Page 4 of Caligo

He squeezed my hand tightly before releasing it. “One… two…”

Panic was tightening my throat, and I tried to shake the feeling off. It was maybe twenty-five yards to the door at most. I was a runner. I could do this. I had to do this.

“Three.”

At the same moment I took off across the field, Jasper leapt into the air, instantly phasing into his wolf. His shift was seamless, poetry in motion. He landed gracefully on all fours and charged, growling aggressively. The danger we were facing was real, and I wasn’t ready to take this thing on quite yet. I didn’t necessarily need to stay inside, but I needed to get inside to be any good to Jasper. Adrenaline was spidering through my veins, and my lungs felt like they were screaming for air. I ran as fast as I could, the twenty-five yards seeming much longer now I was actually sprinting. Fifteen yards left, then ten. I needed to unlock the door and get inside.Easy. I glanced over my shoulder, but I couldn’t make out Jasper or whatever else was out there with him. There was only the rustling of the bushes and the crunching of the gravel under my feet.

I launched myself at the door, fumbling for my keys.Shit.Where the hell were my keys? I checked my back pockets coming up short. I couldn’t remember losing them, and I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. But that wasn’t going to help me.Fuck!I needed to get in the door. I must have dropped my keys in the field somewhere. I whirled around, hoping Jasper’s bike was closer than I thought, and choked on my breath. Standing closer to me than Jasper’s bike, or Jasper for that matter, was another wolf. I immediately recognized the eyes and knew this must have been what we saw in the woods. He was big, with mangy dark brown fur, and he looked like he was out for blood. And I had no way to get inside. I had maybe five seconds to figure out what to do, and none of my options were looking viable. To my right was the locked door, and I could possibly break the glass if I threw enough weight into it. To my left was an old pickup truck parked in the closest spot. Jasper was nowhere in sight. The wolf took a step closer, growling.

This was one of the moments in your life where one decision alters its trajectory completely. I took a deep breath, and hoped like hell I had made the right call. I sprinted for the pickup truck, praying to all the gods I could think of.Shit. Shit. Shit.I could feel the ground trembling under the weight of the wolf barrelling after me so I gave my idea all I had, and threw myself to slide under the bed of the truck. It wasn’t graceful, but it worked. The whole truck swayed with the impact of the wolf throwing his body against the rear fender, but thankfully the truck didn’t flip. Rust and dirt rained down from the undercarriage on top of me, but I was alive. For now. While I was barely able to slide under the truck the wolf was too big to fit. I was going to be scraped and bruised tomorrow, but at least my maneuver gave me a couple minutes to figure out my next step. I knew it wouldn’t take long before the wolf heaved the truck over. I could hear his paws crunching on the gravel, looking for the best angle, and I made myself as small as possible.

Okay. Think. You got yourself this far, you can get yourself out.I was weighing up my options -- run for Jasper’s bike, or try to make it into town on foot -- when I heard an awful crunching sound, followed by a cry of pain from the unknown wolf. Another angry growl, but this one I recognized -- Jasper had found us. I crossed my fingers Jasper was the one dealing out the bone-crunching blows, and not the other way around. Finally, the wolf whose voice I didn’t recognize let out a blood curdling shriek that sounded almost human. But even when I heard the bushes rustling in the distance I didn’t move from my spot. A hand reached underneath the truck to grab my arm, and I instinctively shifted my body away.

I heard knees sink into the gravel, and Jasper peered under the truck. “Baby, it’s okay. He’s gone.”

I let him pull me out from my hiding place, gently gathering me into his arms. “Is he dead?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, he ran off. But I hurt him pretty good, and I don’t think he’ll be able to do much damage for a while.”

“It was a wolf. Is that what you’ve been tracking?” I couldn’t put the pieces of this evening together.

Jasper looked as confused as me. “Yeah, I think so. But things don’t add up. How can a wolf do the kind of things we’ve been seeing? Why would they want to hurt their own kind?” He shook his head and sternly looked down at me. “I thought I told you to get inside.”

I averted my gaze sheepishly. “I couldn’t find my keys. Not that I was planning on staying inside.”

