by Marcy Jacks
Dex inhaled a sharp breath, steeling his courage. “I’ll just run away from you if you try to take me to your pack.”
“And I’ll catch you again.” Bodolf looked at him, his eyes suddenly gold again. God, they almost looked like they were glowing in the dark.
“You don’t want to run away from me anyway. I can see it in your eyes. And in the way you let me fuck you.”
Dex tensed. He glared at the other man, suddenly hating him even though his body still buzzed from the pleasure of the orgasm. “I’m not letting you do it again just for that.”
Bodolf sighed. “Yes you will, Dexter. You won’t be able to help yourself.”
“I promise you that I will,” he snapped, angry and hating this man all of a sudden. “And don’t ever call me Dexter! I hate that name.”
Bodolf lifted a brow at him. “All right, so what do you want me to call you?”
Dex blinked. He looked the shifter up and down, searching for sarcasm. He didn’t find any, and he wasn’t sure if that weirded him out even more or not.
“You can call me Dex. Everyone calls me Dex.”
Bodolf nodded. “Right, Dex. We have to leave.”
He started walking, and Dex had to hurry to keep up. He was suddenly not so fast now that his adrenaline rush and need to escape were no longer there.
He felt every rock and twig at the bottom of his feet. It hurt. A lot.
“So why do you want to take me to your pack? Why can’t we just go to the police if you’re really trying to help me?”
“We need to finish the mating heat. Your body won’t let you or me rest without it.” Bodolf looked back at him one more time with those golden eyes. “And that spicy, sweet smell you’ve got is literally killing my nose. I don’t know if that’s just me because I’m your mate or if any shifter will pick up on that and want a piece of you. I want to get that smell to calm down a little. Finishing the lust part of the mating should help with that.”
Dex was pretty sure he heard the other man throw in an “I think” with that sentence.
This couldn’t be good.
Then Dex caught the rest of that sentence. “Wait a minute! Are you seriously trying to say that you think you and I are mated?”
“I don’t think it. I know it.”
“I know, but, ow! Motherfucker!”
“What? What is it?” Bodolf came back to his side fast. He could have teleported there. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
It was Dex’s first instinct to yank his arm away from the man when Bodolf grabbed onto it, but he couldn’t do it. The touch of his hand on Dex’s skin felt so good. Good enough to even make the pain in his foot simmer down to something more manageable.
That was the only reason why he allowed the other man to keep touching him.
He told himself that, anyway. “I just…”
“What happened? Did you twist your ankle?” Bodolf got down to one knee, and now he was touching Dex’s foot and ankle, his thick, powerful fingers playing with the bones of Dex’s toes, as though to confirm to himself that nothing was broken.
For some reason, Dex wanted to die of embarrassment. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, I think I stepped on a stick the wrong way.”
“You stepped on a stick?”
“I don’t know. Whatever it was, it really hurt.”
Bodolf continued to move his hand around, and when his fingers prodded the spot, Dex hissed, and this time he really did try to pull away.
“That hurts!”
“Shhh.” Bodolf pulled his fingers back. Dex couldn’t see what he was looking at. The man was one big shadow, but he heard the growl. “Your foot is bleeding. Fuck. I shouldn’t have made you walk.”
“Oh, well, you couldn’t have—hey!”
Bodolf immediately pulled Dex up into his arms, and the way he carried him was so careful, as though Dex were…fragile, that Dex immediately wanted to get away and start walking again.
If only to prove that he could.
“I’m sorry. I forgot you didn’t have shoes. That was my fault.”
Dex grumbled about being carried. He hoped the other man couldn’t see the heat that rushed to his face, but this guy was a shifter, so somehow Dex didn’t think he would be so lucky.
“Yeah, well, everyone makes mistakes. Is it really that big of a deal?”
“It is if it puts your scent in the air. We have to move. Right now.”
Dex tensed. Considering his body was still coming down off the high of that amazing orgasm, he’d almost forgotten there were still people and shifters alike out there who wanted to capture him again. Maybe even kill him for what happened at the camp.
“You really think they’re coming after us? I mean you kind of told everyone off, right? They’re not going to want to come after you after all the damage you did, right?”
He was desperately hoping that would be the case. Dex was so tired of this. He hadn’t wanted to be taken by those assholes in the first place, and now that he’d been taken by this alpha…
There seemed to be a giant circle jerk of kidnappings going on, and Dex wanted it to end.
“I didn’t kill everyone, and in case you forgot, I was injured well enough that, after they recovered the wolf souls who escaped in the confusion, they would think it a good idea to come after me.”
Bodolf suddenly growled. “I’ve seen too many faces. I’ve taken in their scents.”
Dex shivered. Somehow, he could feel the other man’s anger through the touch of their bodies, even now that he was wearing clothes again.
“Will they want me back?”
Bodolf didn’t look at him. “I won’t let that happen.”
Not a yes or a no. Something else was happening here.
Dex was silent for a moment as they walked.
“Do you still wish to run away from me?”
