see her, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Rynn seemed to enjoy it the most—the spotlight was off her. For that reason alone, I played along.
At the front door, Kyden grabbed the handle, pulled it open and dragged me through. The moment we were outside, I froze. “You have got to be out of your mind!”
“Scared are you?” Kyden’s voice was amused.
“Yes. I am scared—very, very scared,” I replied, staring at the white stallion Kyden had been so enthralled with earlier.
“He is gentle.” He dropped my hand, walked toward the horse. “You have nothing to fear from him.” He gave the horse’s face a rub and the horse let out a deep snort at the contact.
“I am not getting up there, Kyden.”
He chuckled under his breath, and in a smooth move, launched himself onto the horse’s back. He leaned back a bit, patting in front of him. “Come on, this spot is yours.”
“What part of, I am not getting up there, don’t you understand?” I said with a stomp of my foot. I’d never ridden a horse in my life. It wasn’t the riding part that scared me—it was the falling off part that had my knees shaking.
Kyden reached down, stroked the horse’s neck. “He will not hurt you. Nor will I. Now come on.”
Arguing was useless. Kyden was as determined as I was. He wanted this, therefore if I didn’t give in, we’d stand here until I did. Instead of drawing out the fact that I was eventually going to let him win, I focused on the fact that I did trust him. He would never let anything hurt me. I took a few hesitant steps forward and he reached down to me. After his hand closed around mine, he pulled me up to sit in front of him. He moved up closer, cradling his body tight against mine and grabbed the reins.
A second later, the horse was galloping at full speed and I was screaming bloody murder. I gripped the horse’s mane in dire hope that I wouldn’t do a face-plant in the dirt. “Jeessuusss…” I screamed.
Kyden laughed loudly. “Enjoy this. Relax, I’ve got you.”
As if that was going to happen.
We ran and ran. The wind whipped past us quickly. It wasn’t long before I realized just how incredible this was. The strength that came from the horse was marvelous. It was an honor that this magnificent beast would allow us to ride on him—when he could easily squish me into nothing. Resolved, I sank back into Kyden and released the horse’s mane.
The air whipped through my hair as we rushed forward. The further we ran, the more comfortable I began to feel. It was inevitable that I would enjoy this. I laughed like a kid on Halloween examining all their candy.
After some time, he slowed. The gallop was a much easier ride. When he began to trot, I was bouncing around like popcorn being popped. “Oh…God.” I laughed, grabbing the horse’s mane again.
“Whoa.” Kyden’s voice came out deep and smooth. The horse instantly complied and came to a dead halt. He scooted back, swiftly hopped off, then reached up to pull me off.
“Thank God, the ground.” Though I enjoyed the ride, I knelt down and touched the ground, happy I survived. The horse neighed something very close to laughter and Kyden chuckled right along with him. After a couple more thank you Gods, I finally glanced up. “Where are we?”
Before Kyden answered, the horse shimmied. In a blink of an eye, one hunk of a man, completely clothed in jeans and a cotton t-shirt stood in front of me. He was a large and made Kyden look small—a nearly impossible thing. He had long platinum hair that looked very similar to his mane in horse form. Most definitely, he would be defined as a man’s-man. “Fuck,” I gasped, shocked beyond belief. “You’re a Were?”
He nodded, thoroughly amused. “I am Atticus.”
Once I got over the shock of seeing him shift, I was completely confused. “Why do you choose to stay a horse?” He lived at Valor’s in horse form. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why he would want that.
He shrugged, his long hair danced along his body. “Valor treats me well and I prefer my horse form.”
“Isn’t that odd for Weres?” I asked. Most Weres preferred human form, only shifted to their animal shape if they needed to. Never had I met any who desired this type of lifestyle.
“It is,