Thirty-Two

 

Alasdair pushed the priest a little harder, but we had to leave. The political situation was too fragile to do more than ask a few questions. We were representatives of the moon goddess, her chosen. If we roughed up one of the shadow god’s priests, there would be consequences.

Alasdair growled and paced around the car while looking through his phone. I ignored him and looked up at the increasingly dark sky, trying to think if I knew anyone in the area that could help.

“I have no one, you?” Alasdair asked.

“Like I said earlier, made don’t really have friends.”

He curled his lip.

“We’ll work on that. You need contacts.”

I held my tongue and stared him down.

“Come for a run with me, it’ll clear our heads. Maybe we’ll figure something out,” he said.

I raised my eyebrow, “A run, run?”

He smiled. “Yes, Niko, a run-run. Our cabin backs onto the forest, we can run freely for an hour or two.”

I stretched and allowed myself a little hope. It had been too long since I’d run through the forest. The woods in Ireland weren’t the same. Running with him, though, I didn’t know how to feel about that. I’d never shifted with anyone else around before.

Alasdair squeezed my shoulder. “Come on, we’ll grab some food and then head out. We can’t risk a hunt.”

I shrugged. “I don’t really hunt anyway.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Surely, you hunt sometimes, to sate your prey drive?”

I got into the car and left his question unanswered. My ‘prey drive,’ as he called it, the need to hunt and kill, wasn’t unbearably strong. Maybe there was finally an upside to being made.

 

 

Our cabin was a small simple thing with the obligatory shared bed, tiny excuse for a kitchen, and large kitchen table which took up most of the downstairs area. Alasdair was positively bouncing at the prospect of a run. I wondered how often he got to relax and release like that. A blush crept across my cheeks as my mind slipped into other forms of relaxation and release.

“Why are you blushing?” Alasdair asked as he shrugged off his shirt, which only made my sinful thoughts worse. “You’ve seen me in my boxers before, why are you getting shy now?”

I gave him a polite smile and turned my back to strip down myself. I felt the crackle in the air when he shifted. His wolf form was a great silvery white creature whose shoulder came up to my ribs in human form. He was standing grinning at me, his silver eyes shining with pleasure. I pushed aside the urge to dig my fingers into his thick fur and instead stepped out into the cold night and shut the door behind us before I shifted.

My wolf was a normal timber wolf. His dire wolf form dwarfed me. That didn’t stop him from grinning at me and going into a play bow with his front paws stretched before him and his arse in the air. I ran off into the woods that sat behind Alasdair before the sinful thoughts became too much. He was right behind me and nipped my hip gently. I growled at him, only to find him grinning at me before he took off into the woods. And so it continued.

We ran between the broad boughs and over the cool earth, nipping, chasing, and running. For the first time, I relaxed and played. The pleasure of running and chasing was unlike anything else. In those blissful moments, I was truly happy.

Of course, it had to come to an end. If someone saw us out there, we’d risk the wrath of the Council. My form could be explained away as a stray dog; Alasdair’s was another thing entirely. I nudged him with my shoulder and smiled at him before I shifted. All stress and strain between us had been forgotten. We were just two wolves enjoying the night. I had my hand on the door to let us back inside to the warmth when I felt his lips on my neck and his hand on my hip. His hot breath curled against my throat, and I paused, entirely lost as to what to do.

He was my partner, a damn Guardian, but his soft lips trailed down my throat and his hand gripped my hip a little tighter. My eyes closed, and I leaned into his hard chest. Maybe giving in to him wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

A phone rang out inside and broke the moment. I opened the door, and Alasdair pushed past me to get his phone. His expression soured.

“Yes, I understand. Yes.”

He sighed and started pulling his suit trousers on.

“There’s been another ritual in Paris. Selene has called me back.”

He didn’t look at me as he got dressed again. I put my jeans back on and poked at the small woodburner, trying to get my head straight.

“You’ll have the car, keep looking around here. The priest is hiding something.”

With that, he left me alone in the cabin with nothing but my thoughts.