He kissed my mouth, searing his lips to mine.I could hardly breathe from just his touch. I needed to know what more would feel like. More in any capacity.I just needed him to release the pent-up energy that was warring inside me.Shamelessly, I rubbed against him, hoping he’d get the point without me having to feel like I was begging, but I wasn’t opposed to that if it was the only way to get what I needed.He was frozen for a few seconds after I’d answered his questions, but then he came at me with a ferocity that hadn’t been there before.The grip around my neck got tighter, the pressure of his hard lips on mine increased, and I swore my back was going to leave an indent in the drywall if we stayed where we were.I reached my hands between us, trying to get at the button on his pants, but he moved us so quickly that I had to suck in a breath from the swift movements.Before I knew it, we were on the mattress with a sheet and a thin blanket underneath my back. He boxed me in just l
Amy narrowed bright eyes at me. “Clearly. So she can kick your ass.”Elena smirked. “I already did that once, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again with claws.”I was tempted to dispute that statement, considering I’d ended up kidnapping her, but Elena could have this win.“Right,” I said. “Let’s go, then.”My eyes were forced forward so as not to stare too closely at Elena’s still-flushed cheeks and chest. I made it out the door without making eye contact and headed toward the forest, giving the carnival area a wide berth to avoid the people milling about.I saw Elena point at some of the rides and signs, but we weren’t here to have fun. We were here to see if she was going to have a problem shifting, and then it was time for us to move on. That was it.When all three of us made it into the small forest, I led the way to a spot past some of the denser trees that would allow us some privacy but still would offer plenty of moonlight.We didn’t need the moon to shift into our Bear forms, b
When her bear appeared, she was around four-and-a-half feet tall larger than most females and a dark charcoal color.The faint white I’d seen before seemed to flicker around her, but then it fizzled out. I didn’t know what that meant, but the fact that she could shift on her first try was what I focused on.Until I had the sudden desire to bow before her.What the fuck?I thought.I kept her Bear’s gaze and stepped forward with my hand out.She eyed me suspiciously, not nearly as submissive as her human half. A low growl rumbled from her chest, and I paused my movements.“Elena,” I warned.If she couldn’t keep control of her wolf, we were going to have an even bigger problem on our hands. I hadn’t considered the ramifications of forcing her first shift when she didn’t have an alpha, but as the minutes ticked by, the beast settled.Do you want to run?” I asked, making sure to remain bigger and more in control than the she-Bear, even though a part of me still wanted to avert my eyes when
Atlas’s eyes narrowed briefly. “The process of changing back is nearly the same as before. You need to envision your human form, remove all other distractions from your thoughts, and demand the energy to do as you command.”That seemed easy enough.I did as he said, but nothing happened. My Bear Howl, and I growled quietly. This was not like before.The Bear magic I could sense along my skin before I’d shifted wasn’t there any longer. The crackling power had guided me the first time, and no matter how deep I searched for it again, I came up empty.Atlas walked slowly toward me, holding his hand out, palm up. “May I?”His question shocked me, but I managed to nod my Bear head.My eyes watched his every movement, questioning his motives but also desperately wishing for his touch.He kneeled before me, putting his eyes level with mine. Without realizing what I was doing, my head nudged against his and a rumble vibrated from deep within me.“I’m not going to hurt you,” Atlas whispered. “N
Amy’s singing from the other room woke me while it was still dark out. Not because she sounded offkey, but because she was so damn good.I tried to enjoy the softly sung words that were sending shivers down my spine, but then my skin began to itch and the need to move overwhelmed me.I was out of bed in the next second and opening my bedroom door without really thinking things through. Moving down the hallway, I found Amy in the living room. She was already dressed in leather pants that melded to her skin but looked soft and pliable. She had on a white tank top, and her midnight hair was pulled back into a ponytail.Basically, she looked like a badass biker chick. I was in awe.She turned her smile on me, acting friendlier than she had the day before. “How’d you sleep?”“Not as well as usual, but good enough for the few hours I got,” I answered, scratching at my skin.Her eyes watched my movements. “Shifter jitters. I forgot about those. They’ll go away eventually.”Right, I thought.
My skin began to crawl, and not in the itchy way it had been before, but in the “my stomach was churning and something wasn’t right” way.“Pull over,” I told Atlas when we’d already passed the vehicle.“No,” he retorted.Fine. I didn’t need his permission before when I’d jumped out the window, and I didn’t need it now.Though I hadn’t considered that last time the jeep had been stopped before I’d leapt onto the road…I heard Amy’s shocked gasp and Atlas snarl my name, but there was nothing I could do once I’d committed to exiting the jeep one way or another.To my surprise, I didn’t fall into a heap of arms and legs, knocking the shit out of my body like I’d expected. I somehow managed to land gracefully on my feet, then kneeled quietly in the tall grass at the side of the road.Atlas hit the brakes, but I wasn’t paying attention to the jeep. No, my sights were set on the van still on the side of the road. I could faintly hear a child crying and two men arguing.“You fucking moron!” o
“What do we do with him now?” Amy asked, looking between me and Atlas.Since I wasn’t the professional kidnapper or killer here, I let him answer.“If he doesn’t know anything, we have to kill him,” he muttered with annoyance.Boris wailed beneath us. “Please, don’t. I swear I won’t tell anyone what happened here today. I’ll say I gave Mario the kid and went on my way.”With how easily Atlas had killed the other dude, I wasn’t sure he was in the “letting kidnappers go” kind of mood, but I previously hadn’t expected him to kiss me and stick his hand down my pants, either. Crazier things had happened in the last few days.Atlas picked the guy up from the ground and held him in the air with one hand. “You’re coming with us.”Boris’s muddy eyes widened. “Why? Just kill me now if you’re not going to let me go.”I scoffed. This asshole wanted mercy after he’d stolen a kid? Not fucking likely, but cool of him to think it was possible.“You’re going with us to Fire and Fluorite,” Atlas said.
I could see the boy giggling in Elena’s arms as she seemed to keep talking to him until he pointed up ahead.Amy turned down a street and he pointed again.Houses began popping up, and I saw a few curtains flutter, but nobody came out to see who was creeping through their neighborhood. Interesting.Thanks to not having a top on the jeep, I caught Silas frown at Elena, then shake his head. He must have gotten lost. Not surprising, considering he was maybe six years old.Elena looked back at me, and I could see the frustration in her eyes, but when she turned back to Sammy, she was smiling again as if everything was okay.How could anyone have thought this woman would pass for a murdering witch? That had been Jacob’s first mistake. His second had been trying to trick me into doing his dirty work.I glanced back at the guy I had tied to the metal floor of the van. “Where did you take the kid from?”“I’ll tell you if you promise to kill me quickly,” he pleaded, snot and tears covering his