The Wolf Inside Me (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (3 page)

Zev sat back on his haunches and looked out over the moonlit lake. The surface glimmered with pale light out there in the center, but the shores were dark with the shadows of the tall pines. The mountain rose steeply upward, muscling its way to the starlit sky.

This was his home. His life was tied to this land. But a faint scent hanging in the air, far off as a distant memory, called to him from the town down below. His mate was there, trapped in her human form. Tomorrow he would show her what it meant to be a wolf.

Tomorrow he would claim her as his.

Chapter Five

Selina

I was in the woods, moving quickly past the dark trees, faster and more easily than I had ever moved before. There was someone beside me, someone I knew as well as myself, and we moved in tandem over the forest floor that was stippled with patches of sunlight. I heard my companion's thoughts and I agreed, and the two of us loped towards the smell of fresh water. The trees opened up to reveal a pristine mountain lake reflecting the blue of the sky. And then my companion let out a howl that lasted longer and louder as the shards of my dream drifted apart and the howl of the chainsaws took over.

The howl continued upon my waking and I realized it was real. I wasn't loping easily through the forest. The knowledge made me want to cry, until I remembered today was the day of my hike with Zev.

The woods scared me. I hadn't admitted that to myself until just now. The edge of town was like a border between the known world and the primal unknown that lurked in the shadows. I was about to be stepping over that edge with a man I had only just met. A huge, powerfully built man with gleaming green eyes.

Was I completely mad?

The answer was yes, I told myself. Ever since I had seen him, the crawlies were the worst they had ever been. I was desperate for something I couldn't name. I only knew he was the one who could give it to me.

I dressed quickly, debating over T-shirts before choosing my favorite cornflower blue one that exactly matched the shade of my eyes. I fluffed my dark brown hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. I didn't want to get it tangled in the branches of the trees.

Standing in my bedroom doorway, I peeked around the corner into my mother’s filthy room. The door was slightly ajar and I could see her bare foot dangling off of her sagging bed. Good, she was hungover. I hoped the noise of the chainsaws was hurting her head.

In two steps I was out the front door. I turned to catch the screen door before it banged shut, the habit of years of caution.

This was it. I held the door delicately in place and took a deep breath.

As I stepped across the muddy dirt patch that served as our lawn, I paused. The world seemed suddenly drained of sound. I looked around wildly until I realized that the chainsaws had stopped. They were usually our accompaniment from dawn to dusk. Without them I briefly wondered if I had gone deaf.

I picked my way across the lot to the bar, wishing that I had better shoes than the beat up old sneakers I was wearing. If Zev really was the outdoorsman he seemed to be, he probably had all the latest gear. The thought embarrassed me.

Rounding the corner to the front of the bar, I was startled to see a pickup already pulling into the lot. We didn't open for another four hours, what were loggers doing here already?

“Good morning, sweetheart. You’re an early riser!” one of them called out to me.

“I’ve got an early riser for you right here!” shouted another, jumping down from the cab and grabbing his crotch.

I sniffed. They were angry and confused. That was never a good combination. I swallowed and smiled sweetly, backing away as I did so. The crawling sensation heightened until my foot connected with something solid.

I shrieked.

"You okay?" Zev's strong arms shot out, grabbing me before I could trip and fall.

I looked up at him. Where had he come from? Where was his car? How did a big man move so silently?

"Shit," I heard one of the loggers swear. "Bar's closed."

"Guess we're cooling our heels until the parts come in," called the one who had grabbed his crotch.

"I swear to god, I
just
replaced those spark plugs. Callahan's gonna fire my ass and it ain't even my fault. I need a fucking drink. Hey girlie, you work here? Open up, willya?"

"You ready, Selina?" Zev put his hand on my arm and pulled me gently. I saw the jaws of the other loggers drop. Their eyes bored into my back as Zev gently pulled me around and began walking away.

"I'd apologize for those guys, but I take no responsibility for them in the first place," he said grimly, shoving his huge hands into the pocket of his down jacket. His stride was so long I had to hurry to stay next to him.

"I'm used to it," I panted.

