Rabid (Kingdom of Wolves #6) - Ivy Asher Page 0,26

head back and howl with happiness, to shed the confines of my skin and feel the world through our wolf body. It’s time for us to run together, to bond in every possible way that we can, but...something holds us back.

Something is wrong.

I’m stuck inside the merging, unable to use my body, while she’s unable to use hers. A prickling sensation thrashes through us, so we reach out with our other senses, past our paralyzed form. The smells of the woods surround us, which should be a good thing, yet for some reason, alarm pumps through our veins. Something sickly sweet with an undertone of rot clings to our nose, making us agitated, like the scent of fruit on the cusp of going bad.

My wolf and I are stuck in some weird state of limbo, where we need to choose who takes control. And although I can’t move, I have the strangest impression that I’m being carried. I don’t know if that’s just the sensation of the wolf taking over, but that doesn’t seem right. I know she needs to run, that we need to shift and solidify our joining, but when I encourage her to do just that, she answers by shoving herself at me hard, almost combative like she wants to fight me.

Her mind feels like a mess of panic as it meshes with mine. I’m lost to all the confusing images, smells, and sensations. Wet ground presses against my back, and for some reason, the distinct feel of it stokes complete rage in my wolf. She slams against me again, ripping us away from this beautiful spiritual exchange, and ramming us brutally back to reality.

I come to as though I’m breaching the surface of a still lake. One second, everything is blurry and muffled, and then the next, I come up gasping from a daze as the world around me slams back into focus.

A snarl is already building in my chest as I get my bearings. I’m no longer in front of the fire as the pack watches me receive my wolf spirit. Somehow, I’m deep in the forest, lying on the damp floor, the cold and wet seeping into my clothing and leeching me of all warmth.

I feel a tug at my feet, and horror rockets through me as I look down and find Burke pulling my jeans off. Inside of me, my wolf snarls again, and I immediately skitter back away from him. My hands and legs rush to put as much distance between us as they can. Burke’s head snaps up, and the smile he gives me makes my skin crawl.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I demand, feeling disoriented, adrenaline pumping through my veins and making the world tip and teeter.

Sticks and rocks dig into the bare skin of my legs as I move. I look down, realizing that my ceremonial robe is gone and my shirt has been ripped open from the front, exposing my bra. I pull the two pieces of fabric back together and try to scramble to my feet, but Burke is on me in a flash.

One moment, he’s feet away from me, tossing my pants into a bush, and the next, he’s pinning me down. I try to scream, but his massive hand slams over my mouth, trapping my call for help as I’m held against the wet earth. Terrified and driven by raw panic, I struggle, flailing and kicking, trying to get him off of me.

“Fight me, Seneca,” he growls in my ear, grinding against me as I try to get out from underneath him.

I feel his hardness dig into my stomach like the threat it’s meant to be, and I hate the whimper of fear that’s smothered by the hand he has pressed bruisingly against my mouth.

“Fight me until you realize that you’re not going to win,” he grunts, shoving his knee roughly between my thighs.

I twist my body to keep him from angling my legs apart and scream against his hand. His evil eyes light up with excitement at the muffled noise before he licks up my neck and nips at my jaw. I battle and try to get him off of me, but he’s too big, too heavy, too powerful.

Anger and fear war inside my body. He couldn’t even let me settle. Couldn’t even let me enjoy the sacred moment of joining with my wolf before he pounced.

Hate consumes me.

“You thought you could run from me, that I wouldn’t hunt you down and take