Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,93
even as the forest grew darker. She could hear tiny creatures scuffling under the bushes and the wind sighing in the trees even though the branches stood still.
And the more she saw and heard and smelled the more she wanted to run away. The heightened senses, the feeling of power that coursed through her body — all of it terrified her more than she could even give voice to.
Beside her, Justin walked as though nothing in the world was wrong, as though they were just out for a hike and they weren’t werewolves, and their leader wasn’t insane, and he didn’t have a girlfriend, and it wasn’t death to get between them.
A twig cracked somewhere to her right. A deer bounded in front of her, startling her, and she jumped sideways, slamming into Justin.
The deer ran off and Katelyn’s heart raced. She wanted to urge it to run far and fast. Because tonight we hunt and I don’t want to kill you.
“Kat, it’s just a deer. Relax,” Justin grunted.
“Don’t tell me to relax,” she hissed. “Imagine for five seconds that this wasn’t the life you were born into and suddenly you’re facing all this.”
“It’s not that bad,” he said, sounding tense.
“Oh, really? Mr. Fenner wants me to get married. And if I piss him off he’ll kill me. So, where does that leave me?”
“In a pack, and behaving like a pack mate,” he replied.
“I’m barely seventeen. I’m too young to even think about any of this stuff.”
“No, you’re not,” he said, voice husky. He reached out and took her hand again. And the contact sent fire running through her veins. But she had something to say, and she needed to get it out, no matter how hot he was. She forcibly removed her hand from his.
“Yes, I am!” she shouted. She couldn’t stop herself. There was too much pain, too much change, and if he didn’t understand, she would make him understand.
“You’re overreacting.” He moved his shoulders. “Even though my uncle’s got his . . . problems, he knows enough to give you some time to adjust. He’s not making any wedding plans for you.”
“You know he is,” she insisted. “You heard him.” She didn’t know what had happened after she’d left. What had been said. What had been done.
“That was only because he got you mixed up with . . . her.”
“But what about her? He was pushing her to get married and he wouldn’t even let her choose the guy.”
Justin frowned. “You mean the football player she was dating? He wasn’t pack material. And wolves can only marry other wolves. She knew that. She probably would have married Steve.”
Katelyn shook her head fiercely. “No, she wouldn’t have.”
He grabbed her by the arms. She could feel his fingers curled around her biceps and they seemed to burn into her skin. His nearness was making her head swim.
She stared at his lips and struggled to focus on what he was saying, but it was becoming difficult. She was having trouble thinking and for a moment she wondered if the change was happening already.
The wolf is trying to claw its way out.
“What makes you so sure about that?” he demanded.
“Maybe he was the one who started all this, trying to discredit her because she was going to reject him,” Katelyn said, feeling like she was babbling.
Is that right, is that what I meant to say?
She stared at Justin. His pupils were dilating and the way he was looking at her, she knew she should back away.
Run away.
“How do you know she was going to reject him?”
Let go of me. Now, she thought. Please.
“Because she didn’t love him.”
He smiled. “It’s not always about love, Kat.”
He’s right. This isn’t love. This is just desire. The wolf wants him . . . and I — I don’t.
But she did. She felt horrible about it, but there it was.
“Is that why you’re with Lucy?” she snapped before she could stop herself. She was trying to push him away with her words. She just didn’t know how far she could push. Her fuse was shortening. Darkness was falling. The moon would soon rise.
He made a strangled sound in his throat and his hands tightened on her arms. “I care deeply for Lucy.”
“But do you love her?” It seemed like the only question in the world.
His gaze took on a faraway cast, the muscle in his jaw working. “We can’t always have who we love.”