I told Lauren where we were going, and even though the woods were on her land, she'd insisted Normani and the others accompany us. I had argued with her until she pointed out the fact that it would make Dinah feel safer. I couldn't exactly argue with that. After what Dinah had endured at Taylor's hands, I wanted her to feel safe.

Dinah, being more familiar with Lauren's land, led the way to the woods. Closer to the house was a heated swimming pool and a beautiful gazebo, but this far away, there was only trees and the quiet murmur of night. Before heading into the dense coverage of trees that did not shed their garb for the winter, I'd managed to catch sight of the pond at the southern line, of the stars spread out across it.

I tried not to recall the Blevins's celestial sheets soaked in blood.

Tonight was a night to be free and wild and I was claiming it, not solely for myself, but for the others that needed it as well. For a long time, we ran with no clear destination. We used the trees as cover, circling back into their thick shelter when the woods threatened to end. The night was alive with its own music, with the song of crickets and other insects, of wind and leaves.

The dry grass crunched beneath my paws. My tail caught on something behind me and I turned, skittering to jerk it loose of the small patch of burs.

Great, now Laurens going to be picking stickers out of my ass.

I shook my tail in irritation, hoping to shake some of them out.

That's going to make it worse, witch.

Normani caught up with me, amethyst gaze framed by the black fur of her wolf form.

Someone gave a delightful yip that caught my attention. I cast my gaze to Dinah's and Evans's large forms ahead. Ally threw her head back, let rip a tiny howl, and bounded through the trees.

Evan nipped at Dinah's leg, signaling for her to move it.

Dinah jumped, following after Ally.

I heard someone's paws skid in the dirt before they sounded like tiny drums again.

Ally came rushing back, chasing after a black-tailed jackrabbit like it was a bouncy ball she wanted to chew on. Dinah pushed past her, cinnamon fur like gray ash in my night vision. She lunged forward, trying to get the rabbit's tail during an upspring, and missed. She shook her furry head, ears flapping as she blew dirt out of her nostrils.

This is a sad sight, Normani's voice flowed through my mind.

Ally and Dinah didn't seem to think so.

They're playing, I thought to her.
It's not an actual hunt.

Ally had taken over chasing the rabbit, which was conveniently heading toward Evan's direction. Dinab had disappeared into the trees and I sensed her waiting, waiting for Evan and Ally to guide it through.

Evan sank as low to the ground as his massive body would allow, and the rabbit, heart hammering in its chest, veered away from him.

He joined the chase when it passed, encouraging it through the break in the trees ahead.

Dinah got it, diving out from the behind the trees and catching it between her jaws. She skipped back to us, announcing her victory. She lowered her snout, gently releasing the rabbit.

When it just lay there, frozen with fear, she gave it a push with her nose.

Finally, it reacted, scurrying frantically away. Ally made to start chasing it again and I gave a low, warning growl.

Wolves in the wild probably would've eaten it, but we were not so desperate for food, and the rabbit had experienced enough torment. I headed toward the house, following the same path we'd come. My clothes were in the gazebo.

Normani was still teaching me how to shift and call to the faerie magic in my blood. I'd stripped because I hadn't felt like another lesson when we came out to run.

Now, only two things sounded good: a shower and some food.

Though I wasn't opening a vein for Lauren, as Normani had fed her when I'd gone upstairs to see Dinah, we would all need to eat something when we returned to the house. For a new wolf, Ally was doing surprisingly well and seemed to have gotten the hang of shifting at will. It was impressive.

Evan and Dinah didn't surprise me so much. I'd seen Dinah come close to being able to hold a partial shift, but she couldn't do it for long. I wondered if I was the only one in the group who could call the beast to my eyes and hands without giving over entirely to her every single time. Did that also contribute to the role I was supposed to play, to the mark of being alpha?

We made it to the gazebo and shifted then quietly donned our clothes. When we finished dressing, the only one that wasn't covered in dirt and twigs was Normani. Evan's hands were as covered in dirt as mine and the others. Dinah had a dirt mustache and Ally's hair was a windblown riot.

