Page 60 of Rabid
I see her standing strong, formidable, a force to be reckoned with. Then suddenly she’s running, her eyes glowing violet, beauty and strength pouring off her in waves. And then out of nowhere, there’s me, staring up with savage fury in my shattered eyes, desire dripping from the snarl on my face.
I can feel what Tyran felt the first time he saw me. Feel the awe and need that coursed through him as I fought the rabid parts of me and saw the salvation in him. Devotion and hunger pound through him as he watches me throw my head back and shout out my release, our bodies fused together while my claws rake up his back. He craved me more than his next breath. Through his eyes, we’ve never been anything but pure beauty and raw power personified.
The moment Tyran’s fangs retract, the connection snaps, and I’m back in my body, sitting in Tyran’s lap, tears dripping silently down my cheeks. His warm tongue laps up the blood until my wolf healing kicks in and stops the flow.
“Did you see that?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
A stunning smile crawls across his face before he nuzzles his new mark on my arm. “I didn’t need to see it, Vicious. I lived it,” he tells me, voice laced with all the emotions swirling inside of me and calling to our bond, strengthening it, deepening it, until it feels infinite and invincible.
“Better?” he asks, his eyes jumping from mine to my arm and back again.
I lean in to claim his mouth, letting him feel mythank youand just how much what he did means to me. “The best,” I tell him against his lips before I move to get up. “Now, show me the rest of our pack, Alpha,” I declare, helping him up from the ground. “And hurry, because I really need to get back so I can fuck my mate until he can’t walk.” A laugh spills out of me when he groans and tries to pull me back.
“One extra-quick tour coming right up,” he announces, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the circle. My laughter bounces off the large tree trunks like it’s wrapping around me and filling in the last of the cracks in my soul.
And just like that, rabid or not, every part of me feels like it’s starting to fit together perfectly, jagged pieces and all.
* * *
Aknowing smile flits across Tyran’s face as I eye fuck him from afar. I see a chuckle vibrate through his chest before he focuses back on the group of males who cornered him to discuss pack matters. I’ve been trying to steal him away for the past two hours, but the pack is not having it.
It’s not even just him they’re intent on holding hostage. He’s tried to extract me a few times too. But every time, he’s shooed away by pack members who are clearly displeased by the showdown that went down and their alpha’s role in it all. I have to admit, I kind of love how they defend me, even if it has kept us from sneaking off like I’m so desperate for.
A huge plate of food is jutted toward me, and I tear my gaze away from my mate. “Eat, my luna,” a sweet female named Jenny says. She’s only a handful of years older than I am, with a soft voice and a ready smile. “I made it especially for you. Used my mother’s favorite rub,” she tells me, her gaze bright and eager.
I give her a smile and happily dig into what I think might be my fifth plate of food. I shove a massive piece of meat into my mouth, savoring the juices that explode and awaken my tastebuds. “Mmmmm,” I moan shamelessly, and Jenny swells with pride.
I chew the almost raw meat, ready to shovel in another bite, when suddenly, heat engulfs my mouth so quickly that I feel as though I’m about to breathe fire.Holy shit.
“Jenny, would you fix Alpha a plate? He was just talking about your secret recipe earlier, and I know he’d never forgive me if he didn’t get one,” Harlan says. Jenny practically melts into a puddle of excitement and immediately rushes back to her fire to get more food. “Hurry, dump it in here before she gets back,” Harlan orders.
I have to blink back the water in my eyes several times before I can see the animal skin bag Harlan is pointing to on the ground between us. I dump the plate of meat into it, almost sad that something that started out so amazing could turn on me so quickly. But sweat has broken out over the back of my neck and my upper lip.
“Damn, that rub is no joke,” I wheeze out with a cough.
“Here,” Harlan offers, handing me a large cup made out of an animal horn. “It’s goat’s milk. It will help with the burn.”
I take the offered drink greedily and throw it back as quickly as I can. My mouth feels like it’s melting, but the milk helps stop the inferno building, so that’s something at least.
“Thank you,” I tell her, my voice huskier than that of a smoker of fifty years. “Pretty sure that sweet, innocent female just tried to kill me,” I add, a small laugh bubbling out of me, as I debate whether or not it’s appropriate to lick the log Harlan and I are sitting on. Maybe the bark will scrape off the top layers of my tongue that are still on fire.
Harlan laughs and cinches the bag of meat closed, moving it discreetly behind us with her feet. “Her mother’s secret rub is our healer’s cure for most common illnesses. That stuff will burn the nastiest of germs from the body. You should pretty much be immune to everything for the next year,” she teases, making me crack up.
“I owe you one.”
She waves me off. “Name your pup after me or something, and we’ll be even,” she jokes with a laugh.
“Done,” I happily concede.
“The whole pack has a bet that the day a new wolf can stomach Jenny’s food will be the day she finds her mate,” Harlan chuckles. “Or at least, we all hope he’ll be able to handle the heat. Otherwise, the dude is screwed.”
I smile and look out at the pack all eating and mingling and enjoying each other’s company. There are no fights or tension, no omegas walking on eggshells, or females trying to lurk under the radar. It’s all so easy and free and comfortable.
Wolves lie sleeping and relaxing at our feet, but instead of being disturbed by it or scorning that many members of the pack prefer their wolf form, I’m embracing the freedom they have. Who am I to judge how they prefer to live?
“So, Harlan...” I start, returning my attention to the pack’s Third. “Tell me about you.”
I spent the day with her while I toured the pack lands and met the other members of Ruin Falls. I’ve discovered that Harlan is dry, funny, and serious about her duties. She’s quickly become my new second-favorite member of the pack.
