Chapter 8 - Tannen

I moved more carefully during the second half of our stint through the woods, trying not to leave traces of my scent as we moved, avoiding trees and brush as much as possible while keeping a steady pace.

All the while, I was painfully aware of Thea on my back. I could smell her scent, distracting me and my wolf. It seemed to drive him wild whenever we smelled it now. Every twitch of her hips or shift of her legs reminded me of precisely where she was. It was as if every inch of me that she touched was burning. Every time her thighs squeezed tight on me as I made a sharp turn made me wonder what else those thighs could do.

I tried not to think about how close I had been to pinning her against that tree in the woods, how close I had been to kissing her. We needed to stay away from one another. The more time we spent together, the stronger the claiming bond would get. The problem was, I wanted to stay as close to her as possible.

Eventually, we came to a small but quaint cabin in the middle of the woods. I dropped down, feeling Thea slide off my back. I hurried behind the trees to shift and change back into my clothes before going to rejoin her.

I reemerged to find Thea pacing back and forth, nibbling at her nails as she stared off into space, lost in thought.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She jumped, spinning to face me. Her hand twitched to her belt, where I knew her knife rested against her hip. Recognizing me, she relaxed.

"Sorry," she muttered. She ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes glancing all over the place. "I'm fine. I'm just…"

Color flooded her cheeks as she trailed off, not looking at me. I knew what was bothering her.

"They didn't follow us," I promised. "And the others will be safe, too."

"It's hard not to imagine them crashing through the brush over there," she said, her gaze glued on the trees in the direction we'd come. "Especially after everything that's happened."

"It'll be all right," I said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

The white dress they had thrown her in for the auction was now tattered, the hem frayed and stained with dirt and mud. Bags hung below her eyes, and she looked dead on her feet. Despite all this, I couldn't help but admire the way the dress clung to her, accentuating her curves. I'd never exactly been into large breasts, but they worked on her, making her even more appealing than she would have been otherwise. I imagined what she would look like naked, and the image in my mind made my wolf growl with need.

She turned to look at me, then blushed as she realized I'd been staring.

"I know, I look like a mess," she muttered.

"I wouldn't say that," I said, earning me an even deeper blush. I knew it was probably the claiming bond, but I found myself needing her. Wanting to carry her into the bedroom immediately, caution be damned.

A moment later, she smoothed out her features. "So what now?" she asked, even as the faintest traces of pink lingered on her face.

"We should get inside. Come on." I took her wrist to lead her into the safe house.

She hissed, retracting her arm and cradling it. I froze, then my eyes narrowed. Taking her hand more gently this time, I pushed up her sleeve to see a bandage wrapped tightly around her bicep.

"You're hurt," I said.

"It's nothing," she said.

I bristled. "When the hell were you going to tell me?"

"When we weren't being chased by a psychotic pack of kidnappers?"

I brushed away the deflection, shaking my head. "If it had happened recently, it wouldn't be bandaged. You didn't have time to do that since I found you. I would have seen it."

Her jaw worked, her eyes not meeting mine. She scowled. "All right, fine," she said. "It happened when they kidnapped me. They bandaged it up and used longer sleeves so none of the bidders would see it. Apparently, ‘damaged goods diminish the value.' Their words, not mine."

Thea was anything but damaged goods. The thought that they'd said that to her face made me want to turn around and fight each and every one of them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, trying to focus on the problem at hand rather than my own rage.

"Because I didn't want you insisting I go home," she said. "I know you would have—"

"Damn right, I would have," I interrupted.

Thea continued as if I hadn't said anything. "And I wanted to help. I knew we had to act soon, and it wasn't as though the arm injury was going to matter. I wasn't expecting to have to fight."

I growled. "Do you have some weird compulsion to run into danger?"

"It's not that," she said.

"Then what?"

She didn't answer. When the silence dragged for a minute and she refused to budge, I let it drop.

"We'll talk about it later," I said. "For now, let's get inside."

The cabin was a one-bedroom, the living room and kitchen cramped, even if nicely furnished. A sofa, the only other real furniture in the entire space, sat facing a fireplace.

"Shower's through there," I said, nodding at one of the doors. "And there are always some spare clothes in the bedroom in case of an emergency. You should be able to find something other than that to wear."

"Yeah. The sooner I get this off, the happier I'll be." She shuddered, as if the memory was enough to make her stomach curl. "Thanks."

I waited, listening as the shower ran, thinking about the events of the last few hours. It would be an understatement to say Thea had impressed me. I had to admire her tenacity and bravery, even if her stubbornness about getting into dangerous situations drove me crazy.

Then another thought crept into my head. I'd bought Thea. I'd claimed her. In a way, she belonged to me. I'd never do something she didn't want, but that thought nestled into my head, something about it almost appealing. She was mine, and no one else's. And part of me wanted to keep it that way.

It didn't make sense, either. I'd never wanted to be tied down or attached to any one person. Thea, however…

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shoved the thought away. If the claiming bond was going to keep messing with me like this, I'd have to figure out a way to slow things down so I could think straight. Better yet, I needed a way to stop it all together. Hopefully, Mark found a lead by now. Because if this was what the bond was like while it was still growing, I didn't want to know how bad it would get when it fully set in.

The shower shut off with a squeak, and a moment later, Thea came out, looking rejuvenated. The shirt she'd found was a little tight around the chest, accentuating her breasts and her small waist.

"Feel better?" I asked. When she nodded, I continued, "All right. Let me see your arm."

She held out her hand and rolled up the sleeve. I noticed her sharp intake of breath as I took her wrist and pulled her closer to me, but pretended not to notice. Instead, I focused on unwrapping the bandage, ignoring how satisfied my wolf was at being this close to Thea as I dropped the dirty bandage onto the floor.

