Chapter 40

40

C onsidering how long it takes us to fight our way through the rambunctious crowd inside the Stillwater Tap to get to the exit, it's no big shock that we fail to catch up to Avery's brother. We push through the door just in time to see his Jeep peeling out of the parking lot, the tires squealing against the pavement as he turns onto the road and speeds away.

"So much for catching up," I grumble as I watch the glow of the Jeep's taillights fade into the distance, swiveling toward Avery. The dull thump of the music inside is still audible out here, mingling with the loud chirp of insects from the nearby forest. "Don't tell me your other idea involves hot-wiring a car or something."

Her lips pull into that all too familiar smirk of mischief and her grip on my hand tightens. "Nah, it's way better than that," she remarks, turning on a heel with her hand still clasped in mine and tugging for me to follow her along the path in front of the building.

I have no idea what she's up to, but with the way she's acting tonight, I don't hesitate to walk with her. She's got this lightness to her I'm not sure I've ever seen before, all her sharp edges softened and a playful smile on her lips. Not to mention how fucking good she looks. Her long blonde hair is wavy and untamed, her skimpy white sundress fluttering in the breeze and catching in the moonlight like she's some otherworldly, ethereal being.

She drops my hand as we round the side of the building, grinning conspiratorially as she spins around and takes a few steps backwards before tugging her sundress off over her head. I falter in my footsteps, my breath catching in my throat and my eyes flying wide. Because the moment she pulls that dress off, I see exactly what she's wearing underneath.

Nothing.

Her nipples pebble up as the cool air washes over her flushed skin, the glow of the moon highlighting every curve of her naked body. For a moment, I just stand there like an idiot with my mouth hanging open, drinking in her appearance like I'm dying of thirst. I feel the distinct nudge of my inner beast pushing forward, and with it comes a moment of clarity.

"You were out at a club like that?" I demand, the words leaving my lips in a low growl.

She rolls her eyes as she drops her dress to the ground beside her. "I was at the hot springs all day, my suit was wet."

"And you didn't bring underwear?"

She chews on her lip, shrugging. "I did, but I didn't feel like messing with it," she says nonchalantly. "Now stop trying to reprimand me and strip already!"

"Excuse me?" I choke, my cock thickening behind my zipper at her insinuation.

"We're gonna shift and run home," she states, as if I'm an idiot for not realizing that was her angle here. The thought might've occurred to me if I wasn't preoccupied by her nude body on display for anyone and their mother to see right now.

"What about our clothes?" I ask, uncertainty creeping in. Not that I'm particularly attached to these clothes, since they aren't mine to begin with, but shifting into my wolf isn't something I'm well-versed in. It hurts like hell. Even though it's slowly getting easier with practice, I haven't had much of that yet, either.

"We'll grab ‘em tomorrow when we come back for Sloane's car," Avery replies easily, seeming to have an answer for everything. Then again, transforming into an animal is a regular occurrence in her life. I'm the weirdo here, not her.

She cocks out a hip, resting a hand upon it as she huffs out an impatient breath. "Strip, warden."

It doesn't seem like she's interested in taking no for an answer, so I grab onto the hem of my shirt and ruck it off over my head, not missing how her eyes catch on my defined ab muscles as they ripple with my movements. The corner of my mouth curls up in an arrogant smirk as I unfasten my belt, shoving my jeans and boxers down my hips and stepping out of them.

"Like what you see, Luna?"

She rolls her eyes, waving me off. "Calm down, big man. If you're gonna be a wolf, then you're gonna have to get used to seeing people naked without popping a stiffy."

I dart a glance down to my hard-on currently pointing right at her like a damn beacon, then lift my gaze to meet her whiskey-eyed gaze once more. "Not people ," I clarify. "You really expect me to see you naked and not try something?"

"Oh no, I fully expect you to try something," she snorts, flipping her long hair over a shoulder as she pivots on a heel. "But you'll have to catch me first." She tosses me a wink, then calls her wolf forward in an instant, the air shimmering around her before she drops down onto four powerful paws.

