Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
We talked—not about all the negative shit that had been happening. No, we talked about the small things. Like she’d had the cottage built years ago. She’d helped build it with the contractors, even her father overseeing it all.
She bitched about the wood-burning stove she’d found thrifting and how the damn thing was stubborn, but she loved it regardless. I was lost in the cadence of her voice as she described the array of birds that visited her feeders every morning and how she’d ended up naming them.
This moment, spending time with her, was… peaceful.
By the time we finished eating and cleaned up, the wine bottle was empty, and the flush on her cheeks was matched by the warmth coursing through my veins. We’d moved to her little loveseat in front of the fireplace. Aisling was curled up beside me. I had my arm over her–keeping her close–and for long minutes, we drank wine in silence and watched the fire licking across the logs.
“It’s been too long since I ran,” she finally breathed.
I knew what she meant. The shift. The release. That part of us needed the forest and wilderness in the way humans needed to breathe.
I stood and held my hand out to her. “Then, let’s run, lass.”
We stepped outside into the night, the chill biting at our skin. I pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head. The moon was full, the air crisp, and I closed my eyes and took it all in.
Aisling’s gaze caught mine, and we smiled at the same time. I wanted to see my mate shift. I wanted to see her run free and wild in the woods. I took a step to the side and sensed her wolf rising at the same time mine did.
Bones broke and realigned, muscles tore and reformed, and then the ultimate rush came as claws and fur and canines punched through.
We stood side by side in our Lycan forms, and I gently butted my head against Aisling. Gods, she was gorgeous.
Her Lycan form was lush, strong, and the golden shade of her wolf was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. She rubbed her body against mine and playfully nipped at me. And then she was off, tearing through the woods like a bullet from a gun.
My paws hit the ground hard as I gave chase, the brisk air slicing through my lungs, the forest whipping past in a blur of shadow and moonlight.
We ran until the world disappeared, and the only thing I focused on was the sound of our breathing and the steady thunder of our hearts. We ran until the burn in my muscles and lungs consumed everything else. Adrenaline rushed through me, and if I’d been in my human form, I would have laughed in happiness.
She was fast, and although I knew I was faster, I let her lead the way, allowing her to be just far enough that I had to push harder to reach her.
But my excitement overtook me, and when I finally caught her, it was in a clearing where the moon spilled down and cast a silvery glow over the forest. We stood there on all fours, chests heaving, pleasure pouring out of us. I could feel how happy she was, how free she felt. I bumped my muzzle against hers, and she pressed back, our fated mates bond humming between us like a living thing.
Right now there was… just us.
And it was fucking perfect.
35
LENNOX
We didn’t shift back right away. We stayed in our wolf forms and just walked through the woods, our paws crunching the fallen leaves and snapping the little twigs.
I’d never taken time to just enjoy my surroundings. Even as a child running with my triplet brothers, we roughhoused, attacked each other, but never just enjoyed nature.
The clearing was quiet, and I let myself enjoy being with my mate. We didn’t speak. We didn’t need to, not when being together was enough.
Aisling’s golden coat brushed mine as we stood shoulder to shoulder, staring over a large outcropping that overlooked the Highlands. Our hearts beat the same rhythm. But it was getting late, and I was still on alert with everything going on. I wanted her safe and secure, so I glanced at her.
I tipped my boxy head away from the clearing, and she understood what I meant. Side by side, we padded through the woods, our paws silent despite our size, and headed back to her cottage.
By the time we reached her home, my breathing had evened out, and the adrenaline from the run had faded. On the porch, we shifted in unison, the power and energy crackling around us until we stood naked in our human forms.
Aisling’s hair was tangled from the shift, her cheeks were flushed from the exertion of the run, and as I stared at her in all her incredible glory, I knew she’d never looked more like she belonged to me than in this moment.