Page 60 of Untamed

"You'relucky, In," the Pup says sadly. The air in the room gets tighter. Mactiir draws me into his arms, nuzzling my hair like usual.

"Sarj... you'll find your mate," Mactiir sounds lame even to me.

"Like that?" the Pup says, sarcasm filling his voice. He waves a hand towards me indolently, indicating my whole body, up and down.

I thought the Pup liked me? What's wrong with me? Is it the hair or the breasts?

"Like what?" Mactiir asks. The soft note of violence flickering back to life.

"Gorgeous, strong, sexy-as-fuck without even trying."

"Don't call her sexy," Mactiir snaps. "Don't look at her that way."

Oh, what'ssexymean? What sort of insult is the Pup throwing at me? Is he looking at me in a bad way? He doesn't seem to be, but pack wolves are weird. He got me water earlier and shared his uncomfortable pillow, but maybe he doesn't like me after all?

The pup snorts derisively. "Wolves are gonna notice her, In. Every male with a pulse will look at her."

"Then they can lose their fucking eyes," Mactiir snarls. He bristles, his body rippling, his anger making my she-wolf go still.

I cup Mactiir's cheek with my hand, feeling his warm skin under my palm. He pushes into me, eyelashes fluttering. I'm hoping for another kiss, but I'm sorely disappointed when Mactiir pulls back.

"Let's go,Qitsuk." Mactiir fastens the chain back on his wrist. He loops it so that it barely has any give. I'm forced to walk down the odd ladder with my hip brushing Mactiir's, his hands all over my body. Except in the secret place, where they should be. Stupid male.

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18 - Eyes and Teeth

Willa

Images of Mactiir and I doing things race through my mind. My she-wolf stands, her tail wagging, tongue lolling, fully approving of the plans.

I bite my lip, glancing at my fuming Mactiir sideways from under my lashes. His face is set in hard planes, walnut eyes glaring out into the forest, a little poisonous, truthfully. They scan the trees, the deepening shadows. He's the apex predator in this forest, but he's still wary.

He should try moving through the trees. It's much safer.

He stops abruptly on the path. "Qitsuk, you smell..." his words cut off as if he lost all the air in his lungs.

I smell? Bad? I inhale, but I only scent the forest, the earth below our feet, the little family of moles in their burrow underground, the slow dying of the leaves as fall approaches.

"That magazine," Mactiir says quietly, his hand coming up to brush my cheek, "Sarj and some of his friends made them. They printed them off of... well, shit, there are these shows, on the computer... the t.v. Males and females have sex with each other. They each got their favorites and compiled them. It was some dumb prank, a really immature arts n' crafts project."

I just blink at him. One word hovers in my mind;sex. Mama mentioned it, once, by accident. She wouldn't tell me what it was other than to say that I was too young to understand. That was years ago.Sex. I didn't see it in our dictionary. I looked.

I press my body into his. Sex. I may like it.

He drops his head, his forehead touching mine. "My Bliss, you're too young for it. You aren't protected against pups. You haven't acclimated to the pack. I don't even know your name!" he says, anguished.

It's on the tip of my tongue,Willa. I can say it and end his pain. Willa.

The feeling that drifts to my heart stops me. Turning my head, I inhale and feel as if an arrow has pierced my heart.

Smoke and flames in the north.

Hurriedly, I press my palm against the trunk of a maple tree, bright with yellow leaves. I feel it, then, what I didn't feel just yesterday. Dying, burning, destruction. The essence of the wild being chased by flames ever so quickly.

Sparks of agony spear my soul. The forest rushes to send its energy to these living trees, but so many are gone that much of the wild magic is being lost to the flames.

The fire is coming. It's far away, still, but on its way.

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