Jamie sprinted through the dense forest, the adrenaline of the shift and the chase clearing his mind of everything but the primal joy of the run. His powerful paws devoured the ground, muscles coiling and releasing with effortless grace. The scent of pine and damp earth was sharp and real, unlike the lingering, almost phantom sweetness of Katy that still clung to his human memory.
But even as he pushed his body to its limits, a deeper current pulled at him. His encounter with Katy, the brief, electric touch of their fingers, the playful smirk she'd offered – it all replayed in his mind. Childbirth. He snarled silently, annoyed at his own blunder. Of all the books. But her reaction, the amusement in her eyes, had been… disarming. She hadn't recoiled, hadn't looked at him like he was a freak. Just curious. And that curiosity was a hook, pulling him in even deeper.
He pictured her again, standing across the counter, the light catching in her warm brown eyes. Her scent, even diluted, had been intoxicating. Jayden was right; it was getting harder to control. The primal instinct to claim her, to pull her into their world, was a constant thrum beneath his fur, a fierce, protective urge that warred with the need for caution.
A party. Tonight. His own plan. It felt both audacious and utterly necessary. He had to draw her closer, had to see if the spark he felt was real, if she could truly be theirs. But what if
she saw too much? What if she recognized the hunger in their eyes, the wildness that lay just beneath the surface of their human skin? The thought of her fear, of her running, was a cold dread that pierced through the heat of his run. He pushed faster, trying to outrun the uncertainty.
He'd taken a risk today, showing up at the library before opening, giving her the address. He'd seen the hesitation in her eyes, the moment she almost said no. But she hadn't. I'll think about it. It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no either. And for Jamie, for them, that was enough to go on. Tonight, she would either step into their world, or she would run. He needed to know which.
The thrill of the hunt had somewhat subsided, replaced by the familiar ache in Jamie's muscles as he loped back towards the house. The transformation from wolf to man was swift, a familiar dance of cracking bones and shifting flesh, the torn clothes he'd left behind a testament to his wild freedom. He quickly pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt, the fabric feeling strange after the feel of his own fur.
As he walked into the main living area, the faint scent of cleaning supplies mixed with Jayden's agitated energy met him. His brother was pacing, a frown etched on his usually confident features. The house, usually a picture of masculine, controlled chaos, had an air of nervous anticipation.
"Rough run?" Jayden asked, stopping his pacing to fix Jamie with a sharp, assessing gaze. "You look... preoccupied."
Jamie grunted, heading for the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "Just thinking." He twisted the cap off, taking a long swallow. "About tonight. About her."
Jayden nodded slowly. "Did you manage to not totally freak her out with your usual charm?" he teased, though there was a genuine question beneath the jest.
Jamie let out a short, humorless laugh. "I picked out a book on childbirth, if that tells you anything about my 'charm' today." He saw Jayden's eyes widen, then a slow, amused smirk spread across his face. "She thought it was 'interesting choices.' Still came off as curious, though. And she took the address."
"Good." Jayden's smirk settled into something more thoughtful. "Still, it's a tightrope. Haven wood isn't exactly teeming with our kind, and a human mate... it's a big step. For her. For us." He walked over to the large window, peering out into the early afternoon light. "Everything has to be perfect tonight. No incidents. Just... a party."
Jamie finished his water, tossing the empty bottle into the recycling. "It'll be fine," he said, more to convince himself than Jayden. But the truth was, his wolf still felt a restless
agitation, a deep-seated worry that even the thrill of the chase couldn't entirely quell. The mate bond was screaming for completion, for acceptance, but the human world was fragile, and Katy, in all her innocent curiosity, was dangerously unprotected from their reality.