We’re being hunted.
Howls echoed around the forest. It was eerily and a scene straight out of those horror movies I used to watch. I always regretted it later when I woke from nightmares. My Aunt caught me once when she returned home earlier than expected. She was so pissed that she locked me in my room for a week. I quickly learned to obey her every order.
Devon’s arms around my waist tightened. Although the temperature had started to rise, the nights were still freezing cold. The fact that I wore only a crop-top wasn’t helping. I turned my head to press my cheek against his shoulder. He had given me his shirt to wear when the temperatures started to drop. Then it was too dark for me to see even a hand in front of my face. And that’s when the howls started.
We’ve walked for hours with only a few minutes of rest in between. Leaves rustled when the cool breeze blew. Devon had searched for somewhere safe to hide for the night but the farther we walked, the more howls we could hear. He chose the only other option he felt was safe, to climb a tree.
I’ve never climbed a tree in my life. I had almost no upper body strength to pull myself up. Devon had to boost me and keep close by to help whenever I needed it. We climbed until we almost reached the top. The thick branches with leaves hid us from view, but it did nothing to help with the cold.
“Are you okay?”
“C-cold.” I shivered and pressed myself closer against him.
“Sit forward a little,” he ordered. “Turn around until you face me.”
The man was crazy, but I was too cold to tell him that. With his hands and soft words carefully guiding me, I found myself facing him in no time. He kept one hand on my back and slid his other down to my thigh. Gripping it, he guided my leg over his. I gasped when he pulled me onto his lap. Devon pressed his hand against the back of my head and guided my face to the crook of my neck.
“Better?”
I nodded. He was rubbing my back to warm me. His lips brushed my cheek. “Get some sleep, Val. I’ll keep watch.”
“I-is David g-going to be o-okay?”
“We can change our body temperature according to our needs. He will be okay.”
“B-but he’s hurt badly.”
“If he has no internal injuries, he would have already started to heal.”
“But you need the healing drug,” I whispered.
“We don’t need it,” he muttered. “It just helps us heal faster. Without them, we heal slowly but still efficiently.”
“I’m scared.”
His arms tightened again. “Me too.”
“The big bad wolf is scared,” I teased.
Devon chuckled softly but said nothing. I sat up slightly and stared at his face. I could feel his warm breath fanning my lips. Our faces were inches apart but I couldn’t see a thing. My lips parted but the loud grumble from my stomach made my words die down. I was starving and thirsty. They probably felt the same. We were lost in the forest miles away from any help. We would either reach safety tomorrow or die by the hands of the hunters or those of nature.
“I will find some water to drink tomorrow and maybe something to eat.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “Think you can hold on till then?”
I nodded. Getting help for David was more important than food. Devon cupped my cheek and tilted my head back slightly. His lips brushed mine—softly, barely touching. I sighed and parted my lips for his. We had a lot of things to talk about. He didn’t deepen the kiss but kept it light and gentle. I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“I saw David kiss you,” I whispered.
His body instantly tensed against mine. Devon sucked in a sharp breath and blew it out.
“Do you feel attracted to him like he does to you?”
“W-what makes you think that he’s attracted to me?”
I licked my lips as I thought of what to tell him. I knew exactly what I wanted to point out but I was afraid of worsening the situation between them. Devon had run off when David kissed him. It was just a brush of their lips, but it was enough to make him mad.
“The way he watches you sometimes when he thinks no one watches.” I smiled. “You watch him that way too.”
“No, I don’t,” he instantly denied.
“So you didn’t like it when he licked your dick while we were having sex?” Heat flooded my cheeks. I wasn’t usually this straightforward.
“No,” he muttered.
He didn’t sound very convincing. His voice was a little shaky too. Devon shifted slightly, he pushed me backward but I already felt the growing bulge in his pants. There was no hiding the fact that he was thinking about those days just like me. He wasn’t ready to admit it just yet, but I knew he was attracted to him.
“What was it like when he kissed you?”
I thought I had crossed the line when he didn’t answer me. He sighed and lowered his head to press his cheek against my hair. His hands slid to my back again. My eyes were starting to droop as exhaustion started to set in. We needed to reach Alark’s pack by tomorrow. David couldn’t go another day without medical care.
I was almost asleep when Devon finally spoke. His voice was soft and slightly hesitant.
“His lips barely touched mine. I jerked away before he could do anything else.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve found myself thinking what it would feel like if he kissed me the way he kissed you. I liked it when he. . .licked me.” Devon sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out. “I’m not gay, Val. I’ve never been attracted to a man.”
“You don’t have to be gay to be attracted to the opposite sex. Sex is sex, whether it’s with a man or a woman.”
“You wouldn’t think differently if I think of him the way I think of you?”
“How do you think of me?”
He seemed to have changed his mind. Devon sighed. “Go to sleep, Val. We need to be up early so.”
***
I jerked awake. Confusion filled me for a few seconds as I stared at the leaves a few inches away from me. I frowned. It took no time for me to remember the events of yesterday. My frown cleared as I turned my head towards Devon. He was still asleep but he had a tight grip on me. It surprised me that we hadn’t slipped from the tree in our sleep.
I heard it again—the sound that woke me. Leaning to the side slightly, I glanced down. I spotted movement between the leaves at the bottom of the tree. The sight made my heartbeat increase. It sniffed around the bottom of the tree, paused directly below us, and glanced up. I held my breath. It felt like he was staring directly up at us. My nails dug into Devon’s chest.
