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Authors: Shannon Mayer
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going to be a long flight, and I prayed it wouldn’t continue as it had begun.
*-*-*-*
The smell of blood and flesh filled his nostrils. Tipping his head back, he breathed deeply, the fresh snow almost burying the trail he’d been following. A nearly inaudible crack of a twig underfoot brought his ears swivelling around, listening for the game he’d been trailing.
The flash of tan and a flick of a white tail as the deer caught his scent launched him into action.
Chasing the deer, lusting after the warm juices that would flow once he brought it down, it was easy to forget that he wasn’t just a wolf. That he was also a man. A man who’d left his world behind for this one. His thoughts betrayed him and his footsteps faltered, giving the deer the chance it needed to escape.
Unable to control himself, he shifted into his two-legged form, the sudden change in perspective throwing him off balance. As naked as the day he was born, he wobbled, and then fell to one knee.
The cold winter air bit along his bare skin, but he took it in, appreciated that he could feel it. The first few weeks of being a shifter, he’d taken out his rage on the local pack. They’d quickly realized he wasn’t to be ignored, and when he staked his claim around Rylee’s property, they’d backed off. Now though, he had no purpose. And still, he couldn’t bring himself to go back to the world that had once been the only one he’d known. The thing was, he wasn’t just a wolf. Something else lurked inside of him.
“What am I doing?” His voice hoarse from disuse.
A feminine sultry voice whispered across his skin, like fingers trailing along the overheated flesh. “Running away. That’s what you’re doing. But you don’t have to run, Liam.”
He spun in the snow, half-crouched, a snarl on his lips.
Dressed all in white, down to a thick white wolf pelt for a jacket and white boots topped with rabbit fur, Milly watched him with her bright green eyes. He resisted the urge to cover himself, but stayed in a crouch effectively blocking her roving, hungry eyes.
“How . . .” he coughed, clearing his throat. “Did you find me?”
She smiled and actually batted her eyelashes at him, as if that would work. “A friend of mine has a special place in his heart for wolves. A connection, if you will. He sent me to find you. To help you.”
O’Shea took a deep breath and caught the scent of another wolf. Narrowing his eyes, he let out a low growl. A flicker or movement twenty feet or so behind Milly confirmed his nose. She’d used a wolf to find him, to track his scent. But the wolf was a submissive, he could smell that much, and it was enough for him to dismiss the other shifter.
Did he trust her? O’Shea wasn’t sure. Rylee had trusted her, but did she still?
Taking the better, smarter part, he kept his mouth shut.
Milly filled in the silence. “I have something for you, something that will help you be human. You can chase the wolf back with it. Permanently.”
Lifting her hand, she dangled a woven strand of metal that, by the smell of it, was gold and diamonds. A torc, made to slip over his neck.
“You could keep her safe if you could control your wolf. As an alpha, it can take years to gain the control you need. She could die in that time. But with this you could keep her safe.”
His insides twisted at the thought of hurting Rylee, his desire to protect her overriding whatever other sense he might have at the moment. If it weren’t for the rage that took him unawares, he would have sought Rylee out already. As it was, he couldn’t trust himself not to kill her. A part of him knew that it wasn’t just the wolf that made him this way; it was something else. Something stronger.
Milly took a few steps closer, holding the torc out. “You don’t have to fight the beast in you if you don’t want to.”
The wolf inside of him spoke softly, though it was images more than words.
I am a part of you now. Together we are strong.
*-*-*-*
The smell of blood and flesh filled his nostrils. Tipping his head back, he breathed deeply, the fresh snow almost burying the trail he’d been following. A nearly inaudible crack of a twig underfoot brought his ears swivelling around, listening for the game he’d been trailing.
The flash of tan and a flick of a white tail as the deer caught his scent launched him into action.
Chasing the deer, lusting after the warm juices that would flow once he brought it down, it was easy to forget that he wasn’t just a wolf. That he was also a man. A man who’d left his world behind for this one. His thoughts betrayed him and his footsteps faltered, giving the deer the chance it needed to escape.
Unable to control himself, he shifted into his two-legged form, the sudden change in perspective throwing him off balance. As naked as the day he was born, he wobbled, and then fell to one knee.
The cold winter air bit along his bare skin, but he took it in, appreciated that he could feel it. The first few weeks of being a shifter, he’d taken out his rage on the local pack. They’d quickly realized he wasn’t to be ignored, and when he staked his claim around Rylee’s property, they’d backed off. Now though, he had no purpose. And still, he couldn’t bring himself to go back to the world that had once been the only one he’d known. The thing was, he wasn’t just a wolf. Something else lurked inside of him.
“What am I doing?” His voice hoarse from disuse.
A feminine sultry voice whispered across his skin, like fingers trailing along the overheated flesh. “Running away. That’s what you’re doing. But you don’t have to run, Liam.”
He spun in the snow, half-crouched, a snarl on his lips.
Dressed all in white, down to a thick white wolf pelt for a jacket and white boots topped with rabbit fur, Milly watched him with her bright green eyes. He resisted the urge to cover himself, but stayed in a crouch effectively blocking her roving, hungry eyes.
“How . . .” he coughed, clearing his throat. “Did you find me?”
She smiled and actually batted her eyelashes at him, as if that would work. “A friend of mine has a special place in his heart for wolves. A connection, if you will. He sent me to find you. To help you.”
O’Shea took a deep breath and caught the scent of another wolf. Narrowing his eyes, he let out a low growl. A flicker or movement twenty feet or so behind Milly confirmed his nose. She’d used a wolf to find him, to track his scent. But the wolf was a submissive, he could smell that much, and it was enough for him to dismiss the other shifter.
Did he trust her? O’Shea wasn’t sure. Rylee had trusted her, but did she still?
Taking the better, smarter part, he kept his mouth shut.
Milly filled in the silence. “I have something for you, something that will help you be human. You can chase the wolf back with it. Permanently.”
Lifting her hand, she dangled a woven strand of metal that, by the smell of it, was gold and diamonds. A torc, made to slip over his neck.
“You could keep her safe if you could control your wolf. As an alpha, it can take years to gain the control you need. She could die in that time. But with this you could keep her safe.”
His insides twisted at the thought of hurting Rylee, his desire to protect her overriding whatever other sense he might have at the moment. If it weren’t for the rage that took him unawares, he would have sought Rylee out already. As it was, he couldn’t trust himself not to kill her. A part of him knew that it wasn’t just the wolf that made him this way; it was something else. Something stronger.
Milly took a few steps closer, holding the torc out. “You don’t have to fight the beast in you if you don’t want to.”
The wolf inside of him spoke softly, though it was images more than words.
I am a part of you now. Together we are strong.
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