Chapter 2
Whenever the wind shifted, Anders could smell her scent. She was nearing his location. He should flee. There wouldn’t be any way for her to accept him, not with her knowing the truth.
Besides, he was living on borrowed time. His father had exiled him once for disobedience. Two days ago, his father had called him after almost ten years and told him that Anders could return to their pack, the Shadowed Stars, on one condition—he had to kill a certain wolf from their hated rivals, the Red Nightwalkers, a Misti Wolventon. If he accomplished this, Anders would not only regain a place in his pack. His father would consider reinstating him as heir.
Anders had agreed. Wolves were not meant for solitary existences. And locating her proved easy enough, but when he saw her, he just had to have her. Maybe it had been because of all the time by himself with only humans around him, but seeing the beautiful werewolf had stirred something deep within him.
Claiming her as his own wasn’t an option, but he had to at least sleep with her. After that, who knew?
And it had been amazing. Misti had been so wet and tight he had almost blown his load as soon as he entered her. And while he hadn’t allowed her to do much but accept what he had to give her, he wanted her again, desperately, so badly he would even allow her to tie him up and do whatever she wished to him.
But he had a feeling sex would be the last thing on her mind if they should cross paths again. She would be out for his blood, not his semen.
His entire body felt fatigued, and he longed to rest. A stream called to him, and he bounded over to it, his tongue lapping at the cool water.
A growl filled his ears.
He slowly backed away from the water and lifted his wolf head. There she stood, on the other side of the stream, tall and beautiful in her animal form. Her bared teeth and dropping saliva should have told him all he needed to know, but all he could see was her long neck, her human body stretched out beneath him, her eyes rolling back as she came…
Misti darted to the fallen tree that crossed halfway through the stream and leaped the rest of the way to his embankment. Before he could react, she was on him, pinning him to the ground. Her teeth snapped way too close to his jaw, and he pressed against her neck only hard enough to create some space between them.
Her paw swatted his head so hard he saw sparks of color. Sometimes he liked it rough in the bedroom, but this was too much for him.
He growled out a warning, but she went to swat him again.
Easily shifting his body weight, he forced them to roll over again and again until they plunged into the water. Misti surfaced first and placed her paws on his head to try to keep him down. He tugged on her tail, not enough to hurt, and pushed his head above the surface. After swallowing some air, he dogpaddled to his side.
From the splashing behind him, he knew she was gaining on him. He didn’t know by how much until he climbed out and shook the water from his fur. Suddenly, she yanked on his tail and mounted him.
There was nothing sexual about this, but oh, did he wish that was the case. He jerked his body, and Misti tumbled down. Now he was the one to pin her, and he snapped his teeth near her nose to try to warn her to stop.
Of course she wouldn’t listen. Not that Anders had expected the she-wolf too. She had a mind of her own, and she was in the killing mode. He could sense it, not just from her fighting style, but she even smelled of it, blood and heat and fire.
She lifted her head suddenly, and her teeth gripped his ear. With a flick of her neck, she pulled his ear hard. The stench of blood grew, and it called to the wolf he was controlling. His wolf wanted complete control, to either claim her or kill her, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to control his beast. As it was, he wanted to claim her in his own right.
He laid a paw on her chest and pressed down until he could feel her heart beating. So fast, so swift, so strong—just like her.
Misti released his ear and snapped at him again, this time aiming for his throat. He blocked her with his mouth, their teeth colliding, growling, snarling, nipping at each other. To him, it was rough foreplay, but to her, it was probably only an attempt to end him. While he was bigger and stronger, he didn’t know if he had it in him to stop her through brute force if that was what it would take to stop her. In fact, he wouldn’t. His father and his people were also on the hunt for him. Even his killing a Red Nightwalker and taking another one wouldn’t change his father’s opinion on him. The only two questions were whether or not his father had sent out trackers to find him and kill him and how much time he had left to live, regardless of who it was who killed him.
So he climbed down from her, rolled onto his back, and stretched out his neck. Giving up? No. Choosing his time. One last act of disobedience.
But she did not approach him, and her snarls stopped. She took a step away from him and whined. There was a rustling in the bushes, and a naked, bloodied man crawled forward.
The growl Misti unleashed made Anders’s blood freeze. With an animalistic shriek, she dashed to him, teeth snapping, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the sweet bite that would set him free.