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twenty-five

ENZO

Heat’s intensity had barely started to wane when I heard branches snap in the distance.

Aspen and I weren’t done.

The overwhelm of the rut still pulsed loudly in my mind

My knot was softening, but I would need to take my female again. Soon.

The sound of paws on the ground met my ears.

I could smell a male wolf on the wind. Pack, but not family.

The fucker would die.

My wolf was too far from me, suppressed too wholly by my rut.

I broke a leafy branch off a tree and set it down on Aspen to cover her.

She looked up at me like I was insane.

She was right. The rut had erased whatever small amount of sanity I usually possessed.

I turned, ready to go after the threat—but stopped.

I couldn’t leave her.

Not alone and defenseless. Not when her pheromones would pull him in, make him want her.

She wasn’t safe.

My chest heaved as I faced the bastard.

I could feel the haze of the rut setting in again. My cock throbbed painfully.

Aspen moaned. “Enzo…”

“Someone’s coming,” I gritted out.

The bastard’s paws faltered.

“Please.” She dragged the word out as her hand slipped between her thighs.

I started to move, to turn back to her, but forced myself to stop.

I had to protect her.

Her safety came first.

I clenched and unclenched my fists.

My cock jerked, causing me physical pain with every movement.

I needed her.

I fucking needed her. And she needed me. But?—

“Please, Enzo,” she breathed.

I gritted my teeth.

At her words, the wolf skidded to a stop.

He shouldn’t have been able to control himself. Not with her pheromones hitting him.

But he did. He stopped.

Before he turned and ran back in the direction he’d come from.

Thank fuck.

I crashed to my knees, pushing Aspen’s thighs open as I filled her again.

Her cries of relief turned to screams of pleasure as we got off together again, and again.

All thoughts of the other wolf were forgotten.

It was just me and her.

My mate.

Finally.

When we came to our senses and I pulled out for the last time, we were caked in dirt and cum.

“We need showers,” Aspen said, her voice groggy as she dragged a gritty arm over her face. “Did you know that would happen?”

“We wouldn’t have sealed our bond in the woods if I knew that was going to happen, Princess.” I eased her to a sitting position alongside me and sniffed the air.

There had been another wolf there. He was part of my pack, but he hadn’t gotten close enough for me to distinguish his scent.

Yet.

“I have to go hunting,” I said, and panic flashed in her eyes. “Not a rogue. There was someone out here with us. I have to figure out who. We need to know why he didn’t try to attack us when your pheromones hit. He had the sense to turn and run the other way.”

Her panic faded and her forehead creased. “Are you sure he was close enough?”

“I’ll show you where he was, and you can tell me.”

She nodded, and we shifted.

Our wolves didn’t mind the mess on their skin and fur.

They rubbed up against each other, rumbling and snuggling, before they slipped into the forest. My wolf showed Aspen’s the way, and we recognized the scent when we caught it.

Jake.

He must’ve heard my mate’s cries.

That fucker was dead.

“He was close enough that it should’ve pulled him in,” she said. “Simon was much further when it hit him.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

We would.

And then I’d kill him.

My wolf salivated at my mental image of tearing him apart. He was a bloodthirsty bastard even more than I was.

“Do you think it’s because we’re mated?” she asked me, as we ran. There was hope in her voice.

“I don’t know. I can’t focus on anything except killing that fucker.”

“You can’t kill Jake,” she protested. “You… need him to protect me.”

My wolf growled.

“You belong to me, remember?” she asked. “So if I say you can’t kill Jake, you can’t kill him.”

“That’s not how it works, Princess.”

“I’m your mate. That’s exactly how it’s going to work,” she growled back.

Grudgingly, I had to admit that she had a point.

If I wanted her to fall in love with me, I had to let her make some rules. Even if I hated those rules.

I spent the rest of the run back focused on trying to calm my anger. If Aspen wanted me to leave him alive, I had to figure out a way to leave him alive.