A shot of pain lances through my skull and I raise a hand to my head with a wince, squeezing my eyes shut and focusing on the wild, snarling beast within. Just like last time, I don't fight back as he pushes forward, springing from his cage in my mind and forcing himself to the forefront.

This shift is quicker than the last. Less painful, too. I'd venture to say that I'm slowly starting to get the hang of this, and luckily, I've got a great teacher. With every shift, I swear I can feel the fragmented parts of my wolf slowly fusing together with the rest of me, the two of us becoming more in sync.

The moment my paws hit the ground, Avery turns tail and takes off running, bound for the treeline of the forest. I give into my instincts and immediately start chasing after her. Excitement sings through my veins as I kick up dirt with every powerful stride, bounding into the thickly wooded foliage. I'm fast, but she's faster. She bobs and weaves as she cuts a path through the trees, the hunter within me reveling in the thrill of the chase.

The only thing that would make this better is if I could communicate with her as my wolf. She's told me about the mind-link that she has with other wolves in her pack, but since I'm not part of it, I can't talk to her telepathically like the others can. Not only that, but all the packs that reside here share in the mind-link. Yeah, The Guild seriously underestimated what we were dealing with. It's not just one pack, but seven , and their collective numbers are staggering.

I'm not sure if she's getting winded or I'm getting faster, but slowly, I start gaining on her, nipping at her heels. Little by little, I'm growing more accustomed to embodying my inner beast, moving more fluidly. It doesn't help that my wolf is fucking massive, though. Spatial awareness in another form is a whole different ballgame, and I've taken more than one branch to the face during the course of this hunt.

Avery darts out of reach as I nip at her flank, the trail ahead opening into a clearing. It's the perfect window of opportunity and I seize it, pouncing on her from behind and taking her down to the dirt.

We roll a few times before finally sliding to a stop with her pinned beneath me, her tongue darting out to lick my snout before she abruptly shifts back to her human form. It takes me a few seconds longer to work through my own shift, remembering what she taught me last time and slowly backing my beast into his cage again. As soon as the air around my body clears, I dart my hands up to circle her wrists, pinning them down on either side of her head.

"Caught you," I pant, my chest heaving with every ragged breath.

"This time," she breathes, licking her lips as she stares up at me, pupils blown wide. "The question is, how are you gonna keep me?"

I dip down to slam my lips onto hers, stealing any other words of resistance from them. She brings her legs up to wrap around my waist and draws me into her center until my tip nudges her slick entrance. Shit, I think she liked the hunt just as much as I did. Her tongue glides against mine as I angle my hips and shove inside, her back arching as I swallow her cry. I rut into her like the beast I just became, squeezing her tits and biting her lips as I fuck her hard and fast in the dirt.

I have no fucking clue what the future holds for me- for us - but sex with her is fucking spectacular. I suppose connection is connection, plain and simple, and when words fail, we let our bodies speak for us. That's what's happening right now, and goddamn, I love it when she talks dirty.

Avery suddenly shoves at my shoulder, rolling us over so that she's on top straddling my waist. My hands land on her hips and she scrapes her fingernails down my chest roughly as she starts riding me, grinding over my lap while staring into my fucking soul. This face-to-face sex thing is completely new for me, but I'm all about it. I fucking love watching the way this girl comes undone. My girl. Mine .

Her whole body tenses up seconds before her climax hits, and I squeeze her hips with a roar as I follow her right over the edge of oblivion.

"Fuck," I mutter aloud to myself, blinking at the screen of the laptop resting on my thighs. " Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Lo and Avery had something to do up at the squad complex today, so they left me alone with the computer to check for a response to my message, warning me that most of the functionalities on it were disabled. Too bad they underestimated my IT skills. I was able to bring down those shields within seconds, and it's a good thing I did, because Matty didn't respond back within the scrambled code. He used it to point me to an encrypted server, where I found a message waiting.

The Guild's car bomb attack was a ploy to draw the wolves out. They know we have the safehouse's location, knew we'd be itching to retaliate, and they're angling to spring an ambush as soon as we do.

I have to tell someone.

