The sound of her crashing through the woods, her body small, tiny in comparison to mine filled me with worry. Protect her, my Lycan roared in my head. I was acutely aware of her breathing, the hard pants that sawed in and out of her mouth, her arms pumping back and forth as she tried to escape.
I hummed low, pleasure and this powerful need to get to her making me run faster. Although I could have easily caught her, I was getting off on her thinking she could run from me, that she had a chance of escaping.
I inhaled deeply, snarling and snapping, low growling at the subtle scent of her. I was so far gone, and with the wilderness surrounding me, the heightened adrenaline rushing through my veins, I was having a hell of a time filtering out the scents… pinpointing hers.
What I could decipher with startling clarity was that she was mine. And then all I smelled was her. The fresh, crisp, and clean scent of her, like wildflowers in an open field, sunshine raining down on them, filled my head and made me feel drugged, my wolf howling in approval.
But there was something else under the surface, something that my mind wouldn’t wrap around just yet, wouldn’t penetrate. And I was so focused on getting to her that I didn’t pay much attention at first.
There would be time for me to decipher all things, to know everything about her. Right now I just had to get to my female.
My Lycan side reveled in the chase, and I tipped my head back and howled. She cried out, and a part of me hated so badly that I was the one who frightened her. The other part was so wild and hungry for her that I couldn’t stop what was happening.
I didn’t want to scare her. Ever. I wanted to make her happy, pleasure her, keep her close and safe so she’d always know that if anyone or anything meant her harm, I’d destroy them.
I’m causing her harm. I’m the reason she’s scared.
The need to shift was so strong inside me that I gritted my teeth, my canines picking at my bottom lip and scoring the flesh. The flavor of my blood coated my tongue, a coppery flavor, as if I’d been sucking on a penny. It drove my need for my mate higher.
I beat the beast back, refusing to let my wolf out. All that would do was frighten her even further. And that was the last thing I wanted.
I was going about this all wrong. I knew I was fucking this up. But I couldn’t stay back, couldn’t even think of a rational thought, let alone tell her she had nothing to fear from me.
I tracked her, my vision crystal-clear, even in the pitch darkness of night. She was pushing away low-hanging branches, the thorns and twigs scraping at her flesh. I wanted to pull her into the hardness of my body and protect her, keep her close. I wanted to destroy all these trees because they dared to hurt my mate.
And then I was tracking her feet, anticipating where she went next, where her foot would land before she placed it. I moved faster just as I saw the toe of her shoe get caught in the underbrush, taking her down, the force propelling her forward so that I knew she'd get injured once she hit the ground.
I heard something snap, unsure if it was a branch or something worse, like her delicate bone. She screamed, and I felt all the anguish and anger, the possessive and protective side of me rising up that my female was hurt.
I tipped my head back and roared, heard her scream in response, and knew I’d just made everything worse.
11
Darragh
Oh God. He was coming after me. He was chasing me. I was his prey.
I could feel him. So close. He was so close. I swore the sensation of his warm breath coasted over the back of my neck.
I was terrified… but I felt something else too.
It was this strange awakening, this prickling in my body as if something was trying to escape.
A choked sob left me, and I pumped my arms faster. Harder.
My vision was blurry, and I kept wiping at my eyes, but I’d stumbled so many times that dirt marred my hands, smearing along my face, making my eyesight even worse.
And then there was the fact that I couldn’t see shit, the darkness so thick that the moonlight couldn’t even seem to penetrate the treetops.
I swore I could hear the animalistic sounds coming from him. I didn’t know what he was, didn’t know who he was.
All I knew for certain was that he was chasing me, and… he would catch me.
I pushed branches aside, but they kept slapping against my arms and face like a brand from nature.