narrowed her eyes. “Bullshit. You’d never.”
“No. I wouldn’t.” His gaze softened. “You didn’t hesitate to defend my innocence. Maybe you should think about what I’ve told you, because in the pack’s eyes, I’m a killer. I was banned that night and left everything familiar to me. I, the future alpha, did what I swore I’d never do…leave the pack to survive on their own, but I also couldn’t go against the rules that were placed there by my ancestors. Without them, chaos would reign, and no one would be safe.”
“No one is safe!”
He growled, his wolf snarling with frustrated rage. “And, because of being forced out of the position I was born for, trained for…needed, more of the people I love, you love, have suffered.”
“Ethan—”
“No.” He pushed himself away from the tree.
“I’ll never forgive myself for falling into Greggoire’s trap.”
Dani stood frozen to the spot and gazed after Ethan as he stormed to the cabin. She flinched at the sound of the door slamming behind him.
“There was nothing you could do. No one will blame you once they know the truth.”
“I don’t know, little one. I don’t know…”
Chapter Four
Dani leaned over and braced her hands on her knees. Sweat ran off her hair into her eyes.
She gasped for air. “Oh, God, I’m going to die.” Ethan pulled her back up into a standing position and smacked her on the ass. “You’re out of shape. Concentrate.” He raised his open hands in front of him, his fingers relaxed.
She lifted her chin, raised her fist, and remembered to tuck her thumbs so she wouldn’t break them. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Ethan punched incredibly fast, and she jabbed the air deflecting his strikes. He refused to hit her and instead tried to tap her body. On her chest, her face, her shoulders, his hands were everywhere, boom, boom, boom, one after another, challenging her.
Her arm and back muscles burned fiercely.
They’d trained all day, beginning at sunrise and stopping only for lunch to keep up their strength. Even so, her stomach screamed for food. Her wolf grew bigger and stronger every day, demanding more of her energy.
Ethan’s aims were quick, precise. Left, right, down, up, she knocked his hands away. No longer overheated, she gained her second wind and deflected his attacks even faster, forcing Ethan to step up his game. Her reactions came automatically, no longer within her conscious mind, but she anticipated his every move.
Inside her body, a powerful force rushed to the surface. Ethan threw up his hands and backed up, grinning. She stared him down, her bones quivering. An almost feral growl came from her throat. “Ethan?”
“Go ahead, little one. Take off your clothes.
Let your wolf come out. This is why I had you wait. You have not only learned the skills required for protecting yourself, but you have taught your wolf to guard you when you are the most vulnerable.”
She scrambled to remove her clothes. The dam she’d built the last week broke. Finally, she could let her wolf come. Her adrenaline spiked, and she swiftly inhaled. She’d finally meet her hidden wolf. Happiness bubbled inside her.
Dani fell to her hands and knees. She arched as bones cracked and transformed her into her canine species. An explosion of sensations released within her core and flowed throughout her body. Fur grew were there was once skin, and her jaw lengthened. She yelled in surprise, but only a yip from her wolf sounded.
She gazed up at Ethan. Her vision so sharp and the colors so vibrant, she stared in wonder.
He was beautiful and his smile was only for her.
Her formerly tired muscles tingled with energy. She wanted to run, hunt, and stretch her legs.
The patter of soft quick footsteps came from the edge of the forest to her right, and she turned her head. She flicked her ears, snapped her jaws, and sniffed. All senses zoned in on the…umm…rabbit. Her stomach growled.
“Ethan, my wolf is starving. I don’t