Rafael’s golden eyes flashed. He darted forward and jumped onto her back. Hailey bucked him off.

  Triumph lifted her snout to the sky. This wolf’s human had called her tame. Now he knew she wasn’t some docile wolf he could mount and mate at will.

  He tried again, and again she threw him off, taking pleasure in his increasingly manic snarls.

  She could have run off, but she liked this game—enjoyed taunting and teasing him . . . until the wolf gave a forlorn cry. He wasn’t to blame. She could tell he wanted her despite himself. Her heat was no longer a factor, so it must be something else. Why was his wolf’s behavior so at odds with his human’s?

  Hailey gave Rafael a gentle nudge of sympathy. The wolf’s human should really listen to the wise animal within.

  This time, when Rafael hopped onto her back, she held steady, pushing her human side out entirely. This moment was between wolves, two purebloods humping in the night.

  Thoughts dissipated. The wolf on her back belonged there. His underbelly arched over her and his furry arms clutched her sides. It didn’t take long. After he finished, he twisted around, positioning them end to end. They were stuck. The tie-up made it awkward to get around. Rafael wanted to go one way, and Hailey the other. She growled several times as Rafael pulled her along, the tug like a rope. They padded their way in this stumbling manner down the knoll and around a boulder. When, at last, they were able to break apart, Rafael remained with Hailey as though still attached.

  The two wolves nestled in between the boulders, snuggling against one another. Hailey’s wolf would have been content to remain this way all night, but her human half was as strong as her animal. While the wolf slumbered, the human steadily clawed her way back up to consciousness.

  chapter twelve

  HAILEY LAY ON her side with her legs tucked in and a wolf beside her. His fur felt soft against her naked skin. A lingering sense of satisfaction pulsed below the surface, only to be replaced by an ache of longing to share in their wolves’ joining by intertwining man with woman.

  But Rafael was not currently a man, nor did he want her. He had even refused to help her. She despised him.

  Her body betrayed her. Her clitoris swelled as her blood vessels dilated and passage slicked.

  The steady breath at her back meant she still had time to get away before Rafael’s wolf scented her arousal. It would trigger him to shift.

  She scrambled away on hands and knees, not looking back for fear of seeing golden eyes watching her, or worse, stubborn brown ones. Once clear of the boulder, Hailey stood and tugged the top loose around her waist back up over her breasts.

  She looked at the dark sky. How much time had passed? If she was lucky, less than an hour. She hadn’t run far and didn’t think she had snoozed for too long.

  What had happened? Her mind felt foggy, like her wolf was holding back details. One thing was certain—their animals had mated, and this time there had been no one to interrupt them.

  It didn’t matter. No full moon meant no pups.

  Hailey placed a hand on her flat belly. Uninvited tears welled in her eyes. She had waited all her life for a pureblooded male to come along. One finally had, and mounted her wolf twice, but wouldn’t claim her. It felt worse than if he had ignored her entirely.

  They were compatible. Her wolf trusted his.

  The man was a mongrel for putting her through this torment. If his wolf wanted on her back, he could damn well do the right thing and claim her, mate her at the full moon, and give her pups.

  Huffing, Hailey dropped her hand from her belly. Like that would happen. He wouldn’t even help her get her new pack started.

  Well, he’d unwittingly done her one favor. She was riled up enough to hunt Kamari down and tell him she and her friends were heading off without him. They could still be neighbors once she found a suitable location. Maybe she wasn’t ready for a journey across the continent, but it was a start. She’d do it without Rafael’s help and free from Kamari’s commands.

  She hurried in the direction of the glade, relieved to find the borrowed skirt on the path. Rafael’s clothes had been tossed into a nearby heap, revealing that he had shifted shortly after her. It was surprising he hadn’t run in the opposite direction as fast as his two legs could carry him. His wolf had obviously not given him that option.

  Picking up the skirt, she shook off the dirt, then stepped into the garment and tugged it up to her hips. Hailey finger-combed her short locks, smoothing out the soft waves, and proceeded to stride forward with her head held high.

