Page 52 of Rogue Wolf

The ceremony would have been more powerful if the moon had been full—but it was close, and the energy rippling through him was nothing like he’d ever experienced. Strangely, his connection to Tamaska and his human form remained, as if connected by the invisible threads of fate. He couldn’t let his wolf have full reign yet, so he needed to be careful.

His paws landed on the dirt, touching the edge of the blood spilled to inaugurate him as the alpha. In his wolf form, his strength had increased, and he was much stronger than before.

A warning snarl escaped Kodiak as Moki, also in wolf form, came closer. Kodiak was ready to fight anyone unhappy with his appointment as alpha.

Moki veered away with his tail between his legs, which pleased Kodiak.

Kodiak howled again in a lower pitch, signaling the others to join him. As the pack transformed, they joined their howls to his. Their voices glided up and down, giving beauty to the sound.

He sprang forward, rushing away from Tamaska. He hoped she would be all right for at least half an hour, and then he could return to her without the others noticing. By then they would be hunting, running, mating, or otherwise distracted.

As for him, he would lead the first hunt of the night, according to his right as the new alpha. He dashed between bushes with great agility, swerving left and right as if pursuing a deer. He luxuriated in every sensation his wolf form afforded him, overjoyed at the chance to loosen his self-control for the special occasion.

Deer scent proved easy to track as the pack, respectfully running behind him, spurred him on. After tracking it for the better part of half an hour, Kodiak found the deer. Its small tail flicked nervously behind it. He calculated strategic changes in direction that would leave zigzagging through the scrub to bring down the deer and send its soul fleeing to the underworld.

Kodiak crouched low behind the bushes, not wanting to be seen, eyes fixed on the alert fallow deer.

He needed to strike quickly, before the deer ran off or another wolf got to it. Kodiak wouldn’t put it past Moki to try and steal his moment of glory.

Seizing his moment, he sprang out from under the bush’s cover, rushing the deer. He leaped into the air, then clamped his teeth around the tender skin of its neck, claws raking across its flesh.

Blood rushed into his mouth, the glorious taste reminding him of past fights with vampires, where he could taste whatever blood they’d consumed.

The deer put up a fight, but Kodiak was more powerful. The deer was his.

He shredded its body and tore open its hide, ready to feast. His wolf side hungered, not just for a hunt, but for fresh meat.

Kodiak ripped open the deer’s chest with only one intention—to find and eat its heart.

The heart, still warm, was torn from the deer and consumed quickly, a fitting reward for the new alpha.

Once he had his fill, he howled with his nose to the sky. The howl would signal the kill’s location to the rest of his pack, so they could fill their stomachs as they pleased. Then, he raced off.

He detected Tamaska’s scent easily and found her sitting near one of the torches by the front of the hut. She hadn’t wandered off into the scrub, where the wolves hunted. The pack wouldn’t hurt her, but she;d been left alone after the wolves scattered for the hunt.

The need to protect beat louder than the drum had.

Crouching in the shadows, he changed back to his human form. He grabbed some leaves and tried to wipe some of the deer’s blood off his skin. His wolf resisted, eager to get back into the scrub to hunt, to enjoy its true form.

He stepped towards her, his feet padding softly across the dirt. “Tamaska.”

She whipped around to face him with red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks and his heart squeezed painfully.

“I’m sorry, but I had to do it this way. There was no time.”

“I know. But that doesn’t make it any easier,” she responded, getting to her feet. It hurt that she didn’t rush to him, wrap her arms around him. Kodiak suspected that the deer blood alone would be enough to keep her away.

She wouldn’t like the next event of the evening, either. He couldn’t leave her outside alone. It was too dangerous, even here.

“Come this way, to the hut. You’ll be more comfortable there.” He didn’t wait for her to follow as he strode over to the wooden structure where they’d made love the other night, an act that had cemented their fledgling bond.

Kodiak opened the door and motioned for her to step inside. He hated to picture how messy he looked, how he must smell after taking down the deer. That would be enough to put anyone off.

Tamaska didn’t seem bothered. She hesitated, then walked through the doorway.

“You’ll be safer in here. I’ll be back before sunrise.” With that, he left the hut, then closed and locked the door.

“Kodiak, come back!” she yelled from the other side of the door. “You bastard!”

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