Page 53 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

Van and Peterson looked at each other before they shrugged and focused back on him.“When we first find our mates, we tend to become a little possessive and overly protective.It is in our DNA.”

“Yeah.Our hormones can go crazy,” Peterson added with a grimace.

He turned when the two men looked over his shoulder.Tracy stepped out of the woods.She had changed into a dark blue tank top with a long sleeve dark blue shirt over it, a pair of hiking pants, and a pair of running shoes.He frowned at her footwear.

“Where are your boots?”he asked.

“Downstream,” she snapped before she looked away.

He didn’t miss the tears glittering in her eyes when she glared at him.He walked over to her and touched her chin.She refused to look at him at first.She sniffed loudly before she finally looked up.

“I’m sorry.I should have waited for you.I would have been alright.You don’t have to worry about me,” he said.

Her lip trembled, and she impatiently brushed a stray tear from her cheek.“Yeah, well, get used to it.Give me some warning next time… please.It might help.”

“I will.I promise.”

Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss.He could tell she was still upset when she didn’t relax at first.With a sigh, she leaned into him and returned his kiss.

“Uh, now that the almost not drowning is done, I suggest we take this someplace a little less open,” Peterson suggested behind them.

Mitchell reluctantly released Tracy’s lips.He rested his forehead against hers while he calmed his hammering heart.Breathing deeply, he released her, nodded, and turned toward the forest.

He paused when he reached the edge of the woods and turned, scanning the other side of the river.A shiver ran down his spine.He felt like they were being watched.

“What is it?”Tracy murmured, touching his arm and looking back across the river.

Van and Peterson turned as well.He shook his head, turned, and headed into the forest.The feeling stayed with him.

Lucien stood in the shadows and watched the group across the river disappear into the woods.He had witnessed Tracy Bearclaw’s transformation halfway across the river, her fur bristling as she swam with incredible speed to save the human.Any doubt about her feelings for the human, or his emotions for her, vanished completely when he witnessed the scene of her pulling him to shore and the tender embrace that followed.

He contemplated his next move.The human had somehow sensed they were being followed.He didn’t know enough about humans to understand what skills they might possess.

Had humans developed the ability to sense a shifter?Was that how they had avoided discovery all these centuries?

The possibility made him wary.Glancing down at his phone, he released a low chuckle.Luckily, he could follow without being seen.

He studied the bright red dot moving across his screen.Thanks to the little gift Lorne had tucked into his brother’s pack, he wouldn’t have to worry about losing them.He would use the bridge farther downstream to cross the river, then pick up their trail again.

Humming under his breath, he backtracked to his vehicle.A look at the map showed there was a trailhead near the bridge where he could park.It would be a bit out of the way, but at least he wouldn’t have to hike in wet clothing.

No sense making this difficult on myself if I don’t need to, he thought with smug satisfaction.

Mitchell glanced up at the sky.It would be dark in less than an hour.They needed to make camp for the night.Already he could feel the chill in the air.It didn’t help that his clothes were still damp from their multiple crossings of the river.After the third time, Van and Peterson had asked him if he knew where he was going.

“There is a place a half mile from here where we can stop for the night,” he said.

Peterson gave him a skeptical look.“Are you sure?We’ve been weaving back and forth and heading in circles most of the day until the last two hours,” he said.

Mitchell shot Peterson a smile.“I know.”

He could feel Peterson’s eyes drilling a hole through his back as he continued along the narrow trail.Tracy mumbled for the two guys to knock it off.Amusement struck him when they started teasing her.

“Come on, Trace, you have to admit it has been weird.We’re in the river, then we’re out of the river, then we’re back in the river, and then we’re back out of the river.I felt like we were playing a video game to see how miserable we could be walking around in cold, wet clothes all day before we gave up!”Peterson joked.

“I’m ready.My—” Van quipped before he cleared his throat and thought twice about what he was going to say.“Let’s just say cold water works.Hey, Mitchell, did you know that wolves hate water?”

“No, they don’t,” Tracy snapped.

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