We made it to the dining room and Dinah slipped into the kitchen, opening the fridge door and returning with what appeared to be about twenty bags of lunchmeat, turkey, beef, ham.

"Chow time," she said, dropping the bags on the table.

We ate in silence, all except for Normani, who'd slipped away as soon as we made it inside the house.

Ally reached for the bag of roast beef when Evan growled at her.

"Split it, you two."

Surprisingly, they listened to me.

I'd completely finished off two large Ziploc bags of meat when I heard Lauren laugh from the doorway.

All of us turned to look at her. Ally quickly shoved the food dangling halfway out of her mouth, in it.

Lauren's hair was still wet from her shower, marking damp spots on the red sweater she wore. A tight pair of black skinny jeans clung to her hips, tucked into knee-high boots.

"Did you have a good run?" Lauren asked, directing the question at Dinah.

Dinah nodded. Lauren affectionately tousled Dinah's already messy hair.

"You had a phone call, Camila."

"Who was it?" I asked.

"Dylan," she said.

I pushed my chair back and stood. "I'll call him back before I get in the shower."

"No need," she said, walking around the table to me. She plucked a twig out of my hair. "I took his message and will relay it to you downstairs."

She stooped to kiss me and I stopped her with a hand high on her chest. "I'm dirty."

"So?"

"You're all clean."

"So?" she asked again, this time with a devious glint.

I turned on the pad of my foot, gracefully stepping out of her reach in a dance-like move. "I'm going to take a shower, Lauren. This time, you're not going to distract me."

Of course, everyone at the table was staring at us, but I didn't care.

I left Lauren standing there.

I was almost to the basement when the ground moved out from under me.

"Lauren!" She laughed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Carrying you, my love."

"I know that. Why?"

"Mmm, because I can."

At her mysterious smile, I shook my head.

"I'm serious. Don't you even think of dropping me on the bed once we get to the room, because sex right now is so
not happening."

"Have no worries," she said, voice light. "I'll escort you to the shower and give you a most thorough scrubbing myself."

"With a washcloth, Lauren. Trust me, you don't want what is on me in your mouth."

She laughed lightly.

"As you wish."

"And only if the message from Dylan isn't urgent. Was it?"

"It can wait," she said, descending the basement steps. "Afterward, we will sit and discuss Dylan's news and the psychic attack you experienced this afternoon. But for now," she mused, "I am going to get what I want."

"I didn't know you were so into dirty and wild," I said jokingly as the light of the lounge room left me momentarily blind from its brightness.

"Mmm," she murmured, burying her face in my hair, "only for you, my little forest nymph."

It was my turn to laugh.

Lauren carried me past her room and into the bathroom. I'd thought she would put me down before turning on the shower, but she didn't. She opened the frosted glass door and stepped into the dim lighting.

She reached for the handle jutting out of the dark stone wall.

"Uh, Lauren? You're going to get our clothes-" I closed my mouth when I got a face full of chilly water.

I coughed, laughing and wriggling in her arms. "You could at least have waited for the water to warm up!"

She used the arm she had behind my back to swing me upright and I instinctively wrapped my legs around her waist. She kissed me, stepping forward and guiding us out from beneath the harsh spray of water. My back met the wall.

I broke the kiss. "Lauren?"

"Yes?"

"You're wearing your boots in the shower."

"So I am." She whispered the words against my mouth before gently nibbling on my bottom lip.

I groaned, sliding my hands down her wet body. She nibbled a bit harder and I tugged at the wet sweater clinging to her skin, raising it to unveil the incandescent beauty of her. Lauren lowered me onto a small bench tucked into a corner. She pulled her sweater up over her head and discarded it to the floor. The bra she wore was the same blood red as the sweater. I caught the waistband of her jeans, pulling her to me.

Lauren propped her foot on the bench and set about removing her boots. I removed my shirt and shorts and stood under the spray of water.

When I had completed the task of washing my hair and face, I reached for the bottle of soap sitting on the small shelf. Lauren touched my arm, giving me pause. She was nude except for a small covering of shadowy lace at her mound. The onyx curls of her hair tumbled down the front of her body and to her hips, covering the mounds of her breasts.