Jasper laughed and pulled my keys from a tattered pocket. “I know. I found these when I went back for my clothes. I’ve gotta say, Green, those were some instincts you had out there. You might have some Venator in you after all.”

I shoved him, trying to stand up but finding myself unsteady on my feet. Jasper held me close until I caught my balance. “It’s the adrenaline,” he murmured. “It’ll go away soon.”

I sagged into his arms, letting him take my weight. I had been so focused on staying alive the dangerhehad been in was only hitting me now, and I desperately pressed my mouth to his. Jasper responded by crushing his lips against mine, and I knew he had to feel the same way. I started pulling at the shreds of the clothes he had put back on, desperate to feel his skin against mine. “I need you.”

Jasper nodded, his wolf still close to the surface in his caramel eyes. He scooped me up under my thighs, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Not here. It’s not safe.” I tangled my fingers in his thick hair, urging him closer as I licked and nipped at his neck. A low groan escaped him as he carried me to the building, balancing me as he unlocked the door. “Ava. Fuck. Let me get you into your apartment.”

The fear I had felt before was gone, replaced with craving for him so strong I couldn’t think straight. “You said he wasn’t coming back. My neighbours are retirees. No one is coming into the stairwell.” I tugged on the waistband of his ruined jeans, feeling for the hard ridge of his erection.

Jasper’s gaze got darker. “Don’t test my willpower.”

“I like it better when you don’t have control anyways.” I was pushing him, and I knew it. But it had the desired effect. A growl tore from Jasper’s throat as he pushed me against the wall, letting it carry my weight. He kissed me hard, letting one of his hands reach under my shirt to grasp my breast. I gasped as he released me from the kiss, turning his attentions to my neck.

“Is this what you wanted? Me to fuck you right here?” Jasper asked, grinding his hard cock against me.

I tore my shirt over my head in response, desperate to feel his mouth everywhere.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He lowered his head, taking a nipple between his teeth. I gasped and rocked my hips against him as he sucked and teased. “Fuck, Ava. The things you do to me,” Jasper ground out as he unbuttoned my jeans, slipping his hand between the thin silk of my underwear to palm me. I tightened my fingers in his hair, kissing him with an urgency I felt deep in my bones. Jasper slid a finger into the damp heat between my legs, rubbing my clit with the palm of his hand. We both groaned as he slipped a finger into me, and then another.

“Shit, don’t stop,” I begged.

“I don’t plan to. I want to see you come now, on my hand. And then again, when I’m buried deep inside you.” I moaned loudly as he picked up speed with his hand. The friction felt so good, shooting pleasure to every part of my body. But I needed a release.

He curled his fingers inside my pussy, and I bucked my hips against him wildly. “Come now, Ava.” And I gladly did, crying out and clenching around his fingers. “Good girl.” Jasper took his fingers out of my pants, never breaking eye contact as he sucked my juices off them. Fuck.Who would’ve thought that would be so hot?

My body felt content, but my mind wasn’t satisfied yet. I shimmied the rest of the way out of my jeans, and pushed Jasper’s down his hips afterwards, his massive erection springing free. This was really what I wanted, what I needed. To feel us as one.

He growled darkly as I stroked his cock, and pushed my hands away to grab a condom from his pocket, unrolling it down his thick length. He fitted himself between my legs. “You’re so wet and ready for me.” Jasper’s eyes were black as the night sky as he pushed himself into me, filling me perfectly.

He cursed under his breath as he started to pump hard, lost to the sensation. One orgasm in, I felt every movement, every sensation, everywhere. My body felt like it was on fire, and the only cure was Jasper. Every thrust brought me closer to the edge of ecstasy, and every kiss kept me grounded to Jasper and his body. The pleasure was building, and building, to a point I couldn’t control. I felt myself surrendering to another orgasm, Jasper’s pitch-black gaze staring into my soul as I shattered around him.

I felt Jasper give into his release inside me, resting his forehead on mine gently as he stopped shaking. “Fuck, Ava. What did I ever do before you?”

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