"Oh," he stopped. "I'm sorry, I'll slow down."

"Where's your car?" I gasped.

He grinned. "No cars. Kinda defeats the whole magic of being in the woods if you drive to get there."

I looked in the direction of the mountain. The peak was dusted with snow and the dark pinewoods looked far off and forbidding. The crawling sensations inside of me intensified. I was suddenly panicked, not understanding what was happening to me. "What about food?"

"There's food," he said.

"Water, did you bring water?"

"I can get you water."

"It's so far!"

He held out his hand. "Selina, I promise I will take good care of you."

I lifted my hand and he snatched it up. Once more my entire hand was swallowed in his. The skin was dry and cool, but there was a heat underneath it, like the burning embers underneath the coals of a dying fire. I swore I could feel the beat of his pulse everywhere around me.

"Okay," I breathed. With his hand holding mine, my insides were suddenly quiet. I felt safer than I had in years. Holding on to him, I felt strong and brave and ready to go out into the unknown. "Okay, I trust you."

There was that same predatory gleam in his eye, but this time it didn't scare me at all.

Chapter Six

Selina

We had lost the trail hours ago, but as long as I kept Zev's strong back in my vision, I knew I would be fine.

The man walked through the woods like he owned them. He loped easily over the ground, moving with an athletic grace that belied his huge frame. The slight fright that licked at the edges of my senses was eased away whenever I watched him, so I kept him firmly in my sights and found myself unconsciously mimicking his easy gait. I threw my shoulders back and inhaled the scents of the forest. The clear, sweet air unknotted something that had been tangled underneath my breastbone for a very long time. Possibly my whole life. Each step was a step towards freedom.

I inhaled deeply, trying to identify the different scents. There was the smell of pine, of course, and the deep, rich scents of decaying leaves on the forest floor. There was the smell of the chill in the air right along side the sun warmed chlorophyll scents of the still green leaves. We were gaining elevation gradually, picking our way over ancient strewn boulders and over the thick, gnarled roots of ancient trees.

Zev scrambled up to the top of one of the bigger boulders. I paused to watch him turn this way and that. His shaggy hair ruffled in the slight breeze and I swear I saw him turn into the direction of the wind and sniff. I heard a low sound come from his direction.

"Selina?" His voice was sharp. It was the first time we had spoken in a while and the way he said my name was alarming.

I hurried over to the boulder, but I couldn't pull myself up. "Zev?" I heard a note of panic in my voice. Tension was radiating off of him.

He knelt down and grabbed my hand. I felt myself lifted easily, landing on the top of the boulder, suddenly startled by how high we were above the forest floor. The great expanse of trees swept out ahead of us like a great carpet. "Are we lost?" I gulped, feeling slightly panicked at the sight of that green ocean.

"Of course not," he rumbled.

"Then why are you nervous?" I asked.

He looked at me sharply. "Why do you think I'm nervous?"

I fluttered my hands again. His nearness was making it almost impossible not to reach out and touch him. "Your eyes," I answered lamely, even though tension was written in every muscle of his body.

He inhaled again. "I'm not nervous," he rumbled, his voice a low growl that rippled through me like water. "We just need to move faster."

"Why?"

He paused, his green eyes moving over me like he was trying to figure something out. "Because," he finally replied. "This isn't our territory."

"What?"

But he was already leaping down to the other side of the boulder. I leaned over the edge and looked down at him. He was waiting, expectantly.

"I can't do that!" I protested.

"I think you can Selina, you're more capable than you know."

"How do you know that?"

His easy grin broke through the tension in his face. "I can sense it," he smiled.

That same comfortable feeling of protection washed through me again. Sliding forward, I reached out with my toe and prodded the seemingly sheer rock face until I found a small lip. I eased myself down, scraping my back against the rock as I did. But the pride on his face made me stifle the urge to cry out. I slid my other leg down, hoping to find another toehold.

As I stretched out, the granite under my fingertips suddenly crumbled away. I pitched forward with a yell as I fell straight down, head first towards the boulder strewn forest floor. I squeezed my eyes shut and shrieked, waiting for the impact that never came.

