Page 12 of Planet Wolf

He nodded and then touched his throat before he pointed at the sky.

He’d been growling at the planes. He didn’t like something about them. Leader walked toward me then put his hand over my heart. Slowly, he slid his finger down my nose, then ran his fingertips over my cheeks. He touched the space over his own heart. I could tell he tried to tell me something important, but although I didn’t understand all of it, the general meaning seemed to be he wasn’t going to hurt me.

I nodded. “Okay. I understand.”

Hunter said something to him then. The three of them got into a discussion, and I took a step away to let them. I didn’t feel like playingwhat arethey sayingright then. He’d growled at the Union planes, but that didn’t make sense. What was happening?

I rubbed my hand over my face. Once, then twice. I’d started doing it as a kid to calm myself. My hands shook again. Was it the withdrawal or the anxiety I’d just felt? I put my hands on my knees and breathed. This seemed to get Doc’s attention, because he came right over to check on me.

He wouldn’t be waved away, though I tried. He checked my pulse and scowled. I guessed it wasn’t a good number, but that checked. It didn’t feel great, either.

I had to pee again, which was the one activity they allowed me to complete unsupervised. I tried to focus on that instead of my heart, but questions still peppered my thoughts like arrows as I relieved myself.

Why had the wolves wanted a meeting with the Union and others out in the middle of nowhere? I thought the Wolves were all pro-Union, yet they’d growled at the planes. That didn’t make sense, not when I thought Wolves were, like,woo-hoo, go Union, let’s destroy the universesort of groups.

Once I returned from my time alone, Hunter fed me water. They seemed to like to use their hands to feed and, for lack of a better word, water me. Like I was a house plant. Or something the gardener had to handle.

What a funny comparison.

“I can walk,” I told them, hoping they would understand. I walked forward, like I wanted to continue the way we’d gone. “Who’s going with me?”

They all stared at me, and I smiled in an attempt to reassure them. That was when I met Hunter’s gaze. He blinked, and I swore; it was like I could feel everything he felt right then, a tri-fold hit of sensations. Firstly, he was in utter awe of me. That was a strange thing for me to digest, but I was like a solar eclipse to him. He never thought he would actually see me in his lifetime, which was a bizarre thought. Next, he was completely invested in wanting to make the plan happen. There was the sense that it was his job to see it through, whateveritwas. And, finally, I could sense his terror. He feared he might fuck the whole thing up and ruin it. He knew failure was a possibility, even though he pushed the thought away a lot, and he carried his fear with him constantly.

Fuckwhatup? What was he worried about? I blinked. No, that was just insane. I didn’t read minds, I couldn’t sense his feelings, and I didn’t understand what people were thinking or feeling unless they told me.

He shook his head and pointed left. Did he want to go that way? He must have confused the others, because they both stared at him, their expressions saying they weren’t sure what he meant. His grin was playful, though, and he took off running, which made the other two smile, even if Doc rolled his eyes.

My medically inclined companion scooped me up, so I was on his back as we ran after Hunter. Leader trailed behind us at a distance, looking left and right while he ran. I nearly strained my neck trying to watch him for a while before I gave up.

Instead, I just clung to Doc and decided to enjoy the view. I could have walked, was willing to, but this was something else, and I guessed it was fine to be carried so I could keep up. Like Hunter, he was warm, like a blanket.

I didn’t realize it at first, but I’d been cataloging the things that were different about them from humans—they could shift into Wolves, which was obviously a really huge difference. There were other differences, too, though. They were hot, and not just looking. They didn’t seem to feel the cold like I did. And, they also didn’t seem to need to eat at the intervals when I’d usually be hungry. Here, I was less so than at home, but maybe that might be caused by stress. I should pay attention to how much water I drank, too. I needed more, but it was hard to think about mundane needs when survival became such a priority.

I heard where we headed before I saw it. The sound of loud, rushing water consumed everything, and the spray hit my face gently before I even registered the sight of the massive waterfall before us. Hunter stood on the edge of it, grinning. He must have found it when he went to get the water.

