Chapter 295

Noah

For the millionth time that morning, Noah’s gaze drifted from the stack of papers on his desk to the stretch of forest that was visible through the office window.

The afternoon light filtered through the trees, casting that familiar, deep green hue over the landscape. Just seeing the expanse of forest, the rustling branches swaying in the breeze, made something primal stir inside of him.

“Please… I need to run…”

His wolf pressed against the surface of his skin, restless and wild. It had been too long, far too long, since he had let himself go, since he had really felt the earth beneath his paws. He’d been holed up in his office for weeks on end now, lost behind stacks of paperwork.

Noah was on the verge of losing it.

He needed a release before his wolf decided to take over for him one day. And right now, the last thing Noah needed was an inopportune shift in the middle of some important meeting or another.

Glancing across the room, he caught sight of Hannah at her own desk. She was leaning forward, her brow furrowed in concentration as she scribbled notes on a document, completely absorbed.

Seeing her like that—focused, beautiful, her jaw set—only made his wolf want to break free even more. He didn’t just want to shift. He wanted her there with him, running alongside him.

Before he could stop himself, he pushed back from his desk and stood, crossing the room in a few quick strides. His hand found her wrist, and she looked up, startled, meeting his gaze with raised brows.

“Let’s go for a run.”

She blinked, caught off guard, and glanced at the papers scattered across her desk. “Now?” she asked, half-laughing. “Noah, I have so much work to finish.”

“I know,” he replied, not loosening his hold on her wrist. “But I need to get outside. So do you.”

There was a moment of hesitation, but he saw it in her eyes—a spark, the same wild need that simmered inside of him. He knew she felt it too; she hadn’t shifted in ages, maybe even longer than he had.

She glanced at the paperwork, then back at him. Her resolve finally seemed to crumble. With a sigh, she dropped her pen and her lips turned up in a smile.

“You’re impossible, you know that?”

Noah grinned as he tugged her to her feet. “You can thank me later.”

He didn’t wait for another word. He was already leading her toward the door, her laughter trailing after him as they slipped outside and made their way toward the edge of the forest. They stopped at the tree line, and he turned to her with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“I’ll give you a head start,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She raised an eyebrow, her mouth quirking up in a smirk. “Oh, really?”

“Consider it a kindness. I wouldn’t want you to complain when I catch you too quickly.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, but there was no hiding the spark of excitement that flickered through their mate bond. She was dying for a good chase. To be hunted.

Consensually, of course.

The transformation was always breathtaking, no matter how many times he’d seen it. In a heartbeat, she was gone, replaced by a vibrant, chestnut wolf. She looked at him, her eyes sparkling with that familiar, challenging glint, then took off and disappeared into the trees in a flash.

Noah felt his senses sharpen and his pulse quicken as he watched her go. The thrill of the chase hummed through him, an electric energy surging in his veins. His pupils dilated, his breath coming faster as he felt his wolf come alive, clawing to be free.

He gave her a few seconds’ head start, as promised, listening to the sounds fade. And then, with a deep breath, he let himself shift.

Once he was in his wolf form, he felt his senses expand tenfold. The forest was alive with scents and sounds, but there was only one scent that he cared about: Hannah’s.

With a low growl, he shot off after her, following that invisible trail that smelled oh-so-sweet. The forest passed in a blur as he sped through the trees, ducking under low-hanging branches and leaping over fallen logs, every muscle and tendon honing in on the chase. He could hear her up ahead, just out of reach, her paws kicking up leaves and scattering dirt as she ran.

But she was fast, just as fast as he remembered. She kept just far enough ahead to stay out of reach, darting between trees and weaving through the underbrush, but not so far that Noah lost sight of her.

Noah pushed himself harder, letting out a playful howl as he gained on her, the hunt pulsing through his veins like a drug. She glanced back, her ears twitching, and he saw her eyes flash with excitement before she put on an extra burst of speed.

It became a game of cat and mouse, each of them pushing the other, neither willing to slow down or give up just yet. The forest grew darker the further they ran, the trees stretching higher, the ground turning soft and damp beneath their paws.

Soon enough it was just the two of them and the wild, and the chase, the exhilaration of letting go, of surrendering to the pull of their wolves.

Finally, Noah caught a glimpse of her just up ahead, her form weaving between the trees. She tried to veer left, but he matched her move and closed the distance between them.

And then, with a final surge of strength, he pounced.

They went tumbling across the forest floor, rolling over moss and leaves as their bodies tangled together. His wolf growled softly when they came to a stop. He held her pinned beneath him, his muzzle brushing against her neck. She nipped at him playfully, her eyes twinkling.

They stayed like that for a moment, just breathing, their chests rising and falling in sync. Noah finally shifted back, his heart pounding a mile a minute.

She shifted back as well, her eyes meeting his from below. The world around them faded, the forest growing silent, as if even the trees and the wind were holding their breath.

Noah reached up, brushing a stray leaf from her hair, his fingers lingering as he traced the line of her jaw. She looked up at him, her lips curving in a faint, knowing smile. He could feel his heartbeat pounding, could hear the echo of her own pulse as they laid there, their limbs tangled together.

There was an invitation in her eyes.

Finally, a low, possessive growl rumbled from his chest. Noah felt better after his run, but he still needed a release. And so he closed the distance between them, capturing her mouth in a fierce, hungry kiss.

She responded in kind, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. Noah drew back, stunned, and touched the small wound.

Hannah looked up at him with shock. A little trail of blood was trickling down the side of her mouth—so much like that hunt all those months ago. When she had caught the deer and ended it herself.

When he had realized how powerful she had become.

“I’m sorry—” Hannah began, reaching up to wipe the blood away from her cheek. But Noah grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the forest floor, and suddenly his tongue was swirling around hers with renewed vigor, tasting the copper off her skin.

Mate.

That was the only word on his feral, half-crazed mind as he tugged her pants down right there on the forest floor: mate. He thought of nothing else, his brain wholly focused on taking her, on having that release he so sorely needed.

Mate, was all he thought as he flipped her over and thrust himself into her, all the way, in one fell swoop. Hannah’s howls of ecstasy only fueled that word, that feeling. He’d hunted her, and now she was his, and he was hers.

Neither of them spoke, at least not out loud, as they rutted there in the forest. They didn’t need to. The only sounds between them were the soft growls and whimpers of much-needed pleasure, fingers tangled together in the dirt and skin flecked with sweat.

When Noah had nearly reached the edge, he hunched over her and nipped at the side of her throat, savoring the taste of her skin. He reached under her, swirling his fingers in the spot that he knew she liked the most, until she, too, was crying out at her peak.

Only then did he finally lose control of himself inside of her. The world turned into a blur around him as he finished into her, feeling her muscles tighten around him.

Then, sated, they both collapsed onto the forest floor in a sweaty, panting, filthy heap.

Mate, he thought as he tangled his fingers in the golden strands of her hair.

And oh, how glad he was to have her back.