Page 12 of Claimed By the Wolf
Another reason I’m not partial to parties.
“Where is Brynn?” I try to contain my annoyance, and I thrust the gift toward him. “I can’t stay long.”
Brax raises his head and looks around the crowd for his sister, and I do the same. There’s no sign of her blonde head among the group as the women draw closer, their intentions clear in their interested eyes.
“Well, give this to her.” It takes everything I have in me to mask my impatience and tiredness. “I have a long day tomorrow.”
He takes the present out of my hands, eyes casting downward with disappointment. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Don’t you want a piece of cake?”
I brush him off. “No, thanks. Tell Brynn happy birthday.”
“Fine,” he grumbles. “But she’ll be mad she missed you.”
Brynn’s already mad for other reasons. I’ll just add it to the list.
I head out the way I came, trailing back through the semi-familiar bodies.
Wafting cigarette smoke causes my nose to wrinkle, but as I near the front, a peculiar sensation creeps up the back of my neck and causes my skin to prickle. My footsteps falter, senses heightening, almost like I want to shift, but there’s no danger, even though my heart starts to pound.
Hot and cold circle through me.
The scent of someone nearby raises the hairs on my arms, and a lump forms in my throat, a connection drawing me closer.
Someone is calling me with every fiber of their being, their pull so strong, I’m almost powerless to stop it. I walk out the front door and to the side of the house, where the pull continues to become more intense.
“Nox?” Brynn’s voice calls out, and she appears from around the corner. Her hazel eyes are baffled as they lock with mine.
Energy flows between us, and a gasp of shock bubbles from my throat as I realize what’s happening, her eyes popping in tandem. Slowly, we move toward each other, unable to pause the unmistakable bond that pulls us together, drawing us closer. My chest aches, the tug of my heart so intense that I put my hand over it because I feel like it might erupt clean out of my body.
What the fuck is happening?
I growl lightly, her nearness intoxicating, my skin prickling as I long to touch her, but it takes everything in me to resist.
I can’t touch her. She’s Brynn!
Her eyes pop as she draws closer, every line in her face more defined than it’s ever been. I notice the dusting of freckles over her nose, every hair of her delicate, even eyebrows.
“W-What’s happening?” she chokes.
But she knows, just like I know, as our bodies physically yearn for each other, the pull irresistible.
I don’t understand how this is happening after all these years.
Why now? What changed almost overnight? We had just seen one another three days ago…
My hands reach out to touch her face, the pulse between us thrumming. I can’t stop myself. I need to connect my skin with hers. The bass from her house echoes faintly, but I can barely hear it above the thud of my heartbeat.
“You,” I growl. “You’re her.”
She bites on her lower lip and tries to look away, but it’s futile. We’re too connected, too invested in one another.
Fated mates.
Fuck. This is bad.
“How?” she mewls.
I suck in a breath, summoning every reserve of willpower I can muster to drop my hands as the front door opens, and chattering voices make me pause. I step back, knowing that anyone who sees us will undoubtedly catch our newly formed scent.
