Page 5

I knew I wasn't acting sensibly, but I just couldn't stay in that damned treehouse with Scott any longer. Or I was going to do something that we both regretted.

I cut through my parents' property, resolutely ignoring the sight of my old home, and kept moving.

How in the hell did Scott end up there with me when I was trying to cast the spell?

It just didn't make any sense. He'd rejected me as his mate years ago, and while I'd seen him in passing, he'd never sought me out that entire time.

But right when I needed to be alone more than ever, he found me in my most secret place?

The universe seemed to hate me, honestly.

As soon as I was far enough away that I thought Scott might have lost my trail, I slowed down, glancing back in the direction I'd come from.

He wasn't there, at least not that I could tell.

It was getting darker by the second, but realistically, I wasn't in any danger.

I might be a terrible wolf, but I was still a wolf, dammit.

And this was still the territory that had raised me. I had nothing to fear out here.

Still, I could feel Scott; the connection between us was so strong it was almost tangible.

I felt it pull tighter and tighter as I went farther, but I knew my mind wouldn't be fully clear until there was real distance between us, and I needed a clear mind if I was going to have any chance of finding a fix for the botched spell.

I felt so stupid for messing it up, and confused as to why it had caused such a weird bond between Scott and me.

I had to break the bond. The entire point of the power-enhancing spell was to make it so I didn't need a mate to reach my full potential.

I wanted to use my magic to make a difference for myself, not for some Alpha.

I tried not to think about the way Scott had looked at me in the treehouse, his dark eyes intense with some kind of need, but I couldn't keep it out of my mind.

My magic had always been a little weird, and the bond I'd created between us definitely fell into that category, but whatever the bond was, it made Scott look at me like.

..well, like I was the only thing that mattered to him.

It was an addictive feeling, to be so important to someone, and I wondered what it would be like to really be his mate, to be so important to him that he was willing to do anything to protect me.

Scott hadn't just looked like he wanted to touch me or kiss me back in the treehouse. He looked like he wanted to devour me.

The thought made me shiver, and I shook my head to dispel it.

No, I had to stop thinking like that. I didn't want to be Scott's mate, and I definitely didn't want him to be mine.

He wasn't the best guy around. I was pretty sure I was a decent person, and I didn't want to be stuck with him for life.

Besides, he'd rejected me before, and even if we were magically bound together, I refused to let him have that power over me ever again.

The woods around me were starting to get thicker, the trees older, and I knew I was on the edge of Saltfang territory.

Both Scott and another Alpha named Joe Longwood had packs that bordered Samson's territory, but I'd made an unconscious choice to avoid both other Alphas' land, and had suddenly found myself somewhere totally unfamiliar.

I wasn't sure why I'd done it, considering both Joe and Scott were Samson's allies, but I guess I was just fleeing stupid Alpha energy altogether.

Once I recognized what I'd done, though, a sinking feeling settled into my stomach. I'd been acting on instinct, and as my head cleared, I didn't know exactly where I was.

"Great," I muttered to myself, stopping to get my bearings. The air smelled different here, the scent of the ocean much more pronounced. My skin felt itchy, the bond pulling at me to go back the way I came. "Now I'm lost."

I should just go back, I thought, looking back towards home. I couldn't smell anything beyond the saltiness of the ocean, so there was no telling if there was a pack nearby or any shifters I needed to avoid. But I couldn't bring myself to take another step.

No, I decided, I wasn't going to go crawling back to Scott after I'd only been gone for a couple of hours.

Maybe he would cool off and leave me alone once I stayed away long enough.

I could wait this thing out and then find a way to break the bond in secret.

I pulled my phone from the pocket of my dress, but as expected, there was no service this far out in the woods. Dammit.

To make matters worse, the foggy feeling had faded with the distance, but something else was coming over me. It felt like an oncoming heat, but...different. Like I was too big for my skin, and I was filled with an intense, restless yearning for the man who had rejected me so cruelly.

