Luna Hunted
Chapter 3

Kara

I’d never had such a visceral reaction to a wolf before. Nor a man. But the bea*st who’d padded outside my motel room was captivating. Soft, dove-gray fur surrounded his deep amber eyes. The same color as the liquid in Dad’s glass the night he died. The thought was a reminder and sent a sharp pain to my already aching heart.

But the man who’d burst into my room uninvited was tall. Sable hair. Intense eyes that seemed to see into my soul like he claimed I was his. On his burnished skin was an array of tattoos luring me to follow them with my eyes. A woman couldn’t help looking at the magnificent c0ck hanging between his th!ghs. He’d busted in n*ked, after all. And when he’d grown—

Luna help me. I’d experienced a sudden desire to have him claim me. It was the reason I’d freaked out and attempted to bash him over the head with the lamp, even though I realized I didn’t have a chance against a man his size. Just as I didn’t stand a chance against Garth.

It was terrible I was comparing the two when the stranger made me experience entirely different things than what Garth ever did. But a stranger he was. He might be in cahoots with Garth for all I knew. This may well be a ploy to return me to him.

Never.

I slipped through the bushes, being careful not to brush against any branches lest I leave more of my scent behind. Dashing into the stream, I waded through the icy water and out the other side. I understood the rules. I’d learned how to give wolves the slip.

Wash with antibacterial soap. Wear scent-control hunting clothing. Humans designed the attire for hunting deer, but they’d been invaluable to me in my escape. I bent and grabbed handfuls of leaves and dirt, rubbing them over my skin and clothes. Another way to mask my scent. I yanked the mask-scent spray out of my jeans pocket and squirted it. Another trick to overwhelm animals from detecting one scent. Finally, I checked the direction of the wind and stayed downwind.

Every one of these tricks had worked with Garth.

There was no reason they wouldn’t work with the stranger.

I sprinted and dashed through the forest. The years of running had made me fit. I would outrun this wolf shifter who claimed I was his. He had to get in line at this stage. I almost laughed, wondering what would happen if they both knew about the other’s claim. Would they fight for me? Or would Garth’s prior claim trump the stranger’s?

As the sun prepared to rise, the air cooled in the eerie time of day where the day met the night. With each puff of my frosty breath, the sky lightened to a melancholy gray, adding to the despair of my life. Would I ever be able to stop running?

After hours of running, I paused at a rocky crevice. The gap appeared the perfect size for my frame. As fit as I was, I couldn’t run all day and night and not stop for sustenance.

I could kick myself for leaving behind my backpack, but I’d make do, as I had over the last few years. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to leave my possessions behind, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Resignation settled in as I curled into the cold stone, tucking my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my limbs. I wouldn’t cry.

Not again. I’d shed enough tears the first year on the run. The year my dad had died. I’d shed tears for the funeral I hadn’t been able to attend. I’d never even visited his grave. I hoped they’d at least buried him next to Mom. But knowing Garth, he might have left his body to rot in the house, forever marring it for me.

A deep sigh left my lungs. Sighs, I could do. Tears, I couldn’t.

The sun rose, and my eyelids drifted closed as the bright stream of golden rays heated the rocks. The warmth sank into my aching heart just a little for a moment.

Titus

Daisy’s scent grew harder and harder to follow. For now, I’d call her Daisy until I learned her name. For that was what she was to me. Daisy. Sweet like the juicy scarlet l!ps on her face. Beautiful with her silky, light-blonde hair. Sassy sparks of ice in her blue eyes. Strength in every lithe muscle of her body. And an inner fight blazing from her core.

She’d be a mate to be proud of.

A mate I couldn’t wait to claim. And claim her I would, even if I had to hunt the earth for her. As luck would have it, I didn’t have far to hunt. Just as I’d predicted, she’d curled up in one crevice I was familiar with, like the back of my paw. She was even more beautiful in slumber. Vulnerable.

That was the word. She didn’t look helpless when awake, but asleep, she had a softness to her that was missing when wide awake and wary.

Wary of me, or was it more?

I hungered to know. To know her.

I padded into the river and stood still as the trout swam closer. Closer still. I swiped a half-shifted claw into the fast-running water, snagging the large rainbow trout and flinging it onto the bank.

Another followed in quick succession. I considered the woman, still unmoving for a moment, before fishing two more fish from the river. Gutting the fish with my claw, I carried them closer to the woman and set them down on the rocks.

My fists clamped around the air with the need to wake her. To hold her in my arms. To feel her tremble with desire for me and me alone. It would happen. No one could resist the allure of their fated mated.

First, I’d feed her. Woo her as best I could out here in the wilderness. Perfect, really. We were wild creatures. To be civilized was a lie.

I collected old fallen timber and dried moss and sparked a fire with a nest of tinder and the old-fashioned hand drill method. Humans found this method harder than us wolf shifters with our superior speed and strength. As the tinder caught a spark, I lightly blew to coax the flames higher, then transferred them to the small pile of dried sticks. Once they were lit, I added larger branches until the fire blazed with enough heat to cook the trout.

I hummed faintly to myself as I made a rack for the fish and placed them over the top of the flames. Yellow and orange flickered up higher as the wind grew. I glanced up at the darkening sky. Thick, ominous clouds hung low in the sky and cut off the small stream of sunshine. A storm was brewing. I needed to get my mate out of here and to the safety of my cabin as soon as possible. We might be wolf shifters, but we still preferred the creature comforts of houses. Particularly during a pelting storm.

I’d have to wake her.

I didn’t want to startle her trapped in the tight space with nowhere to go, but I didn’t have a choice. The rocks were warm as I crawled across them and paused beside her.

“Love,” I said soothingly. “Time to wake up.”

She gr0aned. Stretched, but her limbs hit the sides of the crevice. Her eyes snapped open and met mine, then her gaze skittered to the open space. She couldn’t get by me. She knew it. I knew it.

“How did you track me?” came her croaky question.

“Your sweet scent.”

She scoffed and rubbed her dirt-smeared face. “Under all this dirt and filth?”

“It’s the scent of my mate.”

Her eyes flashed with a glitter of ice. I’d soon thaw it. Thaw her.

“Come, I’ve cooked us food. Then we need to head home before the storm hits.”

She withdrew deeper into the crevice, if that was possible. Her lithe limbs curled tighter around her body as though to protect herself from me. I’d never hurt her.

“Come.” I held out my hand. “I won’t hurt you.” I told her the words she needed to hear.

Her nose wrinkled adorably.

“I promise on my mother’s life.”

“Well,” she said. “How do I know you don’t hate your mother?”

“This is true.” I c0cked my head. “What would you like me to promise on?”

“I want you to promise me you don’t know Garth. That you’re not working with him. That you won’t give me to him. That—”

“Sweetheart,” I interrupted her. “I’d never give you to anyone.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” she snapped as tears glistened in her eyes.

“Okay. I won’t.” I inched back a fraction to give her room to climb out of the rocks. “Who is Garth?”

“You truly don’t know him?”

“No. I know no Garth.”

“All right.” She nodded. “If I replace out you do, I’ll chop your balls off.”

“Love.” I chuckled. “You’ll be very fond of my balls, so I’d suggest you rethink that statement.”

“No.” She slid out of the gap as though she’d performed the maneuver a million times. “If Garth replaces me thanks to you, then I’ll stick to my statement.”