Chapter 11

S carlet floated through the clouds, different auras flying by on the snowy breeze. Snippets of conversation floated with them.

"She may be a Hunter, but she won't take the risk."

Scarlet tried to frown, but she wasn't in her body. Were they talking about her?

"But this is her chance to break the curse. All she has to do is mate with the Growler and let the Elders perform the ceremony."

What the fuck were they talking about? All she needed was the ceremony. She didn't need to mate with Wulfric.

"Exactly, so she'll never break it. Ten gold says she'll dig in her heels and refuse to even go to the Growlers' camp."

The wind shifted and the auras floated away. The clouds parted to reveal the night sky, and the constellations came alive. The wolf chased the woman across the sky, catching her dress with a paw until it slid from her body. She stumbled, and the wolf pounced on her.

Only the woman opened her arms and accepted the wolf with a smile.

Scarlet sat up, drenched in sweat and the fresh rush of desire. The room was dark, as the moon didn't shine on this side of the cottage. The chilly wind whipped outside, but inside she was too hot.

Did she have a fever? Had she contracted some sort of wolf sickness from being close to him? Fleas, ticks, who knew what kind of infection she could pick up from the fucking Growler.

She rubbed her burning eyes but the image of him standing outside, proud and naked, tormented her. The look in his eyes said he knew how to use that dick to please a woman. Her breathing grew ragged and her breasts felt heavy.

She threw back the covers and paced across Olive's room from the bed to the door to the window while her grandma's voice echoed in her head. Trust him. Open to him. Take a chance on love.

She wiped her eyes and shook her head. Grandma hadn't actually said those words, so why were they on repeat in her mind?

Suffocated by her tight clothes, they were a constant reminder of her need to be on high alert. She had slept in them, unsure if she would have to defend herself from the Growler. The heat and sweat trapped against her skin only added to her discomfort as each step caused friction between her pants and her sensitive clit. Her body was aching with desire and she struggled to keep control, taking shuddering breaths to calm herself down. The conflicting sensations between her body's arousal and the need for self-preservation left her in a state of inner turmoil.

And she was in control. She could do this.

Desperate, she pulled her shirt over her head and pushed down her underwear and pants.

Pacing naked, her tail swished, tickling the back of her thigh and lower back. She shivered at the light touch, and she grew hotter. It was like her brain was still floating through the clouds, her body the only thing she could focus on. Her nipples pebbled in the open air, heavy and aching.

Wulfric's big, rough hands would feel good on her breasts. She gasped, shaking her head and turning away from the door. No, absolutely not.

She'd thought taking her pants and underwear off would ease the pressure on her clit, but it just made things worse. Her core ached with every step, torturing her to find relief.

Relief that she would find across the hall with Wulfric.

His name echoed in her head now with every step. The way he'd prowled toward her with singular focus, as if she held the answers to life and was the most important thing in his world.

Not like she was a freak. Not like he wanted to avoid her which was what all the people she'd met in the past six months did. Not like she was a disease and could pass her curses to someone else just by being in the same fucking room.

No, he'd looked at her like he wanted to devour her. He'd talked so openly about what he wanted to do to her.

Fucking hells, was she getting hotter? She wiped sweat from her forehead with a wet cloth, then dipped it into the cold pitcher of water under the window. The coolness of it should have made her calm the fuck down.

But the scrape of the cloth along her skin made her core clench and her nipples pebble.

Damn it. She threw the cloth to the pitcher, making it wobble. She jumped, stabilizing it before it fell. Her hands were shaking, and now she was both sweating and had goosebumps.

She held her head and scratched the hollow behind her ears. Maybe she could bring herself relief? She slid her hands down her breasts and pinched the hard nubs.

Her head fell back with a gasp, and her eyes fluttered. She slid a hand down to her folds. Fuck, she was so wet. Wulfric would howl to see it, smell it, taste it. She shuddered in anticipation as she circled her clit and pressed firmly, making her hips buck.

Then she eased off. One hand on her breast, one on her clit, she set up a steady rhythm. The heat grew higher between her legs, threatening to combust.

But then the wave faded. She'd done this more times than she'd slept with actual men, so why wasn't it working?

The mate bond.

She spun on her heels and went back to pacing. The damn Growler had ruined it. All she wanted was to throw open the door and mount him.

Would he let her? Could she sleep with him without accepting the mate bond? Scratch the itch that was crawling under her skin?

She paced. No, that was ridiculous. There was no telling what the mate bond even entailed. But this burning heat in her body that screamed at her to go to him was proof that the mate bond did exist. It explained how she was feeling.