Damn you, Scott, I thought desperately, feeling the panic set in. Was he doing this to me? Had our bond made me this way?

No, I shook my head. No, it was a side effect of the spell.

That had to be it. I couldn't let my guard down now.

I had to hold on to my resolve and not let him break me down, even though every inch of me wanted nothing more than to run back to him and let him claim me.

I took a deep breath and tried to push through the strange sensations, but the more I tried, the worse it got.

A few moments later, I heard a twig snap, and my head jerked up.

I sniffed at the air, but I could only smell the salty ocean breeze and the scent of the trees.

I started walking again, but it wasn't long before I heard another sound behind me.

I whirled around, looking for the source, and saw nothing.

"Hello?" I called out, suddenly feeling like there were eyes on me. I knew I shouldn't have come out here alone.

The woods were silent for a moment, and then I heard a low chuckle. "Hi there."

I stepped back as a tall, muscular guy appeared from behind one of the trees.

Somehow, I hadn't sensed him until I laid eyes on him, like he was wrapped in some sort of power that I wasn't at all familiar with, despite my recent magic studies.

His power and scent were so hidden that it took me a beat to even realize that he was a wolf, but once I figured it out, the haze around him seemed to clear.

I felt my stomach sink to the ground, a cold wash of fear pouring over me. He wasn't just a shifter; he was another Alpha, only miles from Samson's territory. And I was alone in the middle of nowhere, with no one to help me.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, trying to sound braver than I felt. I was starting to regret my stubborn decision to keep running from Scott. What if this Alpha attacked me? My wolf was no match for an Alpha, especially not one as strong as this guy seemed to be.

"Now, that's not very nice," he said, his tone light and almost playful. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to be wandering alone in the woods at night?"

I looked around at the dark forest, then back at him. "Obviously," I replied, trying to sound annoyed rather than scared. "Which is why I was leaving."

He chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair.

He was attractive, I noticed in a distant sort of way.

Tall and with a slimmer build than Scott, he was dressed casually in a white t-shirt and jeans, feet bare—a clear indication that he'd been running in wolf form within the past few hours.

His hair was long, and the stubble on his face made him look rugged rather than unkempt.

Cute, but not my type, I thought. Plus, there was a cold, dangerous air about him that I really didn't like.

My mind flashed back to Scott in the treehouse—he was, unfortunately, my type and then some, with his button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up, showing off the muscles of his arms, and his own dark hair perfectly cut.

He had been all heat and intensity, his gaze burning into me as he'd tried to get his hands on me inside the small treehouse.

I blinked, shaking the thought from my mind. No, I wasn't thinking about that now. I could only deal with one obsessively possessive Alpha at a time, and this strange man was already taking up too much of my focus.

"Oh, it's obvious, is it?" he asked. "What exactly were you doing out here, then?"

"I didn't mean to come this far into the woods, but I got turned around. What's your excuse?" I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Hm," he didn't seem convinced, walking a slow circle around me, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Just taking a walk. I'm Jayce, by the way."

He was fishing for my name in return, but I wasn't going to give it to him. "Well, keep walking, then."

"Let's not pretend that you being out here all alone is normal." He stopped pacing and turned towards me. "Let me walk you home. It isn't safe."

"You've lost your mind," I laughed, even as my pulse kicked into high gear. I did not want to be alone with this guy. "The only thing more dangerous for a woman than being alone in the woods is being alone with a random man she doesn't know."

Jayce wasn't a fan of this fact. "I'd be an asshole if I left and you got hurt. Even if I don't know you, I still consider myself a decent enough man not to leave someone in danger."

I hated to admit it, but he had a point. I was positively crawling out of my skin from the power of the spell, and my newly formed bond, and I shook in the warm night air. Jayce noticed and stepped closer. I stepped back, trying to keep my distance. He raised his hands in surrender, then spoke.

"Look, I get it. You're scared. I'm not going to hurt you, but if you want to walk home alone, I won't stop you. But can you tell me what happened?" he asked, “Maybe I can help."