Hunt Me! (I Crave The Chase) - Page 211

Which was why we’d ended up here. On a chase. With Mutt’s alphaskin behind me rather than his wolf, and the anticipatory crackle of sex in the air.

The other wolves in the pack were running tonight too, like they always did on the full moon—but they kept their distance. Despite being clingy as a whole, every moon they kept a polite distance. Mutt said it was because though we were pack and therefore family, they knew I was still new and wouldn’t appreciate voyeurs catching an eyeful of Mutt taking the moon out on my ass. Which was nice, but also super invasive.

I figured you couldn’t really avoid invasiveness though. Not when you could smell sex from fifty yards away, and hear it from even farther.

Today was no different, though we had gotten a few amused catcalls before we’d split off from the group on our own. All it had taken was one whiff of Mutt when we’d stepped into the clearing we all met in for the start of the run for all of them to steer clear of us.

Thump, thump.

Another log.

My heart raced.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

While I wanted Mutt to catch me—because of course I did—I still didn’t want to make this too easy. He needed to chase as badly as I needed to be chased. So I made a beeline for the creek that spanned the chunk of land that the Rocky Mountain pack had finished negotiations on.

If I can get in the water—I can hide my scent.

I pushed harder, lungs burning, heart racing.

And then, there it was, peeking through the trees. Moonlit and beautiful, the small stream trickled loudly as I burst through the woods and raced toward it. I couldn’t hear Mutt anymore, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t close.

He was an excellent hunter, and he could easily conceal himself even from me. When I heard him it was only because he wanted me to. Which meant…he was no doubt close, and I didn’t have much time to get away before he found me.

My paws skidded over pebbles as I slid down the rocks toward the water, heart in my throat. I only had a split second to see my reflection, lavender eyes glowing softly on a furry orange face I barely recognized before?—

Fuck—ow—oh.

Time’s up.

All the air wooshed from my lungs as a heavy, furry body jerked on top of me. Mutt’s black fur glinted, the water rippling, his distorted reflection flickering. The gleam of his sapphire blue eyes wavered in the water, as did the pointed ears on his head, and his long snout filled with razor-sharp, wicked teeth.

And then he was hauling me backward with his claw-tipped hands, away from the creek, onto the much softer sand. I fought back, heart thumping erratically as I struggled in his grip, putting every last ounce of fight I had left into the movements only to fail spectacularly.

Because he was simply stronger than I was.

Bigger.

Better.

A predator made to hunt other predators.

Mutt’s claws bit into my furry hips, forcing me flat on my belly, pinning me into the sand as his hot breath huffed at the back of my neck. Caught. I’m caught. I jerked again and he growled, low and rumbling, and terrifying.

My wolf whined, melting beneath the much larger beast, giving in immediately. And the second I gave in, I shifted. It felt odd, like it always did, but right too as my fur melted away. Naked and much smaller now, my humanskin ached with need as I dug my blunt fingers into the cold, damp sand, looking for something to ground me.

God, he feels good.

So big, so fucking?—

Fuck.

Mutt growled his triumph, voice rumbling through the air as the hot slick of his drool dripped on the back of my neck. His hands shifted a little, still holding tight to my hips, keeping me pinned and obedient beneath him.

“Oh shit,” I whined softly, achingly hard. The brush and scratch of his coarse fur along my back made my head spin. It was so foreign and strange, and sexy as hell because beneath the teeth and the hair and the claws was my mate.

My Mutt.