Page 66 of Mated
My mouth salivates and my stomach rumbles. I push down that hunger.
The beast responds with another.
Heat suffuses my limbs, building and burning inside me until I find myself standing still amidst the trees, pulling at my dress. Low growls rumble from the dark.
“Nisha,” Caine calls. I pivot to find him feet away. His eyes glow like ruby beacons and his tank top is ripped nearly in half, exposing chiseled moonlight abs and a thin line of dark hair that disappears into his jeans. “This way.”
I sprint to him and his hand closes around mine. We dive further into the thicker brush. “Where’s Gage?” I pant.
“Damn wolf cornered him a ways back.”
I swear.
His hand tightens. “Don’t worry too much. You smell burning wolf hair, you know he got free.”
That makes me chuckle. “And T?”
Caine looks at me, a grin on his face. “He’s … around.”
I slug him with my opposite hand. He cackles and pulls me faster.
He runs as easily as I do under the boughs. Every leap or step is effortless. But I’m still mostly human.
Eventually I have to pull at his hand, drawing to a stop.
I gasp for breath and his eyes gleam. “Oh come on,” he teases. “I thought you were a shifter.”
“I haven’t changed shapes yet,” I remind him.
“True.” He falls silent, his head turning this way and that. “Considering how warm you feel, it will be soon.”
“Really?”
His lips part to respond and he steps away, scanning the dark around us.
I watch him. “Caine—”
He holds up a hand, silencing me. “Incoming.”
My heart slams wildly. “Gage?”
His head cocks. “I don’t—”
The cat leaps from the dark, clawed paws extended towards his chest. They go over backward, rolling on the ground.
Shit.
I start forward then stop. “Why am I still human?” I hiss at myself.
Caine heaves the cat upward, sailing it across the narrow space in a burst of red fire. It flips in mid-air, landing on its feet. It yowls at me, it’s hazel eyes large, bright, and hungry.
I hold my hands up. “Not interested.”
It continues to advance as Caine scrambles to his feet. I gulp. “Stop,” I snap. One paw alights in front of the other. “I said no.”
The cat lets loose a low rumble and a soft wash of spice pours from it. Caine slams his foot into the cat’s skull and it tumbles in the leaves. “The lady said no,” he snarls before looking at me as the cat shakes its head to clear it. “Go.”
I hesitate.
