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The forest enfolded us, and its inhabitants were no less welcoming. That inclusion would last until sunset, they’d informed us, at which point we were to lock ourselves away in two bunkhouses while private petroglyph-related ceremonies were performed by those in the know.
For now, though, our motley crew had been seamlessly folded into the Bearclaw funeral. “Want any more?” a young woman asked as she passed by with a steaming kettle of the best soup I’d enjoyed in months. Behind her, Jacob banged his palms against a hide-stretched drum while Emily, Noah, and Patricia undulated to the rhythm. Given the dozens of other drummers and dancers, their youthful energy blended right in.
“No, but thank you. It was delicious.” I smiled combined thanks and dismissal while peering out into the crowd in search of the rest of my party. The adult contingent wasn’t immediately apparent, but I had confidence that they’d be able to stay out of trouble. Which meant I just had to scratch one last investigative itch, then I could finally relax....
Not relax, my wolf countered. Hunt.
If you let me finish this, soon you can hunt all you want to, I reminded her as I stood and angled toward the trail exiting the clearing. My thesis was sound, but I could feel the wolf mustering her counterargument anyway. So I sped up my footsteps, hoping to finish this project before she began to physically resist.
I won that round, reaching the van before she could protest, and the vehicle was both locked and empty unlike in my dream/not-dream. Pulling the spare keys out of my pocket and opening the rear compartment, I leaned down to inhale a huge whiff of scents so complex I couldn’t begin to disassemble them. So much for determining whether someone really had gone through my papers two nights before.
“What are we hunting?”
Claw’s abrupt presence should have scared me. Instead, being followed by an alpha werewolf felt fitting. Like running with pack mates. My wolf hummed happiness as Claw nudged into our personal space.
“Someone going through my files who shouldn’t have been maybe,” I answered, accepting the simple pleasure of Claw’s torso brushing against my hip as he bent in closer to mimic my assessment. Somewhere in the last twenty-four hours of enforced proximity, I’d lost track of the self-preservation instinct that had prompted me to avoid him. When my wolf leaned into his presence, I didn’t force her to retreat.
“No clue,” Claw said after a moment. His nose, like mine, must have been flummoxed by the complexity. Was it likely that...?
But my analytical brain hiccuped as he turned to face me. Warm breath flitted across my forehead. For one millisecond, my wolf and I were united in our amorous impulse.
Our chin angled as we stood on tiptoes. Unfortunately, Claw was so tall, we couldn’t reach his lips without assistance. And he made no move to bend down and meet us halfway.
Instead—“Pack bonds,” Claw murmured. “Mate bonds. You want to divorce your wolf. This would make that a thousand times more difficult.”
Cold air spiraled between us, traveling up from nearby snow patches or perhaps emanating outward from my belly. “Right.” I pressed my heels back into the ground despite my wolf’s shrill protest. “And you’re not interested in dating a human.”
“Did I say that?” So much heat flared in Claw’s eyes that I expected snow to melt off the ground between us. Then he swooped in and claimed me, stealing that forbidden kiss.
***
HIS ARMS, MY ARMS. My wolf’s body, his wolf’s body. All four of us intermingled, a thrumming of drumbeats created from jointly beating hearts.
Then Claw turned his head away and time restarted. “Not what I meant to do,” he growled, steadying me as I sagged toward the bumper. “I meant to use words.” He huffed out a muttered expletive, his fingers curling into fists.
“Words?” was all I could manage, but Claw seemed to understand my question. He sank down until we both perched on the lip of the rear compartment, his warmth caressing me even though we no longer touched.
He exhaled and I inhaled. My wolf thrust her nose so hard against the inside of my skin I thought she might burst through it.
Only when my hand fell to the spot in question, fingers tangling around a glowing tendril of connection that arrowed out of me and into Claw, did he elaborate. “I’m in this,” he rumbled. “Human, wolf, unicorn. I want you. I know how to be patient.”
“You’re not angry that I don’t want to be a wolf any longer?” The animal in question whimpered, but Claw merely shook his head.
“Your choice, not mine.” He cleared his throat, his usual terseness eroding as our gazes collided. “You have a pack already. Students, co-workers.” He shrugged. “I understand. The two worlds don’t easily mesh.”
My fingers drifted down the skein of glowing threads until I tapped against his fingers. His palm turned upward so mine could settle into it.
Our connection felt right in a way nothing had in a very long time. And now that I understood he accepted me wholeheartedly even without a wolf inside me, he became impossible to resist.
Impossible to resist in the long run...but I understood his message. It would be better for all of us to put on the brakes until Val adopted my lupine half.
As if responding to my thought, my wolf was the one to wriggle away from Claw and sidetrack us with a soft, sad query. Hunt? She wasn’t an idiot. She understood that the bond Claw and I were building would be lost to her once she hopped out of my body and into his sister’s.
We shouldn’t be gone long. I answered. The students. Our curfew....
One hour, she pleaded before following up with a whine so pitiful I couldn’t deny her request.
I glanced over at Claw, expecting either incomprehension or a frown of rejection. But he’d followed our conversation through that unknowable werewolf connection. Now, he simply nodded.
“Let’s shift and run.”
***
I LEFT MY CLOTHES AND glasses in the van then released the iron grip I’d held on humanity. Instantly, the wolf erupted. Tail, snout, claws—freedom. Furry, we turned our nose toward the mountains and ran without waiting for Claw to shift.
The snow was a lupine highway. Human, I’d broken through when I attempted to step off the established pathways. Wolf, we spread our toes into snowshoes and sprinted across the smooth expanse.
Winter chill meant our coat embraced us. Muscles worked with no apparent effort. For one split second, I reconsidered divorcing my wolf.
Raising our head to the sky, we howled the joyful pain of parting. Then, behind us, a familiar voice spiraled up to wind around ours.
Claw, rapidly approaching. He curved in to meet us. Furry bodies collided, not warlike but playful. End over end, I tumbled across the snow crust. Losing track of the future, I fell into the now.
Two abreast, we galloped toward sharp-pointed mountains. Adena soared overhead while the human chatter of the funeral faded into distant memory. Snow dropped from spruce needles. Bird song was the only melody.
Scents sharpened, leaving me guessing at unfamiliar odors. Elk, beaver, bison maybe? The wide range of potential prey was heady, but my wolf didn’t attempt to pick out a target. Instead, her nose dropped to test a stain of yellow on the snowy surface.
Urine. Lupine.
For the first time since shifting, I struggled to regain control. Danger, careful. This wasn’t the time to dive into a territorial dispute.
Wild wolves, Claw added, tapping our shoulder with his to capture my wolf’s attention. Be gracious. We are guests in their territory.
Somewhere so far away we felt it more than heard it, a canine howled. Not a werewolf, merely a wolf.
Now it was my beast’s turn to hover, indecisive. Her yearning lingered like the memory of strawberries.
My wolf craved her true nature. To be completely accepted in a pack of like-minded beings. How could I argue when I worked toward the reverse?
I tensed, preparing myself for internal battle. But we’d each accepted known losses when we made our bargain. Perhaps that’s why my wolf conceded with unusual grace.
One last whine as she gazed toward the mountains. Then, turning back the way we’d come, we galloped down the hill.