just as she whips back around a nearby tree and comes at me so fast I can’t react quick enough. By the time I notice she’s grasping a branch, she’s already whacking it wildly at my side. The ache spirals up my back, but it’s nothing compared to real pain in warfare, so I swallow back the sting. I turn toward her and snatch the weapon, then toss it aside.
“What the hell are you doing?” I growl.
She blinks at me, giving no response. Her cheeks are still red, one more so than the other, her dark hair speckled with leaves. Then she comes at me and rams her shoulder into my gut. That I don’t expect, and I groan as I bend over. She got me good.
She pants and breaks free from my grasp as I reach for her. Then she’s gone again.
Shit, she’s a slippery thing, and very well versed in escaping capture. She is definitely not like all the other Omegas I’ve encountered, who crumble and accept their fate. That’s so much easier, but then again, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a chase this much.
I throw myself after her, my legs pumping, my pulse racing. My wolf is in my throat, his hot breath rushing past my lips.
This time I come up on her quicker than she expects, and when she looks over her shoulder, finding me on her heels, a small whimper spills past her throat.
I’m addicted to that sound.
I seize her by the waist and rip her off the ground, then tuck her up against my waist.
“Put me the hell down,” she roars. To show her I’m not a monster like the other Alpha, I do just that. But just as she jumps to flee, I snatch her forearm and force her to stand in front of me.
“Enough!” I growl. “Is this the respect you show Ragnar after he saved your sister?”
She throws her fist to my face, her punch clipping me just below the eye. She has little strength behind her punch, but the sharpness of her knuckle hits a soft spot, and shots of sharp pain spear across my face.
I shake my head and haul her behind me back to the inn. If I were dealing with anyone else, they’d be bleeding into the soil by now. But I’m trying my best not to harm this wild girl.
She punches my arm. “I can’t go with you into the woods, you need to let me go.” The desperation in her voice almost gets to me... almost.
Reaching the back of the stone building, I spin her around and press her back flush to the wall, then I plant my arms on either side of her shoulders and lean into her. “And why is that?”
But being so close to her, all I can see are her huge fiery eyes, her jaw clenched with determination. Her chest rises and falls quickly with each breath. Beneath me, she’s so small, so absolutely sexy, it takes everything in me to not taste her here and now. My cock hardens in my pants as I take in her scent, and arousal suffocates me.
“I’m not going anywhere until I find Kaira.”
“That’s not going to work with our plans,” I answer, my mind on a rampage with the need to run my tongue down her body.
“Get off me.” Her brow furrows as her chest thrusts out despite her words, clearly eager for my touch, her Omega side craving me as much as I do her. I watch the war on her face as she fights her impulse, and damn, she’s cute trying to go against her primal instincts. I press my body against hers, brushing my erection against her stomach. She gasps, and a hint of slick taints the air, driving me utterly insane with desire. My balls tighten, and for those few moments, I can’t see straight beyond the hunger pulsing into me.
She sets my body on fire. Here I intended to punish her, but now I can’t get the idea of fucking her out of my mind. Finding a sliver of control, I say, “We backtracked several times looking for Kaira, trust me. We couldn’t find her anywhere, so where will you go to track her down?”
She stares at me as reality sinks in, and with it, her eyes glisten.
“Hell.” I don’t do crying, and I pull away from her, then grab her hand. “Let’s get you back to Jae. Ragnar doesn’t have to know about this.”
Her gaze