"What are you doing?" I asked, curious, as she set the bottle aside. Of course, it was a bit obvious what she was doing. She put her hands flat against my stomach, spreading the sweet amber smelling soap on my skin, across my hips. Her fingers brushed downward, tracing the crevice between my thigh and groin in a way that made me nearly lose my balance.

Lauren laughed softly, guiding me further away from the spray of water.

She touched my shoulder. "Turn around."

I did, placing my hands flat against the smooth marble wall.

She guided my hair over my shoulder, her hands gliding across my back, slick with soap and water, over the raven tattoo and its knot work.

True to her word, she was thorough. By the time she was done, I was panting and half tempted to set my nails in the wall. Her fingers played over my breasts and lower, low enough to encourage me to arch my spine and space my feet out. She parted me and I moaned.

The tip of her finger moved against my clit, tracing it, sending little flits of ecstasy through me.

I felt her lips at my ear. "Yes or no?"

"Are you asking me if I want you to bring me right now?"

"I am."

"Gods, yes."

Lauren obliged and brought me, shuddering and trying to keep my legs from going out from under me.

She snaked an arm around my waist, her hand cradling my hip as I fought not to collapse with the aftermath. "Mmm, that was not as violent as it usually is."

I laughed. "That's because I was focusing on not falling on my face."

"A different position, then?"

I circled her wrists and I guided her arms close to her body. "Let me rinse," I said. "For now, keep those to yourself."

"As you wish," she said, not bothering to hide the devilish lilt in her tone.

I was about to step out of the shower when I ran into a vampiric speed bump. Lauren barred the door. "You are done rinsing, Camila."

"So you're not going to let me get out and find a towel?"

"Not yet, no."

"If we do a repeat," I said, "I'm pretty sure this time I'm going to face-plant."

"Who said anything about an exact repeat?"

One second Lauren was standing in front of me, and the next, she pushed my shoulders. The heel of her foot met mine and down I went. Lauren caught me before I hit the hard floor as if the move had all been a dance she'd mapped out in her head. She lowered me gently.

I growled, unhappy about being caught off guard and unceremoniously tripped. Whether she'd caught me or not, I didn't like the fact that she'd put her speed and strength against me.

I was about to protest when she climbed my body, pressing her mouth against mine.

I growled again, but when her tongue teased my lips, I opened to her.

She kissed me, a deep and sensual dance of tongues that made my body melt from head to toe. Her breasts brushed mine and the growl turned into something closer to a moan. I curled my arms around her back, holding her close to me, tracing the curve of her figure with my hands.

Lauren broke the kiss and her gaze was cloudy, but not with power, with that look a woman has when she knows you're hers. I sat up and used my body to push her onto her back. I removed her undergarments, dragging them down her thighs. I settled between her legs, pressing my lower body against hers. I shifted my hips, trying to find the position I wanted. Lauren bent her knees, watching me with lips half-parted. I curled a leg around hers, angling my body.

Though it felt good, I feared there was too much of a height difference between us.

Lauren laughed when I growled my frustration.

"If you are trying to do what I think you are trying to do"-she sat up, touching my cheek-"allow me."

I did so and Lauren used her hands to push my knees apart. She bowed her body and set her mouth between my legs, sucking my clit. I cried out at the unexpected suddenness of it. She sucked harder, threatening to break my skin on the cusps of her fangs.

Lauren worked me with lips and tongue, worked me until my breath was ragged and the waves of pleasure rocked my body. The hold of her lips broke before I came, the pulse between my legs thudding like a tiny touch. I could feel myself, wet and engorged.

I groaned and Lenorre pushed my arched leg up. She lowered her hands, leaving me to hold the position as she splayed me with the tips of her fingers and swung her hips forward to press her sex against mine. When our clits brushed, I thought I heard her gasp. She took hold of my leg like an anchor and began to move against me.

Lauren mumbled something and I grabbed her arms before she could change the position.

"Don't stop," I said and the thrust of her hips became something less controlled and more urgent. I writhed, nails digging into her arms."Gods! Don't you dare stop."

Goddess bless her, she didn't.

Hey look guys I ain't dead.