Chapter 14

She left. Everything we'd shared, and she'd just gotten up and left like it meant nothing. It was all I could do to stare at the swirling woodgrain of my bedroom door where Syl had stood. I'd screwed up. Somehow. Something I'd said had set her off, and damn, she was pissed. Not just pissed, furious, and I swear I'd seen tears shimmering in her sky-blue eyes as she'd moved past me.

Those tears had stopped me when she'd shrugged off my hands. To allow her to leave the room. Like we'd just been fucking around—nothing more.

More, yes. I wanted more. A lot more. I wanted to live in Syl's beautiful body, to know her mind well enough that we barely needed words anymore. Frowning, I tried to puzzle through what the fuck had just happened.

Jace. That shaggy-haired motherfucker. Everything had seemed fine before he'd arrived, and I'd tried to get him to leave us alone, so I could spend more time drawing and fucking my girl in equal measure.

With a sigh, I returned to where I'd placed my sketch on the ground.

Syl had thought I'd meant to draw her pussy, and I'd certainly made a few sketches of it, but having her pose for me in such a sultry position was to capture her expression. I wanted to know what she looked like when she was laid bare for me, watching me sketch her most private parts.

Syl's face looked up at me from the paper. Vulnerable, sweet, adoring.

So, what the fuck had gone wrong between us? I wracked my brain for the words said when I'd tried to get rid of the jackass at the door. I'd told him to leave us alone, that we were busy having fun, and—

No, I hadn't said we were busy having fun. I'd said we were busy having a bit of fun. My fists clenched. Right. That was it. With a groan, I dropped my head into my hands. I'd made it sound like we were in here doing kinky shit, and not like I'd just been to heaven with Syl's pussy clenching around my cock.

I couldn't have said that to Jace. Syl must know I had to play their game, to make it seem like we were just fooling around. Anything else was forbidden, and if I crossed any lines someone might go down to Sebastion's squad and have a word with his squad leader about his behaviour. Only they'd find the real Sebastion, and I'd be fucked.

They'd haul me out of here so fast I wouldn't have a chance to say goodbye to Syl, let alone get closer to her. Syl must realize how strict they were here about any relationships forming between couples. She must.

Only she hadn't. I wanted to punch myself in the face for it. And rough up the asshole who had hurt Syl until she could be sensitive to such comments. Only doing so wouldn't solve the problem, and I had a run to prepare for.

Spending time with Syl wasn't my only reason for wanting to get out of the run. I took a deep practice breath, wincing when there was a wheeze at the end. The air fresheners permeating this place had done a number on my lungs, a factor I hadn't considered.

Now I'd be expected to run, to hang with these men who had been running every day of their lives while I'd been told as a child never to attempt it. I could still hear the doctor listening to my chest and shaking his head.

With those lungs, I wouldn't recommend it. A shift and a walk will be suitable to appease his animal side.

Only a shift and a walk wouldn't appease Pack Breeders 103C, and I dug out my blue puffer from where I'd stashed it in my sock drawer.

I could put it in my jean pocket and circle around to my clothes. The puffer would fit in my wolf's mouth if I needed it to. Only the bright colour made it stand the fuck out.

It was dangerous, both because there was a chance of being caught and because I could have an attack without my medicine and die out in the woods today. But I couldn't miss this. The thought of Syl out in those woods, pissed at me and ready to take on any of the other wolves, made my heart pound. Could I even catch her? If I did, would she want me to? Would she turn those furious eyes on me again and push past me on her way to someone else?

It didn't matter if she did. I wasn't going anywhere.

Hand in my jean pocket, I clenched my puffer, hoping the stiff fabric would be enough to hide the shape of it from anyone looking too closely. Unfortunately, there was a girl on my left, with soft brown hair blowing in the light breeze, whose eyes kept drifting down. She wasn't looking for the puffer, but I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny. Hopefully Syl would join the line soon, so I could talk to her before we shifted.

She came out just as the others were stripping, and she didn't look my way. Not fucking once. This was no good. I knew she was pissed, but had my thoughtless words really screwed things up this badly? How could they have so easily damaged such an indescribable experience we'd shared?

The connection. The heat between us. It had been gripping. Consuming. And yet here she was, already stripping off the thin white tee she'd worn and stepping between two men at the other end of the line, a teasing smile quirking up her kissable lips.