  It surprised her to see her friends where she had left them. Maybe not that much time had passed.

  Her group had been joined by young single shifters who sat on the ground in front of the log, talking to the visiting shifters. They were holding mugs and taking sips between laughs.

  Violet twisted a curl around her finger while listening to a tall, toned male who leaned his head toward hers when he spoke. Layla tipped her mug back. When she brought her head forward, she saw Hailey and waved energetically.

  Hailey walked over, trying to force a smile to her lips.

  Layla stood up on wobbly legs. “Hailey, meet our new pack!”

  “New pack?” she looked from her friend to the small group that had joined theirs.

  Layla nodded. “This is Hudson, Chase, Wiley, Justin, Emerson, Gina, Zadie, Nudara, Rosalie, and Camilla.”

  Looking at the barely familiar faces, Hailey could no longer fake a smile. This was not what she had in mind. Maybe an extra four from Wolf Hollow—not ten.

  “I am so ready for a change of scenery,” a busty brunette said. Beside her sat the female who had introduced herself to Hailey as Camilla when she first arrived. She was the next to speak. “Where exactly are we going?”

  A tall, curvaceous blonde flipped her long hair over her shoulder and lifted her chin. “We should go west. Nothing terrible has ever come from that direction.”

  Several heads nodded.

  Layla tried to hand Hailey her mug. Hailey wrinkled her nose. “What is that?”

  “Moonshine.” Layla hiccupped, then giggled.

  Hailey shook her head before looking down at the blonde. “We’re going east.” She made the decision in the moment. Hailey wasn’t going to let a stranger take over her pack.

  The blonde’s amused smile felt like claws extending along her skin.

  “Glenn Meadows is to the east.”

  “We’ll be passing Glenn Meadows and continuing east,” Hailey informed her.

  The other female met her eyes, unblinking. Hailey held her stare. A redheaded female took the bossy blonde’s hand and squeezed, but the woman wouldn’t look away from Hailey.

  Camilla huffed. “Why do you want to come anyway, Em? I thought you liked being on the council.”

  The blonde flicked her gaze to Camilla, smile dropping. “What’s the point of being on the council when they continue to roadblock my simple request? If Jager can’t handle a same-sex claim, then maybe it’s time to leave.”

  “You said council majority was in our favor,” the redhead beside her said.

  Em huffed. “One step forward, two steps back. You heard the elders tonight. They want to drag us back to the dark ages. A bunch of cavemen is all they are. Think they need to guard the women while the ‘fairer sex’ cooks and has babies.”

  “Did I miss something?” Hailey pursed her lips.

  Layla took a gulp from the mug before nodding. “Yup. After the incident with the bears, the Wolf Hollow elders forbade the females from bathing in the river. They’re supposed to stick to the pond within the territory, where it’s safer.”

  Hailey raised her brows. Em met her eyes. “See what we’re dealing with here?”

  Hailey rubbed the back of her neck with both hands. “I think there’s been a lot of excitement and you should all get a good night’s sleep before you make a decision to abandon your pack.”

  “Abandon?” Em barked. She got to her feet and placed her hands on her hips.

  The group went silent.

  “Yes, abandon,” Hailey said, not backing down. She wasn’t trying to be rude, simply pointing out the obvious. “Glenn Meadows has reached its capacity and figured out how to keep the tribe protected. Wolf Hollow is rebuilding its population and has been dealing with attacks and more losses. Is this not so?”

  Em’s eyes narrowed. The redhead, who appeared to be her lover, got to her feet and placed her hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “She has a point. You’re needed here, Em. Jager might not appreciate that fact, but the rest of us do. Think of your baby sister. Don’t you want to be around for her? And what of Jordan? What about when she and Raider have young? You’ll want to be around to be an aunt, won’t you?”

  Camilla scoffed and rolled her eyes. “All the more reason to leave,” she muttered.

  The curvy female with dark brown hair seated beside her patted her leg and flashed her a sympathetic grin.

