Chapter 18 - Robyn

It was a crisp and flat sixty degrees when I reached the edge of the woods that separated the neighborhood from Bill's old home. Cool soil met my bare feet as my thick robes made of evergreen fabric billowed around my ankles. I glanced left to see Jillian wearing much the same as me, with a plastic doe mask on her head.

She snickered while tugging the mask over her face. "Good thing you didn't have to marry that old man to save him."

"What old man?"

"Bill." She held up her left hand, inspecting her nails casually. "Probably wasn't much left to save."

I gaped at her. "Jillian, what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing that hasn't gotten into you." She winked at me. "Isn't that the goal tonight between you two lovebirds?"

When she blinked, something in her honey-brown eyes shimmered like a black scale made of opal. It was gone when I searched for it. What had I just seen in her eyes? Mischief?

I sighed as I tugged her mask aside to check her forehead. "Did you have too much doe wine?"

" You had too much doe wine."

I rolled my eyes with a knowing grin. "I'll see you at the camp."

She kissed my knuckles and waved for the other women to gather close. This was supposed to be the exciting part of the ritual—but my toes were frozen, my teeth were chattering violently, and my heart was surpassing a new record for most beats per minute. Jillian started clapping. Sonya joined in. The four other women surrounding us did the same, creating a chaotic crescendo of cheers that lifted my eyes to the sky.

I raised my fists above my head as I released a guttural roar. My bellowing cry echoed over the soft earth, carrying me toward the thick trunks, waiting quietly for me to join them. Darkness patched the spots between branches, growing chunkier the higher the trees reached. Moments later, I was standing on a bed of soft needles that poked my toes. Silky leaves caressed my forehead. It was nearly time. I just had to wait for the signal.

" Ah-oo! "

I pumped my hand into the air and cried, "Ladies, let's fool my mate! "

Laughter exploded in musical bursts around me as I darted forward with my mask fixed over my face. I lifted my hood to cover the back of my head, knowing that Cliff was clever enough to focus on my unique hair color to find me. Most of the women had already taken off, with Jillian surpassing Sonya in a giggle fit that sounded like the wine wasn't wearing off anytime soon.

With a burst of energy, I sprinted to the right and sailed past my mother's backyard, the miniature gazebo, and the cul-de-sac entrance, and hauled it over to the woods on the right side of Bill's house. Back here, it was much quieter, farther away from the encampment and anyone who might be trying to find me.

Did I want to be found?

It depends on what happens when I'm found .

Heat ballooned in my core as I peeked around the side of the house. Excitement bubbled inside me, turning my thighs into twin trembling quads. I held them and squeezed them, trying to get them to stop. But the way I shook was too endearing. It turned my adrenaline up as I tiptoed through the shadows to look for the torch.

A twig snapped ahead. I ducked back into the shadows, creeping behind a set of bushes that desperately needed trimming even when Bill was still alive. After checking the cul-de-sac and seeing that it was clear, I darted to the right and started my journey through the overgrown backyard to get back to the neighborhood where I began.

Thunder rumbled overhead. I lowered my head as I sped underneath a low set of branches and picked up speed. The thunder seemed to follow me, aiming for my center where it made me vibrate with pulsing bolts of electric passion. I wanted him to pounce on me. I wanted him to stop me in my tracks, to show me what I would miss if I didn't let him win.

My robe caught on something, yanking me off the path and laying me flat. I tried to get up—but quickly found a massive paw pushing on my shoulder. Teeth poked around my neck as another paw came to pin my other shoulder, pinning me in a position with my throat exposed to a predator.

To my other half.

To my mate .

When I swallowed, I felt the pressure of his canines on my flesh, so tender and sensitive against his hard teeth. A growl rumbled his throat.

Like thunder.

This whole time, he had been silently pursuing me, watching my every move. He had me dripping with anticipation—and I had no clue I was even being watched. Now that he had caught me, I was soaked with desire, yearning for him in ways I wasn't sure were physically possible.

