Chapter 21
When Narae’s wolf caught up with Demon, Daemon was surprised.
But when she pushed harder and started pulling away from him, he was shocked to his marrow.
Yeah, wolves that had been denied a run tended to make up for it with one impressive run.
But that usually lasted just a fraction of the run, a short spurt of adrenaline that typically faded as quickly as it came.
But what Narae was doing wasn’t a spurt.
Her she-wolf was fast and powerful in a way that Daemon had never seen.
Simultaneously proud and competitive, Demon pushed harder, wanting to pass Narae to lead her to the compound.
Hell, he was twice her size; the feat should have been easy.
When he only managed to catch up to her, it pissed him off.
He was supposed to be impressive to her, not the other way around.
She had nothing to prove to him; he was already sold on her.
Needing to prove his worth, he dug down deep and was surprised at how hard he had to work to take the lead.
It was a damn good thing they were close to the manor because he knew he wouldn’t be able to maintain the pace.
Luckily, Narae fell into pace beside him.
Daemon thought she’d fight for the lead again, but instead, she stayed at his side, and that’s how they ran.
Lurch for lurch, their wolves raced toward home.
Chests heaving, mouths panting, paws pounding the Earth, nothing had ever felt more right to Daemon.
He wanted to run like this with her forever.
The manor came into sight over the next rolling hill, and Narae slowed.
Dameon did too. He knew she’d be trepidatious.
Anyone would. Their compound looked like a fortress in the middle of a sea of wheat.
The tall stone wall that surrounded the manor gave it an imposing feel.
It didn’t help that the sky was quickly turning black with another summer storm rapidly approaching.
It felt slightly oppressive, even to him.
Or maybe that was just nerves about having to explain to Koe about the bite he’d put on Jury’s sister.
Fuck, things were about to go bad, he just knew it.
Narae slowed to a trot, and Daemon stayed by her side. When she slowed even more to a nervous walk, he shifted, reclaiming his skin, his clothes regenerating with the change's blessing.
Chest heaving, he walked beside Narae and answered questions he knew she had to have.
“The Alpha of the Allegiance pack is Koe Ontiveros.” He jerked his head to the road where Thrall’s truck was slowly catching up. “Thrall’s the Beta, and I’m lead Enforcer. There are twelve of us in the pack. All males, no females.” He glanced down at her, “Until now.”
Narae’s wolf stopped walking, and she shifted. But her human self didn’t make it to her feet. Instead, she crumpled to her knees, her upper body falling forward on her braced and shaking arms. Daemon dropped to a knee and caught her. “Easy, baby.”
He knew she’d spent herself on that run. It couldn’t be helped. Unleashing your animal for the first time in God knew how long took a lot out of a shifter. Lifting her, he held her with ease but didn’t make a move toward the manor. It was important to him to wait until she was ready.
In his arms, Narae’s breath was sawing back and forth as she tried to catch her breath. Wanting to ease the knit of worry that was centered between her brows, he chided, “By the way, I let you win.”
That had Narae’s face morphing as she grinned up at him. “I don’t even need to scent your lie to know that ain’t true.”
He chuckled, his chest rumbling with the sound. Wanting to know more about her, he asked, “Has your wolf always been so…powerful?”
Narae’s grin faltered. “I don’t know. I’ve never gotten the opportunity to properly push her. I know she’s a beast, though. She’s survived some shit that would’ve crushed anyone else.”
And just like that, Daemon regretted asking.
Why did every revelation about this woman have him wanting to murder someone?
Yeah, he was naturally broody and violent, but fuck!
Narae had the ability to send him into an instant rage, and that kind of control over him was dangerous.
He’d spent his whole life trying to tame Demon and not be so reactive, and Narae seemed to annihilate all his progress. It was scary.
“You’ll get the chance to push her to her limits here.”
When Narae’s eyes sliced to his, he quickly amended, “In a good way. Nothing bad is going to happen to you here, I promise.”
Her gaze lowered back to the manor, a muscle in her jaw ticking as she countered, “You sure about that?”
Daemon followed her gaze and cursed under his breath as Koe stalked angrily toward them.
Thrall’s truck rocked to a halt beside them on the road, and when Thrall hopped out, he circled the truck to stand by Daemon’s side, breathing a quiet, “Well, that don’t look good.”