Tarnished(11)

Branches scraped through her fur, leaving behind twigs and leaves. She was tough skinned. Nothing would hurt her. She ran until she heaved for breath. In wolf form, that took a while. Several miles. When she finally stopped, she was at the top of a hill looking down. The view was breathtaking, and she sat on her haunches to gaze out across the lush spring landscape.

What was happening to her? She hated the reaction she’d had to Drake. Ugh, even his name sent a chill down her spine. Why did he have to be so fricking sexy? He was built like a linebacker, not that she watched any football. What did he do for a living that kept him so fit? Or did he spend hours a day working out? His tanned skin and sun-bleached hair attested to the fact that he must work outside.

She shook her head to dislodge him from her mind … to no avail. Even in wolf form, she still craved him. When he’d held her hand, she’d felt connected for the first time in her life with another being. And that both terrified her and pissed her off.

And perhaps it also intrigued her, but she wasn’t going to admit that.

She never should have gotten into his car. It hadn’t been fair to him or to her. All she’d done was make her resolve weaken and hurt his feelings. She’d not intended to be so rude, but she had no intention of being claimed by anyone.

She hadn’t counted on it being so difficult to endure the rejection when faced with it. She’d honestly never visualized any sort of meeting ever occurring with a wolf that varied from either the experience of the last gathering with Marcus or the experience of the previous gathering, when she’d been nineteen and first vowed to remain single and strong-willed. She cringed at the memory and tipped her head toward the sunny sky to wipe the thought away.

That hour of her life was never far from the surface, however. When would she be able to move on? When would she forget?

Had the occurrence made her stronger, as she’d insisted on being? Or had she simply curled up into a shell and let herself die inside?

No. She refused to believe that. She’d worked so hard for four years to ensure nothing like that ever happened to her. She refused to believe it had all been for naught. She was educated. Intelligent. Hard-working.

That had to count for something. In the end, she would come out beautifully. But at what cost? Was it worth it? The loneliness? Keeping others at arm’s length?

Stop. Stop doubting your decisions. The choice to remain single for life was made four years ago. Stick with the plan. It’s safer, and you know it.

She sat for a long time, just enjoying the scenery. When the sun dipped lower in the sky and she judged the time to be late afternoon, she decided to head back. Would she run into Drake? Could she avoid him altogether and escape his penetrating gaze, his alluring smile, his warmth?

The best plan was to go straight to the car and wait for her family there. They would be hours finishing up inside. And her mother would be pissed by her disappearance. But she wasn’t interested in what others thought. Self-preservation was her only concern.

That and avoidance…

•

Drake leaned his head on the steering wheel and sighed. Where had she gone? What was she doing? How long could he leave her alone before he went after her? And then what? He couldn’t force her to mate with him. Hell, he’d never force anyone to do anything. If she was still dead set against him claiming her tomorrow evening, then there would be nothing he could do but let her go.

He moaned. It would be painful.

Give her tonight. Let her think on this. You know she’s attracted to you. She’s hurting. But, what had spooked Mackenzie Davis so much that she would run from the touch of her mate and deny their magnetism?

He shivered to think of the possibilities.

After pondering the effects of her refusal, Drake tried to clear his head and exited the cab. He had no interest in returning to the gathering inside. Instead, he stripped off his clothes, deposited them in the cab, and shifted into wolf form.

No one else was milling about right then, but even if they were, there wasn’t anyone within a mile radius who would find it odd for a wolf to be running between the cars. It happened.

As soon as he broke free of the open landscape and entered the tree line, he scented her.

He skidded to a halt and tipped his head up to take a long slow whiff. Yeah, she’d had the same idea. Escape reality between the trees. Great. What should he do? The last thing he wanted was to make her think he was following her. She’d be furious.

Nose to the ground, he easily found her pile of clothes where she’d left them on a tree stump. He groaned inwardly, picturing her peeling the items off one at a time until she stood gloriously naked for the moments before she shifted.