If I didn't hear back from Matty, then plan B was to confront The Guild at their safehouse. We'd be walking right into the fucking trap they set.

There's only one other person here in the packhouse with me today, and by all indications, he hates my fucking guts. This news isn't going to land well with Madd. Though he's been decidedly less pissy since his Beta recovered from his injuries after the bombing and returned home, he still blames me for his sister's capture. I mean, I get it, but we're going to have to learn to work together at some point for the sake of survival.

I suck in a deep breath as I look toward the doorway to the kitchen, knowing I have to do this but dreading it nonetheless.

"Madd!" I call out sharply, and I hear the thud of his footsteps moments before he strides out from the kitchen, a scowl on his face and his muscles coiled tightly.

"Got a message back," I breathe, proceeding to read it aloud to him as he stalks closer. Then I shift the laptop off my thighs, raking a hand through my hair as I rise to my feet across from him. I'm not about to let him stand over me as an intimidation tactic; I'm meeting him head-on, my posture tall and my eye contact unwavering. "It's a setback, but it's also an advantage. Now that we know what they're up to, we can adjust the plan to…"

"Whoa, slow your roll, hunter boy," Madd snaps, cutting me off. "What do you mean, we ? It'll be a cold day in hell before we let you in on strategy planning."

"Do you want to win or not?" I question, my hackles raising as my inner beast rattles his cage. He refuses to be cowed by Madd's posturing, and we're on the same fucking page there.

Madd shakes his head firmly, folding his tattooed arms across his chest and lifting his chin. "We don't need you to win."

"Yes you do," I growl. "I know everything about that cabin, everything about the way they think, how they operate…"

"Exactly, so why would we let you in on our strategy?" he retorts, snorting a wry laugh. "So you can cross us and lead us straight to our deaths?"

"When are you gonna accept that I'm on your side here?" I shout, quickly losing my patience.

"Never," he snarls.

"But Avery…"

"Don't fucking use my sister to plead your case!" he barks out, now seething. "You fucking kidnapped her!"

"I know!" I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, trying my damndest to calm myself down. "I know , okay?" I repeat, lowering my voice to a normal decibel as I meet his icy glare one again. "I fucked up, and I'm not asking for your forgiveness. I know I did really shitty things in the past, but I'm trying to rectify that."

He clenches his jaw as he stares back at me, the muscle in it feathering.

"Listen, dude, I still don't understand this whole mate bond thing, but I care about your sister," I say, trying to appeal to his humanity behind the big bad wolf fa?ade. "I'd never let anything bad happen to her."

"Like you haven't already?" he scoffs.

I drag a hand through my hair, tugging at the strands. "I fucking know!"

A tense silence settles between us, both of us riled up and locked in a damn staring contest. Then he finally breaks it by asking a question I'm completely unprepared for.

"Do you love her?"

"What?" I choke, blinking back at him.

"It's a simple question," Madd growls, still staring me down. "Do you love her, yes or no?"

My heart stutters in my chest, a lump forming in my throat. I've never really considered the depth of my feelings for Avery before, but I know without a doubt that I've never felt this way. I'd lay my life down for hers in an instant, no questions asked- and if that's not love, then I don't know what is.

"Yes," I rasp.

Madd stares at me for a long moment like he's digesting my admission, then he finally gives me a tight nod, advancing a step forward. "Right answer," he mutters, clapping a hand down hard on my shoulder. "You'd better not fuck this up. If you do, I'll tear your throat out myself." He flexes his grip on my shoulder threateningly. "Just give me a reason."

I glare back at him, refusing to back down from his challenge, even as I hear the door to the packhouse swinging open and feel the tug in my chest of my mate's presence .

"What's wrong?" Avery asks warily, clearly sensing the tension in the air.

Madd and I turn to look her way almost in unison. "Set a meeting," he barks. "Cam heard back from his contact, and he's going to help us come up with a plan."

She flinches back in shock, brows drawing together. "Whoa, what now? You're gonna let him help?"

"Just set the damn meeting," he grumbles, turning on a heel and storming back toward the kitchen.