was personal and intimate, and it was only shared between the entire pack as a sign of their welcoming a new member with love and understanding and loyalty.

Being alone with Macie, trying to coax her wolf out, that would be something else entirely.

Chapter 5 - Macie

She shouldn't be doing this. Macie knew it deep down in her gut. There was no way she should be having a secret meeting with a McCormack, especially not the eldest son of the McCormack family and the past rival of their current alpha. But she knew one other thing for certain, it was that fact that kept her safe from the pack learning her real problem. That was if he could truly help her. If not, she was destined to be a wolfless shifter, an outcast and a loser, for the rest of her life.

There was nobody else in the pack she could trust to know that she couldn't access her wolf. Not even her sister could know the extent of her trouble, because if she did, the rest of the pack would surely find out and then they would all give up on her. She would never earn her place among them. And she couldn't bear the thought of the looks on her parents' faces if that came to pass.

And so, she met Ray right where he had told her to, trudging through the woods like a poor human as she may as well have been in the eyes of her packmates.

When she came upon him standing naked in the clearing, she was only half-surprised. He had likely shifted and run all the way there in half the time it had taken her.

Before she entered the clearing, she took a moment to admire him in all his naked glory. Muscles upon muscles banded every limb on his body and naked, his chest and shoulders looked even broader than before. The impressive manhood that hung between his thighs was a little unsettling, and yet it still set Macie's heart racing.

"Come on out, Macie, I know you're there," he called to her, and her entire body stiffened. He could hear her hiding there, but was it her breathing or her racing heart that had given her away?

She couldn't be sure and so she stepped out of the undergrowth, fighting with a thicket of brambles that clung to her linen trousers.

As soon as he saw her, he looked her up and down, smirked and said, "Strip."

"Are you insane?"

Ray cocked his head at her and gestured down at himself. "It's only fair."

"Ray! There is no way in hell that I am going to strip naked in front of you!" Macie snapped back at him, her hands tightening into fists at her sides.

"Then it's a good job we aren't in hell," Ray responded, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you want my help or not?"

Again, he cocked his head, one golden eyebrow raised, and not for the first time Macie felt the need to wipe the cocky expression off his face.

"Of course I do but…"

Before she could offer any other kind of protest, he insisted again, "Then strip."

"What for?" Macie demanded, wrapping her arms over her chest. Even though she hadn't done as he asked, she suddenly felt as though she was standing naked before him, needing to protect herself from his gaze.

"Well, for starters, if you manage to access your wolf, you don't want to ruin your pretty clothes, do you?" Ray asked, his tone mocking. It set Macie's teeth on edge and she grumbled back at him, glowering. "And then there's the fact it'll be easier to access her if you can properly feel all of the nature around you and the moon on your skin. You can't do that while fully dressed, can you?"

Macie gritted her teeth even harder, knowing all too well that he was right. Reluctantly, she started to strip off her clothes. Only when she got down to her lace bra and underwear did she snap at him, "Turn around!"

With a scoffing grin, he did as she told him to, but she could sense him still watching out of the corner of his eye. It was no surprise he was taking delight out of this. With such high libidos, she was certain any of her packmates would do the same.

What are you doing thinking of his libido? Macie scolded herself though if she thought about it rationally, it wasn't exactly surprising. Being naked around others wasn't exactly something she was used to. She'd had no need to be so before even though she was surrounded by other werewolves. Without her shifting, she had never been invited to join them.

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