13 Chapter 13: California Pack

I hear them all chasing me, not just Caine, ignoring them in the effort to run as fast as I can. For all I know, the Californian pack leader hasn't taken the bait, but I doubt it. The challenge is something no were of his arrogance could possibly ignore.

I pour everything I have into that run, my wolf howling in my head as I reach for depths of speed I've never tested, almost flying as I skim the floor of the forest. No were will ever catch me, not unless I want him to.

The pack falls behind, their panting and barking fading into the rush of the wind blocking my ears. And though this run has a certain purpose, I begin to enjoy it, the way my body responds to my need for more power, how my wolf legs move without effort, the power flowing evenly throughout me, driving me on. I've never felt such strength before, the call of true wolf form almost enough to tempt me. But I know better. The enticement of allowing myself to transform fully will only lead to the loss of my humanity. No were who has given in to the lure of the wolf has ever returned from it. Our half-turned shapes are our only option.

A flicker to my far right startles me, breaks my stride for one instant and shock replaces the fierce joy of my run. His gray shape paces me, liquid mercury flowing over the ground as Caine whips through the trees as though he knows this forest as well as I do. This is impossible. There is no way he can have caught me and yet, there he is, grinning with his sharp teeth, eyes flashing in the light shining through the leaves.

More power. I never thought I could run this fast, let alone add more speed to my paws. But I have magic he does not, the power of the werenation to feed and fuel me, and I will not let them down, fail them, by allowing this creature come out of nowhere to defeat their chosen heir on her own turf.

I pull away from him as the magic responds, my training with Syd waking the power within more fully than it ever has. Fear sparks, mingles with breathless excitement as the wolf call becomes stronger, luring me further into shape. I can tell Caine is startled by the way his scent changes, the grin gone from his jaws while I open myself to the energy tied up in the freedom of all weres. I even feel his energy adding to mine as I outdistance him by a few feet, then ten, stretching outward and pushing myself so hard I worry I might damage myself if I don't stop.

Or be pulled, at last, into full wolf form. So tempting, the enticing draw like a drug in my veins. I understand now why some weres give in to it. Delicious, the feeling of letting go and becoming the pure animal form. But I've made my point and I didn't have to give in to Caine or to the wolf to do it.

It's only when I feel his rage, so in tune with my wolf-more than I've ever been before-I realize I've encountered the touch of this werewolf before. No, perhaps not him specifically, but the odd taint of him, yes. Twice, now. Both times in Wilding Springs. He or one of his people watching Syd's house the night of the shower. And that same touch followed me to Sage's dojo.

A terrible fear grips me, jerks me to a halt to confront Caine. What was he doing there? And how did he make his way here so quickly? He stops a few feet from me, but I'm moving again, in his face, slamming him against a tree with a roar echoing through the woods, raising an anxious flock of pheasants.

"Why were you watching me?" I don't give him a chance to deny it. He seems cocky enough not to, though he does nothing to hold me off as I press him into the rough bark of the tree, my werewolf's snout lisping over the question, the magic Syd has taught me to use crushing him tight. My inner wolf retreats as anger takes over, weakening my magic slightly, a fact I find infinitely frustrating.

Caine bares his fangs at me before turning his head ever so slightly, exposing his throat. It is a faint effort at respect, but I accept the gesture. "I only wanted to know who you were," he growls. "To see if you were worthy of me."

Worthy? I lower my jaws over his throat, ready to bite.

"A lovely family of witches you have there," he says without a trace of fear.

My hackles rise. "Mind your own business." I think of Sage and my fear increases. Syd and her coven are perfectly safe. I can't imagine someone like Caine being a threat to them. But Sage... he's normal, unprotected. How much did Caine see? How much does he know about the sweet young man to whom I gave my heart?

I snap my teeth close to Caine's throbbing jugular, claws digging into his arms. "Stay away from my friends." He grunts as the power hits him hard in the solar plexus. "If I find you near Wilding Springs again, I'll gut you and feed your liver to the crows."

Caine's wolf eyes glare, tongue noisily licking over his snout before he nods once.

I step away, accepting his acquiescence for now. But the moment I'm free of him, I must reach out to Syd and warn her to be wary. And find a way to suggest she check on Sage without alerting her to the fact I actually care.

Maybe I should have told her about him, about us. But I could never bring myself to do so, knowing she would only look at me with sadness and understanding. She, of all people, would see just how big a fool I've been giving my love to someone I could never keep.

Growling breaks my tense anger and I turn to find my wolf pack, the real wolves of this wood, oozing from the trees. The white wolf and her alpha hunker low, manes bristling, tails low, teeth bared. Caine snarls back at them but the pair of wolves refuse to retreat, inching slowly closer.

"You have an odd collection of friends," Caine says.

I don't answer, gesturing to the pair of wolves to back down. "They don't like you," I say with flat coldness. "And neither do I."

The white wolf snaps at him, lunging forward at his leg before pulling back. He swipes at her, a lazy motion I know could have snapped the wolf's spine had it connected.

"We'll see how you feel about me once you get to know me," he grins at me. "Once you marry me, I'll even let you keep your little pets." He laughs this time, chilling, utter confidence making my stomach tighten, my bile rise.

The others catch up before I can attack him, the desire to silence him forever a primal need. I've never felt so much hatred, not even for those who once owned me when I was a girl. Caine just stares at me, muzzle open, tongue hanging out as though he's laughing at me.

I turn and run for the palace, the wolf pack fading back into the trees as my suitors follow me, Caine's people fanning out, flanking us. They seem as fast as him, as powerful and I wonder where their strength comes from even as I worry getting rid of them won't be as simple as I first thought. If Oleksander admires their ability and the other packs bow to their dominance, I could be forced to stand against my people in rejecting this werewolf as my mate.

No, I can't believe it will come to that. Surely the other weres will sense the wrongness in them and back my rejection of their entire pack.

My history of shattered hope and trust tells me I need to prepare for the worst.

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