She lifted her chin, raised her fist, and remembered to tuck her thumbs so she wouldn’t break them. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Ethan punched incredibly fast, and she jabbed the air deflecting his strikes. He refused to hit her and instead tried to tap her body. On her chest, her face, her shoulders, his hands were everywhere, boom, boom, boom, one after another, challenging her.
Her arm and back muscles burned fiercely.
They’d trained all day, beginning at sunrise and stopping only for lunch to keep up their strength. Even so, her stomach screamed for food. Her wolf grew bigger and stronger every day, demanding more of her energy.
Ethan’s aims were quick, precise. Left, right, down, up, she knocked his hands away. No longer overheated, she gained her second wind and deflected his attacks even faster, forcing Ethan to step up his game. Her reactions came automatically, no longer within her conscious mind, but she anticipated his every move.
Inside her body, a powerful force rushed to the surface. Ethan threw up his hands and backed up, grinning. She stared him down, her bones quivering. An almost feral growl came from her throat. “Ethan?”
“Go ahead, little one. Take off your clothes.
Let your wolf come out. This is why I had you wait. You have not only learned the skills required for protecting yourself, but you have taught your wolf to guard you when you are the most vulnerable.”
She scrambled to remove her clothes. The dam she’d built the last week broke. Finally, she could let her wolf come. Her adrenaline spiked, and she swiftly inhaled. She’d finally meet her hidden wolf. Happiness bubbled inside her.
Dani fell to her hands and knees. She arched as bones cracked and transformed her into her canine species. An explosion of sensations released within her core and flowed throughout her body. Fur grew were there was once skin, and her jaw lengthened. She yelled in surprise, but only a yip from her wolf sounded.
She gazed up at Ethan. Her vision so sharp and the colors so vibrant, she stared in wonder.
He was beautiful and his smile was only for her.
Her formerly tired muscles tingled with energy. She wanted to run, hunt, and stretch her legs.
The patter of soft quick footsteps came from the edge of the forest to her right, and she turned her head. She flicked her ears, snapped her jaws, and sniffed. All senses zoned in on the…umm…rabbit. Her stomach growled.
“Ethan, my wolf is starving. I don’t think she liked how hard you worked me today.” The hair on her side shifted, and she tensed.
Ethan had changed while her attention was drawn to the woods and now stood beside her as a wolf. She stepped closer and rolled on the ground biting him under the neck.
Dark gray with silver highlights lined his fur.
He was gorgeous. His eyes glowed yellow in a familiar way. She’d witnessed his eyes changing during lovemaking, and it had never failed to turn her on. Ethan was a spectacular man, and it didn’t surprise her a bit that his wolf was even more beautiful. Regal, majestic, and bigger than life, the alpha in him proudly displayed for all to see. “Are you ready to run, little one?” He nipped her belly.
Dani flopped over and shot to her feet. “Yes!
I can’t wait.”
“Let’s see if you can catch that rabbit.” Ethan sprinted toward the trees.
She followed close behind, sniffing the air. If she were in her human body, she’d be jumping off the ground and shouting out her happiness at this moment. She was alive, complete, and more content than she’d ever been in her life.
The hunger gnawing on her insides all week grew. She ran ahead of Ethan. The rich bloody scent of the food available in the woods excited her. She planned to satisfy her out-of-control appetite she'd suffered since going through her heat cycle.
“You’re on your own, little one. Go feed.” He slowed down and left her to her run. “I’m proud of you, mate. You are a beautiful wolf.”
* * *
Ethan lay on his back in the grass underneath an old alder tree with his arms folded behind his head, ankles crossed, eyes closed. Dani stalked a straight line toward him, slowed down, and crept closer. Within four feet of him, she saw his hard, flat stomach shaking with laughter.
She shifted and pounced on him. Straddling his waist, she planted both hands on each side of his head. “I almost gotcha.”
He cracked his eyelids open and grasped her around the waist. “Did you have a good run?”
“Mmm…” She ducked her head. “Yes, but it would have been nicer if you had come along.”
“I’m here now.” He thrust his hips. “I was dreaming about you.”
She leaned down and gave him a long, slow kiss before nibbling her way along his jaw and over to his ear, where she licked the lobe. “What was I doing in your dream?”