That, or an infection.

Of course, she could ask him if this was normal for mates. Her steps faltered near the door. She could ask him if there was a way to ease the burning need without completing the mate bond too. Sex could just be sex, right?

Her mind latched onto the idea like a drowning woman grabbing a life rope.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she opened the door and stepped into the hall. With a creak, the door to her old room opened, and she slid inside.

Light from the moon spilled through the windows and across the floor. It fell on his face, relaxed in sleep. But the moment she took a step into the room, his golden eyes flew open.

He didn't move, just watched her shut the door behind her and stand stiffly along the wall. Fuck, what was she doing? She was still naked. Her breasts ached for his touch; her pussy was on fire. This was a bad idea.

She tilted her head up and tried to slow her breathing, but it was damn hard to do when his scent filled the room. The smell of grass and pine filled her, calming her even as it drove her desire up.

She wasn't going to back down. She couldn't. Her body would revolt, and she'd get no sleep.

He sat up but didn't say a word. The blanket pooled at his waist, and she could almost see the imperceptible lengthening of his mouth and chin.

It sent a thrill of awareness through her, and her sex began to weep with need down her legs. She could almost feel the phantom movement of his cock inside her, and it made her gasp.

He jerked at the sound, and her eyes widened at the tenting of the blanket. He sniffed, and his golden eyes began to glow.

"Fuck, you smell delicious, bunny. Have you changed your mind?"

Oh gods, he could smell her? She flattened herself against the wall, excitement racing up her spine.

She shook her head, nearly panting. "No, yes, maybe. Ground rules, I need ground rules. Information. Answers." Fuck, what was wrong with her that sentences were too much?

He grinned, the predatory nature of it making her whimper. "Cat got your tongue again?"

She sucked in a deep breath and asked on the exhale, "What exactly does a mate bond mean?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, but his wolf ears quirked at the sound as he went eerily still.

"It means we are mated for life. Our souls entwine, and we give each other strength."

She breathed deeply, her mind racing like she was running through mud. "And the consequences?"

She fought her body's response to him. The clawing hunger in the pit of her stomach that urged her to straddle him and ride like nothing else mattered.

"All magic comes with consequences," she whispered.

He nodded, "Mates rarely outlive each other. Most cannot live without the other, so if one dies..."

She swallowed hard and frowned. She had to get revenge on the queen and fix the curses on the rest of the people too. She wasn't the only one who needed to be turned back.

If the Growlers could turn her back to normal, they could help the rest of the villagers too. Then she could take care of the queen. But if they mated and Wulfric failed in the alpha challenge, he'd be dead… and so would she.

She couldn't afford that now, not when so many people were relying on her to find a solution. Well, they were looking to Knox and Eirwyn, but they were tied to the Feral Forest for now. It was up to her to solve this, and she couldn't do that if she were dead.

Focus, she needed to focus.

She took another calming breath of his intoxicating scent.

"Is there a way to have sex without completing the mate bond?" she asked, praying to the gods that the answer was yes. Lust burned in her brain, making her barely comprehend their conversation.

He nodded slowly. "If I can control myself during it, yes. If I go feral, then no."

"How...how does the mate bond become complete?" She only knew vague details of how Eirwyn had mated with Knox. There were rumors of other shifters, but no one talked about how mates claimed each other.

"We bite each other at climax," he growled. "We claim each other, accept each other, love and protect each other. The bite symbolizes that trust."

Her stomach flipped at his words, and it had nothing to do with physical desire. Her soul yearned for that kind of acceptance. Wasn't that why she wanted to reverse her curse and get her old body back, get back to normal? Become the hero of the people instead of the freak?

So she could slink in the shadows and do her job as Hunter. So she would be accepted in Knox's kingdom as an ally and friend, instead of a monster to be avoided. So she could hold her nephew when he finally hatched, without scaring the poor thing.

"No biting. Got it. Think you can handle just sex, wolfie?"

His ears twitched at her words, and he pulled the blanket aside. She stepped forward and paused beside the bed, her tail tucked down beside her leg.

Was she really going to sleep with a Growler? What would her mother say if she knew? What would her father say?

As soon as the thoughts came, they floated out the window because he moved. His muscles rippled under the faint light until he sat at the edge of the bed. He looked up at her, then his gaze dropped like a caress along her skin.

She was surprised he hadn't pounced as soon as she'd come into the room. He was letting her set the pace and waited for her to make the next move.

More than anything thus far, it challenged everything she thought she knew of Growlers, but she didn't have time to be confused or think about it as he reached for her.