kissed me, our tongues entwined and our hands roaming. I was lost to the sudden passion that a woman, even a woman who could become a wolf herself, felt with a shifter. The world around melted away as the pleasure seeped into my bones. Yeager, Edie and all the rest faded. Gerard, however, broke the kiss and that broke the spell, if only for a moment.
“Run with me, Cassie,” Gerard implored me. I had a moment of clarity and I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I back away, pulling from Gerard’s arms.
“No, stop it. I’m with Yeager,” I told him. Gerard laughed.
“Cassie, you’re not serious, are you? He’s been lying to you from the beginning. You’re not his mate and you never were. You’re a shifter and you’re not bound to one man. You’re free to choose as is he. How do you know he’s not with Sophia right now?” Gerard asked me.
“He would never do that. He’s not like that. I’ve failed him though,” I said as what I had done hit me. I let this man, this shifter, kiss me and for a moment I enjoyed it. I betrayed Yeager’s trust and I’d done it so easily. But Lady Violet’s words still swirled in my head. I didn’t want to believe what she had said but part of me was all too willing to accept what the woman told me.
“I’d be willing to bet you’re not the first woman he’s used that line on, Cassie,” Gerard said and I remembered what Yeager had told me. He had been with other woman but he told me they were just flings. A man has needs, he said. But I wondered now. Whispers of doubt chipped away at the edges of my resolve. I wanted to believe Yeager, I wanted to trust him, but what Violet and now Gerard said seeped in like a poison and clouded my judgment.
“You don’t know him,” I replied defiantly.
“And neither do you, Cassie,” Gerard told me. He was right. I’d known Yeager just over three months. He told me things that I believed without question. I relied on my instincts and intuition and they told me he was being truthful. I was so sure that I felt it too. But what if I was being manipulated by Yeager. What if I believed him simply because I wanted what he told me to be true? That I was special to him, that we were fated lovers and that he would always be there. What if I bought that because of my own past and my need to feel wanted?
I knew Violet and Gerard were playing me for their own ends but what if Yeager was as well? I shook my head, trying to find some path through the doubt and confusion. Finally, I gave up. My dress fell loose about me as I turned into the black wolf with the white patch of fur on my back and I ran off into the night. I ran away from my feelings and fears, away from what I had done and away from what might be.
I welcomed the quiet of my wolf’s mind, the lack of emotion and the cold, calculating instincts. Gerard did not pursue as I bound through the meadow and there I found peace. I remembered the feelings, the swirling confusion, the aching doubt but they no longer ruled me. If only I could find this kind of peace in my human form. I ran hard, running to forget, running to cleanse myself and running from my fears. It worked, as I knew it would and soon I was just a wolf with some odd memories that faded quickly.
A scent caught my attention. It was familiar but different at the same time. It was a rabbit I was sure but not the jackrabbits of the California desert. Then I saw it, frozen as it sensed me as well. A snowshoe hare, its soft brown fur already beginning to change to white for the winter. I needed to taste blood and death. I needed to indulge my animal instincts. I charged and as I approached, the hare dashed away. I would not be denied, however. I gave chase, letting my instincts take over. The hare changed direction with ease, trying to shake me, but I was unusually nimble this night.
The hare, its
“Run with me, Cassie,” Gerard implored me. I had a moment of clarity and I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I back away, pulling from Gerard’s arms.
“No, stop it. I’m with Yeager,” I told him. Gerard laughed.
“Cassie, you’re not serious, are you? He’s been lying to you from the beginning. You’re not his mate and you never were. You’re a shifter and you’re not bound to one man. You’re free to choose as is he. How do you know he’s not with Sophia right now?” Gerard asked me.
“He would never do that. He’s not like that. I’ve failed him though,” I said as what I had done hit me. I let this man, this shifter, kiss me and for a moment I enjoyed it. I betrayed Yeager’s trust and I’d done it so easily. But Lady Violet’s words still swirled in my head. I didn’t want to believe what she had said but part of me was all too willing to accept what the woman told me.
“I’d be willing to bet you’re not the first woman he’s used that line on, Cassie,” Gerard said and I remembered what Yeager had told me. He had been with other woman but he told me they were just flings. A man has needs, he said. But I wondered now. Whispers of doubt chipped away at the edges of my resolve. I wanted to believe Yeager, I wanted to trust him, but what Violet and now Gerard said seeped in like a poison and clouded my judgment.
“You don’t know him,” I replied defiantly.
“And neither do you, Cassie,” Gerard told me. He was right. I’d known Yeager just over three months. He told me things that I believed without question. I relied on my instincts and intuition and they told me he was being truthful. I was so sure that I felt it too. But what if I was being manipulated by Yeager. What if I believed him simply because I wanted what he told me to be true? That I was special to him, that we were fated lovers and that he would always be there. What if I bought that because of my own past and my need to feel wanted?
I knew Violet and Gerard were playing me for their own ends but what if Yeager was as well? I shook my head, trying to find some path through the doubt and confusion. Finally, I gave up. My dress fell loose about me as I turned into the black wolf with the white patch of fur on my back and I ran off into the night. I ran away from my feelings and fears, away from what I had done and away from what might be.
I welcomed the quiet of my wolf’s mind, the lack of emotion and the cold, calculating instincts. Gerard did not pursue as I bound through the meadow and there I found peace. I remembered the feelings, the swirling confusion, the aching doubt but they no longer ruled me. If only I could find this kind of peace in my human form. I ran hard, running to forget, running to cleanse myself and running from my fears. It worked, as I knew it would and soon I was just a wolf with some odd memories that faded quickly.
A scent caught my attention. It was familiar but different at the same time. It was a rabbit I was sure but not the jackrabbits of the California desert. Then I saw it, frozen as it sensed me as well. A snowshoe hare, its soft brown fur already beginning to change to white for the winter. I needed to taste blood and death. I needed to indulge my animal instincts. I charged and as I approached, the hare dashed away. I would not be denied, however. I gave chase, letting my instincts take over. The hare changed direction with ease, trying to shake me, but I was unusually nimble this night.
The hare, its
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