Karizma: Reborn
Chapter 5: Ryleigh

Ryleigh clenched her teeth as she followed Lukas through the woods. Her stomach radiated pain as her canines ached to descend. She had never craved eating as much as she did in this moment. She felt deprived, as if she had not eaten in weeks. Her wolf had not yet had her first meal, and Ryleigh felt it in every movement of her body. Ryleigh began walking faster as her wolf growled at her. Her wolf urged her to get closer to Lukas, to close the gap between them. Ryleigh knew that there was no danger present, because her magic alone would have sensed that; there was something with Lukas that her wolf needed to be near him for, and Ryleigh was trying to understand what.

Ryleigh’s hearing intensified as she neared Lukas. She heard his even breathing, his steady heartbeat, and a very faint growl. Ryleigh’s eyes began skimming the woods around her. “What do you hear?” she whispered lightly.

“You, apparently,” Lukas muttered.

“Why are you growling at me?”

“Because I lost the bear,” he growled. Ryleigh’s eyes settled on Lukas’ back and she cocked her head at him curiously. She found it strange that the sound of her footsteps drowned out the sound of the bear, but she was still learning. Maybe I stepped too loud or breathed too loud. Her magic twitched, and she stopped walking. She instantly smelled sweet iron infused with wet fur, and she turned around.

The woods remained empty to her, but she could sense the bear. She could smell its blood and its fur, and her wolf growled with satisfaction. Found it. She heard Lukas approach her from behind, but her eyes remained locked on the woods before her. Her magic reached out and weaved between the trees, searching where her eyes could not. “Ryleigh,” Lukas whispered. Ryleigh’s breath hitched as she felt Lukas’ breath tickle her ear. She tensed as Lukas lowered his head and rested it on her shoulder. “Steady,” he whispered. “We don’t want to spook it.”

Ryleigh felt a shudder roll down her spine at his contact. He must have been looking straight ahead since she did not feel his breath on her skin. Her wolf growled again, followed by Lukas’ chest sealing itself against her back. She immediately felt his erection painfully against her lower back, and her wolf growled deeply. “Steady,” Lukas’ voice broke as he whispered. Ryleigh knew that he was talking more to himself than to her. She felt his body tense against her, his head never moving from its position on her shoulder. Ryleigh’s heartbeat spiked, and she felt a small growl press into her shoulder from Lukas’ throat. Whatever this feeling was, this reaction that she was experiencing from him, she had no idea, but she knew that she enjoyed it.

Ryleigh gasped suddenly as her magic returned to her. Another growl left Lukas’ throat, but now she was not focused on him. The bear was close, and the scent was becoming stronger. Ryleigh pulled herself away from Lukas and began walking toward the bear. “You can’t be like that,” Lukas whispered as he followed her. “It will attack you in this form. You are faster and stronger as your wolf.”

“You forget who you are talking to,” Ryleigh whispered back. “I can handle myself. I need him to see me defenseless. As my wolf, I pose a threat.”

“Ryleigh—”

“She can come out after,” Ryleigh interrupted. Her wolf nuzzled beneath her skin, as if agreeing with her plan. She understood Lukas’ concern for her, but if the bear had grown accustomed to feeding off humans and avoiding wolves, then her approaching it in her current form was the best way to hunt it.

Ryleigh stilled as the bear stepped out from the trees. She instinctively placed a hand behind her to shield Lukas and placed one hand in front of her with her palm facing the bear. She felt her magic pool in both of her hands; the hand behind her, preparing to create a barrier for Lukas, and the hand in front of her preparing to attack. She knew that Lukas could protect himself, but she could not fight the overwhelming urge to keep him safe. While her magic readied itself, her wolf broke through the surface briefly. She felt her canines descend as her gold eyes focused on the bear. She could hear the strong heartbeat beneath its skin, and could smell the blood that pumped through its veins. She could almost taste the tough skin that was hidden beneath its fur.

Ryleigh felt her magic ready to attack when Lukas’ hand touched her lower back. “This is not for your magic, love,” Lukas whispered, his breath against her ear. “This is for your wolf. This is her test with you. Allow her to come out. Be with her, communicate with her. Feed with her,” he whispered as he emphasized his last sentence. Ryleigh’s wolf purred deeply and instinctively tilted her head back against Lukas’ shoulder. She heard Lukas’ breathing intensify at the contact, and his body tensed as his erection speared into her lower back. “Attack your prey. Trust your wolf. Eat your first meal,” he whispered as his lips brushed against her neck.

Ryleigh gasped lightly and arched against him. Her body was craving this contact, this interaction, this conversation about slaughtering a bear; she could not understand it, and that made her crave it even more. His lips teasing her skin were torturous, and her and her wolf craved more. She felt his nose trail along her neck, and he breathed in deeply. A dangerous growl vibrated through his chest against her back. As she went to arch her body against his again, he stepped away from her. She growled at the loss of contact, to which the bear before her erupted a louder growl.

Ryleigh charged toward the bear in rage and frustration. She had no idea what these new feelings were, and the bear was going to be the perfect outlet for release. Since she had been resurrected, the only time she felt true peace and tranquility was with Lukas, and she was so conflicted with that realization. She wanted to experience that with Kristopher like she once did, but now she felt on edge and anxious whenever they were alone.

