Page 7

S omething didn’t feel right.

Calliope opened her eyes to see the sun moving.

That was so strange—why was the sun moving?

—and then she grunted as she realized her foot was being dragged.

Only, this wasn’t delicately being done, she was being yanked, and then she screamed out at whatever was dragging her, finally gripped her ankle, and sent its teeth right into her flesh. The pain was instant.

Within seconds, it felt like the earth was moving, but she didn’t get to see what was coming, as she was trying to fight against the beast trying to take her.

One look at it, and she was pretty sure she was looking into the eyes of one of the wolves from the pack.

Only, that couldn’t be. No one at the pack was allowed to join.

This was part of their childhood imagination, and that was when it clicked. Jaxson was always destined to be a wolf, while she was always destined to be a human.

During one of the full moons, Jaxson witnessed the whole transformation, and the day after, he came and told her every detail, including that of the wolf in front of her.

The wolf let her go but then attempted to bite her, even going for her face, and she cried out as its teeth sunk into the flesh of her arm. Okay, this was not a joke but very fucking real.

She didn’t have to wait long to find out what that earth-shaking noise was. One moment the wolf was biting her, and the next, Jaxson was standing in front of her, his body seemingly larger than ever before.

He was midway through his transformation, and she had never seen him go full wolf. When they were kids, she had often asked him if he would trust her to see it, and he always said yes. They had stopped being close by the time his wolf came out.

Right before her eyes, she watched as Jaxson transformed into a wolf, with thick, rich, black fur, and there appeared to also be strands of blue streaked through his coat. He looked stunning.

She knew, for some humans, seeing a wolf transform was terrifying, but for Calliope, it was beautiful. Jaxson was so tall, so ... muscular, and so damn cute, even as a wolf.

The wolf that had been attacking her went to strike at Jaxson. Whatever their imagination had been, this thing was no match for Jaxson. There was a battle, but she saw it was pointless. Jaxson was strong. He was the one in control.

And, within a matter of minutes, the wolf let out a whimpered howl, and then, like so many of their foes, disappeared in a cloud of magical dust. Only, what was left behind was nothing more than the pain and blood of the attack.

Jaxson changed back into a human, and as he did so, he was completely naked.

The pain didn’t seem to be much of a problem, not when she faced Jaxson and his naked physique. He was amazing. They had never seen each other naked. Usually, if they went swimming, they had on trunks and a bathing suit. This was new.

She couldn’t quite focus. This was so wrong. His dick was like ... within touching distance. How creepy did this make her? She was bleeding. Her ankle burned, as did her arm, and she was more interested in her naked mate.

Jaxson chuckled, clicked his fingers, and pointed up at his face. “My eyes are here.”

She felt her cheeks start to burn. “This isn’t funny.”

“I’m not laughing.”

“You are totally laughing.” The smile on his face was somewhat infectious. “So, once you transform, you’re pretty much naked.”

“Yep, which is why we strip out of our clothes, however, I don’t think you had time for me to do that.” He gripped her arm. “How does it feel?”

“Fine.”

He looked at her. “When you’re not looking, seeing, and thinking about me naked?”

She rolled her eyes. “It hurts, and my ankle does as well.”

He lifted up her jeans leg. “Shit. We’re going to need to get these cleaned.”

“You’re right.”

She pulled away from him, and then tried to lift herself up, only to scream as her whole body seemed to suddenly go on fire.

Jaxson was there, though, and quickly reached for her, picking her up as if she weighed nothing, then he held her in his arms. Arms that were still naked. Very much naked.

“I’ve got you,” he said.

“Please don’t drop me.”

He laughed. “You know, you have no trust.”

“I do, I have trust, but I also know I’m not light.”

“And as it happens, I know I can lift a lot of weight.”

She let out a gasp and he laughed.

“You cannot be complaining right now. I can lift you and hold you in my arms without any worry at all. We’ve got to find a lake, or they could actually send us a first aid kit.”

They waited a second and Jaxson spun around with her in his arms, and she hoped a kit would be provided ... but nothing.

It was up to them to start looking for some water.

“Maybe I can walk,” she said, trying to be as helpful as possible.

“Shut up.”

She rolled her eyes and didn’t have a choice as Jaxson began walking her within his arms. Calliope couldn’t help herself from stealing glances in his direction.

He was still naked. She was aware of his cock within touching distance.

She didn’t even know why she was thinking this way.

Just that last night, they had enjoyed quite a few passionate kisses, and she knew she loved when he touched her.

When his lips were on hers, it was the best feeling in the world.

“Here we are,” Jaxson said.

She glanced past him, and sure enough, she saw the lake, only there appeared to be steam coming from the water.

“Ugh, Jaxson, I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.

“I’ve got to clean your wounds, and we’ve got to find some way to bind them.” He placed her down on the earth, several feet away from the lake.

Calliope couldn’t help but look out across the lake, and she had to wonder if there was something inside the water.

“Stop thinking,” Jaxson said. “Just ... allow me to take care of you, and stop that other nonsense.”

She nodded her head. “You’re right. You’re right.” She pressed her lips together, and then just waited.

Jaxson walked toward the lake, and she held her breath as he looked down at the water. He needed something, and she had no choice but to remove her shirt and toss it over to him. He thanked her and dipped the shirt into the water.

Calliope thought the worst was going to happen, only nothing did. Jaxson wrung out the water, then came back to her. He tore the shirt up and started to clean her ankle.

Jaxson took care of her.