I was about to go over there, to stand beside her and demand her attention, when Carter stepped in front of the line. Interesting, and here I thought that guy Jace was about to take over our dorm. He'd had a confident way of speaking that set him apart as a leader, a higher-up, and I'd felt it more keenly than the overwhelming distaste churning my guts whenever Carter spoke.

Jace outranked him, or he should.

"I want a nice clean run. Well, okay, it can get a little dirty." A chorus of laughs followed his words. "Run until you're tired. Run until shifting back into your human form doesn't seem so bad. We're here to fulfill a need, but let's also have some fun with it." He winked and removed his black shirt, signaling all of us to do the same.

I whipped the cotton shirt over my head in a single movement, quickly enough that I could take extra care, pulling my jeans and boxers down without exposing or dislodging the puffer within. I heard an appreciative moan and looked over to find the woman with her floaty brown hair staring directly at my cock.

This place was definitely strange, but as pretty as the woman beside me was, I still peered around her to see what Syl was doing. I found her naked, pointing out something on her chest to the stocky guy with a buzz cut beside her. Everyone was naked now, and I wanted badly for us to begin, if only because Syl would be forced to shift and run instead of flirting with a naked man whose interest in her was becoming apparent to everyone in line.

Fuck, she was beautiful, and the sight of her lithe body twisting as she flipped her hair at him was making me hard. She could flirt with that douchebag all she wanted, but I would be the one to catch her.

Because I fucking had to be. I sucked in a deep breath, willing the wheeze at the end to dissipate, and turned my attention to the forest ahead. This would be hard. Ill-advised. Foolish. But it was also necessary, and I'd die before letting anyone else catch the Syl-wolf.

It was happening, and I was startled to find the girl with her flowy brown hair beside me, changing into a fierce russet-coloured wolf. Her bones snapped and joints popped as her body twisted and bent, fur springing up.

My eyes sought Syl, eager to see what she looked like in her other form, and she did not disappoint. A gorgeous silver wolf stood where Syl had, and I knew I would be drawing her later, struggling to get the curve of her proud ears right. She'd ignored me ever since coming into line, giving her affectionate attention to those surrounding her. But now, she met my eyes, the golden hue of them piercing me across the distance until it felt like she was standing right in front of me, close enough to touch.

My mouth hung open the longer our gazes connected. She didn't look away, and I knew I couldn't. The spell was only broken by a single word shouted across the field.

"Run!"

Her eyes held mine for an extra moment, and I swear I could hear her voice in my head.

Catch me.

Not a question. A demand, and one I intended to honour.

She took off into the woods with her tail high in the air and one last playful look back at me. Whatever anger and resentment my careless words had caused, she still wanted this. The chase. The hunt. The catch ending with me buried deep inside of her.

Just like that, I wasn't the little boy with asthma being told he couldn't run, that shifting and going for a walk was all the poor little defect could do. No, I was powerful. Unconcerned. Capable. And Syl was waiting.

With a grin, I rolled my shoulders, feeling the powerful muscles of my back and all the strength I'd hammered into my body. For her. All of it for her.

The smile didn't leave my face as I embraced the animal part of myself and fell to the ground, twisting. The sounds of my body changing and snapping into place, killing the shape of a man so I could assume my other form, were sickening. The sensation was a mix of pain and pure pleasure as the beastly part of myself tore through the man, shredding his skin and replacing it with fur. The wolf part of me knew what to do, and he was done with walking. Done with playing it safe. Done being careful.

His mate was waiting in the forest.

It was time to run.

Fucking Bash.

I'd discounted him. He'd hurt me in a way I didn't think anyone would ever be able to again. Him with his deep blue eyes and vulnerability. He'd tricked me, damaged me. Taken the stirrings of my heart and shut them the fuck down, but I still wanted him. Even if it was just for a "bit of fun". I couldn't help it.

From the second I'd stepped outside, I'd picked him out of the line even with his back to me. It wasn't that he stood a head taller than anyone else. If he'd been the same height, I would've known him. Something about his posture, about the way his shoulders were relaxed but his neck tense, was exactly Bash. Luckily, I'd been able to tear my eyes away from him before he noticed, finding a place far enough away in line that I would be safe from his mesmerizing presence.

A presence I knew would consume me again, and soon, if I wasn't careful. I needed to find a way to keep the incredible sex between us to just sex and stop expecting another being to actually give a shit about me. I knew better than anyone that you could only count on yourself.

Elise was proof enough of that.