Chapter 54 54
LOIS
“Lois. Let’s go to the bathroom.” He touched my shoulder, shaking me lightly.
“I don’t want to go to the bathroom,” I said without opening my eyes.
“Lois, we have to go to the bathroom. Come with me.” His tone was different. We had to go. I opened my eyes and he was staring at me with that deep frown, the hood pulled back over his head, casting shadows across his eyes. He grabbed my backpack from under his seat, took my hand, and stood; I did the same.
The train felt slower. Why?
We stepped into the aisle. The lights were dim and weak, leaving everything in darkness. So… it was already night. Silence everywhere, except for the occasional screech of the train’s metal joints.
We kept walking, and I saw when we passed the bathrooms.
“Emmanuel,” I whispered, in case he hadn’t seen the sign in the dark. “I think we just passed the bathrooms.”
“It’s okay, Lois. We’re not going to the bathrooms. We’re getting off the train.”
“What?” Getting off? It was still moving! “At the next stop?” I asked, trying not to panic.
“No. Right now.”
“B-But it’s moving, Emmanuel.”
“Don’t worry.” Lately he said that too often, and it only made me worry more. “I won’t let you get hurt.” He used both hands to force a door open, sliding it until the small metal bar sealing it snapped. He took the backpack and put it on me. Then he held my face while the wind rushed in and slapped against us, sending my hair flying. A fall at this speed could get us badly hurt—of course it could. “In a few meters the train will slow down, and that’s when we’re going to jump.”
I wanted to tell him no, that I couldn’t, that I was terrified. But I trusted him. I knew that with him beside me, we could do anything—even this? Jump off a moving train? Maybe for him it was simple; he was strong, an Alpha, and I… I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d let my wolf out.
Most likely, I’d get hurt and take time to heal.
The idea of getting hurt scared me.
“Is this… the only way to do it, Emmanuel?”
“We can’t reach the next station. The plan was always to jump before then.”
“So it’s part of the plan.” Not something he was improvising in the moment.
“We’re almost there. Climb onto my back and I’ll jump with you on me.” I glanced out at our supposed exit and saw the thick forest waiting below. He was going to get hurt—that was certain. He positioned himself in front of me. “Just trust me, Lois. You won’t get a single scratch. I promise.” I climbed onto his back, unsure whether to close my eyes or keep them open. I gripped his shoulders. Emmanuel stepped forward, reaching the edge, his hands holding the door frame. He bent his legs… and then he jumped. I shut my eyes so I wouldn’t be even more terrified.
We had leapt from the train, and it really hadn’t slowed down much. It was going fast.
I opened my eyes when I felt myself lift away from Emmanuel’s body—my body rising, his falling. Everything in slow motion. If I had blinked, I would have missed something breathtaking. The same time a blink takes—that’s how long Emmanuel needed to shift.
It was… the most incredible thing I had ever seen in my life.
I never imagined being enchanted by a transformation—or by a wolf.
The shine of his fur, the way he moved.
This was my mate.
My body shivered when I started to fall, thinking I’d crash into the undergrowth, but Emmanuel reached the ground first, jumped again, and caught me in the air—wrapping me in something warm, soft, and protective.
Not a single scratch.
It had been astonishing, almost magical.
I was grateful I hadn’t closed my eyes, not even for a second. I would’ve missed it.
He was the most magnificent Alpha I had ever seen, and that included my Alpha, who had always been at the top of my list. Emmanuel had just taken his place.
I stood once I regained my balance and immediately touched the wolf in front of me, burying my face in his fur, moving my hands along every inch of his enormous body until reaching his face.
I recognized his eyes, though fiercer now.
“No scratches,” he said to me. “Are you all right?”
“Excited. I’ve never seen anyone transform that fast. It took you one second, Emmanuel.”
“Practice,” he said, brushing off something that amazing. “Climb on. We need to get there before sunrise.”
Climb.
On him.
The idea alone sent a warm, delicious shiver through me, and when Emmanuel crouched down in front of me… my brain clicked.
It…
It turned me on—this situation, the forest, the wolf, Emmanuel—just the two of us, everything shifting, the adventure taking on warmer colors.
When I climbed onto Emmanuel, I felt my wolf growl—she didn’t want to be on top of him. She needed to run at his side.
Beside my mate.
“Do you want to let her out?” Emmanuel asked.
“It’s not a good idea. It’ll hurt too much because of how long it’s been since I shifted. Another time.”
Another moment, with more time… and less arousal.
We were in an unknown place. The best thing was to get to wherever we were going as fast as possible.