Page 36 of Forbidden Wolf

As a child, I thought there were monsters under my bed. Mum used to hold me tight and sing to me until all I could hear was her voice and not the monsters anymore. They tended to appear when I was really tired and hovering on the edge of sleep. Today, I discovered that they were real and were about to start tracking me. Terror paralysed me at the thought of them tearing into my flesh again.

I wrapped my arms around Levi’s neck and buried my head in his fur. He smelt earthy with a touch of that spice that made him unique. Since he couldn’t see my expression, I let the defensive walls around me tumble down until all that was left was me and Levi. So many times in the past I’d wanted to do this, so I allowed myself a moment to enjoy snuggling into the softness of his wolf.

The boy had charm, but the man was constructed of impenetrable walls and an attitude that screamed not to touch him.

The pain in my shoulder continued to pulse in agony as his powerful legs sprinted over the rough terrain.

His head canted to the side as he offered me his neck. I’d never drunk from a wolf before and had no idea where to even start with all the fur. His head turned toward me, and his teeth snapped together a few times before he stretched his neck out again.

“Fuck it,” I muttered, sinking my fangs deep into his neck.

He made a strange guttural growl that vibrated through his body. His blood tasted different in his wolf form, raw with power and a hint of feral wildness. His strength pulsed through me, activating all my energy centres, and tightening the wound on my shoulder as the skin pulled together.

His blood was potent, making me drunk on his power. Arousal thrummed deep in my core as I felt his emotions cascade through him. Under the layers of aggression, Levi’s heart was still the same. He cared about me deeply and that terrified him. Delving deeper, I tapped into his emotions as he found me lying near death on the ground. His wolf had howled in rage while the man delved into desperation and panic.

I lapped the wound closed, allowing him his privacy. He’d kissed me in the cave, and I believed it had been because he was angry and frustrated. His blood told another side to the story. He couldn’t resist me any more than I could deny him.

We were still linked at a fundamental level even after all these years.

The blood of his wolf flooded my system, healing and revitalising me in a way no blood bags or even feeding from Levi had achieved. The wound on my side disappeared to nothing more than a strange tingling sensation and the flesh on my shoulder knitted together.

He moved faster than we would ever have achieved on two legs, his wolf devouring the landscape with his speed and agility. Several hours later, we finally came to rest deep in a forest.

Levi lowered his body and I climbed off. He shook himself until the man appeared, his hair flopped over his eyes as he kept his head lowered. I sensed his vulnerability and my fingers skimmed over where his heart was.

“We can’t, Tasha. You damn near killed me ten years ago. Let me wait until our time is up and we can meet in Paris.” His gaze finally met mine, and amber glowed there instead of his normal hazel.

I stepped into the strength of his body, my head leaning lightly on the centre of his chest.

“I missed you,” I said in nothing more than a whisper, placing a kiss to his soft flesh.

Leaving him to get dressed, I turned and walked away. We were in the middle of a war, with new enemies chasing us. Years ago, I imagined us escaping with vampires and lycans pursuing us. Who knew they would be the least of our worries?

“Tell me what we’re running from,” Levi asked from behind me.

How could I explain to him that I heard voices in my head? Or maybe it was my acute vampire hearing?

His hand rested on my waist. “Talk to me, Tasha. We could always tell each other anything.”

“That was when we were the old Tasha and Levi. I’m not sure who we are anymore.”

The boy in the forest had been my closest friend and confidant. The man confused me.

“We’re still the same but scarred in different ways by this war,” he replied, his breath fanning my ear.

My eyes fluttered closed because I just wanted this one moment to feel before I had to pretend that we were nothing more than acquaintances. His heat infused into me, giving me strength, his hand gripped deeper into my flesh.

“You know I can sense different creatures in a close proximity to me. In the water, I could see them in my head as masses of red energy. They were all around us, watching and waiting.”

I leaned back into his chest and his arms came around me.

“I used to hear voices when I was little. I heard the same voices as I lay dying after my attack a few days ago. When I fell to the ground earlier, I heard strange mumbling and concentrated on the noise.”

Levi slowly spun me to face him, the centres of his eyes glowing amber. “Now tell me what is hellspawn and why did we need to run for our lives?”

I stared at him, transfixed by his power. “I have no idea what a hellspawn is, but I heard them talking to a ‘master’. They know I’m a vampire out in daylight and that you’re a lycan. He said to summon land dwelling hellspawn to capture us.”

The muscles in Levi’s jaw bunched, his gaze growing cold in contemplation. “We need to find out where they are coming from, how they can be killed, and who this master is.”

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