Chapter 171
Chapter 171
GRAYSON
“Where is she?”
Fucking hell.
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I only took my gaze off her for a second–just to make sure we weren’t being swarmed by rogues–and now she’s gone.
Jack’s smirk tells me everything. He knows. He’s taunting me.
I grab Jack by the collar as soon as her scent reaches my nose. “Where. The. Fuck. Is she?”
“I can smell her on you,” I growl, pressing closer, claws digging into the leather of his jacket. “One word, and I
swear-”
Jack tilts his head, amusement dripping from his every move. “Relax, Grayson. You might want to save some of that fury for when you actually catch her.”
“Catch her?”
The asshole nodded. Cracking the tension on his neck as he pointed at the direction of the woods. Damn it.
She run away from me.”
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“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
I push him hard, almost having visions of ripping his neck. “Are you fucking sure?”
“Positive. But you might want to hurry. She’s fast when she wants to be.”
My wolf claws at my chest, screaming. Fast. Defiant. Mine. Without another word, I tear through the mud, the rain, the storm, chasing her scent.
Why would she run away? And why now? Kade and I discovered anomalies in our perimeter, and I have to check twice if we’re being invaded. But fuck it–there’s only one priority now. Her. My Luna.
I pivot, dodging a fallen log, claws scraping bark, teeth bared. The storm lashes at my back, but my wolf doesn’t care. It only wants her. Wants to tear through the distance, tear her out of the rain–soaked trees, and claim her completely.
I push harder, sprinting, muscles screaming, teeth clenched. “Jessica!”
I know she hears it. She always hears me. And I know she’s running, thrilled, defiant, testing me. “Where the hell are you?!”
What the fuck.
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Chapter 171
I’m losing my breath as I run in pieces just to be whole again. And then–1 catch it.
Her scent.
I tip my nose to the wind, scent hitting me full force. She’s close. So close.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
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Another howl cuts through the storm and I fucking recognize it. Jessica let her wolf out and now she’s not in control.
“Come to me, you little brat,” I growl, voice low, dangerous, feral. “You think you can run from me?”
Branches whip my face. Mud clings to my fur. Rain soaks me to the bone. Doesn’t matter.
I can smell her.
There.
Ahead.
A flash of movement, tail whipping, fur slicked with rain. “Got you.”
I slow, just enough to let her know she’s already cornered.
Her wolf is beautiful and destructive in its own way, but whatever it is she carries–fire, defiance, danger–it intoxicates me. Every poisonous bit, I’d drink it just to have her.
Gold eyes flare under rain, teeth gleaming, fangs wet. I step closer, heart hammering, senses screaming. “Hey,” I growl, curling my fingers, gesturing her closer.
The storm pounds around us, but I’m the only thing she’s hearing, feeling, sensing. “It’s okay. I won’t harm you.”
Can she not recognize me?
I circle her slowly, letting the wind carry my scent straight to her.
Her fur bristles under the rain, spine arched, fangs glinting as she matches my movements, dangerous and defiant.
“Closer,” I growl, teeth bared. “I’m not your enemy.”
I know she’s confused. She’s been through too much, fought too hard to trust anyone. What had happened to her made her different. She’s been poisoned and manipulated.
“It’s alright…I won’t hurt you.”
She answers with a long, raw howl. “It’s okay baby. It’s me. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
Every instinct screams to close the distance, to claim her, to drown in the raw fire of her defiance–but I don’t.
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Chapter 171
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Not yet. I slow, letting my gaze lock with hers, letting her feel it. I am safe. You are safe.
Rain lashes against us, soaking fur and skin, but I don’t care. The storm outside is nothing compared to the storm inside me.
I can do this. I will do this. For a lifetime.
Finally, she lets out a purr before she drops to the mud, fur slick, body trembling, but calm in her own feral way. Tail curling around her, eyes still locked on mine, she lays there, vulnerable yet wild, letting me see her entirely.
I crouch a little closer until my hands are on her tracing the curve of her flanks, feeling the slick heat of her fur against my palms.
“Good girl,” I growl, low and dangerous, letting my thumb brush along her jaw, teasing the tip of her ear. Her body trembles under my touch, tail flicking, claws digging lightly into the mud–but she stays, eyes locked on mine, daring me to claim more.
I lean closer, letting my scent wash over her, letting her know this is mine. My wolf hums beneath the surface, approving, echoing the hunger in my chest. Every inch of her radiates fire, defiance, and something so feral I
can’t resist.
“Can you… let her back now?” She purrs, nuzzling her head into my hand instead. “I need you to shift. It’s getting cold out here.”
She whines softly, tail curling tighter around me, head nudging insistently.
Clearly, she doesn’t want to.
I inhale, tasting the storm, tasting her, and let my wolf instincts guide me. “Fine,” I murmur, voice low, “But we have to go back to our house. Is that okay with you?”
Her ears twitch, gold eyes flicking up at me, wary yet trusting, the tiniest tilt of surrender. She presses her wet head into my palm, purring–a deep, dangerous sound that makes my chest tighten.
“Are you hurt somewhere? Can you run back?” My eyes scan every line of her body–thank the moon goddess, nothing broken, just mud and soaked fur.
She twitches, letting out a sharp, playful growl, backing a step, then circling me, daring me to move faster, testing my patience.
“Easy,” I growl, tracing her spine with slow, possessive fingers, letting her feel my heat. “We move together. You and me. Now.”
I rise, boots squelching in the mud, rain lashing my face, but I don’t care. She’s already moving, sleek and wild, muscles rippling beneath wet fur, gold eyes blazing like molten fire.
“Stay close,” I growl, voice raw, and she flicks her tail, turning just enough to flash a glance at me—as if daring me to catch her.
My pulse spikes.
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God, she’s irresistible like this, every instinct in me tethered to her movements, wanting to run my hands along her spine, bury myself in the heat of her, claim her entirely.
We burst through the forest, wind whipping, rain stinging, and my lungs burn, every heartbeat pounding with desperate need.
I keep pace, human legs pumping, teeth gritted, chest heaving. She glances at me again, ears flicking, and my wolf growls low, hungry, possessive
I reach out, fingers brushing against her slick fur as we pass a fallen tree, and she doesn’t pull away–she presses into the touch, spine arching, tail curling around mine. My breath catches.
“You’re mine,” I murmur, voice cracking with heat and longing, low enough that only she can hear it over the
storm.
My fingers drag along her flanks, kneading the tension from her muscles, feeling her body shiver against the rain, against me, and I can’t stop myself from pressing closer, every step in sync with hers, every instinct screaming.
Her howl splits the night, long, raw, feral—and I answer it with a growl from deep in my chest.
Desire, possessiveness, hunger.
We are fire and storm and wolf, chasing each other through the rain–soaked trees, and I’d give everything just to keep this tether, to never let her escape again.
