The run
Astrid POV
We left the bathroom, slipped out of the building, and now here we were—standing outside in nothing but towels like lunatics. The night air kissed my damp skin, cool but not unpleasant. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention? Dove and I aren’t roommates anymore. Yeah. She officially moved in with her girlfriend, Zora, which means I now share a room with my mates. Upgrade or chaos? Still undecided.
The atmosphere out here felt different—crisp, alive, almost humming like it was waiting for us. Jason had this huge grin plastered on his face, the kind of smile that made him look like he hadn’t had fun in years.
“You can see the woods can’t even wait for us,” he said, bouncing on his heels like a kid before Christmas. Then, without hesitation, he dropped his towel and tossed it away dramatically.
Killian groaned so loud I thought he might actually pass out. “No! Jason! For the love of sanity, I do not want to see your dick tonight!” He was laughing though, full belly-laughs that made me crack up too.
Jason, of course, was smug as hell. “It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.” He winked over his shoulder as he started jogging toward the treeline, bare as the moon above us.
“Okay, okay, enough of this dick talk,” I wheezed through my laughter as I pulled my own towel free. The cold air made me shiver, but the rush of freedom was addicting.
Killian froze mid-step when he saw me, his eyes darkening instantly, jaw tightening like he was one second away from pouncing.
“Killian…” I warned, narrowing my eyes.
Jason noticed too, of course. He strolled back with all the casual menace of a man who loved stirring the pot, and poked Killian right in the forehead. “I know that look. Not what we’re here for, brother.”
Killian’s lips twitched into a grin, his laugh deep and unrepentant. “Last time I checked, I can take my own towel off without your babysitting.”
He flicked his towel aside with a flourish, and for a split second, I thought: gods help me, I was about to run through the woods with two naked werewolves.
The moment the last towel hit the ground, we shifted.
The rush hit like fire in my veins, bones stretching and snapping into place, muscles surging with strength that wasn’t human. My lungs expanded, greedily drinking in the forest air, sharper and richer in this form. And gods, it felt good.
Jason shot forward like a comet, his wolf sleek and wild, bounding through the grass with reckless joy. Killian’s wolf—larger, darker, commanding—followed right after, but not before brushing against me, his fur brushing mine in a wordless promise: keep up.
So I did.
The three of us tore through the woods, the earth flying beneath our paws, trees bending out of our way like they knew better. Jason kept swerving in and out, snapping playfully at my tail, while Killian ran like he owned every inch of the ground we touched.
“Can’t catch me,” Jason’s voice teased through the link, his laughter echoing in my head as he leapt over a fallen log.
“Try not to trip over your own ego,” I shot back, launching over it right after him.
Killian’s growl rumbled low, but it wasn’t angry—it was amused. “Both of you, focus, before you embarrass yourselves.”
I cackled in my head, deliberately sprinting past him. “Says the one already falling behind.”
His snarl vibrated like thunder as he lunged to overtake me again, and Jason howled with laughter at the two of us bickering mid-sprint.
We ran wild, jumping over streams, darting between rocks, the night air biting and freeing all at once. My tribid strength surged and for a moment I wanted to let it loose—to show them how much faster I could be. So I did. I pushed harder, faster, until Jason barked out a surprised laugh behind me.
“Show-off,” he huffed.
But then—
Something hit me.
Not physically, but… felt. Like a ripple under my skin.
I stumbled, slowing until I came to a stop. The woods hushed, the sound of crickets dulling. My ears twitched, honing in. There it was again—
A heartbeat.
Not Killian’s. Not Jason’s.
Something else.
It was faint, rapid, scared.
My paws pressed into the earth as I prowled slowly, turning, scanning the shadows between the trees. The scent was thin, almost hidden, like whoever it was wanted to disappear.
“Do you feel that?” I whispered through the link, but neither Jason nor Killian answered—they were too far ahead, their presence loud and sure. This… this was different. Fragile.
“Hello?” I murmured into the emptiness, though my wolf’s voice came out low and edged.
Nothing. Just the faint echo of that heartbeat hammering in the dark.
And then—gone.
Vanished like mist.
The hair along my spine bristled, unease curling in my chest. Whatever—or whoever—it was, they weren’t ready to be seen.
With a shake of my head, I darted off again, catching up to Jason and Killian. By the time we reached the ridge of Velmora’s highest mountain, the tension had melted into adrenaline once more.
Killian stood tall at the edge, his wolf glowing in the moonlight as he lifted his head high. And when he howled—deep, commanding, primal—the sound echoed across the valley, a claim, a promise, a call.
Jason joined in, his howl sharper, wilder.
I tipped my head back and let mine rise too, blending with theirs until the whole mountain trembled with the sound of us.
Free. Alive. Untouchable.
And yet, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t stop thinking about that heartbeat that wasn’t theirs.
Nyxthera POV
The bags hit the floor with a careless thud the moment the door clicked shut behind us. Before I could even breathe, James had me pressed against it, his mouth crashing into mine. The kind of kiss that stole thought and reason, that made my legs threaten to give out right there.
We stumbled backward in that messy, tangled dance, my hand fisting in his shirt, his arm locked tight around my waist like he couldn’t stand a single inch between us. My back smacked against the wall first, then the arm of the couch caught us mid-fall before we finally tumbled onto it in a heap of laughter and gasps.
He didn’t waste time. His fingers gripped the fabric at my shoulder and tugged, and the sound of my shirt ripping was sharp in the quiet of the room. My breath caught, heat flushing my cheeks, and I tore his shirt right off in return, desperate to touch bare skin.
The ink spread across his chest came into view—black lines twisting into that tattoo I’d seen before, but every time I looked at it, it felt like something ancient, something I shouldn’t understand but did. My fingers traced over it with reverence, dragging across the heat of his skin.
“Still staring?” His voice was a low murmur, amused, but a little breathless too.
“Can you blame me?” I whispered back, my nails grazing along the edge of the design. “You wear this like it owns you.”
James smirked, pulling me back into him, his lips brushing mine as he growled, “Maybe I wear it because it owns us.”
His mouth sealed over mine again, fiercer, hungrier, his hands sliding into my hair and tugging me close until I could barely tell where I ended and he began.