  Em turned to the redhead, her features softening as they stared at one another. She lowered one arm and touched the other female’s cheek. “We’ll sleep on it, but first I want to speak to Jordan and Raider—maybe my dad. And check on little Franny. Come with me?”

  “Of course.”

  Hailey was relieved to see the two females walk away hand in hand. Hopefully, everyone Em came into contact with would help talk her out of leaving. It wasn’t that she did not like the aggressive blonde; it’s that she saw them butting heads daily, and that’s not what Hailey wanted for her new pack.

  She glanced at the shifters who lingered. With any luck, they would have second thoughts, as well. It was one thing to make plans in the heat of the moment, with the help of moonshine, and another to go through with leaving the only home and pack they had known. Maybe, by morning, they would see reason.

  One way or another, she was eager to put distance between herself and Rafael.

  RAFAEL SAT UP slowly, taking in his current surroundings with human eyes. The boulders surrounding him made up a rocky nest with a narrow passage leading back to the grassy knoll.

  He waited, breathing steadily, biding his time. Without seeing her transform, he was aware of Hailey shifting. He remembered mounting and mating her in crisp detail as though his human brain had been shoved inside his wolf’s skull for an up-close experience.

  When she pulled away from his wolf to make her exit, he shifted and kept his eyes stubbornly closed, feigning sleep. Sightless, he listened to her leaving and waited. Rafael feared that if he saw Hailey in all her naked glory, he would succumb as his wolf had and give in to his lust.

  He waited longer, not wanting to catch up to her on the trail. This was getting out of hand. Twice now their wolves had intertwined. Thank the Goddess with her mysterious moon magic for regulating a female wolf shifter’s fertility to its fleeting window of opportunity during full moons.

  He would never willingly condemn offspring to the harsh reality he was forced to live in. If two purebloods could not protect their pups, as his parents had failed to do, then what hope was there? It was easier to have no children to worry over. No mate to break his soul if she were killed.

  Death was like desperation in this cursed world of theirs. Plenty to go around.

  And so Rafael stayed behind longer than necessary before leaving the knoll and collecting his clothing. After getting dressed, he trekked eastward, arcing away from the den. He’d find a rocky ledge to sleep under.

  Tomorrow Hailey would be gone. She’d leave and he could relax until it was time for his own departure. For the first time in his life, he would be a lone wolf—no more Diego to howl and pal around with. No family. No friend. No mate. Alone.

  Rafael tried not to think too much about the first time he had seen Hailey’s wolf. Heading in the direction where they had first met made it difficult to think of anything else. Her appearance had been so unexpected. The beauty of her white fur and moonbeam eyes filled his head. The memory of her intoxicating scent tickled his nostrils. She’d had the regal air of an alpha female—calm, collected, and fearless.

  Unlike tonight, she had yielded to him quickly, stood patiently as he sniffed and licked and then mounted.

  Fur sprouted over his arms as he remembered her beneath him.

  Not again!

  Rafael had two choices: keep his clothing on and try to contain his wolf or undress before his wolf took over and ripped at the garments to get free of the fabric.

  He took in a deep breath and slapped himself in the face.

  “Think of fire and rivers and caves, mountains and valleys, forests and . . . legs—long, sexy, moonlit legs wrapped around my waist. Shit! No!”

  Now Rafael had an erection. Well, maybe it would help keep him human. Looking at his arms, he saw the fur had thickened. Mierda. Hard and hairy. Just great. What was next? A furry dick?

  Cursing, Rafael unfastened his jeans with fingers that were turning to paws. He clawed them the rest of the way past his knees and ankles. Sharp nails raked his chest as he freed himself from the shirt and got onto all fours.

  “You already had her,” he tried to reason with his wolf, but the beast would not listen.

  The ground flew beneath his paws as he charged down the trail. Stopping abruptly, he sniffed the air and picked up her scent headed east rather than back to the communal glade. Charging through underbrush, he leaped over fallen trees obstructing his path until locating a narrow trail. Her clothing had been discarded, tossed over a fallen log. Picking up the change of odor made Rafael’s tail wag.

