Chapter Twenty-One

His muscles pumped, his wolf excited by the chase.

Heavy fur protected him from branches as they sliced at his body. He’d run at least two miles linearly before her path began taking sudden twists and turns. The moon was the sole source of illumination, enhancing his night vision.

Another howl crawled from his throat as he approached a sizable white cabin–one of five located within their territory here. He circled it once, ensuring it wasn’t simply an attempt to shake him, peering into the windows as he did, the sheer curtains effectively ruining his effort.

He inhaled, shifting to stand in front of the cabin. Her need washed him as approached the door, forcing him to breathe through his mouth, lest he lose his sense and rip the door from its hinges.

She panted from the other side, her labored breaths stirring him.

*Creak*.

His foot landed on a weak point of the cabin’s porch, pulling a whimper from his mate, the sound strained. He snarled, his breaths coming faster as his arms went rigid against the red door’s frame.

“You don’t have to hide from me.” He kept a short distance, giving her space. *For now*.

No response.

He breathed slowly, a significant struggle against her growing smell. Eventually, someone would cross her path and scent her heat.

A snarl tore through his throat at the thought.

A yelp sounded.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to scare you.” He moved closer.

A low whine whistled through the door. The sound of claws against wood told him she paced, her paws stressing the floor in circular motions.

*She’s in pain*.

“Mate,” his voice rougher than intended, “let me help you.”

“Shift,” he asked softly.

Her responsive answer was a grunt, in wolf form.

A decisive no.

The pacing ceased. A light thud sounded as she propped against the door, panting. Her scent threatened to blind him.

“*Shift*,” he commanded, layering his Alpha tones. He hated to do it, but his chest caved worse at the thought of his mate in pain. Pain that he could relieve.

If she were in human form, the heat would take over and she’d submit to him willingly–he could apologize later–but instead of the snapping of bones from the forced change he expected to hear taking place on the other side of the door, an angry snarl vibrated the cabin, her energy seemingly renewed as a hard thump rattled the door.

His eyes widened at the unexpected outcome.

His chest rumbled.

“Please…”

His head pressed against the cool wood, quickly warming it under his touch. If things continued in this manner, his strained composure would break, and whatever actions followed would be hard to recover from. The breeze on his skin wasn’t enough to cool him.

“Go away.”

Bones popped as flesh ripped. Her voice was gravelly in her half-shifted state. He choked on a budding snarl, the action shaking him enough to let go of the door. He’d nearly relieved it of its hinges.

It was his turn to pace.

His ears remained trained on the door, listening as her movements became a match to her labored breathing.

He *could* wait for her to tire out, and bring her back to his room and claim her.

He imagined her lying there. Naked.

The taste of blood dragged him back–a breath away from breaking a front-facing window.

He backed away, the light penetrating the dense forest glinted off a rounded object. He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him until now to try the knob, the thing shining in the moonlight. The brass clicked under gentle force, the door making it three inches before he met force–his mate pushing back against it.

Her strength was surprising too, even for an Alpha–which her smell indicated.

He could hear the strain in her voice as she fought to resist his push, long claws scraping at the handle in an attempt to lock it. He held the knob firm.

“Let go!” Her voice pitched in that gravelly tone.

He shook his head, vision clearing.

Did his mate just *command* him?

He glanced at the door, shut and locked.

Rowan chuckled, his body heat rising. His gums itched to claim her.

The low whine wiped his smile.

His cheeks puffed as he blew air, squatting to her level from his side.

“You won’t find relief without me. Why do you choose to suffer so when–”

He pressed his ear flat.

*No way*.

Faint mellows reached him. His chest rumbled.

She was touching herself.

And from the sounds of it, she was close.

He couldn’t decide whether to be annoyed at her rejection or relieved she was at least alleviating her heat. He decided on both.

“That’s it, mate.”

Rowan was still mouth breathing for the most part, swallowing hard as she audibly came, listening to her convulsions as the seconds passed.

The wind was picking up, the sound easier to hear as his mate went quiet and her the scent of her heat dialed back significantly. His body temperature dropped as a result, and he no longer held the tension of resisting his answering desires.

She continued to remain in a form neither human nor wolf. She was clearly exhausted, and his continued presence seemed only to bring more stress to his mate.

“I will give you time, but I am not so patient as to wait forever, mate.”

His chest tightened at the thought of leaving her in such a vulnerable state, but no other males–or female shifters– were around, and they were far enough within the forest that it should be safe to watch her from a distance. He decided he couldn’t risk her hating him if he forced her to face him.

Rowan let the change take over him before he cleared the porch, slinking into the shadows of the trees.

***

She didn’t think it would work.

Alleviating herself to relieve the heat, but she guessed his presence on the other side of the door helped.

She no longer felt the overbearing need to fuck, and her fever was significantly milder.

Laura pressed her ear against the cold wood of the cabin door. She didn’t hear anything from the other side, and she could no longer smell him hiding in the nearby brush.

She’d waited an hour now, within the little cabin, terrified to open the door in case he lay in wait on the other side–which he had been up until now.

She focused on her breathing, fully shifting to human.

The cold of the room was beginning to steal the heat of her body, as she sat naked and fur-less. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she cracked the door, shifted on all fours, and bolted over the cabin deck, sprinting in the direction of the castle.

She glanced to her left.

She scented him. About a mile from the cabin.

He wasn’t close enough to see her, but she sensed his intentions. She didn’t pause, releasing a low growl as a warning.

He seemed to respect it, keeping his distance until they were within a mile of the castle. Laura took a few detoured laps, until she was sure he’d left her. She went to retrieve the dress she’d buried.