Chapter Eight
Selene’s POVE
The forest pressed in around us, damp and silent, the kind of silence that tricked you into thinking you were alone
I wasn’t
Kade moved like smoke ahead of me, quiet, efficient. Deadly. His presence stirred something in the space between my ribs, something restless and hot and stupid. I told myself it was the after–effects of the wolfsbane, the pain, the hunger for freedom. But it wasn’t. Not really.
Seven days since the vision. Seven days of sweat and pain and silence thick enough to drown in My muscles were stronger, but my wolf was still a shadow, curling at the edges of my consciousness. I felt her stir sometimes, a flicker, a breath, a warning. But she hadn’t spoken. She hadn’t returned
Kade said it would take time.But time felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford.
He stopped suddenly Held up a hand. My breath caught. We were deep in the woods now, past the marked trails, where the rogue signs scratched into bark warned others to tum back. Kade didn’t seem to care. He led me here because I needed to bleed. To break. To rise
again
He turned to face me, dark eyes unreadable. “You’re going to fight me now.”
I blinked “Excuse me?”
He didn’t smile. “You think you’re ready. Prove it.”
The tension between us sparked, charged like lightning behind storm clouds. I rolled my shoulders, stepped into the clearing, the soil soft beneath my boots.”
“Fine. No holding back.”
His mouth curved just slightly. “You wish.”
He came at me like a shadow, fast and low, I ducked, twisted, caught his arm, but he spun out, landing a solid hit to my ribs. Pain flared, but I didn’t stumble, I snarled, swept my leg low, and he jumped it with maddening ease.
The fight was heat and breath and instinct. His body brushed mine again and again–not enough to hurt, but enough to make me feel. His scent was everywhere, wild cedar and smoke, anchoring me. Distracting me X
I landed a punch. He grunted, stumbled back.
“You’re holding back,” I said, panting..
His eyes gleamed. “So are you.”
Then he rushed me, i wasn’t fast enough. His body slammed into mine, and we tumbled into the mossy earth, limbs tangled, breath colliding. He pinned me with ease, one hand gripping my wrists above my head, the other braced beside my jaw.
His body pressed into mine, heavy and warm, I could feel every inch of him!
“Let go,” he said lowly. “Call her.”
“She won’t come, I whispered
His gaze searched mine. “Then stop trying to be her. Be you.”
My heart pounded. He didn’t move.
And L.. I didn’t want him to
The warmth of him bled into me, the press of his chest to mine anchoring, maddening. My breath caught when his thumb brushed my jaw. Not soft. Not sweet. Curious. Like he was mapping something he’d already memorized 8
“You’re not broken,” he said.”
“How do you know?‘”
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Because broken things don’t fight like that.”
I didn’t realize I was arching up until his breath hitched. We were too close. Too much.
Then I felt it. My wolf.A growl vibrated through me–not his. Mine.
My eyes burned. My blood surged. I twisted under him, this time with power, instinct. He didn’t stop me. He let me throw him off, let me straddle him, breathing hard, triumphant and trembling.
I grinned, breathless His gaze locked with mine, dark and wild.
“There she is,” he said.
I leaned down, hand on his chest. “You gonna keep playing trainer, or is this something else now?”
He sat up so fast I gasped, hands bracketing my thighs, pulling me closer.
“You tell me. Selene.”
My name in his mouth was a sin.Our breaths mingled. Close enough to kiss. Close enough to burn.
And then- a branch snapped. Both our heads whipped toward the sound. Silence. Then a voice, low and sharp.
“Didn’t think you’d get this for so fost”
I froze
Kade swore and shoved me behind him.
I froze
Kade swore and shoved me behind him.
A figure stepped out from the shadows, tall and cloaked, silver ning glinting on one hand.
I knew that ring.It belonged to My Father’s Beta And he was smiling!!
“Hello, Selene, he said. Time to come home.”
and steady, fueled by rage and something else–something dark and
Kade growled low, and I felt the shift rising in my bones, slow an hungry and mine.
I smiled back. “Make me.“)
11:00 AM c d
