Chapter 146 – Heated Thoughts

Jacob shifted quickly into his wolf without a second thought. For the first time in a long time, he relinquished control and allowed his wolf complete control of himself. Jacob was having a hard time trying to keep himself away from his mate and hoped this run would help clear his mind and focus on what was important. It had been a while since he let his wolf out to run freely without a mission in mind.

As he continued to run, he could feel the presence of his two friends running behind him in their wolf forms. He could feel his wolf pick up speed as he howled at the moon as it shined down through the branches.

Jacob was enjoying the cool breeze against his fur as he suddenly picked up a heavenly scent he hadn’t smelled in these past few days.

Teddy: Jacob, where are you going?

Raymond: Yeah, I thought you were trying to respect her wishes.

Jacob: I let my wolf have complete control over where he wanted to run.

Jacob attempted to gain control over his wolf, but Alden refused to relinquish control.

Jacob: Alden, what are you doing?

Alden: Giving in to what we genuinely want and taking us to our mate.

Jacob shook his head as he realized his stupid mistake of allowing his wolf to have control. He should have known that his stubborn wolf wouldn’t listen to reason and only do what he thought was best.

Alden let out a howl as he stood on the embankment that looked over their mate’s place.

***

Cassidy lifted her head when she heard the howl coming from outside. Her cheeks grew hot as her stomach began to flutter, and she felt a burning, heated sensation that came from her scar but then started to tingle. She pressed her lips into a thin line as she tried to push her heated desires down, not knowing why it was happening or what was causing it.

She started to stretch her arms lightly as she pretended to yawn. “I think I should call it a day and head to my room for the night,” she told them as she got up from the table and picked up her plate to take back into the kitchen to clean.

Natalie looked up at her friend with a confused look, “It’s not even late. Are you sure?”

Cassidy smiled at both Natalie and Gavin, “I’m sure I’m pretty tired,” she confessed before walking into the kitchen.

Natalie looked at her friend with a lifted brow, unsure if she should believe what her friend was telling her. She quickly got up from her seat and followed her into the kitchen to make sure that she was okay.

“Hey, is everything all right?”

Cassidy nodded her head, assuring her long-time friend that everything was fine with her, even though it wasn’t. She was embarrassed to tell Nat about her heated moment and didn’t even know how to begin to describe what she was feeling or why it had happened.

“I’m sure. I just need to have some time to myself, and you need some alone time, too,” she declared as she bumped her redheaded friend with her hip.

Natalie giggled.

It had been a long time since she had seen the easy-going side of her friend, and she was happy to see her friend acting more like herself. “All right, as long as you’re sure.”

Cassidy nodded.

“Well then, leave your dish in the sink. Gavin will help me with clean up later.”

Cassidy turned and pulled Natalie into a hug. “Thank you for not pushing.”

Natalie sighed as she squeezed Cassidy before letting go. “I just want you to be happy.”

Cassidy smiled before walking out of the kitchen.

When she stepped back into the dining room to wish Gavin a good night, she found him with his elbow resting on the table, his head buried in his hand as he shook his head. “Everything okay,” she asked hesitantly, not sure if she should have disturbed him.

Gavin’s eyes popped open, and he pulled back his head. He gave her a fake reassuring smile. “Yep, everything is good.”

“Well, it was good meeting you and having you over. I’m sorry I’m not better company at the moment,” she tried to offer.

Gavin shook your head. “You’re going through a lot right now. It makes sense that you want to rest and recuperate.”

Cassidy smiled.

She was getting a good feeling with this gut and was happy that her friend had found a good guy.

Cassidy waved and headed up the stairs.

The feeling in her leg was intensifying, and she wasn’t sure if the sensation would ever end. Cassidy shivered as she entered her room. She looked around to see what was making her room feel so cold and frowned when she saw the window was wide open. With her arms wrapped tightly around her, she rushed toward the window and closed it quickly. Before pulling the curtains closed, she noticed something move around in the garden area. Cassidy tried to move around to figure out if what she saw was real but couldn’t see anything from her window.

She bit down on her lower lip, tempted to head outside to see if there was anything out there. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, and she decided to take a look in the back garden. She tipped-toed down the stairs and took the back hallway to get to the rear porch. She grabbed a jacket that was hanging on the hooks by the door before stepping out into the cold night.

Her heart was racing as she took her first step off of the last stair and started to move through the back garden. There was little light to help her see at first, but as she maneuvered through the garden, she was able to see more as her eyes adjusted. Her mouth opened in awe as she saw the beautiful willow tree standing full and tall in the back of the garden. She was hesitant at first, but something deep inside was telling her to connect with the tree.

Slowly, she walked up to the impressive evergreen and extended her hand before pressing her palm against the trunk. A warming sensation flowed through her when she was distracted by something moving just to the left of her, and she turned to see what caught her attention.

Cassidy sucked in a breath as she stared at the enormous black wolf with fierce blue eyes who was staring right back at her.