Wild Heart

by C. R. Jane

  Stumbling around on all fours, the pain suddenly faded. I lifted my head, and the world appeared different, the colors sharper, shadows crisp, and my nose was flooded with powerful smells. Perspiration, muskiness, and blood. Beyond that lay the pines and fresh earth, but also a wave of trepidation. Birds chirped from so far away, yet I heard them perfectly.

  “How the fuck?!” the bald man blurted, staring down at me incredulously. And it took me seconds to work out that he was talking about me. I glanced down, and instead of my hands on the ground, I found large silvery paws and white fur all the way up my legs.

  I wobbled as shock poured over me.

  I was a wolf. I’d done it. About fucking time!

  The crunch of foliage had me jerking my head up just as Daxon, still in human form and covered in blood, raced up behind Mr. Baldy.

  A strange empty look bled into Daxon’s gaze, one of death as though he might be the Grim Reaper coming for souls. He gripped a long butcher’s knife and moved swiftly. Behind him, the three wolves staggered off the ground, also covered in blood. It amazed me how much damage Daxon had done with it being three against one.

  His gaze lifted to mine for a split second, his mouth parting in what looked like surprise as he knew it was me in wolf form.

  In a heartbeat, Daxon swung the weapon at the man’s back, just as the man snapped around, clearly sensing his approach.

  The blade swished through the air, and Daxon jammed it right into the guy’s chest so fiercely, it went all the way through his body and came out the other end.

  I cringed on the inside at how painful it looked.

  “I fucking told you I’d be the last thing you’d see,” Daxon snarled, his anger terrifying.

  The man collapsed, gurgling his last response. Blood spilled out from the corners of his mouth, his body convulsing.

  Movement behind Daxon caught my attention. The three wolves were up and stalking toward him.

  Rage ignited in my chest and something took over me, electricity zipping down my spine. Blind fury burned in my veins at them hurting what was mine. Next thing I knew, I burst forward, my teeth gnashing, their death the only thing on my mind.

  Daxon

  Rune zipped right past me, her fur white as snow, her paws streaked with silver. She was spectacular. My gorgeous girl had finally found her wolf. She’d transformed, and I couldn’t have been prouder of her. I kicked the dead asshole in the ribs for making me miss her special moment.

  My gorgeous girl lunged at the three bastards sneaking up on me, crashing into one wolf so powerfully, he hit the ground with a whimpering sound. She moved like the wind, whipping from one to the other, faster than I’d seen any wolf move, let alone a brand-new one.

  Her attack was precise and cruel. She latched onto one of the wolf’s throat and ripped out his jugular without hesitation or struggle. I couldn’t possibly adore her more as blood splashed across the white on her face.

  When another gray wolf charged for her from the rear, I lunged toward him and snatched him by the back of his scruff with both hands, shaking the fuck out of him. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to die. My little wolf girl is hungry for blood today.”

  Watching her was extraordinary, but the longer she fought, the more I noticed something odd. Everywhere her paws struck, she left behind a silvery footprint, one that floated on the breeze like dust seconds afterward.

  That was peculiar and something I’d never seen before. And well, I’d seen my fair share of fucked up shit, but that left me speechless.

  The idiot in my grasp kept twisting his head towards me, teeth snapping at me, or at least trying to reach me. Seeing how much fun Rune was having, I released the beast. He’d barely gained his balance before Rune lunged at him, her teeth ripping into his side, tearing flesh away. His cries were music to my ears, her fierceness rather arousing.

  My cock twitched at the way she so ruthlessly tore into the wolf’s underbelly, and what made the image a lot more perfect was the floating of silver particles from her footprints. The scene took on a very different macabre feel to have the splash of blood and sparkle of silver tangled together. Who the hell knew what the silver marking meant, but with it being Rune, it was beautiful.

  These wolves stood no chance against her. I never imagined she’d be so powerful, so fucking incredibly vicious.

