Beauty Sleeps (Fairytale Shifter Book 2)(28)

I decide to check out the scent just to be safe and to see what’s going on. I take a few steps down the trail and follow the smell. When I make it a few feet, I stop. I can smell Gwen’s wolf, and she’s close. Suddenly, I can feel a wicked smile spreading across my face. My mate is trying to play hide and seek.

I slip off my shirt and jeans and leave them in a pile beside a tree. This is shifter territory, and no one will bother things that smell of other shifters. The snow is light today, only just having started falling yesterday. The afternoon sun is peeking through the trees, and the cold breeze lends a crisp chill to the air.

Gwen and I have gone for runs in the woods a few times. At first, I was really nervous, keeping her close to me and never letting her out of my sight. But like all things with my mate, she opens me up to life. I would have kept locking us inside our home for the rest of our lives if she’d let me, but she keeps reminding me that there’s life outside our bubble.

Once I’m naked, I shift, easily slipping into my large black wolf. I catch her scent even faster this way, and I take off in the direction she’s headed. I lengthen my stride as I prowl through the woods, bringing her closer and closer to me. I run through the trees, letting my wolf come to the front and control my instincts as I track my mate with precision.

When I come to a small meadow, I stop, sensing she’s close. I crouch down on all fours, looking around and waiting for her to make her move.

This place is several miles from town and utterly beautiful. I’ve been out this way before, but most shifters don’t come out this far. It’s still in the protected zone, so I know my mate is safe. I scent the area again just to be sure, and she’s the only other one out here.

The meadow is small and surrounded by thick trees, covered with a light dusting of snow. I lie in the shadows and wait until she makes her move.

After a few moments, my patience pays off and I see her breach the trees. Her wolf walks through the clearing, slowly making her way to the center.

Each time I see her, her beauty takes my breath away. Her wolf is solid white with crystal blue eyes, and she’s long and lean. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ll never get tired of looking at her.

Silently, I creep forward just to the edge of the trees, and I watch as she goes to the middle and stops. She looks over in my direction as if she senses me, and lowers herself to the ground, growling.

Oh, my mate wants to wrestle? Done.

Digging my feet into the snow for traction, I leap out of the trees and into the small clearing. As I come down to land on my mate, she rolls over and kicks up her paws, knocking me off her.

I can feel my wolf grin as I run back to her, and we begin to roll in the woods playfully. I can’t remember a time before our mating when I played. Since mating with Gwen, she’s opened my eyes and my heart to life. I had shut down who I was and what I wanted for so long, just existing and not living. Thanks to her I laugh every day. I say ‘I love you’ every day. And I never forget to tell her just how important she is to me. I have a family again.

After we are both covered in snow, I pounce on her one final time, holding her to the ground. I playfully nip at her neck and watch her shift under me. I shift at the same time, both of us naked in the middle of the meadow.

“I knew you’d find me,” she giggles, reaching up and rubbing my face. She likes to pet me, and we’ve both discovered I like to be petted.

“You shouldn’t have run in the woods without telling me.” I try to be stern, but my voice always softens when it comes to my mate.

“Are you saying you didn’t like the chase?” She pushes her hips up, pressing against my hard cock. She raises her eyebrows as if to prove her point.

“I’m always this way when I’m within ten feet of you. Don’t act surprised,” I growl low in my chest, leaning down and nipping at her neck again. This time when my teeth graze her skin instead of her fur, my need becomes stronger.

Gwen moans and turns her head to the side, exposing her neck fully to me. It’s her submission and invitation all at once. Sitting up on my hands and knees, I turn her over so she’s underneath me and in prime position. I have her smaller body caged under mine.

Shifter bodies naturally run warmer than humans, so the snow on the ground doesn’t hurt her hands and knees. The leaves make a soft bed beneath us, and being this far away from any humans, it’s as if we are in our own private world. I would never risk someone seeing my mate like this, and having her safe is my first responsibility.

“Present your body to me, mate. I want you.”

Gwen spreads her knees wider apart and lowers her shoulders slightly. The motion tips her ass higher in the air and exposes her pussy to me.