In a flash, he shifted into his human form, lifted me from the ground, and pinned me to the nearest tree. Such a thrill couldn't have been born any other way. Cliff was a skilled wolf, one of those recovered bad boys who knew the underground market like the back of his hand. To think I could have outrun him was truly foolish—yet it wasn't something I ever considered. Now that he was in his human form with his hot, naked body pressed flush to my backside, well, I wasn't thinking of much at all.

I wiggled against his bruising grip, enjoying the possessiveness of it, the way he doubled down when he thought I might shimmy away. My grin burst with the promise of play—"What now, Clifton?"

His fingers rounded my chin and prodded my mouth, inspiring an obedient gag. "Now, the wolf devours you."

Like clockwork, my hands wound behind my back, waiting for his heavy clamp. The moment his fingers locked my wrists together, my slit trembled, the ache becoming sharp and overwhelming as I waited for his instruction.

With his throbbing hardness pressed into the slit of my bare bottom, he had me firmly fixed to the tree. No way out. None that I wanted, anyway.

The slightest thrust from his hips had me soaked. He released my mouth to tug on my wrists, pulling my arms back a few inches more so they were folded at the center of my spine. After encouraging my hands to rest on my elbows, he rested his hand between my shoulder blades.

One firm push made me mewl. He clutched the back of my neck with a husky chuckle as he slid his cock through my wet folds, then ran his right hand over my tummy and tits, nursing my right nipple with a hard pinch. "Spread your legs. Wider…"

Obedience was my middle name with Cliff. Once my legs were sufficiently spread, he slid his cock into my entrance, slowly inching his way into place. Hair tickled my face and wavered at the edge of my mouth, but I didn't mind that. I didn't mind the cool moss kissing my cheek or the bark biting my chest. I didn't mind the brisk breeze or the fact that we were out in the open.

In fact, the possibility of us getting seen intensified my desire, causing me to bay softly as he pulled out. I bucked back to sheath him again. "Don't pull out. Not yet."

He gripped a chunk of my hair, pulling it taut enough to cause pressure without pain. "Say please."

" Please , don't pull out yet."

He let go of my hair, inspiring a reckless abandon that made my vision blur as I struggled to keep up with his pace. My legs ached and threatened to fail, nerves screaming for me to change my position so I wouldn't hit the ground. But I couldn't disobey his instruction . Now that he was giving me what I wanted, I didn't want to move my hands.

I wanted him to see that I would stay put.

Even when he wasn't holding me in place.

Through each feverish minute, I focused on his hips capping my bottom, the resonant smacks filling my ears with the rush of our bouncing. He cupped my bottom tenderly, smacked it, and then shook it, groaning as he repeated the motion with the other cheek. He did this a few times, occasionally holding my hips and sometimes pressing my upper back when I leaned too far away from the tree.

No matter what, he put me back into position. He made me stay still. He did it with a firm and loving hand that never caused me harm. I felt like I would fall apart at any given moment. But the time for caring had long passed. Pleasing him was my only goal. Forging a bond with him was my only task.

His right hand hiked my right leg up, perching my knee on the bark of the tree. I gasped through the sudden shift, bucked back, and almost lost my footing. He slid his arm across my torso, hugging my left shoulder and keeping me locked in place. He manipulated my head, exposing the left side of my neck. As his warm breath coasted over my skin, my vision darkened.

My eyes closed.

My head lolled.

"Mine," Cliff whispered, " forever ."

He snarled possessively as he buried his canine teeth in my neck. Hot fluid poured down my chest as I arched against him, my spine feeling like it was twisting beyond the natural curve into a strange and lustful transformation. Every inch of me conformed to him, caught in his dominant clutch, pinned by his partially shifted mouth.

Bliss tore through me when he released my neck. He growled fiercely as he slammed between my thighs, loosening every one of my joints while tightening the rest of my muscles simultaneously. In seconds, I was undone by his perpetual dive, a tsunami of satisfaction crashing over my shoulders as I felt him come inside me. Hot stripes of come shot in bursts, accompanied by a few twitching thrusts and the kind of grip that might have broken bone were it to be done on a human.