  When she finally came to rest, her chest pumping for oxygen, she stared at her handiwork, at how artfully she’d streaked the earth with their blood.

  I’d never been more attracted to anyone as I was at this very moment.

  “You’ve done spectacularly.” I laid a hand on her back, her body scorching hot under my palm.

  She lifted her head, looking at me with huge silvery blue eyes, and behind them, lay my girl. She whimpered, and I shook my head. “No, don’t be ashamed. This is what you were born to do, and you are fucking gorgeous.”

  Energy buzzed up my arms as her body trembled, and I watched the way her body quivered and stretched, the fur retreating into her body. My heart beat harder at watching something so personal, it gave me shivers. Her honeyed and sexy scent drove me mad, and my muscles bunched as she collapsed onto the ground in her human form.

  She was naked, her body smeared in blood, and my cock thickened at the sight. There was nothing more alluring than the blend of blood and sex.

  I bent down and scooped her into my arms. She glanced up at me, her eyes still holding onto her wildness, and my heart stuttered. My insides twisted at the craving that roared within me.

  “You are everything to me,” I said. “And I’m going to fuck you now.”

  She pulled herself to meet my face, wrapped her hands behind my neck, and kissed me with approval, with demand, with urgency.

  14

  Rune

  My mind twisted with so many emotions, my body was shaking from adrenaline…I didn’t know where to focus.

  I’d turned into a wolf!

  I. Had. Turned. Into. A. Wolf.

  I wanted to scream, but exhaustion rattled me, and instead, I found myself drawn to Daxon. The way he watched me fight and transform had me buzzing, seeing the acceptance in his eyes. He looked proud at the way I’d killed those men. Not that I was a killer… I’d never been one, but I’d managed to take out three powerful wolves with such ease that it scared me a bit. I had no idea where the transformation had come from, but the ravenous hunger of my wolf wasn’t what I’d expected.

  Being in Daxon’s arms covered me in warmth and chased away the fear.

  So I kissed him harder, desperate for him, wanting to inhale his breath into me because I didn’t want to face what I’d just done. I couldn’t deal with that, not yet anyway. Besides, with the way his fingers dug into my back, his kiss so aggressive, I knew without doubt that he was all about the messed up and broken side of me. And I clung onto that with every piece of my aching soul.

  “Please, Daxon,” I begged, my throat sounding ragged. The taste of blood on the back of my tongue seemed to only fuel my arousal, my hunger. “Make me feel something other than fear.”

  He carried me across the grounds, stepping over the bodies, and said, “There is nothing to be afraid of. What you did was a miracle. It’s unheard of for a wolf to transform on her own after her fated mate suppressed her wolf. You’re special. I knew you were and maybe a lot more like me than either of us ever realized.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. All I knew was that my mind was filled with a savage hunger to hunt, to kill…and to fuck. In my defense, out of those three desires, I chose the one that had already offered itself to me, a temptation I couldn’t resist.

  When we reached the black Mercedes, he placed a flat hand against the hood, then laid me down on my back. The warmth of the motor was comforting against my back, and Daxon followed, covering me with his body, his mouth claiming mine. His tongue swept down my jaw, across my collarbone, and found my pebbled nipple, which he hungrily took into his mouth.

  I arched at the way
he tugged on them with his mouth and fingers. I breathed faster as I wriggled beneath him, urgency climbing through me, just as my wolf had done earlier.

  I gripped the fabric of his shirt, tugging it upward to take it off him.

  He laughed at me and reared back to stand up. “Let me get that for you.” Even with his shirt shredded, he took his time unbuttoning, teasing me. “Spread your legs for me. Show me how wet you are.”

  He reached down and nudged at my knees, which I drew up and spread wide, offering him all of me, putting myself on display. I no longer felt shy, quite the opposite. With so much adrenaline still coursing through my veins, blushing was the last thing on my mind, as my heart still beat frantically from the fight. I’d never imagined how unbelievably satisfying it would be, and finally, I understood why wolves loved to hunt and fight. It was ingrained in us, made us who we were at the core.

