Page 44 of Dark Moon Secrets

How much I wished she could come, but then I began to panic. I would need to change, and I would be naked. It would scare her off.

Then, it didn’t matter. Tanjie understood the gesture. Fear and confusion filled her eyes, and she stepped back. She sent a signal of her own by pulling down the blind.

She needed more time to get to know me, maybe not in wolf form. The connection remained between us, invisible but there. She hadn’t entirely rejected me.

Now that I knew that, I was unsettled.

I couldn’t go to her. Not yet, and it was more than her being a witch.

When I went to Tanjie, I didn’t want her to reject me. I needed to be sure she would say yes to me, to us. It didn’t have to be long-term because we were born from different magic.

The bond forming between us was unnatural and shouldn’t exist. It was there, as unexpected as it was, bringing us together against the odds.

The coven would punish her for sure if she did something with me. I had heard the warning Luna had given her to stay away from me in the shop.

I don’t know why Luna was so worried. Maybe she had sensed the forming bond between us.

My pack would punish me too.

We could get away with it as long as no one else found out. And I was good at keeping secrets. I’m sure Tanjie would be too. Though not knowing added an irresistible risk that made it harder for me not to go to her now.

There was only one option—hunt the night away and run until I could barely walk. I hurried to the bushland, slipping between the scrub and feeling more relaxed in nature.

The rabbits I hunted barely satisfied me. Instead, I ran in wolf form, burning the desire through physical activity, my muscles contracting and relaxing with the movement. I pushed myself up and down the mountain. My gray vision was sharp and alert. I weaved between the scrub and clawed a few rabbits that got in my way, and soon, my body flooded with endorphins from the exercise, and the heaviness in my mind lifted.

But I didn’t stop.

I was used to getting my way and instinctively knew this might not happen with Tanjie. By being with her, I was risking everything I wanted in the pack. But I couldn’t back away, no matter how I looked at this situation.

Images formed in my head that made no sense. I had to protect Tanjie from my dad. I had to let her enter the shop, but I didn’t know why. The sadness in my dad’s eyes as I fought him soon changed to anger hot as lava. He was going to make me pay.

I kept running, hoping the movement would push away the scenes playing out in my mind. Were they a forewarning? Or something else? I didn’t know, and neither did my wolf. He was as unsettled by them as I was.

So I ran deeper into the scrub, the scent of eucalyptus sharpening my mind, and soon, the images blurred away, and I was myself again. But it had taken too long to happen.

The first rays from the sun pushed away the night. I ran, paws thumping the dirt of the Blue Mountains bushland. My wolf urged me to be free for longer, but I had let him have too much control.

It was time for me to change back into my human form and get to the construction site on time. I had roamed far into the parkland and hurried back to my car. If I wasn’t careful, early morning joggers might see me. I’d been too reckless in my needs, forgetting about the pack’s safety. It was hard for me to change my way of being so quickly. I was used to doing things alone, my way, and rebelling against my dad.

I had to do better.

My wolf sprinted, covering miles quickly, back to where I had parked my pimped Kingswood car, a classic from the 1970s. From an era built to last, I worked on it when not busy roaming the night or working construction during the day.

Too much light filtered through the tall trees surrounding the clearing. My car was there, and my heart sank.

Two Land Cruisers were parked, occupants getting out, dressed, and ready to run a marathon.

I had taken too long.

I crept slowly around the edge of the scrub of the clearing, keeping out of sight and moving closer to my car. I couldn’t get to it without being seen. My clothes were inside, where I usually left them.

Hurry up and leave, I grumbled, impatient to change and get cleaned up. If I were late again, that would be another nail in the coffin for me not becoming a beta.

Could I manage a naked streak without being seen?

Two couples and two guys were there, in separate groups, looking distracted. The thing was, would they report me to the police if they did manage to see me?

I couldn’t risk it. It wouldn’t just bring problems to me but also to my pack. I wanted the beta position.

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