Chapter 29
“I…I wanted to get you warm, but…listen, we should get inside. Okay? You can go ahead of me. I’ll come in after.” Reyland stated carefully, still standing at a distance.
“There are blankets in the living room, at the house. Take one. You can –” he explained, but Marian cut in.
“I’m not leaving you.” She breathed, staring at Reyland openly, her eyes roving over his exposed torso.
She had seen it before, but she had not been this close.
His skin was fair. Very fair. During the party, she had not noticed this, and in the dark, outside his home, it had not stood out.
But here, under the bright, almost noon sun, even with the green hue the leaves cast over everything, it was evident.
It was probably no more than five shades of pigmentation that kept his skin from being translucent.
There was no mark on his body, and he had very little body hair. If Marian had been a different kind of wolf, she would have felt jealous.
Many, if not most, werewolves had significant chest hair, some even to their bellies, not to mention their legs and arms.
Some had it on their backs.
Well, except for omegas.
Reyland looked like the largest omega in the world.
His dark brown hair blew gently in the wind, and Marian just stared.
She stood slowly, her legs were still numb, but she could manage.
Reyland took two steps backward.
Her heart pinched as she watched the concern on his face mix with a slow realization – they were alone.
His eyes had darted to the sides and he had inhaled sharply, quietly.
She had felt his pulse quicken.
There could be no other reason for these actions.
Marian didn’t want him to be afraid of her. That was not what she wanted at all.
As his face twisted, she casually took a few steps backward to give him some space.
Everything in her heart wanted to be next to him, but her mind was clearing.
Whatever had been happening was being repressed as she regained control of her body and her consciousness.
After waking up in her room, she had sprinted out to find Reyland again.
Since she had arrived at the pack compound, she had not eaten a single thing.
Given the normal metabolism of a werewolf, her body was starved.
The only thing she had ingested had been the blood of the man staring back at her warily.
Something at the back of her mind said the word ‘twice’, but she ignored it, more concerned with the man she had sought with all her heart, standing, almost folded in half as he protected her from something she would not refuse if he offered.
That thought made her shiver in her mind space.
If Dinka had been there, she would have purred.
Dinka! Marian mused, missing her other half deeply as she stared at her heart’s pleasure.
Marian swallowed, pushing her brain to focus and her heart to be quiet.
She shifted her weight, glancing down at her hands, then up at the tree tops, slowly refocusing her mind, while letting Reyland calm down – both his mind and the part of his anatomy that he was shielding.
Is he protecting me…or himself, she pondered lazily as she pretended to be interested in anything except him, fighting back a smile.
She did not want Reyland to look at her the way he currently was – unsure, uneasy, ashamed.
She had seen all of him already. There was nothing for him to hide.
But she knew she could not tell him this. Not right now.
She casually shifted her gaze to the lake.
“What is this place?” She asked offhand, stopping everything that had been in motion. Whatever they might have been.
She turned inquisitive eyes to him.
Reyland watched her as if he were studying a mysterious puzzle. Seemingly unaware that he was half-naked and barefoot, standing outside in the December cold.
Marian, back in control now, gazed back at him. Taking him in freely and up close, her eyes never leaving his face.
His frame was large, like an endomorph – stocky, wide build. Not round, more like he was filled out, but too much.
His chest and hips were of the same width, a strong indication that he had a rectangular body shape, but not necessarily. His father had a large chest and narrow hips. It was impossible to tell whether he had inherited that too, along with his cleft chin.
He had soft folds at his sides. Her fingertips tingled as they recalled gripping one of those rolls of flesh not two minutes ago.
She glanced at her left palm and slowly made a tight fist.
I touched his nipple… she mused, as she used every ounce of inner strength not to blush again.
She swayed slightly, and Reyland moved forward a few steps. As she steadied herself, he stopped and then shifted back one step, bringing himself closer to her than before.
“You must be famished. You felt…lighter than you should be. When was the last time you ate?”
“Before I flew down here.”
“When was that?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“What? Aren’t you an alpha? How can you not eat for a day?!” He exclaimed, his tone accusatory.
Wow! Now he sounds like Mum, she mused whimsically.
Marian smiled lightly at him.
“You can come over here and feed me…” she cooed before she could stop herself.
Reyland rubbed a palm against his face and aspirated.
He turned from her and she had to fight her instincts not to move to stand where his eyes were.
“You…we…we need to go inside.” He commented, his voice tense, still looking away.
“Half of your clothes are wet, and you’ve been wearing them too long. Your…your wolf, is she okay? My father didn’t…hurt her, or you…did he?” He explained and then asked, concern reflected in his voice and on the side profile of his face.
Marian’s eyes filled.
When he got no response, Reyland glanced at Marian. He immediately raised his hands to her in a calming gesture.
“It’s okay. She seemed very strong. Whatever it is, don’t worry, okay? The doctors will take a look at you.” He commented placatingly.
“For now, let’s head back in. You can go –” he continued.
“No. I’m not leaving you.” Marian cut in again, her voice husky as she wiped her tears away again and raised her chin, her gaze steady as she locked eyes with his.