  Licking his lips, Daxon unbuckled his belt and dropped his pants. Of course he was commando underneath. I doubted he ever wore underwear.

  My hand shook as I reached out for him, while he took in the perfect view he had of my body.

  “You’re so beautiful and wet for me, baby.”

  With one hand, he grasped his thick cock and palmed at it several times, while his other hand found the apex between my legs. He pressed two fingers into my soaking opening, sliding them in easily. “I love the sound of your pussy sucking on me.”

  He hissed his own pleasure, while I moaned, and when he leaned down over me, my back bowed against the hood as I tried to push my mouth hard to his.

  For a moment, I wondered if I might go insane with need at how much my body trembled for his touch, but the more he took his time, the more desperate I felt.

  “Daxon,” I moaned.

  He snarled under his breath, kissing me with savagery, pulling me a little closer to him. When he pushed the tip of his cock into me, I purred beneath him. “Is that what you’ve wanted?” he asked.

  “Yes. I want it all,” I groaned.

  With one hand pressed to the car’s hood over my shoulder, he slid his other hand down my side and grabbed my ass. He scooped my ass upward, giving him the perfect position.

  “Today, you’ve somehow become so much more than I’d ever dreamed about. You’re perfect, my mate. I’m going to make you mine.” His tip pushed into me, stretching me open.

  I could barely make sense of his words with my focus centered on the way he forced himself into me. I growled a bit each time he withdrew to slowly edge deeper.

  His eyes seemed to glow. “Your flawless cunt is so tight.” And with those words, he thrust into me all the way, merging our bodies as one. “You’re all mine.”

  I cried out, gripping his strong shoulders as he pumped into me several more times, each harder than the last. My whole body shifted in rhythm with him rocking into me, my legs closing around his hips.

  “Good girl,” he murmured heavily in my ear, his hands now gripping my hips, holding me exactly where he needed me. He left a trail of soft kisses along the curve of my neck, his breaths speeding up while relentlessly fucking me with his rock-hard cock.

  We moved in rhythm, him riding me. I moaned for him to take all of me, to help me forget what I’d done, where we were, or that around us lay bodies I’d slayed.

  He growled my name as he plunged into me, my body growing tighter, my screams louder. He greedily kissed me, and the buildup inside me rushed forward like a storm.

  “I’ll always give you what you want, Rune,” he whispered heavily, never ceasing his thrusting, while my desperation to release clawed at my insides, my wolf pushing forward, sensing we were so close now.

  She groaned beneath my breastbone, and I felt her calling to Daxon’s wolf, his wolf growling in response. Like animals, we fucked hard. I held onto him, losing myself to a pleasure so intense, I forgot everything else.

  He watched me the whole time, sliding his cock in and out of me, the friction igniting our blaze. He pushed and pushed me, and when I finally tumbled over the edge, my whole body convulsed.

  “Daxon,” I cried out, my back arching, my head tilting back, my hands clawing at his arms. Every inch of me clenched around him.

  “Fuck, I love you so much.”

  His words were like honey, coming at the right moment, and I wanted to react, needed to, but I was too far gone, floating on pleasure, on a heart-spinning orgasm. But he’d said the love word, and I wanted to cry at hearing someone say that to me.

  Before I could even try to say anything as I writhed and screamed, his mouth was on my left shoulder, peppering me with kisses. Then a biting sharpness sunk into my flesh.

  I screamed from the sudden pain while still in the throes of climaxing. He had me pinned beneath him, suddenly releasing in me, pulsing. A snarl rolled from his throat as he remained attached to my shoulder, licking at the blood he’d drawn.

  At the mark he’d left me.

  And even while still coming down from my high, his earlier words came to me.

  I’m going to make you mine.

  That was exactly what he’d done. He’d marked me as his own.

  Fuck. I moaned, caught in the overbearing heat from our bodies and how magical the moment felt, yet torn at the same time at the fact that he’d bitten me. After a few moments, the truth crashed into me. His hot breath suddenly grazed my ear.

