Chapter 115

Thorne’s POV

Whatever she wants.

I’d run through this forest with Aurora for the rest of eternity if it’ll bring her wolf out and make her happy.

Nodding, I move back to give her space to stand up again. I felt her wolf coming forward, but just as quickly, she retreated. The sense of fear and hesitation is strong, but I don’t let it deter me. I nudge Aurora’s legs this time, and after a moment, she watches me curiously.

Then, she realizes what I want. What my wolf wants.

My wolf wants to run with her, to reach her wolf, and to pull her out from where she’s hiding.

Then, Aurora says the five words she should never utter in a wolf’s presence.

“Catch me if you can.”

With that, she bounds off. She sprints ahead, laughing as she disappears into the trees.

“Catch. Mate.” My wolf rasps, needing to chase. I hold him back for a minute, giving her a head start, but when I hear her laughter again, I can’t stop myself. I bolt after her. She’s just ahead, running like she’s finally found her freedom.

And the sight does something to me.

The forest passes in a blur, her laughter fills the air, and a sense of need rushes through me. I chase her through the trees, my paws beating against the ground and driving all the tension from the last few weeks away. The fear from her capture, the anxiety from her near rejection, the pain of almost being forced to marry another… it all fades.

Every time I look at her as we run, I feel a little piece of me healing.

But something is different now.

I can feel her, and I mean really feel her.

Our mate bond has been slightly weak since she wasn’t a werewolf and since we haven’t completed the official marking and mating, but now it buzzes and heightens within me. It zips underneath my skin like electricity, and I know her wolf is responding. She’s weak and wounded, but she’s there.

Feeling her presence, I make a silent vow to do everything I can to bring her back, to show her she’s safe, and to let her feel the love I have for both of them.

When I reach Aurora’s side again, running beside her, she stumbles. Without thought, I launch myself forward, catching her before she hits the ground. A cry fills the air as we tumble to the ground, but then she lands beneath me, breathless and flushed and gorgeous.

My paws cage her in, but I don’t let my weight fall on her. If I did, I would crush her.

Aurora pants, her chest rising and falling quickly, as she stares up at me. Her eyes shine with happiness that makes my chest fill with pride. I did that.

Then she gasps, feeling our bond as it strengthens between us. With her wolf suppressed, she wouldn’t have felt it like I do. But now… I lean in, brushing my nose up her neck and inhaling her intoxicating scent.

A warm, spicy yet sweet scent rises in the air. The desire to have her fills me, and I have to bite back the urge to shift and take her here on the forest floor.

“Thorne,” she whispers, and I watch as her pupils expand.

I’ll never get used to having her beneath me.

“Mark her,” my wolf urges, but I can’t. Not yet. Not without her permission.

Again, I lower my head. This time, however, I let my tongue flick out and trail across her shoulder up her neck, right along the spot where I would mark her.

“Thorne,” she moans faintly, and I growl.

Her wolf stirs.

I can feel her growing presence pulsing beneath the fear and exhaustion. But she’s aware of Aurora, and better yet, aware of me. I can sense her curiosity as it mixes with her hesitation.

Come out. I call to her through the bond that’s forming between us. We can’t mind link yet, so I let the calming rumble I use on Aurora hum in my chest.

I won’t hurt you. You’re safe. Let me see you.

I continue to let the soft, growling hum grow to a steady thrum in my chest, and Aurora shifts. Not into her wolf. No.

She reaches up, tangling her fingers in my fur and gripping tightly like she doesn’t want me to go anywhere. My wolf growls low, loving that our mate is touching us, and the sound calls to Aurora and her wolf.

She gasps, drops her hands, and peers up at me.

“Thorne,” she whispers, her voice husky and sexy as hell. “Shift.”

I do. I let my body change, keeping myself from crushing her, until I’m human and hovering over her again. My elbows sink into the ground on both sides of her head, and my knees come down by her hips.

My body settles over hers, and she gasps again, arching into me. She pulls another growl out of me as her scent deepens, turning hotter and more difficult to ignore.

“Thorne,” she moans, her hands finding my sides, digging her fingers in. She brushes her chest against mine, her need growing.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” I ask, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes. I’m not sure if I’m referring to her wolf or the bond between us. Maybe both?

“It’s different, but I like it. You feel closer.”

“It’s because your wolf reached out,” I whisper, into her neck. My tongue swipes the spot I will soon mark, and she moans again. “She watching and listening.”

“She likes the way you look at us.”

“She does?” I ask, pulling back, “Does she like the way I touch you?”

Aurora nods, her breath hitching when I bring a hand down and brush it from her knee to the hem of her shorts.

“Sh-She does.”

“Good.”

I lean in and seal my lips over hers, slow at first, but it doesn’t stay that way. The moment we touch, something breaks free. Her fingers dig into my sides, her body lifts off the ground, and my hand rounds to her ass, cupping her and squeezing her there.

A soft, needy whine falls from Aurora, setting off a fire in me that has me grinding down on her.

She kisses me back, hard and unrestrained. It’s so different than usual, but she’s not holding back anymore. She’s not afraid of me leaving her behind or losing interest.

She knows I want her.

I slide my hand down her thigh, lifting it and hooking it around my waist. It gives me the perfect angle to rock my hard cock against her aching and wet pussy.

She writhes beneath me, lifting her hips to meet mine.

And I feel her.

Aurora’s wolf.

She’s brushing against the surface she’s always been trapped under. To coax her out further, I trail kisses down Aurora’s neck, to the spot where I’ll mark her, and her wolf’s presence grows.

I nibble and suck the tender spot of Aurora’s neck, and she cries out.

Her pulse hammers beneath my tongue.

“Do you know what this spot is,” I ask, pulling back.

Aurora watches me, her pupils blown wide, as she blinks in a daze. “Wh-What?”

“This…” I kiss the spot again. “Is where I’m going to mark you.”

Her eyes widen, and she stills beneath me, “Mark me?”

I nod. “Mates can choose to mark each other,” I tell her, kissing the spot again. A breathless little gasp falls from her, making me smile. “Not many mates do it anymore since we’re in the ‘modern day-and-age’ but it’s a physical seal for our bond. After marking each other, mates will feel each other more; their bond will grow stronger. It’s a primal and permanent bonding that can’t be broken.”

“Do you think it would bring my wolf out?”

I slide my hands up her sides, underneath her shirt, and brush my fingers softly against her ribs. “I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. “But she’s responding to me. She wants to run, and she likes when I touch you…”

I let a finger slide beneath her bra, slowly circling her nipple and making her gasp.

Aurora breathes shakily, her hands trembling against my sides. “You’d mark me to help her?”

I growl, “I would mark you because you’re my mate. Because I love you, and I want to. I’ve wanted to mark you for the longest time.”

Her head tilts to the side a bit.

“But not yet?”

“Not yet,” I whisper, leaning in. “Not until you’re ready.”

“And when I’m ready?”

My mouth finds hers again, moving torturously slowly as I try to show her how much I love her before I pull back. “Then, I’ll mark you so deep that you and your wolf won’t be able to resist coming to me.”

Aurora’s breath hitches, her body heating and her arousal rising. She nods once, and I know she understands what I mean.

I’ll wait for her.