Page 20 of Flock Around and Find Out (Flocking It Up #3)

No more caves for me.

After what had lurked in that first one—the memory still crept around in my brain just like the creature—I never wanted to try spelunking. Who knew what might exist even further into the darkness?

Instead, we stopped at a small clearing. Porter had suggested the fire, since it seemed to push away other things that lived here, given that fire wasn’t natural to this realm. I didn’t know if that was true, or if Porter had said it only to make me feel better, but I decided to take it at face value.

I could use a little comfort after all.

The others had moved away to survey the surrounding areas. It seemed they didn’t want a repeat of what had happened the night before, so they planned to make damn sure it was safe this time.

It left me by the fire, and I knew they’d created a good circle as they’d moved out to root out any threat that might exist. Occasionally I’d hear a yelp, something that wasn’t one of us, telling me they’d found some unfortunate critter. Of course, after the last thing we’d run into, I wasn’t a big fan of any of that.

My arm hurt, a burning and itching that could have been on any of those commercials for STI meds. I couldn’t smell what Porter could, but I could still feel the venom spreading through me. I had no idea what it meant, what it could do, and it reminded me that I wasn’t a fan of surprises, especially not bad ones.

My life was a collection of surprises, honestly. My crow meant I could take nothing for granted, that I had no idea what might happen next at any point. Maybe that was why I didn’t like the unexpected when I saw it coming.

I sighed and kicked my legs out, sitting on a sleeping bag that had appeared when they’d set up the little spot. I had to assume it was Blake’s, given no one else would need to sleep yet. He didn’t seem to care if I used it, so I didn’t plan to complain. I was okay with being a damsel now and then if it meant a more comfortable sleep.

I’d eaten a foil-wrapped sugary pastry—much to the annoyance of Porter, who claimed it wasn’t real food—for my dinner. He’d stared at it as though I were eating bugs, but I’d packed the vital shit. If we were here for fuck only knew how long, I’d have the important stuff with me.

Like sugary pastries.

A rumble came from ahead of me, past the fire, but the dancing flames obscured my sight. I pictured all sorts of things—none of them good—from that sound. It was low, dangerous, easier to feel than hear.

Before I found my voice, the source of that feral noise came into view, through the flames, as two amber eyes glowed in the darkness.

Galen.

He was human, at least he seemed to be, but those eyes were all wolf. They were vacant, nothing of the man I knew in them. He crouched there, on the other side of the fire, his head tilted slightly as though he wasn’t sure what was before him.

I’d think he didn’t recognize me, except no one had that much intensity in their gaze unless whatever they saw interested them very much. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure if it was a, ‘hey, I like her,’ interest or more of a ‘I wonder what her small intestine tastes like,’ interest.

“Hey,” I said, my voice soft and coaxing. Maybe hearing me would help him decide? Help him get a grip on his own control? It could serve as a link between his currently fucked-up brain and the man I’d known for so many years.

He blinked slowly, but came no closer. Did my words get through to him?

Fuck if I knew, but at least I could try again. It was better than nothing. “You want food?” I held up a piece of the beef jerky like a dog treat. That was how I won over stray dogs, so maybe it would work with Galen, too?

Except, the way he stared at me suggested it wasn’t food he was after. If he wanted to eat me, I was pretty sure it would be in the way that would leave me boneless but not tiny bloody chunks.

And why the hell did that turn me on? Was I an idiot?

Yes, I really am…

He growled lowly, then leaped forward, through the fire. Despite the fear, the realization that this could go very badly, I could admit that looked really fucking cool.

At least, I thought that before his weight slammed into me, shoving me backward, pinning me beneath him. He somehow felt heavier than he had before, even if he were human. Why? More muscles? Maybe he’d always been heavy, but I’d never had him on top of me like this, so I’d never realized it?

He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his expression unreadable. It made me recognize that he’d always been difficult to read.

Many of the men I was involved with were hard to read, but Galen was different. With Kelvin and Ruben, I had to worry about what they were up to, how it might affect me. While neither would do things outright to cause me harm, they both liked to trick me, to use dishonesty or non-answers to get what they wanted.