Unless they knew the area better than I realized. They’d certainly found the cave while I’d been unconscious, but for all I knew, that could be instincts or something. Was it just a Wolf thing? It didn’t really matter in the moment, because the waterfall was stunning. It towered above us like a monolith, and a rainbow cut through the running water as though it greeted us, welcoming us to this place.

I’d never seen one before, not in person. Maybe it was making me a little loopy, because my heart thumped hard while I gazed at the roaring noise and wet shower. Hunter stood in the pool of water at the foot of the falls. Leader caught up to us and joined him there. That was when it finally dawned on me that they were constantly barefoot.Didn’t that hurt like hell?Maybe I’d add strong tolerance for pain and/or perhaps they just had really tough feet.

Was the water cold? Doc set me down, and I kicked off my shoes to head in. Icy coldness encased my foot, and I shivered but grinned. It made sense. Snow had just melted all around us, and probably right into this pool.

Still, it was awesome to feel it. I desperately needed to be clean, and I wondered if Hunter planned that when he brought us there. The guys didn’t smell bad at all—nicely scented body odor got added to the list of differences—but I knew that I did. Oh fuck it, I didn’t care that it was cold, I was rinsing off. Obviously, nudity wasn’t a problem for them, so without overthinking it further, I stripped, throwing my clothes off to the side before diving into the water.

I wasn’t a great swimmer, but considering my issues, I could hold my own. I heard a gasp from one of them before I went under. The cold exhilarated me, bringing my skin to stinging life, and when I came up, I was giddy, giggling out loud from the sheer joy of the sensations. I swam for the falls. I wanted to feel the water coming down on me.

Three splashes caught my attention, but I didn’t look back. By the time I reached my goal, Leader hauled me back against him. They were all wet now, but he didn’t look upset. If anything, he seemed totally at ease. Doc and Hunter surrounded me, too, in the circle of their bodies as we all treaded water in the water that should be too cold for me yet wasn’t.

I laughed because I could. Leader’s joy struck me. This was all he wanted, for everyone to be able to be happy. It had been so lost. And now there was this true happiness. What would he do if he lost it? He just couldn’t allow that to happen, not ever. I had to be protected above all things, even beyond the plans they’d already made.

I blinked. There I went again with my totally overactive imagination, pretending I could read his mind. I ducked down to swim away from their circle of protection but stopped short of touching the falling water. It was coming down a lot stronger than I’d anticipated. Close was good enough. I’d never forget that moment for my whole life, regardless of how long that might be.

Eventually, though, the cold caught up to me. I shivered and tried to swim for the shore. The guys followed me, and I was no sooner out than I was back in Leader’s arms. He was like a furnace, so the feel of him against my chilled skin was all pleasure. I turned to face him, which was tricky with his arms around me.

His gaze held mine. There was no mistaking what was in his mind, and I didn’t have to have a weird moment of understanding to grasp his thoughts. Pure male interest glowed from his dark depths. We were both naked. All four of us were, and currently my chilled skin pressed up against his hot, smooth flesh.

I breathed heavily, a little drunk on the day and the feel of him. Maybe if life was fair, in a different existence, we could do something about the molten need that flooded my body. And not just for Leader, whose cock hardened against my skin, but for all three of them. Would they be okay with that? I wondered, imagining it with a smile. If I wanted all of them? It wasn’t done on earth, or if it was, no one discussed it in my presence. But… maybe the rules were different on their planet. They were on the Cat Planet, because Tiffany had told me all about it.Is it like that here?Or maybe these three Wolves didn’t give two shits about other people’s rules?

We could stay in this place, I thought with a smile.All of us lost to society.They could hunt—they’d already done it several times—and we could bathe in the waterfall. Everyone probably already thought I was dead back home. They would mourn me, but it wouldn’t have been long before they were doing that anyway. These three could leave their lives—whatever they were before—and just stay with me until the end. All of us living, just existing together. Making love by waterfalls.