Zane


    | knew Xander wasn’ting after me to battle anything out, but | tensed anyway when he approached. There was no point in


    apology. | wasn’t sorry for what I’d done.


    “Take off your clothes,” he said.


    “That was not where | thought this was going to go.”| admitted, already pulling my T-shirt off over my


    head and tossing it to the grass.


    Xander toed off his boots as he unbuckled his jeans and ran the zipper down. He shoved the deni his hips and stepped out,


    bare-as sed. “Save that forter Right now, Beta, you’re going to show me wi


    wolf can do.”


    Internally, my wolf whined with glee at the offer. My teeth were already sharpening as | stripped out c rest of my clothes. Seeing


    through my wolf''s eyes, everything took on a different sheen of color. Smells heightened as | gave over more of my senses to the


    beast inside me. Part of me.


    Then, the beast was me.


    “Too long.” de growled as my four paws hit the soft ground.


    Beside us, Hunter had taken over from Xander. The big wolf nipped at de’s sides, making us dance. away, but yfully.


    Together, we rolled on the ground before Hunter leaped up and ran for the woods, de


    hot on his heels.


    “Always want to run.” de’s breathbored as we moved into the trees, dodging roots and nosing the scents of squirrels and


    rabbits that made him salivate.


    Of course, my wolf always wanted to be up front, and it had been too long since we''d been able to do this. Not for the first time, |


    wondered what it would be like to live like this permanently. What it must''ve been like for our ancestors in the earliest days of the


    Moon Goddess''’s blessing.


    Then, | stopped thinking and let my wolf take over. Hunter jumped a fallen tree. de followed. Together, the wolves hunted


    some prey, flushing up a flock of birds as they crashed through the undergrowth in gleefulThis content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    pursuit of the small deer.


    Just before we would’ve taken it down, Hunter veered off and headed for the sound of rushing water, de protested, but only


    for a second as the other wolf sent out amand for us to follow. By the time we got there, Xander had shifted back and stood,


    proudly naked, by the water’s edge.


    | followed suit. My muscles were limp and loose from the exercise, and | regretted not being in my wolf form only for a few


    seconds before Xander slung an arm over my shoulders and pulled me against his hip.


    There were things wolves couldn''t do, and a hug would always be one of them.


    | buried my face against the side of Xander’s sweaty neck and breathed him in. | might not be able to differentiate as many


    scents as de could, but I’d always know the smell of this man.


    His hand rubbed the back of my head before he sank his fingers into my hair and tugged a couple of times to get me to look up


    at him. Xander’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed. He frowned.


    “| f u cking love you. | want you to hear it, do you understand me?” he said roughly. “You f ucked up, but I just...I get it. And |


    want you to stop beating yourself up about it. We''re going to find a way to make this all


    okay.”


    | punched his chest lightly, then let my hand rest t over his heart, still beating fast with the efforts of our run. My fingertips


    curled, pressing for a second before | let my hand slide down his hip to anchor there. Xander slipped a heavy thigh between


    mine.


    “My mother was going to do some research to figure out a way to get you out of the vow. You did make a vow, right? Not just like


    a little, casual promise with a wave of your fingers or whatever?” He looked a litt! hopeful at the end of that question.


    With regret, | shook my head. “No. It wasn’t a blood vow or anything like that. | mean, she didn’t cu palm and mingle our


    essences in a goblet or anything f ucked up like that ”


    “No,” he said, tone slightly mocking. “She just made you promise to ‘mingle your essences’ in her goble so you could make a


    baby with her.”


    | snortedughter, amazed that we could even find any humor in any of this. “Yeah. | made a vow.


    “Ma says that means you''re bound to do it, then. That Rhiannon would''ve set a binding on you somehow, whether you knew it or


    not. So you can’t just tell her you changed your mind.”


    “| wouldn''t do that. | gave my word,” | said harshly. “Which means we need to figure out another way to


    stop her.”