And then Kiyo was no longer a man.
He was now a great big, bloody black werewolf, twice the size of a regular wolf.
A howl burst forth from his snout.
Niamh gaped, wanting to approach him but not sure what the etiquette was.
Then his head snapped toward her, his nostrils flaring, and Niamh almost smiled. She could still see Kiyo behind those large, dark eyes.
“Well, aren’t you unfairly beautiful in any form,” she teased with a smile.
Kiyo made a chuffing sound.
“I’m not sure what the polite thing is here … but … I don’t suppose I could touch you, could I?” she asked tentatively because he wasn’t the cuddliest person when in human form.
To her surprise, Kiyo padded toward her, the muscles in his legs flexing. Jesus Christ, his head was at chest height. A head he lowered for her to touch.
Warmth suffused Niamh as she reached out and ran her hand over his soft fur. “You’re a big fella, aren’t you,” she murmured affectionately.
A giggle escaped her as Kiyo bussed into her touch as soon as she scratched his ears. It delighted and surprised her. Wolf Kiyo was more affectionate than his human counterpart.
After indulging him in some ear scratching, Niamh’s hands trailed around his large, strong jaw and his eyes opened, piercing her soul.
“Time to run?” she whispered.
Wolf Kiyo padded slowly away, his tail swishing in the night air. He still smelled like Kiyo. Like earth, smoke, and aged ambergris. He stopped, shot her a somewhat challenging look over his shoulder, and then he leapt through the night ahead of them.
Niamh’s pulse skittered and she tore off after him.
He was fast.
Bounding and loping and veering and speeding through the forest, never hitting a tree or the logs or rocks that laid in their path. Niamh wasn’t so fortunate. Even though she was faster than him, she wasn’t quite as graceful as he was in wolf form, and that was saying something since grace was one of her virtues. But at this speed, in the unfamiliar woodland landscape, Niamh stumbled out of her super pace when her toe hit a large rock or she didn’t quite make the leap over a fallen tree that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Yet, as the hours went on and she followed Kiyo, he made a circle in the forest (obviously so they didn’t venture too far from the lodge and upon possible human activity) and Niamh’s reflexes caught up. Suddenly she was soaring through the woods, keeping up with Kiyo as they shared joyous looks of thrill.
Raccoons, squirrels, snakes, and other small animals hurried and slithered out of their path. The trees were a blur of naked limbs and newly growing buds. The patches of snow barely touched them, they moved so fast. The moon glowed on their skin and it felt like basking in the sun.
It was awesome. They felt connected as they ran. A bond sharp and golden strung between them.
And for once, neither of them fought it.
They gave in.
They were one.
And it was glorious.
Until the massive fecking bear appeared.* * *Feeling exhilarated but weary, Niamh slowly climbed the stairs to the lodge with every intention of falling asleep on the couch. Kiyo could have the bed.
He, after all, had leapt in front of her to protect her from a bear.
Unfortunately, there had been no time to run in the opposite direction. They were bounding through the trees when Niamh almost collided with the beast.
And it charged.
Wolf Kiyo had lunged in front of her, taking the bear to the forest floor.
To Niamh’s horror, however, the bear swiped his claws across Wolf Kiyo’s belly and he’d whined and rolled off.
Before the bear could charge again, Niamh used her magic to knock it out.
By the time she got to Wolf Kiyo, he was already healing. Werewolves healed especially fast in wolf form.
Still, she felt guilty and appreciative of him for jumping in front of her like that. He seemed to forget she was just as immortal as he was, but Niamh had to admit that she liked his protectiveness. Even if he did say he only protected her because he was being paid to.
Fecking liar.
Smiling to herself, Niamh stepped into the lodge and let her body fall down onto the couch. “Oof,” she grunted, rolling onto her back to kick off her sneakers.
The sun was coming up, and Niamh had left Kiyo to change in private.
Sure enough, she could hear his footsteps coming up the exterior staircase just as her eyes began to flutter closed. The door squeaked open and she felt the heat of Kiyo’s gaze.
Her body tensed with hyper awareness as she heard him approach the couch.
“Take the bed,” he said softly.
Niamh’s eyes flew open.
He stood over her. Half-naked. His hair loose and falling around his chin.
God, he was so beautiful, she thought she might die with the pain of wanting him. “I’m okay,” she croaked out. “You take the bed.”