Page 16 of Mating Season
Fallon shuddered as if revolted.
I could smell her arousal in the air and decided it’d be rude to point that out.
“My wolf would not release me. I was fighting for control and it was like she was possessed or something. Then his snout went between her legs and she lowered, about to present.”
Whatever color was left in Fallon’s face drained as she lowered her voice to a whisper. “He shifted to human so fast, scrambling away. My wolf was pissed so she chased him down and bit him. She wanted to claim him. But what if…” With wide eyes she looked around, “What if he didn’t want to be claimed?”
“Has that ever happened before?” I rocked back on my heels, handing Fallon the skewer of cooked meat. “Do our wolves even make claims outside of mating season?”
I hate to tell you–
Stop making everything about you,I snapped.This is Fallon’s story now.
“It was probably the stress.” Fallon sunk her teeth into the meat and chewed fast before wiping the grease from her lips. “Or she’s going feral. Yeah, that’s it. I can’t stay here for the season. It’ll be too dangerous. I have to leave before the guys show up.”
Told you he was coming.My wolf stuck out her tongue.
I stared at Fallon. Besides being scared out of her wits, she didn’t have that feral look or scent to her. I’d worked in a shifter prison and seen what happened when shifters really lost control of their beasts.
“Do you have your phone?” I asked, thinking of a plan. “Or I guess we could shift and run down the mountain. There has to be a town around here.”
Fallon bit her bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t ask you to leave. Ranger will need you during his rut.”
Even if Ranger didn’t have more self-control than any wolf I’d ever known, I’d run far in the other direction from any male who couldn’t handle himself during the rut.
Whoa. Hold on. Who says I can handlemyself?
You’ll figure it out.
And Ranger already said he’d give me a season or two before we ran together if I wanted. This was the perfect excuse to leave. I didn’t have to make a decision when fate was deciding for me.
“Let’s go. Ranger will be okay.”
“But I won’t be.” Fallon rested the stick of meat on the rock beside her, burying her face in her hands. The black nail polish she’d put on two days ago was mostly chipped off. “I don’t think my wolf will let me leave anyway. Can I hide somewhere? How do I make this stop?”
“Do you want to make this stop?” I felt like I was looking in a mirror, asking the question to myself.
Though I wasn’t completely sure what Fallon’s reasons were for her fear, this was a really big commitment. Maybe that’s what was bothering me too. It was like signing away my rights to forever when I hadn’t really lived yet. But Ranger wasn’t like any Alpha I’d ever met. He gave me control and options at every turn we’d faced. Would it be the end of my freedom to mate him? Or would this just be another chapter in the rest of my life?
Admittedly, it was a good chapter so far.
Minus the death threats.
“I’m not sure,” Fallon whispered through her fingers. “I don’t even know him.”
We know Ranger. He’s perfect for us.
“Sometimes we have to trust our wolves.” I sat down beside Fallon and rested my hand on her shoulder.
Finally. She speaks some sense.
Leaves crunched behind us. I turned my head to the side, fangs extending as I growled.
“I smell food,” a meek voice said from a few yards away.
“Who is it?” Fallon scented the air just as I did. I looked at her. She looked at me. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
*