He instantly jerked away. I didn’t dare look away from the wolf below us. A howl suddenly pierced the air. Devon clamped a hand over my mouth to silence the sound that would’ve escaped. The wolf beneath us gave an answering howl before taking off. Devon’s hand slowly slipped from my mouth. I glanced at him then.
“We need to move.”
I nodded. “I need to pee first.”
His lips twitched, but he said nothing. Climbing down was a lot harder than climbing up. I thought I was going to fall to my death when I slipped, but Devon’s reflexes were faster than they were yesterday. He caught my wrist and pulled me up until I regained some for my balance.
“Get onto my back and hold on,” he ordered softly. “It’ll be easier that way. I won’t have to worry about you slipping and falling to your death”
The relief I felt when we reached the ground was instant. He allowed me to slide down his back until my feet hit the ground. Devon turned and nodded towards a bush near the tree.
“Go take a leak.”
“Seriously?”
He winked at me. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the bush. Hesitation filled me. I glanced around me before unbuttoning my pants and pushing them down my legs. It felt awkward having to pee in the bushes. I’ve never gone camping or anything so it was unnatural for me to use a bush as a toilet. I finished and then straightened. I was busy buttoning my pants when a sound drew my attention. Heat flooded my cheeks when I saw Devon using the tree as a toilet.
I quickly glanced away. The image was branded into my brain now. Curiosity had me glancing back at him. He jumped slightly and then stuffed his dick back in his pants. Was he even wearing underwear?
“Nothing you haven’t seen before little dove.”
His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. The color in my cheeks darkened when his eyes locked with mine. He turned as he zipped himself up. His lips were pulled in a small smirk.
“It’s not the same,” I muttered as I zipped my pants.
“How’s it not the same?”
I slipped my hand into his as we started walking. My limps felt stiff not even to mention that aches and pains my feet were feeling. Devon gave my arm a hard tug. I glanced up at him. He raised an eyebrow at me. It took me a moment to realize that I hadn’t answered his question yet.
“There’s a difference between seeing you naked and seeing you empty your bladder.”
“We are mates, Val. Once everything is settled with the pack, we’ll be spending our days naked in our home.”
“In the playroom?”
Devon chuckled. “Are you eager to try it out?”
“Yes.”
Our conversation died down as the sun rose.
The howls had died down but it didn’t mean that we were safe. According to Devon we still had about a mile to go. He had taken a route far away from the road encase they were waiting for us there. The hunger pains had intensified and so has the thirst. My mouth felt like the Sahara desert. With every step of became harder to keep moving. I just wanted to sink to the ground and take a few minutes to rest.
“How much longer?” I croaked.
“We’re almost there,” he said softly, squeezing my hand.
I nodded, licking my lips. Almost there. I just had to hold out a little longer.
I slammed into his body when he suddenly stopped. His hold on my hand tightened until I gasped out in pain. A low growl fell from his lips. Devon suddenly spun around and grabbed my waist. He picked me up and run in the direction we came from. I could feel the tips of his claws digging into my skin. I gripped his shoulders and bit my lips to stop the cry of pain from escaping my lips. I wasn’t sure how far we walked, but eventually, he stopped and pressed my back against a tree.
The rough bark tore skin where the shirt had ridden up when Devon had grabbed me. I stared up at him when he pressed his body against mine. Growls fell from his lips, making his chest vibrate against mine. I watched as fur started to sprout along his arms, chest, and face. He was close to shifting. David had once told me that they had no control over their shifts when they become very emotional. What happened to make him this emotional?
“D-Devon?”
He growled at me, a clear warning for me to stay silent. I pursed my lips. Devon pressed himself tighter against my body until I could barely breathe. Snapping twigs made my body tense. A loud growl sounded in the air. For a few seconds, everything fell silent. Even the birds had stopped singing.
“They passed through here,” a gruff voice muttered. “That way.”
“Are you sure?”
His answer was a low growl. With everything being deadly silent it was easy to hear them moving. They were heading in our direction. Devon leaned down until his lips were pressed against my ear.
“Lower yourself to the ground and stay as silent as you can. Don’t move until I come to get you.”
He was planning on leaving me to kill them. I gave him a small nod and waited for him to take a step back before I slid down to the ground. I kept my back tightly pressed to the tree. Devon had turned to present his back to me. I watched as he held his hands out at his side. His claws were fully extended. My eyes lingered on the blood drops. He had cut me with them. Where I wasn’t sure, but I knew I’d feel it later.
“I can’t wait for this to fucking end. I want to go home. Get myself a nice piece of ass to spend the weekend with.”
A loud scoff sounded close by. “Wonder how long it will last? Once they find out how much you like hitting they’d be gone before you could even stick your dick inside one of them.”
There was a loud snarl and a thud before everything fell silent again. Devon turned slightly to glance over his shoulder at me. He held one finger against his lips. I gave him another nod. He held my eyes for a few seconds longer before he turned around. I held my breath when he stealthily walked around the tree and disappeared.
I hesitated before reaching for the knife. It made no sound as it slid from the holster. I held it tightly as my eyes darted around. The silence was making my stomach turn. I hadn’t heard the men again. They must’ve followed the path we came from. My brows furrowed in confusion. I couldn’t hear them moving either.
Unless they decided to be quieter.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there. My head snapped to the left when I heard the twigs snap. It was from the opposite direction in which Devon had disappeared in. I expected it to be him, but the man who appeared wasn't Devon.
I was almost sure that he was one of the men we heard earlier.
I held my breath when he glanced around. He hasn’t seen me yet but one wrong move and I'd be exposed. My hope for not getting noticed died when the man turned right towards me. His cold green eyes locked with mine as he smiled and took a step towards me.
“I found you.”