whip away just as he lunges for her throat.
She flings herself erratically to the side, but she’s still bound by the ropes. Her chair topples over, and she lands hard on her side, cracking her head. She cries out in pain just as I shove the beast down.
I somehow force the shift. He howls his protest, but I manage to shift back to human before I take off for the door, snarling in anger that I let him tear at her like that.
I barrel down the cabin’s steps and take off at a run through the woods. I’m completely naked. The clothes I’d been wearing are in tatters on the floor back in the cabin. Rocks, branches, and brush cut into my soles, but I welcome the pain.
The pain grounds me and makes me feel all of the self-loathing that’s been rising inside me for months, ever since my wolf turned rogue and became something I no longer recognize.
There’s truly no hope for me.
I fly down the mountain, blindly running as that thought cuts through my senses like a saber. I know I can’t stop the beast. I know there’s no way I will ever lead a normal life again, but that doesn’t stop me from putting as many miles between me and Brianna Keller as I can.
You stupid fuck, Collin. You never should have taken her!
I welcome those thoughts, too, because as long as I’m thinking and still maintaining conversation as a human in my head, I can keep the beast from killing her, and suddenly, I know that’s exactly what I need to do.
I took her, and now I’m responsible for her. I can’t let her die.
You need to let her go.
But another vicious snarl tears from me at that thought. I should let her go. It’s the only way she’ll survive, but terror fills me at the thought of losing her, even though I know if I keep her, the beast will destroy her.
∞ ∞ ∞
Over an hour passes before I stop running. I’m so many miles away from her that I know for the moment I don’t pose a threat.
I collapse to the ground, my muscles trembling from the exertion.
I need to go back. I need to give her something to eat and drink. Fuck, I also need to let her go to the bathroom. It’s been so many hours since I took her. Although, given the terror in her eyes when the beast emerged, she probably wet herself.
A humorless chuckle escapes me, but there’s nothing funny about this situation. The truth is, I fucked up. I shouldn’t have abducted her. I should have ignored this bizarre longing I have and walked away.
But I didn’t, and now she’s been hurt because of me.
I take a deep breath before making myself stand. Thankfully, I don’t feel the beast pressing against my control. It’s as though he knows I would keep running away until he gave up. With any luck, he’ll stay sleeping, which means I have a few hours reprieve.
I begin the long walk back to the cabin as the late-morning sun beats down on my back while my dick dangles between my legs.
Growing up a shifter means I’m used to walking naked in the woods, but I also know if any remote hikers happen to stumble across my path I’ll make a memorable encounter.
And I’m trying to avoid detection from humans in this area.
So I keep my head up, sniffing continuously in case I catch a human scent. But all that fills my nostrils are pine, damp earth, and the musky smell of squirrels hiding in the trees.
It has to be noon by the time the old wooden planks of the cabin appear through the trees. The stolen car is still parked out front. One of the back tires looks flat, which means it probably got punctured on a sharp rock on this forgotten mountain road on the drive in.
I open the car’s back door and pull out a pair of basketball shorts. I have a dozen pairs on hand just for moments like this, when a shift emerges against my control and leaves me naked and exposed.
After pulling them on, I’m still shirtless, but it’s the best I can do. I pause and feel inside for the beast.
His hulking dark form shifts in my belly, but he’s still sleeping. I need to take advantage of that while I can.
With quick movements, I climb the steps silently to the cabin and open the door. She’s still