Page 17

Her body in my arms felt like something sacred. So achingly familiar and…

MINE!

We swayed together beneath the soft glow of the firelight, her cheek pressed to my chest, the way it had always belonged there.

She fit perfectly against me like we were carved from the same piece of time, like the ten years that had torn us apart were nothing more than a long breath between heartbeats.

And God help me, I was hard.

Not just aroused. Not just wanting her—that was a given.

She’d always wrecked me. Always lit my blood on fire with just a look, a laugh, a touch.

This— this —was more than physical. It was soul deep.

Every inhale she took pressed her body tighter to mine, and every pass of her fingers through my hair undid another piece of my composure.

Her scent—lemon, sugar, and something warm I could never name—wrapped around me, and I wanted to drown in it.

I wanted to pick her up, carry her to the blankets by the fire, and worship every inch of her.

And then beg.

Beg her to stay.

To forgive me.

To let me be hers again.

Because I missed her. Every version of her.

Every single breath of her presence that I had lived without for far too long.

The girl she was, the woman she’d become—they both lived in my blood now.

I buried my face in her hair, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and let my guilt seep into that small act of tenderness like a prayer.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

She held me tighter, fingers in my hair, soft sounds in her throat that could’ve been sighs or sobs. I didn’t know. I only knew I never wanted to let her go. So when she did—when she pulled back and looked up at me, tears glittering in her eyes—I felt it even before it happened.

"Ells?" I asked, heart cracking.

Her voice shook. "I can’t, Pats. I’m sorry. I just can’t!"

She ripped away from me like my touch burned her, and then—she ran. Just like that. Spun on her heel, dress flowing, hair wild, gone into the trees. For a second, I was too stunned to move. But then?—

Thorne roared, Go! Move. She's running. Our mate is running.

I froze.

We can’t chase her , I thought, even as adrenaline lit up every nerve in my body.

Thorne didn’t care. Yes. We can. We will. You let her get away once. Never again.

She needs space?—

No, she needs US.

My hands clenched. My body vibrated with the pull of the shift. It was the first time in my life Thorne had tried to force-take possession, and I didn't like it. Not one bit. And then I heard it—Ella’s cry from somewhere in the woods. Not in pain. Not in fear. Just raw and wrecked.

And that was it.

My body broke.

The clothes tore first—shirt splitting down the back, jeans ripping at the seams. I dropped to my knees with a growl as fur burst across my skin and bone, teeth lengthened, and muscles expanded.

Thorne took over.

And we ran . Through pine and dirt, over rocks and fallen branches, lungs heaving, paws pounding.

Not because she was prey. No, because she was everything and so much more.

But there was something else. Something deep and primal inside both of us, Thorne and me.

The urge to chase our mate. To chase her down and make her ours.

I had never felt that urge before. I heard about it.

I had seen it happen at the reunions, but I would have never believed that it could take me over so utterly and completely that it reduced me to a primal being I didn't recognize.

I felt Thorne's arousal as much as mine, but I was in control of mine.

I wasn't so sure about him. I needed to stop him, but I wasn't sure how or if I would even be able to. In this form, he was the alpha.

She was fast. Much faster than I remembered. Branches caught in her hair, the hem of her dress snagged and tore, but she didn’t stop. Didn’t even glance back. Her heart was pounding—I could hear it. Wild and erratic like mine—like ours.

The scent of her was everywhere—fear, adrenaline, heat. She wasn’t afraid of me. She was afraid of what this was. Of what we were.

Thorne howled inside me. She’s challenging us. She wants this. She needs to be caught.

She’s not prey! I tried to set him straight.

She’s ours. It’s different.

The line between instinct and control blurred with every bound. Trees flashed past; the earth gave way under the thunder of our massive paws. I was vaguely aware of what I was doing—what Thorne was doing—but my control was fading. This wasn’t just about catching her. It was about claiming her.

Every cell in my body ached for her. For her scent, her skin, the sound of her breath catching when I touched her. We’d been slow, gentle, and careful as teenagers. We barely knew what we were doing. Both virgins.

Not anymore.

That part of me was gone.

There was only fire now.

Only need.

And her.

Up ahead, she stumbled, catching herself on a tree.

She turned just enough for me to see her face—flushed, wide-eyed, lips parted.

Fear emanated from every cell of her body.

I tried to see what she saw: a massive bear bearing down on her.

She had never seen me in my bear form. She didn't know anything about Thorne. She had never wanted to talk about the shifter in me, and now I was—we were—chasing her down. She wasn’t screaming or crying, just appeared frozen in utter terror.

Thorne bared his teeth in a grin. Now. Pounce. Take her.

No , I thought, clawing for control. Not like this. I won’t hurt her.

Make her yours.

We broke into the clearing at the same moment she slipped behind another tree.

All I saw was a glimpse of her bare feet.

She must have shaken off her shoes along the way.

I noticed the torn fabric of her dress. But it was her scent that undid me completely.

Sweet and sharp and hers. I couldn’t stop.

I didn’t want to.

With a snarl, I launched forward and shifted mid-lunge. Fur peeled away. Muscle reformed. Skin returned just in time to hit the ground as a man, not a bear—but bare , chest heaving, lungs burning, completely wrecked.

I landed behind her, my arms caging her between the tree and me.

“Ella,” I rasped.

She froze. Panic showed on her features, the way her body trembled, her voice was a blur of words, “What—what the hell was that? Was that… a bear?”

We were both breathing like we’d been drowning. Her back pressed against the tree, my hands pressed flat to the bark beside her shoulders, not touching, but surrounding her .

“Don’t run from me,” I said, voice hoarse. “Not ever.”

She turned slowly, eyes brimming with something wild and alive. “I didn’t mean to run. I just—I couldn’t?—”

“I know,” I said. “I know.”

"Was that… that bear… there was a bear… why are you naked? Patrick?"

"That was me Ells, in bear form," I said lowly, afraid if I spoke too loudly or harshly, she would bolt again.

"You?"

I nodded, giving her time to process.

"Oh."