Dex swallowed hard. “Well, at least not for now. Maybe it’s a good idea to stick around with you until we get all of this figured out.”
“Good.” Bodolf suddenly put Dex down. The ground was more even here, less rocks and sticks, but he still balanced himself on one foot.
“Good, why?”
“Because I can hear the wolves coming up behind us. The second I transform, you jump on my back and do not let go for anything. Understand?”
Dex tensed. “Uh, yeah, sure thing.”
Bodolf shifted, and the second he finished, Dex heard a long howl rising up in the darkness behind him.
He never jumped on anything so fast in his life, and he kept his head down, hands fisting into Bodolf’s fur as they made a run through the black forest.
Chapter Seven
Foolish. So fucking foolish. Bodolf took too damned long with his mate, and now, if they didn’t get out of here, they were both going to suffer the consequences!
He could hear the growling of the wolves behind him.
He wasn’t sure how many there were. He was too focused on the path ahead. They’d caught up to him, and now running through the streams wouldn’t be enough.
Not with his mate bleeding at the bottom of his foot like he was.
Not gushing, but for wolf shifters who thought they had something or someone stolen from them, a single drop was enough to turn them into a bunch of bloodhounds.
He needed to keep going. The sex with his mate, the physical contact, and making the proper claim had rejuvenated him. His flesh no longer ached, and he could no longer feel the cool rush of air in open wounds.
He could do it. Bodolf felt Dex’s heartbeat fluttering against his back as he ran.
His mate needed Bodolf to do this.
He ducked and weaved through the trees like a dog in one of those pathetic competitions he'd seen on TV.
Fuck! Bodolf had thought the sex would help him to recover, and it had to some extent, but it wasn't enough to get his speed back up. Bodolf could hear it in the wind and on the earth. The sounds of their paws striking the land as they got closer and closer. There was not going t
o be any outrunning these things. Not unless he happened to get lucky.
Not unless he thought of something that would throw them off.
He needed to run faster, but Bodolf not only wasn't a hundred percent back up to speed, he realized he was purposely stalling himself because, if he went at full speed, there was the very real chance that Dex would fall off his back. He would fall off, and it would give the wolves chasing after them the perfect chance to grab him up themselves, or kill him just to spite Bodolf.
Hang on!
He felt Dex cringe on top of him as Bodolf took the risk and started to push himself just a little harder, just a little faster. His muscles had already begun to scream with the agony of movement, injuries that were still not fully healed making themselves known again with his speed.
But it wasn't enough. He could still feel those other wolves closing in. Bodolf dared to look back, just a glance.
Fuck. They were right there. He could see their dark shapes flying through the trees.
Which meant they could see him, too. They were no longer relying on their sense of smell to get them where they needed to go.
Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!
"Are they catching up?"
Shit, he must have sent that thought to Dex without meaning to.
Dex must have also looked back because then he heard his mate's heart flutter. "Oh shit. I can see them!"
I know. I won't let them take you.
He just wasn't sure how he was going to get Dex out of here. He needed to find a road. Christ, at this point, mating heat or not, it was preferable to drop him off at a police station.
At least there he would be safer until Bodolf could collect him again so they could finish their mating heat.
The pain of going without sex would be nothing compared to the pain of being forced back to the camp.
Of the permanence of death.
I’ve got to go faster, baby. Hang on.
"I'm trying!"
Bodolf pumped his legs harder and faster. He tried to keep the twists and turns from being too sharp, but even as he ran now, he could feel the way Dex was starting to slide more and more down his back. Dex's hands continued to grip different parts of Bodolf's fur, indicating that he was struggling to hold on and constantly having to adjust his grip.
Don't fall off, baby. Don't fall.
This time Dex didn't respond to him. Almost as if he couldn't.
Bodolf growled. He wasn't going to make it out of the woods before those wolves caught up to him.
And Dex was about to fall off. Bodolf had to do something before that happened. He turned, sharp enough that Dex cried out and damn near fell off his back, but he somehow managed to stay on.
Barely. He hung off the side of Bodolf's body, and when he couldn't get himself back up onto Bodolf's back again, he let himself drop.
"Why did we stop?"
Bodolf looked at him. He could see the fear in Dex's eyes, the way his face was flushed, as though he had been the one to do the running.
Run away from here, sweetheart. Find a road, get a ride to the nearest town, and wait for me.
Dex tensed. "But—"
Whatever he'd been about to say was cut off when one of the wolves chasing after them tackled Bodolf, throwing him back before those teeth came down around his neck.
Stupid move. Made sense to do it, however.
Every wolf always wanted to attack the neck, even when there was little to no chance of their teeth breaking through the fur and slicing through flesh.
But the temptation to go for an open throat was too great for some wolves, including this one.
But Bodolf took great care of his pelt. He was proud of its thickness and shine, especially right now as he felt the pressure of those teeth trying to come down onto his throat, trying to rip it out.
But the bastard was unable to get what he wanted, allowing Bodolf to throw the other wolf off of him.
He bit and snapped his teeth, as well, pleased when he caught an ear in his mouth.
