Blonde & Blue (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #4)(26)

I blew him a kiss and turned to Arys with a sigh. “I need to go home. I assume you have other things in mind.”

“Go run; I feel your wolf pacing inside me.” With a gentle touch, he caressed the side of my face. “I’ll stick around for a bit after you leave. I can’t take much more of this place. It’s painful. So many lovely treats that are to be tasted but never truly feasted upon. It’s a tease is what it is.”

“Yeah, yeah. Willing victims are such a pain in the ass, huh?” I rolled my eyes and gave him a playful shove.

“Willing victim … that’s beyond ridiculous. Takes all the fun out of it. I thrive on the struggle.” He chuckled, and I felt his smooth laughter like the stroke of a finger down my spine. Taking my hand, Arys placed a kiss in the center of my palm. “Come on. I’ll walk you out to your car.”

* * * *

The breeze was cool against my face as I ran through the forest, dodging stray limbs and jumping fallen trees. As a wolf I was able to maneuver through the thick trees and brush with ease. My body moved with a natural flow, instinct guiding my feet with every step. Lupine muscles and senses enabled me to be one with my environment. I savored every moment of such true freedom.

The sky was clear, the perfect backdrop for the curtain of stars overhead. Unlike the city just miles away, the forest was quiet and peaceful. The scent of rich earth and fresh growth tantalized me. The transition of spring to full-blown summer was full of splendor. Everything was new again, thriving in the circle of life. It was earthly and natural, something the rest of my life was not.

These precious moments as wolf reassured me. No matter how deadly my other side was, as long as I had my wolf to ground me, the darkness wouldn’t swallow me whole. As hard as the first few years were after Raoul had attacked me, I couldn’t regret becoming a werewolf. The wolf connected me to life in the same way Arys linked me to death. The wolf kept me sane and alive; I believed it with every part of me.

I raced through the forest, ducking a low hanging branch before it could slap me in the face. My ears twitched constantly, ahead then back, listening as Shaz gained on me from behind. I was hoping to reach the clearing ahead before he leaped on me. Once he got me in his sights, he would roll me.

The sound of his pursuit grew quiet, and I wondered what he was up to. I had a feeling he was going to try to head me off before I reached the clearing. Shaz made one hell of a fine wolf. He was stealthy and intelligent. Though I wanted him to have opportunities to make use of those fine qualities, I hated that it put him in danger.

Hoping to throw him off, I veered off my straight path and zigzagged through the trees. I broke through the trees into the clearing and gave a surprised yelp when Shaz leaped out in front of me. He crashed into me hard enough to knock me off my feet. We tumbled and rolled with limbs flailing.

I was quickly on my feet, circling away from Shaz. He sat back on his haunches with his tongue lolling out. I didn’t give him much time to enjoy his small victory before I jumped on him, biting at his ears. He whined and tried to pull away.

We fought playfully until we’d both had enough. A wolf play-fight still left real cuts and bruises. We lay in the soft grass for a while, watching the sky change color as dawn drew closer. I caught myself drifting off and decided it was time to head back. As much as I loved the forest, when I fell asleep for the day I wanted to be in my own comfy bed.

Shaz and I trotted back at a leisurely pace. The sun was just barely glowing on the horizon when we crossed the small stretch of field that separated the tree line from Kylarai’s backyard. The forest was the one thing I missed the most since I moved out of Ky’s and into Raoul’s house. Living in a small-town suburb outside the big city made it easy enough to get back to Ky’s for a run, but it just wasn’t the same as having this lovely forest outside my own door.

Kylarai was standing on the back deck when we approached. She was wrapped tightly in a long, fuzzy robe, and I envied her coziness.

“You two are out pretty late.” She greeted us with a wave. “It’s four o’clock. Want to come in for coffee since you’re here anyway? I put a pot on when I first noticed you out there.”

To shift, I disappeared beneath the upraised deck where I’d left my clothes. Shaz followed suit, and within minutes we were sipping from steaming mugs of coffee in Kylarai’s kitchen.

“Are you just going to bed or just getting up?” I asked, giving her a serious once over. Her hair was a mess, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. “If we’d known you were up, we would have asked you to join us.”

She shrugged and stared into her coffee cup. “I’ve been buried in work lately. Took on a new case that is pretty sticky. They have a lot of assets to split up, and of course they want to fight over every single one of them.”

Shaz and I exchanged a glance. Kylarai was a known workaholic. She liked to stay busy with her career as a divorce lawyer, but this was more than that. She was working to escape from her break up with Julian.

“You need more time off, Ky. Regular time off.” I didn’t mean to scold. She was a grown woman, but she never hesitated to tell me what I needed to hear. I was willing to do the same. Her energy was low, and if I focused, I could feel the distress of her wolf. “Time as wolf.”

“I know. Zoey has been saying the same thing.” Ky glanced down the hall. The door to Zoey’s room, my old room, was closed. “So I was thinking maybe we could do a girl’s night out tonight. If you’re not busy.”