Page 21 of The Fated Hunter Wolf

I didn’t think. I ran. Then I shifted and ran harder.

It wasn’t just instinct—it wasneed. I had a focus I’d never felt before, sharper than any hunter’s, stronger than any command. My wolf tore through the forest. The man in me tried to tell me this was an opportunity to get more information, but I was being driven by something that went way deeper than thought.

Sure, I could convince myself I was running after her because Sable had information that would help us unravel the noose around our pack. The truth was, I couldn’t have stayed away if I’d wanted to.

I’d had no choice but to find her.

And now here she was, pinned beneath me, skin hot against mine, her eyes wide and wild. I was on top, but the strength in her body pushed against me, lifting me slightly with each breath she took. She was as strong as most males I knew.

That only made my wolf want her more. Her scent was driving me insane, the way it wrapped around my senses and burrowed under my skin.

Her breath hitched beneath me, as though she was trying to draw air into a chest too tight to hold it. Slowly, she turned herface away from mine, her head tilting just enough to bare the graceful line of her neck.

Bitch. She must know what she’s doing to me.

The curve of her neck was a study in contrasts—softness and strength woven together in a way that made my breath catch. The dawn spilled over her skin like liquid gold, tracing every hollow and ridge, from the delicate dip beneath her ear to the gentle slope of her collarbone. It was maddeningly perfect, that stretch of exposed vulnerability, a canvas waiting for a mark.

Why would she show me her neck? She’s strong enough to knock me off her if she wanted to.

My wolf stirred, his need to claim her swelling as I watched the faint pulse beneath her skin, a rhythm that matched the pounding in my chest. It would take nothing to lean in, to close the space and sink my teeth into that tender skin. To make her mine.

What the actual fuck?

I froze.

Her lips parted, and she caught the lower one between her teeth, biting down softly. The movement was subtle, but it sent a wave of heat crashing through me, settling low and insistent all the way to my cock. My wolf stirred, pushing against me, his frustration curling hot beneath my skin.

You’re holding her like prey, he growled.She’s not prey. She’s ours.

Not a chance in fucking Hades.

She’s ours, he insisted, the force of him sending a shudder through me.

Everything about her in this moment—her exposed throat, her trembling breaths, the way her lashes brushed against her cheek as she refused to look at me—was driving me up the fucking wall. She was vulnerability wrapped in strength, a wolfwhose power I could sense in every line of her body, holding herself small beneath me.

I couldn’t stop staring. I didn’t want this.

And yet, Idid.

She had to be some kind of witch. That was the only logical conclusion. Just like how she’d pushed images of my brothers into my head, and the way she’d frozen me on the spot, now she had spoken to my wolf through some kind of telepathy to bring him on side. Because there was no way—no way—she could be what he thought she was.

Get ahold of yourself.I took in a deep, refreshing breath and let the air cleanse me. I was the beta of Orion now, and I had a hunter’s heart.

It was time to use it.

“Look at me,” I commanded. We remained in that same position, me on top of her. Her skin wasn’t heating the way I’d expect it to. The longer we stayed like this, the more I could swear she cooled.

She rolled her head to look at me again, slivers of dry leaves caught in her hair. Her lips parted, glistening in the light and I scented…

Oh Goddess, that can’t be it.

It was.Arousal.

My head immediately began to pound, my peripheral vision blurring. Her smell was driving me up the fucking wall. She wanted me?

No, I realized through my wolf.She needs us.

Once the thought entered my mind, it took over everything. Something in her was latched onto something in me, and wouldn’t let go.