Page 15 of Midnight Hunt

Instead of chatting our ears off for several minutes like she usually did, the middle-aged woman swiftly turned and led us around the house.

“There,” she said, pointing to a spot along the treeline bordering her backyard. “The trail is faint, but I’m sure you’ll have no problem picking up her scent in wolf form.”

When she turned to stare at us expectantly, Griff chuckled under his breath. “You heard the woman. Let’s get naked.”

For the second time today, I watched him whip off his shirt. But when he reached for the button on his jeans, I forced myself to look away. Kolton and Jagger started to undress as well, and I followed suit, not the least bit embarrassed to be stripping naked in front of them.

We’d been doing this for as long as I could remember, unleashing our wolves to run as a pack deep in upstate New York’s Adirondacks. As children, we’d spent hours every day out in the woods, playing and honing our hunting skills. As soon as I’d been old enough to join them, I’d worked hard to prove that I was worthy of a spot in their inner circle.

Less than a minute later, all four of us were stripped bare. I chanced a quick peek at Griff, only to find his eyes trained on me. My breath caught. He looked away a second later, but not before I’d seen something in his gaze. Something old. Something familiar. Something . . .

I gave my head a sharp shake and banished the thought. I must have seen wrong. We were only friends now.Friends. We didn’t look at each other that way anymore.

The cracking of bone brought me back to reality, and I quickly initiated my own transformation, silently encouraging Sable to take over. She gleefully rose to the surface and triggered the shift. A painful minute later, I stood on all fours. Rather,Sablestood on all fours, her nearly black fur glistening in the early morning sunlight.

She quickly shook off the shift, then full-body stretched with a satisfied groan. Since she’d missed the pack run during the full moon last week, I mentally prepared myself for her rebellious energy. She hated missing out on pack events even more than I did, and I knew she was feeling a bit resentful that I’d chosen to spend the time with Reid instead.

Stick to the task at hand, I warned her through our telepathic connection. I had no intention of wrestling control from her, but I really hoped she didn’t do anything stupid like—

I sighed in exasperation as she whirled and sought out her favorite wolf. Standing taller than a human, Whiskey was a tawny brown color, his sleek coat littered with blond patches. When he saw Sable heading toward him, he yipped with excitement and met her halfway. Their massive bodies tangled together, and they playfully nuzzled and nipped at each other as if they’d been apart for months.

Although they couldn’t speak mind-to-mind, they had no trouble communicating how much they liked each other. When the nuzzling turned into licking—on themouth—I finally put my foot down.

Sable!I snapped.Don’t forget that I have a boyfriend.

He’s notmyboyfriend, she replied, continuing to lick Whiskey’s mouth like a brazen hussy.My spirit and the spirit inside Whiskey’s body—

Used to be lovers on the celestial plane. Yeah, yeah, I know, I said with a mental eyeroll.But Griff and I aren’ta couple, so it’s really uncomfortable when you and Whiskey get all hot and heavy.

I have the perfect solution for that, she purred, shuddering when Whiskey bent his head to nip at her neck.

Don’t say it, I quietly growled.

Start having sex with Griffin again.

I groaned, and she let the sound roll from her throat in an erotic way. The noise sent Whiskey into an excited frenzy, and he started rubbing the length of his body against Sable’s. I groaned again, knowing from experience that they were about to hump. It didn’t matter that they had an audience. Didn’t matter that Griff and I had been telling them not to for the past several months. Whenever they were together, they justdidit, and there was no stopping them.

In all honesty, it didn’t really bother me that they were having sex or that I could feel it through my bond with Sable. What bothered me was that their horniness mademehorny, and that feeling was always directed at the same person. Which wouldn’t have been a problem a year ago, but itdefinitelywas now.

Just as Whiskey prepared to mount Sable from behind, a low warning growl drew him up short.

Ha! You just got cock-blocked, I crowed, more than a little relieved. I watched with satisfaction as Kolton’s massive dark wolf stared daggers at Whiskey. When Whiskey dared to bark at him in protest, Shadow snarled and bared his razor-sharp fangs.

With a huff, Whiskey backed down, but not before giving his alpha the stink eye. Shadow chose to ignore it. Turning toward the woods, he took off like a shot. Jagger’s equally large black wolf loped after him, and Whiskey and Sable quickly followed suit.

All work and no play, Sable softly whined after several minutes of following Desirae’s scent trail.

Although she’d been stopped from getting her freak on, I could tell she was enjoying the run with her demon boys. It had been ages since just the four of us had run together. We’d been so busy lately with our growing pack, family, and various responsibilities that this outing was a breath of fresh air. I’d felt a bit detached from the boys over the past several months, so it felt good to reconnect with them like this. I knew Sable felt the same.

Burgundy is so lucky, she said, referring to Desirae’s wolf familiar.I’d love to spend each night roaming the woods. Whiskey could join me.

I barked a humorless laugh.Nice try, Sabs. You’d spend the entire nighthumpinghim.

Not true. Noteverynight anyway. We can control ourselves, you know.

Right. You just choose not to.

Hey, a girl has needs. Just because you’re not getting any doesn’t meanIhave to close up shop.

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