Chapter 35
FLETCHER
My heart kicked, my fingers tangled in Adam’s atop his thigh as the BMW bounced down backroads in a town neither of us had ever heard of before.
Hours away from home, I could feel the wildness beneath Adam’s skin, his wolf almost peering out from behind his eyes when Adam looked at me in the darkness.
“How much further?” I whispered, as if I spoke much louder, someone might hear.
“We should be good now.” His voice had taken on a rusty rumble, one that told me that his shift was very close.
“Far enough out that no one will see the car.” He put the car into park and killed the engine—and the headlights.
For several moments, we just sat in the darkness, our hearts beating in unison.
It was my idea to go for a run. Adam had been cagey lately, his wolf penned up as the stress of our situation got to him. Tonight, over dinner, he’d snapped at me over something so minor that all I could do was stare at him in shock. Adam had never once raised his voice at me before.
Immediately, he’d dropped to his knees at my feet, apologizing with tears in his eyes. “Please, Fletcher, forgive me. I’m sorry. Im not well. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“You need to let your wolf out,” I’d told him quietly. “He needs to run off the wild energy in your veins.”
“I know, but… I can’t. I don’t want to go alone, and running with the pack means that they win. Besides, what if they smell you on my fur? We’re so intertwined now.” He’d looked so defeated in that moment that my heart ached for him. For us.
“What if we left town and ran together?” I suggested.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Pick someplace.”
So he did, and now we were here, staring at each other, our eyes glassy in the darkness of the forest.
Adam’s breathing was shallow and a bit uneven when he finally spoke. “Ready?”
I nodded, a quiver of nerves and excitement mingling in my belly. “I’ve never seen your wolf before,” I admitted almost shyly.
Adam’s smile stretched across his face. “And I can’t wait to see you in all of your stunning feline glory.”
Together, we got out and walked around to the front of the car. My shoes crunched over leaf litter and pine needles as I knelt down and held my hand out to Adam, palm up. “You first.”
Adam grumbled, but he didn’t deny me. Magic crackled through the air, like a shimmer of static that sparked against my skin as his wolf burst to life before me, and I gasped. I actually gasped.
His beast was massive and beautiful, with long tawny fur covered in dark guard hairs that formed sort of a mask around his eyes and muzzle. His bushy tail gave a wag as he stepped close enough to sniff my face, then lick a wet stripe up my cheek.
I giggled softly and cupped his tufted cheeks in my hands, running my fingers through his coarse yet soft fur.
“You’re beautiful, Adam,” I whispered, admiring him openly. I could stay here all night, if he’d let me, suddenly wishing I had my sketchpad.
But Adam was impatient. He nudged me with a soft, short growl. I shook my head and closed my eyes, letting that same buzzing magic wash over my body as well, until I stood on four legs instead of two.
As a lynx, I was much smaller and more compact than his large wolven form. I had soft tan fur, tufted ears and a bobbed tail that flicked back and forth as I pressed my nose to Adam’s.
Adam sniffed the side of my face, nuzzling me. I leaned into it, happiness fluttering through my veins with each and every heartbeat.
Then, without hesitation, Adam rubbed his cheek against my face and neck. Marking me. I could practically hear his voice in my head, thrumming with a single word: Mine.
With a low whuff of sound, Adam turned and took off into the woods. I was quick to follow. The two of us ran beneath the moonlight that dappled the forest floor through the treetops.
Adam’s big paws thumped over the earth, where my footfall was nearly silent. We ran side by side, bumping against each other, nipping and nudging, burning off that edge that made the wild in our souls so sharp.
We ran until we reached a clearing. It was a huge, grassy field surrounded by farmlands. Adam quickly shifted back to man and I followed suit.
We didn’t need to startle the livestock grazing sleepily in their pastures. Neither of us needed to get shot; humans sometimes didn’t understand that shifters were still human at their core and wouldn’t harm domesticated animals.
Usually.
There was always that outlier, but I preferred my leg of lamb roasted with rosemary and thyme, surrounded by mashed potatoes and gravy and a big pile of Adam’s garlicky green beans.
Mmm…
Adam laid down on the grass, his hands laced behind his head. I nestled in beside him, resting my head against his chest. We gazed up at the sky, streaked by the milky way and dotted with stars, white ink on a black canvas.
“I wish we could run away,” I admitted, very softly, breaking the silence between us. “I know it’s foolish, but—”
“Not foolish,” Adam assured me, carding his fingers through my hair. “Sometimes, I have that same thought. My father… He just doesn’t understand, and sadly, he never will.”
He inhaled, then let it out on a deep sigh. “But he controls so much of my life, Fletcher. What am I supposed to do?”
“Take control back,” I told him, as if it were that easy.
“How?”
I pressed my lips to his pec, kissing him.
“I don’t know… Protect your money somehow?
Move it into a different bank, so he can’t touch it?
That way you won’t go broke at least. You’re talented.
Finding a new job shouldn’t be too hard.
Maybe we could move away and buy a tiny home built out of a shipping container and just…
Life off the land. I don’t need a lot to be happy. I just need you.”
Adam gazed at me, soulful in the darkness. He leaned up and kissed me, his lips soft and gentle. “I know, baby,” he murmured. “I need you too. I’m trying to figure it out, to untangle it in my head. To try and make sense of my next move, but I’m afraid.”
“Of your father?”
“Yeah. Sad, isn’t it?”
“No,” I replied. “He’s a powerful person. Someone you’ve been raised to look up to, but he abuses that power. As your father, and as your Alpha. He gave me bad vibes and I only met him once.”
Adam’s laugh was remorseful. “He was not happy with me housing an Omega in my home.”
I bit my lip. “Do you think he knows? About us?”
“No? Hell, I don’t know. We’ve been careful. You’re my roommate. Roommates go shopping together, they do things together. That’s normal. It’s not like we do any PDA. I drive you places because you don’t have a car or a license. How is that suspicious?”
“Makes sense to me,” I said. “I just wish we didn’t have to hide in the shadows.”
Adam reached out and pulled me flush to him, hugging me close. “Me too, baby. One day, I promise, we won’t.”
After awhile, the night air around us grew too cold and I began to shiver. We shifted back to beast, returned to the car and drove home.
By the time we arrived at the manor and crawled into bed, it was 4 AM. I fell asleep cradled in Adam’s arms. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt truly loved and wanted, but deep down, that little voice inside my head reminded me: It won’t last forever…