  “You’re everything to me,” he whispered, and suddenly, I was lost to his earlier comment.

  I love you.

  My heart melted, and suddenly, all the earlier worries melted away. I wanted nothing to ruin this perfect moment. He pulled out of me and rolled onto the side of the hood alongside me, drawing me into his arms. He looked into my eyes. “You have no idea how perfect you are.”

  I smiled, my chest beaming, and I leaned my head against his chest, listening to his pounding heart. There had been so many times that I’d waited for Alistair to want me the way Daxon did, to whisper those words in my ears. I blinked back tears at the joy I never expected.

  Except for some reason, something at the back of my mind kept nagging me, refusing to leave me alone. My heart drummed, and I tried to push it away when it came flooding to the forefront of my mind.

  “Oh shit!”

  15

  Rune

  “Fuck, what time is it?” I asked, struggling to come out of my orgasm haze.

  Daxon lazily got off the hood of the car and picked up his phone from his pants on the ground. “Five forty-five,” he drawled.

  My stomach suddenly cramped up. “Hell. I’m going to be late! We have to get back!” I slid off the Mercedes, my muscles aching deliciously. I was butt naked, and my clothes had been ripped in my shift. I didn’t really want to roll back into town with my boobs hanging out.

  “Here, gorgeous,” Daxon said, handing me his leather jacket that he’d taken off before everything went crazy. Thank goodness.

  I slipped it on and zipped it up. It fell to mid-thigh and covered my butt, but I still looked hesitantly at his bike, not really jazzed about riding naked on that thing.

  “We’ll borrow the Mercedes. I don’t think that any of these gentlemen will mind,” Daxon said with a dark snicker. “I’ll come back for the bike later.”

  It felt a bit creepy to drive their car, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all of that.

  I pushed Daxon towards the driver’s seat. “Come on, we have to hurry,” I said in a raspy voice. My throat was done with all the screaming I’d just done. Totally worth it though.

  Daxon didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. His gaze slid down my body, and flames sprung to life in their depths. I had to admit I thought about going for round two for a hot minute, but I held myself back because I was an adult, thank you very much.

  I dove into the passenger seat before he could lure me with his wicked ways. I watched as he strolled over to the dead bald guy that had been driving and grabbed the car keys from the man’s pocket. Daxon pushed the knife further into the man’s chest
for good measure and shot me a smile that was all bad boy. Not for the first time, I wondered how it was possible for both him and Wilder to exist in one town. They were easily the hottest guys I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  Wilder.

  My heart squeezed when I thought of him. I rubbed at the mark Daxon had left on my shoulder. It was aching a bit, not healing as fast as everything else seemed to now. I wanted it to heal as fast as everything else seemed to be lately.

  Daxon finally turned the car on, and we sped towards the old mansion on the outskirts of town where Miyu’s ceremony was taking place. Evidently, it was where most of the major town events happened, both for the Bitten and the Lycan packs.

  We both were quiet during the drive, lost in our thoughts. I’d found some baby wipes in the glove box, and I’d wiped all the blood off my visible skin. I’d luckily be able to take a shower at the venue.

  Daxon kept shooting me meaningful looks like he wanted to say something, but I didn’t encourage him by asking him what he was thinking. I felt…fragile after what had just happened. Like I’d just been cut open and my ugly insides were now visible to him and the rest of the world.

  He’d tried to give me a mating bite.

  Just thinking about it made the wound on my shoulder throb even more. I didn’t know what I thought about that. I was a little bit angry because we hadn’t really discussed it. But I was also a little bit angry because what was he doing wanting to mate with someone like me? Not that I thought it was really possible, but there wasn’t anything he could do that could replace the bond that I would have had with Alistair. Even rejected, a true mate sat there in your veins, calling for you, even when all you wanted to do was forget. I wouldn’t want Daxon to be secondary in any way, but what could I do?