I ran my thumb unconsciously against her smooth skin as I examined the wound. Something about touching her made me more at ease. I knew she was safe. I was close enough to protect her. To do other things to her. Because the more I looked at her, the more I noticed the way her eyes glittered in the right light, and how her plump lips were a deep crimson, almost unnaturally red. Her still-damp hair clung to her face, framing her high cheekbones and giving her an almost regal look.

"It's not as bad as I feared," I said, forcing myself to focus on the injury. "It should heal in—" I hesitated, glancing up at her. "Uh... do absents heal at the same speed as…" I trailed off.

Her full lips quirked upward, suddenly insanely distracting. "At the same speed as ‘normal' shifters?" She used air quotes at the word "normal." She sighed, then said, "Yes. We do. We're still shifters, you know. I'm able to show claws and teeth. Just not much else."

I nodded, releasing her arm to rummage in the first aid kit next to me.

"How does your wolf like it?" I asked, focusing on the wrap so I didn't have to look at her.

"Not being able to shift?" She sighed again, slumping a little in her chair. She chewed the inside of her cheek, staring off to the side as she considered how to answer. "There are times when she pushes and wants to get out, usually during moments of high emotion. But she also gets it. We both do."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a lot better adjusted than I would have expected about the whole thing," I said.

Her jaw worked. "When I was younger and all my friends started shifting, it was a lot worse. It hurt a lot when I realized I'd never shift. I didn't want to believe it. But it wasn't going to change. Wanting it to or hating myself for not being able to shift wasn't going to accomplish anything. Once I realized that, it was easier to accept it. I'd rather love myself and accept myself the way I am than hate myself."

"Just like that?" I asked.

She snorted, giving a sly smile. "I've still got insecurities about it. Parts of it, at least. But that's different."

"What do you mean?"

At first, I wasn't sure if she was going to answer. It was a bit of a pointed question, and I wouldn't have blamed her if she decided to ignore me. But after a moment, she finally said, "Mostly, it just has to do with constantly feeling like I have to fight back against stereotypes. Having to work harder, you know? And when enough people tell you that you're lesser, it's hard not to wonder if they're right."

"I wouldn't say that you're lesser by any stretch of the imagination," I said. "But that doesn't change that you're different. Of course people are going to comment. Even if the things they say are more than a little… dense."

"Like assuming absents are closer to human than wolf?" she asked pointedly, eyebrows raised.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah… things like that. I'm sorry. It was a dick thing to say."

"Do you think we're lesser or something?" she asked, not looking at me as she broached the question.

"No, not at all," I said. "But I won't lie and say there aren't things that shifters can do that absents can't."

She glowered at me, shoulders tensing in defiance. "We're not pathetic or worthless, you know," she said, her tone a little acidic.

"I never said you were," I snapped back. "Though I will point out that I just had to buy you from an auction block."

She shot me a glare, and I tried not to wince. That might have been a bit too far.

"I'll pay you back," she muttered. "Granted, it might take a few years… or the rest of my life."

I shook my head, finishing off the dressing and releasing her hand. "Don't worry about it. I was happy to do it."

"I'm not someone who wants to be beholden to anyone," she said. "Especially in that way."

I wanted to make a joke about how I didn't necessarily mind having her beholden to me, but I kept my mouth shut, doubting it would go over well. Instead, I focused on her arm as I said, "We can worry about that later. First, we need to get the marriage annulled."

"Getting the marriage annulled should be easy enough," she said. "That's not the bit I'm worried about."

"Me neither. But I'll find a way to break the bond." I gave her a wry grin. "I'm good at research. That's kind of my whole thing. I'll be able to figure it out."

"Okay. But what if you can't?"

I paused, turning to look at her. I couldn't read her expression. "That won't happen," I growled.

Her jaw twitched, and she tossed her hair back, chin jutting out. "Humor me," she said. "What if you can't fix it?"

I thought about it, really thought about it, but I didn't know the answer. My gut reaction was that I didn't want to give up my lifestyle. I liked being a bachelor, liked not feeling attached to any woman for more than an evening. I didn't want to settle down.

Except, now that I thought about it, I didn't really have any interest in other women at the moment. I hadn't even thought of anyone since rescuing Thea. The only woman who had been on my mind was her.

Was that because of the circumstances? Or because of the claiming bond? Did claiming bonds do that? I knew the bond caused possessiveness, but I'd never heard of it making anyone not attracted to anyone else. In fact, I knew of at least a couple of instances where a bonded couple had cheated on one another. It hadn't turned out pretty.

What would happen if I couldn't break the bond? Would I be able to give up my lifestyle?

Thea was watching me, her eyes shrewd as she waited for me to answer. I took a deep breath as I turned fully to face her.

"If I can't, we'll figure something out," I said. "Come up with some sort of system." I gave a half-smile. "I mean, hell, we're already married."

She snorted, and it turned into a giggle before becoming a full-blown laugh. She had an amazing laugh.

"God, what a crazy few days," she said, running her hand through her hair.

"Day, actually," I said, giving her a genuine smile now. "Pretty sure it's only been twenty-four hours."

I moved to sit next to her, slipping my arm around her. She leaned into it almost instinctively, as if we'd done it a hundred times before. I stroked her hair, not thinking about how much I liked her being this close to me. She really wasn't the person I had expected.

She yawned, exhaustion consuming her, her body rising and falling as she pressed against me. I wanted nothing more but to bend down and kiss her, but I resisted the urge, forcing myself to nudge her up and toward the bedroom.

"Get some sleep," I said. "We'll figure out the rest of this tomorrow."