Instead I found myself scooped up in Zev's arms. He had caught me easily, like I weighed no more than a feather. As I lay cradled in his arms, he looked down at me.

Suddenly there was nothing else in the world but his face. The forest died away, and the sounds faded until there was only him and his green eyes searching me. My heart sounded loudly in my ears and I inhaled the heady mix of scents that surrounded him. There was the smell of the forest and the clean, manly scent of his sweat. But underneath all of that was something else. Something primal. A musky, wild scent that I could almost taste on my tongue.

My body responded to it without my heart understanding. I inhaled him, letting the smell wash over my tongue and through my body and my cells came alive when it touched them. Suddenly everything was clearer and brighter. The whole world was cast in bright, high relief.

And then there was a sound, a low sound, a rumbling bass like the start of an earthquake. Zev's face seemed to waver in front of me, suddenly indistinct. It shimmered and shifted like something underwater. It should have been terrifying but I was only focused on those green eyes.

"I knew it," came the growl.

From somewhere outside of myself I knew that he wasn't actually speaking. It was a voice in my head as clear as if he had shouted into my ear, but he hadn't said a word. I had only heard his thoughts.

"What did you know?" I answered him.

He set me down. As soon as my feet touched the earth, he had me pressed up against the boulder. Still keeping me pinned to him, he lifted his hand. I cringed in spite of myself, steeling myself for a blow, or a slap of some kind.

Instead he touched my forehead. Then he softly brushed my hair out of my eyes and smoothed it down. Before I could open my mouth to protest, his lips were on mine. The world slid sideways as he folded me into his arms and pressed me backward, my back scratching against the hard granite of the boulder. His lips were soft, but his kiss was not. The hard, insistent pressure overwhelmed my hesitation and I yielded to him with a sigh. Holding my hair in his fist, he pinned me against him. Sandwiched between the boulder and the hard granite of his chest, I had nowhere to go.

"Do you know what you are?" He hadn't spoken, he couldn't have with his mouth on mine. But I heard him anyway.

I shook my head as he kissed me further. A small sound escaped my throat and Zev seized the opportunity to part my lips with a rough stab of his tongue. My mouth was suddenly filled with the taste of him. It was like honey in my mouth, his tongue swirling with mine. My head was swirling, my thoughts delirious with the heady taste of him.

"Your parents didn't tell you about what you could do?" It was a question in my head again. I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to tell him about my drifter bastard of a father that knocked up my mother and then left town. I didn't want to tell him about my drunken, self-hating mother who disappeared for weeks on end and came home with twigs in her hair. She was why I had never been in the forest. I had hated anything to do with it until right now.

"I understand."

He had heard me even thought I hadn't said a word. How could I when his hands had begun to move over my body?

He lifted me up and pressed me into the rock. The rough granite scratched my back deeply, but I didn’t care. All of my thought was focused on the feel of his warm, strong chest against my own.

He held me there suspended, my back against the boulder, my whole body supported in his strong arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and flung my arms up on his shoulders, clinging to him like a child climbing a tree.

With one hand, he sought under my shirt. I wiggled a little to let him lift it upward and moaned softly when he broke his lips away from mine to take one of my soft pink nipples into his mouth. My body broke out into goosebumps as he yanked up my shirt and exposed my heaving breasts to the chill air. His hot mouth found the peak of my nipple and I heard a low, animal sound emanate from my throat. I clawed at his chest again, snaking my hands down to cup his firm buttocks and pull him closer, the throbbing in my core beating the same rhythm as the blood in my ears.

With one expert flick of his tongue, he had me moaning again as little darts of pleasure shot through me. I felt a flooding downward pleasure as a sudden rush of desire coursed along every nerve. When he kissed me again, all that mattered was that his lips were hot against mine. Our tongues met and mingled, sparring wildly as he clutched handfuls of my hair. I welcomed the pain and snaked my hands under his shirt to claw at the rock hard muscles of his chest. He hissed as my fingernails dug into his skin and yanked my head back to sink his teeth into my neck.