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itself.
    She’d just have to go
rescue him herself.

 
     
     Chapter Seven
     
    A iden stubbornly placed
one foot in front of the other, his mind screaming at him to turn back. She had
him so twisted in knots that he wasn’t sure if his instincts were warning him
of danger or if his need to be near her was making him stupid.
    His damned wolf
remained silent, punishment for sending the woman away. His leg muscles
stretched and pulled as he climbed the bluffs. The position allowed him to
overlook the stretch of land in all directions. After so many days and nights
in a tiny cell, the vastness of it threatened to crush his chest. Wind whipped
around him, and he greedily inhaled, battling the unexpected, paralyzing fear
that left him out in the open and exposed, just waiting to pick him off.
    Lost in his private
struggle, he only became aware of being followed when a twig snapped behind him.
He dropped to the ground, gritting his teeth when the action left him lightheaded.
    His mouth watered at
the possibility of prey. His wolf inched forward, using Aiden’s eyes to study
their surroundings. The darkness sharpened into shades of gray. He lifted his
nose and cursed to find himself upwind.
    Static charged the
air until every hair stood on end.
    A large predator.
    His body went rigid.
    A branch stirred, more
of a shifting of shadows that gave away its position. Moving swiftly, low to
the ground, he vaulted over the vegetation and collided with his prey.
    Human.
    A soft grunt exploded
from the body as they slammed into the mud-slicked earth.
    A soft, curvy body.
    A snarl curled his
lips, and his fangs were at his attacker’s throat when the tang of citrus burst
over him. He instantly hardened with lust.
    “You.” Aiden jerked
his chin up, shock rocketing through him at such a near miss. He quickly ducked
his head, struggling to contain his wolf. Only the beast didn’t want to be
contained, he wanted to nestle back into the cradle of her body and lay claim
to the prize he’d captured. The sight of her sprawled out beneath him taunted
him with the realization that if he’d been one second slower, she would have
died at his hands.
    How the hell could
she have located him so quickly?
    “You abandoned me to
go after them.” It was stupid, she’d just met the man, but the hurt of betrayal
thickened her voice.
    “I had no choice.”
    Shayla wanted to
throw up her hands in frustration. “You are in no condition to go traipsing off
alone.”
    She knew it was a
mistake the instant she spoke.
    He slowly turned to
face her, those green eyes of his seemed to glow, and she immediately
recognized her caveman. She forced herself to relax despite the tension she
felt thrumming through him. She’d almost swear he had no intention of letting
her go.
    “If you don’t get off
of me soon, neither one of us is going to be able to extract me from the mud. It’s
sucking me under.” She didn’t care for the feeling one bit, reminding her a little
too much of the hungry castle they only managed to escape.
    He grunted, rising like
a hulking shadow, menace still radiating from him. “I should leave you here.”
    Shayla half-sat and tugged
on her pant leg to no avail. The mud had effectively cemented her in place. She
scraped a handful of it from her hair, then paused, hefting the small fistful,
and narrowed her eyes at the big bully.
    “Don’t you dare.” It
was a command, his voice harsh in the silent night.
    Temptation to fling
the mud made her grip tighten until the glop oozed between her fingers. The big,
brave man took a step back as if afraid of a little mud.
    “I will leave you.”
    Shayla hesitated, but
couldn’t detect any trace of a lie. “You already did that once. I’ll only find
you again. Promise we will go straight back. No more of this vengeance shit.”
    Aiden appraised her
as if measuring the threat, and Shayla was very conscious of the picture she
presented, every inch of her covered in mud. Mischief danced in his