****

C alliope shouldn’t turn into a wolf, he knew this. That wolf hadn’t been real, but part of their imagination. Nothing that was make-believe could set off the transition. It hadn’t been a wolf, as they also didn’t just blow up into dust either.

Killing wolves was a very messy business, and not one he recommended. Binding her ankle, and then her arm, he saw the bites were incredibly nasty. They didn’t look good. This didn’t remind him of any of their games, and he told her so.

“It was, remember?” Calliope said. “We only played it once.”

Jaxson frowned, because he couldn’t remember.

“This game was, ‘attacked by a killer wolf.’ I got bit, and it was up to you to save me. The only way to save me was to mate me.” Calliope looked at him and nibbled her lip. “I got bit, and you had to save me by mating with me.”

“And back then, we figured mating was just kissing.”

She nodded. “I guess this time it was done backward, right? I mean, we didn’t have sex or anything like that.”

They were not saying what was a real worry—that Calliope, within their game, nearly died. It was up to him to save her.

He stared at the wounds, which did not look good. This couldn’t be happening. Why had they gone to one of their last games? It had to have been because he could barely remember it.

“This was not one of our favorite games,” she said, confirming his suspicions.

After wrapping up her arm and ankle, he waited, not liking where this might lead.

“I’m fine,” she said.

“I don’t like this. They haven’t sent any bandages either. I don’t know what this means.” He reached out and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

“It means I got hurt, and we’re going to be fine. I don’t like us being close to this water,” she said. “We don’t know what else could be lurking.”

He smiled. “Well, we better get used to it, because we are not moving until you feel better.” He put a hand on her forehead, and sure enough, she felt fine, but he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure if she wasn’t starting to have a fever.

“You’re worried. Don’t be. We’ve got this. You and I will always have this.”

Jaxson couldn’t argue with her. “I’m going to get some stuff together so we can make camp.”

He went to move away but she grabbed him. “It’s going to be okay. There’s no reason to panic.”

The only problem was, he didn’t believe her. He didn’t know if he was starting to panic, or if she was in fact pale. Either way, Calliope was not looking good. He needed to figure out how to fix her.

Jaxson couldn’t even remember the game clearly.

They had been getting older at this point, and it seemed so trivial.

Also, he had started to understand his feelings for her had changed.

She was no longer just his best friend, but a girl he thought about kissing.

A girl he did in fact want to mate with.

Collecting some firewood, he noticed their bags were not replenished this time.

It was up to him to go and find them something to eat. He didn’t have a hard time coming up with what he needed. There were fruits around them, and he knew he would be able to grab some fish. Calliope wouldn’t appreciate him catching fish though, so it was a fruit diet for the night.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, with the fire set up, and without any warning it went from daylight to night. As if someone clicked a button.

He heard her deep inhale.

“I’m fine. Really,” she said.

He had seen the perspiration dotting her brow, and as he moved closer to her, he pressed a hand against her forehead. She was burning up.

“Damn it,” he said.

“It’s going to be okay, Jaxson. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, this is not good. That wolf wasn’t even fucking real, and you shouldn’t be burning up like this.” He pulled her into his arms and tried to offer as much comfort as he could.

“I’m fine.”

And he knew that to be a lie.

She was starting to feel weaker in his arms, which he didn’t understand. That wolf hadn’t been real. Even when he was fighting it, and smelling it, there was no wolf. He kissed the top of her head, and she tilted her head back.

“Maybe you should kiss me. That is what you did when I was sick. Remember? You kissed me and declared me as your mate?” she asked.

She was shivering and burning up and he felt this panic rushing through him. This couldn’t be happening.

With her head tilted back, and her looking directly at him, he took a chance and kissed her. And then he kissed her again, not wanting to stop. He wanted to be mated to her. He wanted more than anything to be her whole world. Kissing her was just the beginning.

He felt her tears sting his cheeks.

“I’m dying, aren’t I?” she asked.

“No, hell, no. You’re not going to die. You’re going to live, and you and I, Calliope, are going to get out of here. We’ve got plans.”

“We have?”

“Yeah, to make up for lost time. The two of us, together, you’re going to be my mate, and then you’re going to be my wife. I’ll be your husband, and we’re going to make this work. We’re going to have kids.”

He saw the smile on her face. “Kids?”

“Yeah, kids. We both want a big family, remember? Dozens of kids, that was the plan from the start.”

“I can’t believe you still want lots of kids,” she said, laughing. “I love that. I love that you still want kids.”

“I want children with you. Not with anyone else. Just with you.” He pushed some of the hair off her face.

“That sounds ... perfect.”

He took possession of her lips and kissed her hard. “Please, Calliope. Don’t ... die. Don’t let this be the last day for us. We deserve better than this. We both do. I love you, Calliope. I don’t want you to leave me. Please don’t leave me.”

“I love you,” Calliope said.

“And I love you.”

And with that, he kissed her, and he kept kissing her, and he just hoped and prayed she wouldn’t succumb to the bites. He had wasted too much time. He understood that now.

The Hunt was a cruel game, but now he realized what it did. It made him realize what he was doing, the time he was wasting. They could have been mated by now, even had a child, and perhaps had dozens of amazing memories. Instead, they fought, they argued, and they ended up here anyway.

Kissing her lips, he wished someone was looking over them, and realized he wasn’t going to allow this to happen. He loved her. He would give his life for her.

He would do anything just to have Calliope in his life, alive, breathing. He’d do anything.