I never had to worry about that with Galen. No matter what happened, I’d always had absolute faith that he was on my side, that he was looking out for me. It meant even if I couldn’t read his expression, if I couldn’t work out what was in his mind, I didn’t fear it. Nothing inside of me believed that he’d hurt me—even now.

He leaned in and pressed his nose to my throat, inhaling deeply. A more contented rumble left his chest, at least until he frowned and moved his nose down, over my shoulder, then to my arm and the cut.

His narrowed eyes became bright amber slits, casting out light brighter than the fire. It was as though this place took him over, like the Spirit energy that existed here drove him mad.

“Call for them,” he said, his voice so deep and guttural that I hardly understood the words at first.

Call for them? Did he mean the others?

“Why?”

He tilted his head again, the action reminding me of a dog. Whether he understood the question or not didn’t matter, because he crossed the scant space between us and took my lips in an aggressive, consuming, claiming kiss.

Galen had always been gentle, careful, sweet, but none of that rested in this touch. Instead, it felt like something between punishment and starvation, and he crowded me so closely I doubted there was any escape.

Which was probably exactly why he’d told me to call for them, to ask for help. The meaning hit me all at once, that he wanted me to understand that he had no control, that he couldn’t stop himself from anything.

“Call,” he repeated before nipping at my throat, his teeth sharp, telling me that they had at least shifted. The points pressed into my flesh, but he didn’t break the skin. This delicious pain sparked from that place. It wasn’t like Kelvin, like when he bit me—that was quick and brutal, a flash of agony before ecstasy took over.

This was entirely different. It wasn’t quick, more like a threat, something torturously slow that forced me to wait, to endure, to submit. He raked his teeth across my skin, and to my own astonishment and shame, I moaned.

Yeah, I really am a pervert.

He pressed his forehead against my chest, over where my heart raced. “Call, please.” Desperation saturated his words.

But I couldn’t do that. Calling for help would prove I didn’t trust him, that I needed saving, and I refused to do that. This was Galen, and better or worse, I accepted him—all of him.

“I won’t.”

He let out a snarl that sounded nothing like him, and when he moved, I expected him to back off. He was bluffing—I was sure of it. Just pushing me to prove a point.

It shocked me when he didn’t go that way, however, when instead he gripped my waist and flipped me over. I gasped at the strength he used, the way he seemed to one handedly turn me over like that. I found myself on all fours, the fire to my left, far enough that I didn’t risk getting burned even though the heat warmed that side of me. The other side had a chill, but my back?

Well, given the way Galen mounted me, it wasn’t cold at all. In fact, his skin felt feverish against mine, even through my clothing.

And the way something hard pressed against me, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was on his mind.

Even so, he didn’t do anything more. He wrapped his fingers in my hair and tipped my head back, shifting so he could look into my eyes, his body leaned to the side to let me see him. “Call them.”

“I’m not going to,” I assured him.

He let out a low sound of frustration. “Do you know what I want to do to you?”

“I feel your little buddy poking me—I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

“They’ll protect you.”

“I don’t need any protection, not from you.”

He tightened his grip in my hair, the action making my scalp sting in the best of ways.

I laughed, the sound breathless. “Is that supposed to scare me? Jokes on you—I’m into that. Look, it doesn’t matter what you try, what you do, I’m not going to go running scared.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I? Whatever fucked-up thing you want to do, I’ve probably done a dozen times already, so stop worrying so much. I’m not afraid of you and that isn’t changing.”

He rolled his hips, the action causing his erection to grind against me. Damn, that was a nice sensation. It excited me, made me want to press back against him. It distracted me from the pain in my arm, from the questions of what was going to happen.

Fuck, it felt like I had him for a moment, at least. Despite the questions, the fears of losing him, for right now, he was here with me. Sure, he was half-crazed—and that was probably being generous—but he was here.

So I pulled against his grip and kissed him, the touch gentler than what he’d done before. In fact, I hardly could reach due to how he held my hair. He let out a rough, warm breath, the tension leaving his body, before he sagged on top of me. I nearly toppled under the sudden weight.