Ryleigh tackled the bear and it roared at her. The bear snapped its jaws at her and clawed at her insistently. Ryleigh growled as she felt the claws penetrate her skin, but the pain just fueled her rage and frustration; the pain did not even hurt, it was more of an annoyance than an injury. Ryleigh’s wolf pushed through, and, this time, pain blinded her body. The clothes on her body shredded and fell off as crimson fur sprouted from her skin. Her hands and feet shifted into paws, and her claws instantly penetrated the bear’s stomach. Her face contorted into a snout, and ears sprouted on top of her head. Her jaws widened and she clamped down on the bear’s neck and buried her canines deep into the bear’s skin. The bear howled and thrashed beneath her, but she buried her claws and her canines deeper into the bear. The blood coated her throat as it slid down her tongue, and the metallic taste delivered a sense of arousal throughout her body. She heard Lukas growl deeply behind her, his growl so intense that she felt the bear cease its struggle immediately.

Ryleigh’s wolf whimpered from Lukas’ growl, but not in fear; the arousal that surged through her wolf became more potent at the intensity of his growl. Ryleigh ripped her canines from the bear’s neck and stared down at it. She was harming this creature for her own need, and she was enjoying it. The contradiction paralyzed her; she was bringing this creature closer to death, to eat it to survive, and it was making her unbelievably horny. Her wolf resumed full control of her mind and buried her canines deep into the bear’s chest. Her snout entered the chest cavity and found the heart. Her canines began tearing into the heart within the bear’s chest, purring loudly as she devoured the heart. Ryleigh’s mind tried to penetrate through her wolf’s mind, but she hit a wall. Her wolf locked her out. Ryleigh felt herself begin to panic, but her wolf returned to her briefly to calm her.

We needed to eat. I could not finish it, so she did it for me. Her wolf purred in response as she affirmed what Ryleigh was thinking. Her wolf was going to be the strongest ally that she would have alongside her magic. But I need to become one with my wolf, like I became one with my magic, and, right now, we are two separate entities. Ryleigh relinquished control and her wolf purred again. She devoured the bear’s heart as its blood painted her snout and darkened her crimson fur. Her ears twitched as she heard footsteps approach from behind. A gentle growl calmed her wolf as Lukas’ wolf told her she was safe. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. As she continued to devour the heart, she looked to replace Lukas’ shirt beside the bear’s corpse. Ryleigh’s wolf diminished her confusion, telling her that she would understand after the feeding.

With the heart fully consumed, Ryleigh’s wolf was satiated and succumbed. Ryleigh gained control, and her body returned to her from her wolf. Ryleigh was breathing heavily as she stared at the bear’s corpse beneath her. Its dead eyes were fixated on her, its large tongue splayed outside of its mouth. She pushed herself into a sitting position and found herself nude. She inhaled sharply and snatched Lukas’ shirt from the ground. She quickly pulled it over her head and stood up. His shirt fell comfortably down to her knees, and she turned to face him.

Lukas had his back to her, his large shoulders tense. The tension in his shoulders rippled along the muscles of his back and down his arms. Ryleigh’s breathing was heavy as she struggled to calm herself. “Thank you,” she whispered. Lukas turned to face her, and all of the effort of attempting to calm herself vanished. The tension that rippled the muscles in Lukas’ arms pulled taut at his pectoral and abdominal muscles. The man looked like a chiseled marble god, wound up and ready to strike with the pull of his muscles. His jaw was clenched tightly, his full lips pulled tightly beneath his canines. His eyes were gold fire as they fixated on her. “I am sorry if I scared you,” Ryleigh said as she approached him. “I told you that I could take care of myself.”

“This isn’t fear, my love,” Lukas whispered through gritted teeth. “This is something else entirely.” His eyes traced her face slowly, and he growled again.

Ryleigh brought her hand to her face and felt the blood smeared across it. She sighed. Right. This was a project for her. “I’ll clean up when we get back,” she muttered. She ran a hand through her hair and found that same sticky substance in her hair. She had not realized how much blood was stolen from the bear until she was able to feel it on herself. I probably look like the animal that I am now. She brought both of her hands to her face and began to rub the blood away.

Lukas charged her and wrapped a hand around her throat softly. Her eyes widened as her breath lodged in her throat. “Lukas?” She whispered. She heard his heart beating so fast that she could not count the beats even if she wanted to, his breath so choppy that he was no longer controlling his breathing. His bright gold eyes stared at her with such ferocity that it triggered another wave of arousal to build in her core, and she gasped as his grip on her throat tightened in response. His canines separated and his long tongue licked her jawline slowly. His tongue flicked at her earlobe, and a moan escaped Ryleigh’s throat.

Lukas snarled and released her suddenly. Ryleigh’s heaving breathing matched Lukas’ as his chest rose and fell, his eyes trained on hers. “Clean up,” he ordered deeply. “Get some rest. Your first hunt is exhausting.” Ryleigh stepped forward before she could stop herself. She wanted to experience these sensations again, this power that Lukas had over her. This feeling was more than arousal; it was a desire, a craving, an absolute need to feel him, however she could. Lukas inhaled sharply and took a step back. He shook his head. “I am sorry, Ryleigh. Please, get some rest. I will see you soon.” Lukas turned away from her and broke into a sprint.