The wolf whined, yanking itself back, which was another mistake to make, as that made it all too easy for Bodolf to rip away the soft fleshy ear in his mouth without so much as yanking his head to the side.
The wolf cried out again, but Bodolf couldn't pay any attention to that as he watched two more wolf shifters fly past him, heading for Dex.
He growled and gave chase.
No. Fuck these bastards. Not on his watch, thank you very much.
Bodolf flew. He'd never felt this kind of speed come over him before in his entire life, and he managed to catch up to the second wolf quickly, snapping his teeth at the creature's tail just as they were about to catch up to Dex. They were almost there.
But then Bodolf got a mouthful of a bushy tail and the bony flesh beneath it.
He clamped his teeth down and yanked his head back.
The force and speed with which the wolf ran forward, coupled by the way Bodolf dug his heels in and pulled back was almost enough for him to be yanked forward hard, and he was pretty sure he felt some of his teeth coming loose after that stunt.
The wolf whined hard, yipping and crying out in pain as though Bodolf were ripping his tail right out.
Perhaps he was.
The sharp cry of pain from his friend was enough to pull back the wolf closest to Dex. He stopped just before he could grab onto Bodolf's mate.
And Dex, good man that he was, he did not stop to look back. He kept on going, pumping his arms and legs. His limp was barely noticeable, but then again, when one’s life depended on something, it was much easier to ignore any aches and pains that might be there.
So long as he could move, then he had a chance. Bodolf just had to do the rest by keeping these assholes off of him.
The wolves pulled their lips back and snarled. Bodolf could detect little of their human minds inside of these animals as they circled him, ready to attack.
That was…a bit of a problem. If they had been in better control of themselves, then he might be able to reason with them, or better distract them.
A wild animal was a thousand times more dangerous than someone in control of themselves.
But maybe he could use this, too.
So long as these stupid animals thought they were going circle and hunt him, then they couldn't do the same to Dex.
So long as their attention was on Bodolf, then they couldn't go after Dex. Hell, in the state they were in now, they might kill him by accident. Maybe that was the intention. Nathan might not have sent these shifters after him in the first place. They might have come on their own after the smell of so much blood sent their wolf halves into a frenzy.
Shit, what had these wolves done to the campsite after Bodolf left?
He growled low, bending his head and raising his hackles up high, meeting their challenge with one of his own.
I don't know if you fuckers can hear me, but if you can, just be warned that I will fuck up the lot of you before I ever let any of you near my mate. Do you understand, you motherfuckers? I will destroy you before any of you get to touch him.
No response. Just more growling. One of the wolves barked and lunged close, but he stayed back.
Right. This was going to happen. No point it drawing out the inevitable, after all.
Bodolf was the first to lunge. He went for the eyes.
Chapter Eight
Dex stopped short when he heard the harsh whine behind him.
He couldn't exactly describe the sound other than he was sure it was the sort of noise someone's dog would make after it had been shot.
But there was no gunshot sound. Just the whine, and then another, and another.
He shivered.
What if that was Bodolf?
He couldn't think about that. Dex started running again, energy renewed as his fear mounted. He barely felt the wound at the bottom of his foot as he went. Even in the pitch black of night, holding his arms out, trying to find his way, he was able to make some progress.
Keep moving. Just keep moving. Find the road. Get someone to drive him the hell out of here and he would be fine. He just needed to find a road, and he would be able to get out of here.
He would be able to send help for Bodolf.
Assuming Bodolf hadn't been killed already.
Don't think about that.
Dex's eyes started to burn. He sniffed, trying to hold back his emotions. Now was not the time for this. Now was really not the time for him to be crying when he could hardly see a damned thing.
At least with the darkness it wasn't so hard on his eyes. He didn't feel the need to be sick from things not looking right.
But he could still see light when it finally appeared in the distance. Yellow light. As if it was the light from a street post.
Dex followed it, hoping against hope that he was about to find a road and not the lamp of some empty cabin.
Please. Please. Please.
He was almost there. The light was getting brighter, and he could soon see more of them. More lights was good. More lights meant a road. Right?
The whoosh of something big passed by. He could hear it. As though it were a car on the road.
A road. That was what it was. It was a road, and when Dex made it there, even with his poor eyesight, he knew where he was. He almost fell into the ditch at the side of the road when he emerged from the trees, but Dex recovered quickly and was able to climb back out without falling on his ass.
He made it onto the road, and his next mission became searching out headlights of a car and desperately hoping that no one hit him as he waved his arms, hoping someone would stop.
There was the brief worry that no one driving at night would stop for a guy waving his arms around like a lunatic in the middle of a small highway like this, but thankfully, a car did come, it saw him, and thankfully, it stopped instead of running him over.
Praying to God that it wouldn't drive away as he went to the driver's side, Dex peered in and heard an older woman.
"Are you all right?"
"Do you know where the nearest police station is? Can you take me there?"
"Well, I suppose…"
She sounded hesitant. Dex ran around to the passenger side before she could change her mind and drive off.