  Once her scent became stronger, he slowed to a trot, then a walk, going still when he picked up voices—one male and one female. He recognized the feminine voice at once. Without a second thought, Rafael shifted and crept closer, taking stealthy steps over the soil. Keeping out of sight was much easier in the dark.

  He approached near enough to make out the words and crouched over the ground, not bothering to leave the trail. Hiding in the brush would do no good if it rustled with his movements. So he hid in plain sight, naked, tanned skin melding in with the dirt path.

  “I want to see more of the world,” Hailey’s voice drifted to where Rafael eavesdropped. Anger and frustration laced her words.

  “It is not safe out there for you or your friends.” Rafael was not surprised to hear Kamari’s voice lecturing her.

  “Nowhere is safe,” Hailey countered.

  “Glenn Meadows is. We have the right population, location, and fortification. We made it a safe haven to protect families and females like you.”

  Rafael half stood, nostrils flared, one fist ready to shove in Kamari’s imperious face. A surge of shame filled him at having said much the same thing to Hailey earlier, when the irony was he felt wolves were meant to explore. The truth was hard to admit. He didn’t want anything to happen to her. Despite his best efforts not to, he cared about what became of her and had feared that her inexperience would get her and her friends killed.

  But what was the alternative? It was playing out before him in dialogue.

  “What do you mean by that? I’m a pureblood,” Hailey snapped.

  “I only wish to protect you, Hailey. You know what happened to the rest of your litter mates before the fortification. You were too young to remember, but I will never forget the grief your parents went through. I would never want you to experience that kind of heartbreak, especially when there is no good reason to. Any children of ours would have the protection of our tribe, our pack. No harm would come to them. They would grow up safe and loved with their parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins.”

  Rafael barely dared breathe, awaiting Hailey’s answer. Would Kamari’s coercion work on her? He clamped his mouth shut to contain a snarl. Violence swirled inside his chest, blasting into his head. Hailey had submitted to him, not to the older alpha from Glenn Meadows. She had come to Rafael asking him to teach her, essentially requesting he become her new alpha in the interim.

  If Kamari coaxed her back to his pack, it would be too late. The alpha would claim her and end any future for the female beyond the only life she had ever known.

  Hailey was a proud and beautiful shifter who deserved a chance to run free.

  “You know I will be a good mate to you,” Kamari continued.

  “Yes, I know that, and I love my family and our pack. I just want a chance to do something different. Give me a year to explore, then I’ll return and claim you.”

  “No.” That one word was spoken with grave finality and a hint of anger. “I’m done waiting, Hailey. I waited when your mother hoped to make arrangements between you and Wolfrik, and then with one of these interlopers. None of these males were interested. I am. I have been since you came of age. You are too. You said so on more than one occasion. This is what comes from leaving Glenn Meadows. You are confused and agitated. Once we are back home and mated, you will settle back down and find your contentment restored.”

  Rafael nearly spit on the ground.

  “I am beginning to question that very much,” Hailey growled.

  “More confusion.” Kamari sighed heavily.

  “My mother wants me to explore. That’s why she sent my friends.”

  “She thought you would be claimed. Your mother would not want you to go into the wild without an alpha looking over you and your friends. I will do no such thing. We return home after breakfast.”

  Before he could think it over, Rafael jumped up and swaggered into view of the arguing pair. “You won’t, but I will,” he announced.

  Hailey sucked in a breath of dismay. Kamari jerked his head and turned, glowering as he faced Rafael. They were all naked. Rafael’s eyes tripped over a long, dark shadow. Kamari was erect, a sight that turned Rafael’s smug smile into a ferocious snarl.

  This alpha elder couldn’t wait to get Hailey back home to claim and control. Would Hailey’s wolf yield to the alpha’s as she had for Rafael, or would Kamari fuck her into submission? And what of her human side? Just seeing Kamari hard for her made Rafael want to shift and bite the other male’s dick off.

 

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