He must have realized it as well because, just as fast, he turned, twisting us both until I rested on my side, him behind me, the fire before me, my head pillowed on his arm. He trembled, as though more energy coursed through his body than he could make use of. He held me tightly, and I had to admit, being the little spoon wasn’t so bad.

Sure, getting fucked would have been a pretty good way to spend the rest of the night, a good send-off to sleep, but amazingly…I didn’t mind this, either.

So instead of asking anything, instead of trying to get him to talk to me, I just let us have this moment and fell asleep. He might not understand it, no one else might get it, but I knew that this was the safest place in the world.

Galen

Her body was soft against mine, and she’d somehow fallen asleep. Even after what I’d done to her—what I’d almost done to her—she’d never rejected me, never pushed me away. Was she foolish or brave?

Was there a difference?

She’d fallen asleep an hour before, her breathing evening out, somehow able to let her guard down around me.

It made no sense. Instinct guided me, and that instinct told me to never turn my back on anything that might attack me. I would never allow something as dangerous as me in this position, yet she’d not only done that, but also just fallen asleep?

I often ended up wondering what happened inside her head. Was she na?ve? Clueless? Did she trust me because it was me, or was she just foolish enough to not recognize danger even when it rested this close to her?

My cock was still hard, as though trying to reassert itself. I knew, without a doubt, that if I’d kept going if she’d have allowed me to.

That terrified me more than anything, that she wouldn’t have fought me even when she should have. It wasn’t that I thought I wouldn’t harm her, that I would have stopped, but I knew that even if I couldn’t, she wouldn’t have.

The idea made me want to pull her closer to me and shove her away all at once.

Hours passed, with the others coming up to check in. Even if I could feel their disapproving looks, no one bothered us. Even Kelvin only snorted, leaving me like a dog with a toy he didn’t want to risk taking away. Normally it would have bothered me, but I didn’t know what I’d do if they tried it, either.

When light bathed the space again, she still hadn’t woken.

“We need to get moving.” Porter crouched in my line of sight.

My fingers curled around Grey, hating the idea of anyone else getting close to her. I’d suffered with this same feeling for months—for years. Wolves were extremely territorial, known for our possessive nature when it came to our mates, but that was made significantly worse when the bond wasn’t complete, when she wasn’t mine yet no matter what instinct said. A part of me, the primal, wild part, feared that someone would take her from me. It made it difficult to focus, and without the normally logical part of me in control, it made it impossible.

I bared my teeth, but Porter didn’t seem intimidated by it at all. Instead, he turned his gaze to Grey. “She’s still asleep?”

I inhaled slowly, grappling with my instincts that demanded I tear him apart. Calm. I pulled away from her, sitting up to give Grey some space.

“Grey, it’s time to wake up.” Porter reached in and touched her arm, shaking softly.

The woman didn’t move. Worse, the movement caused her head to loll slightly in an unnatural way.

Porter dropped from a crouch to his knees, then shook her harder. “Grey, wake up.” A thread of panic bled into his voice.

The others must have heard that sound, because in moments, Kelvin, Ruben and Blake all rounded us as well.

“She’s burning up,” Porter said as he pressed his hand to her forehead. “You didn’t notice?”

“Weres run hot,” Ruben offered before I had to say a word. “He wouldn’t notice a fever, especially in his current state. Is it the poison?”

The words were difficult to follow with my clouded thoughts, but I tried. It was important, I knew that much even if I didn’t understand most of it.

“She reeks of the venom,” Porter said. “Her breathing is erratic as well. We need to hurry—I don’t know how long she’ll last like this.”

That I understood perfectly well. It had me looking forward, in the direction of where the power pulled me. It had called to me since we’d arrived, this promise of peace, of power, of everything I could want in that way. It was home.

It warred with Grey, with the pull I had to her, which was the only thing that had kept me from taking off so far. However, with Grey as she was, there was no reason to hold back anymore. We needed to move fast, to get to whatever called me.

I’d come here to save the Weres, but now that was the last thing on my mind. All that mattered was saving Grey.