Alec stood. “We knew you’d react like this.”
My breath hitched. He towered over me and my chest filled with flutters. I couldn’t help but let my eyes trail down his chest to his hips. I let out a little gasp when I noticed his cock was fully erect. He was just as turned on post-shift as I was.
“Lola?” Alec’s tone was playful.
Busted. I looked up at him, grateful that the silvery glow of the moon probably didn’t show how red my face was. “I’m mad at you.”
“What’s new?” he teased.
“Why can’t you just be honest with me?” I asked.
“Because things are complicated with you,” he said.
“No, they’re not,” I insisted.
“You want honesty?” There was a touch of a growl to his tone.
My toes curled and a shiver ran down my spine. Every second I stood there facing him was a second closer to my willpower breaking down.
“All I can think about when I’m around you is that night in the tent and how I fucked up the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said. “I think about how stupid I was to turn you over to Wolf Creek. I wish I’d killed your mate that night and made all of the shifters who hurt you pay.”
How was I supposed to react to that? It wasn’t fair. He was saying all the right things. Shit, I’d want to ride his cock without him saying a word. Post shift sex drive was no joke.
“You made a choice,” I said, trying to turn things around. I had to remain in control. I couldn’t have sex with Alec, could I?
“I’m willing to keep working on making it up to until you forgive me,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s possible,” I admitted. He sent me back to the one place he knew I’d be harmed. It wasn’t right.
He took a step closer to me and I froze in place. I wanted him, but I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook for what he did to me. As if sensing my hesitation, he took a step back. “We should see if we can find somewhere to sleep.”
“Like a tree?” I asked. “Cause there’s pretty much nothing around here.”
“There’s some caves nearby, we’ll try those,” he said.
I tensed. “Not a cave. Please. Anywhere else but that.”
“We need some cover,” he said.
“Last time I went in a cave, I nearly died,” I reminded him.
“If it’s too much, we won’t go inside,” he said.
I didn’t like the idea of any cave, but I nodded. It would provide more cover than the elements. We were naked and had no fire or supplies. Maybe I could make it work for one night.
The cold night air on my bare skin was painful. Goosebumps spread on my arms and legs. I covered my chest with my arms, trying to maintain some warmth. Every so often, I stepped on something sharp and hissed in pain. What I wouldn’t give to come across some human campers we could borrow clothes and shoes from. Okay, steal them, but it was an emergency, maybe they’d give them to us. Unfortunately, there was no sign of life. We were isolated here.
We didn’t speak as we walked, but I was grateful for the silence. When we were talking, I was closer than I wanted to admit to giving in to him and I wasn’t ready to forgive him. I needed more time to work through everything. There was too much between Tyler and Wolf Creek and my father to add other complications.
My mind wandered and I thought about Sheila, Kyle, and Malcom. Were they safe? Were they hurt? Did they have to walk through the woods naked? Visions of my friends suddenly turned into thoughts of Tyler. I shook my head at the unwelcome intrusion.
I squeezed my eyes closed, and forced the pictures of him away. That stupid mating bond was messing with me. I focused on other things. The wind blowing through the trees, the sound of my feet walking over the dirt, the feel of my hair whipping around my face. Anything and everything to get him off my mind. The harder I tried to make it stop, the more I tried to think of other things, of anything, the more intense my thoughts about Tyler got.
Unbidden, the memory of the kiss in front of the caves crashed into my mind I recalled the way my body responded to him. I should have felt the urge to throw up, but it wasn’t there, instead there was a sense of longing. I was losing control of my own emotions. Pushing the thoughts away, the memory of the dream came rushing in. It had felt so real. His skin, his hot breath, my beating heart … holy shit, he bit me.
I never let myself think too hard about the dream, but in my dream, he’d completed the bond. And I’d let him.
My chest tightened as terror gripped me. Was I losing myself to the bond? What would happen when I saw him again?