He pulled his cock out, fluid trickling between my legs and slicking my thighs. He flipped me around and pressed my shoulders to the tree, keeping me steady with just one finger. He swept his fingers through my wet folds. I hissed at the sensitive feeling of his fingers tracing my swollen clit. He swirled around the engorged nub, dove into my folds, and then surfaced to bring the mixture to my lips.

Neither of us was ordinary in the way we consumed each other. As I licked his fingers clean, I relished that fact, leaning into the unique nature of it. And as his fingers returned to my slit to worship the mess we had created together, I looked into his eyes and saw the wolf that had just devoured me.

He was smiling.

***

I clasped Cliff's hand in mine. "That was certainly worth getting tackled for."

He laughed boisterously as we blended into the rest of the crowd of attendees. "You're just laying it on thick now."

"Didn't you just do that?"

His glowing grin made me bristle with affection. I tilted my head back and beckoned his kiss, delighting in the warmth of his mouth on my mouth.

"Mommy!"

The crowd parted to allow my child passage, with my mother stumbling after her. I laughed while hoisting my girl into the air, warmth resonating through each move we made together. After spinning her around, I handed her off to Cliff who did the same thing, causing her to wobble when she was set on her feet again. Her green tulle dress and princess crown shined brightly in the light from the surrounding torches.

" Help me. "

I spun around. "Who's that?"

Cliff rubbed my arm. "What are you talking about, Princess?"

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

My cheeks hurt from forcing myself to keep smiling. "It sounds like—"

" Robby, help me. "

Fear shot through my heart as I clutched my chest. "Jillian."

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. The sky appeared like a soaking wet piece of canvas slathered in sloppy charcoal ink with holes punched in it. I raced through the crowd to head back to the trees where I started my journey, sliding right into the silent shadows like I was stepping into a new dimension.

Behind me, laughter and conversation distantly floated in an unknown realm filled with warm orange light. I noticed the flashes of scarlet and tangerine tickling the leaves, singing the edges with white.

" Help, I'm stuck. "

My heart raced as I wove between branches and stepped over brush. She had to be here somehow. She started the ritual with us, and I could have sworn I had seen her next to the bonfire at some point.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Jillian?"

A high-pitched wail echoed from the south—Bill's house. But that didn't make any sense.

Nothing about my best friend needing help needs to make sense .

With my mind made up, I hiked up my robes and raced in the direction of the fading wail. Like a siren, it rose again, cresting high above the treetops and then vibrating the twigs and leaves as it rumbled low to the ground. I never heard an animal or human sound like that before. And Jillian had been acting weird before the ritual.

Did someone poison her?

I picked up speed as I gasped for air, running on pure adrenaline at this point since I hadn't gotten a chance to eat. I reached the cul-de-sac and stopped at the edge of the tar road, observing it like it was a black lake.

Jillian stood on the lawn with her arms stretched. Her back faced me. " Help, help, help… "

"Jilly?" I squeaked in a low voice. I coughed a few times and said louder, "Hey, let's get you back to the bonfire. You don't look good."

"Too much—" Her head snapped at an unearthly speed as her voice split in three different directions, " doe wine? "

I winced as I jumped back and covered my mouth.

No.

It wasn't possible.

It couldn't be.

I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. "Jillian, is that you?"

The rest of her body turned to face me. She set her arms at her sides in what I presumed was a stance she mimicked from watching other humans. "No."

But for how long had she been watching other humans?" "Jillian, where did you go?"

"She's not in here," replied the thing that haunted my best friend's body, "well, I guess she is in here. But she's sleeping. Can't take your call. Boohoo ."

"You're a monster."

She smiled with such genuine malice that I was making my throat raw from rubbing my fresh mate bite.

Jillian clicked her tongue. "Oh, that won't help you. Not with this." She procured a vial from her pocket. "I'm all bad, though. I'll let you pick."

I fixed her with a fierce glare. "Pick what?"

"Whether you come in peace or get knocked out."

"I don't know what you mean."

She stood still for a second, appearing like she had stiffened into an ice sculpture. I took a shaky step forward as I reached for her. She smacked my hand, squawked like a demonic parrot, and flew toward me.

The last thing I saw before passing out was my best friend's blackened marble eyes.