Run, Run, Run

A run was a spiritual experience like no other; it was a crucial step to becoming mates. It was an opportunity for a couple to see if their wolves were as compatible as their human sides.

Most of the time, a run happened when a couple, mated or otherwise, wanted to make sure they were 100 percent in sync with one another before making the leap into matehood.

And I had to be honest—before meeting Sienna, I’d never really pictured myself getting this far with anyone.

Many couples don’t make it that far. Or worse, they find out during the run that they aren’t as compatible as they thought.

This time, however, it would be different.

For once, I knew Sienna was my mate, so my wolf had already accepted her as a partner for life. But since Sienna was in the dark, I wasn’t sure how her wolf would take to it.

There was only one way to find out.

We were standing in my backyard, and my dim porchlight illuminated Sienna’s form in the dark. Her body language was all nerves as she crossed her arms, clinging to her sides.

“Ready?” I asked, looking at the beautiful woman next to me whose hesitation and fear were written all over her face.

She was a virgin, so I doubted she’d ever gone on a run before. That made me feel somewhat pleased, yet also self-conscious. What if her wolf rejected mine?

But there was no room for doubt. I had to trust myself if I wanted Sienna to trust me.

I grabbed her hand, leading her to the edge of the woods, and we walked through the trees, preparing ourselves for what was to come.

“Wait!” she shouted suddenly as the trees crowded around us. “Can we just walk for a little bit first?”

She looked so anxious, all I could do was smile and say, “Of course.”

We walked in silence through the forest, following a trickling stream deeper into the woods.

I felt her unease slowly fade away, and when we came across a pond in the middle of the forest, we both stopped in unison.

It was beautiful, the moonlight shining on its surface, the starry sky in full view above the trees.

It was as if we knew this was where our run would begin, the perfect starting point for something this special.

I pulled off my shirt without hesitation, but when I turned to Sienna, she was clutching hers tightly. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

She blushed. “Turn around. I don’t want you to see.”

I barked out a laugh. “Why? I’ll see you naked one way or another. It’s only natural.”

She didn’t seem convinced. “We’ve already established that I’m not like all the other she-wolves you know,” she said sharply as she fumbled with the zipper of her jeans.

“Believe me, I know,” I said with the utmost sincerity, which she seemed to appreciate.

I was forcing myself to be as calm as possible, reassuring, the opposite to her uncertain emotions. I wanted her to be completely at ease.

“Don’t worry, you are beautiful,” I said, sensing she needed some encouragement.

She blushed again, but she finally turned around and slowly slid her pants down to her ankles.

I tried to keep myself under control with every layer she shed, tried not to think too much about the way her ass looked so perky and perfect, as if it was molded for my hands.

Or the way her fiery-red hair gleamed as it fell down her shapely back, glistening in the moonlight…

~Fuck.~

But no matter how aroused I was, this moment wasn’t about lust; it was about connectedness. It was about how we fit together perfectly.

And when we looked at one another, it felt as if we were one. As if everything suddenly made sense.

It almost felt like I was realizing she was my mate all over again.

“You first,” I said softly, wanting to see her shift, see her wolf with my human eyes.

She stepped forward, moonlight engulfing her beautiful form, and shifted. In just a short breath, a reddish-brown wolf stood before me, her pelt brimming like fire in the moonlight.

I took in the beautiful sight of her wolf before I shifted.

Next to her, my wolf was enormous. But it didn’t seem to bother her.

No, her eyes connected with mine, and in an instant, if I had any reservations, any sort of fear that her wolf might reject me, was gone.

There was no doubt that, even though Sienna didn’t know she was my mate, her wolf was more aware of what I meant to her.

I turned and pointed my snout toward the woods. She had to start this; a run was essentially a game, a challenge to gauge the dominance of the wolf, the strength of the partners.

Sienna was meant to run, and I was meant to chase her.

~And I won’t stop, not until you’re mine, and I’m yours.~

And so Sienna took off, rocketing into the woods. I wanted the game to be fair, so I counted to five before I ran after her, my wolf dashing through the trees.

She masked her scent at one point, but I was an alpha. I knew how to hunt, and her scent was far more embedded in my memories than she knew.

So I tracked what she couldn’t quite hide, a trail of paws in the mud and a wisp of her scent in the air, and when I felt she was near, I let out a short, sharp howl to let her know I was gaining on her.

The run lasted for hours. Sienna didn’t even need the head start. She was smart, able to adapt quickly—and very, very dominant.

She zigzagged through the forest, and while I never lost the faint trail of the scent she left, I had to admit that, at a few points, I almost let her slip away.

But in the end, I caught up to her, and when I saw her beautiful wolf climbing a rocky hill, unaware that I’d found her, I pounced.

~You’re mine now.~

Sienna rolled to the side just before my jaws connected with her fur. I grinned, feeling far more feral than normal now that I’d let loose with my mate.

Seeing her fur all ruffled, matted with leaves and mud, I felt even more satisfied. I liked seeing her dirty.

She had nowhere to go, so we circled one another, both of us challenging the other to make the first move, snarling playfully.

~Stop dragging this out,~ I thought. ~Just submit.~

But the truth was, I could do this all night with her. And I was more than impressed by how she was keeping me on my toes. I hadn’t felt this kind of adrenaline in ages.

A twig snapped somewhere nearby, the noise cutting through the silence, and Sienna turned her head. That momentary distraction was all I needed.

I charged at her, colliding with her ribs, and we both lost balance, tumbling down the hill, smashing through rocks and bramble, then landing at the bottom.

I recovered quicker than she did, and I used the opportunity to finally pin her. She yelped and thrashed, trying to flee, but I refused to bend.

The challenge was over. She’d put up a good fight—no, a ~great~ one—but I had won.

I let out a triumphant howl and sank my teeth into her shoulder where the mark would’ve been in human form.

This was the final act of the run, when you let your wolves connect in the same way your human selves did.

Now, no one would ever dare touch her. She wouldn’t just carry my scent; she would have my mark embedded in her skin like a tattoo, only fading if I weren’t her mate.

But that mark would never fade. She would always belong to me, and I’d always protect her with my life.

We shifted back into human form, just as we were, me still pinning Sienna to the ground. I simply stared at her, feeling the satisfaction of having her under me, safe, marked, and staring right back.

It was intense. It was intimate. It was everything I’d ever wanted.

But it couldn’t last forever, so after a while, I got up, helped her to her feet, and took her to the water nearby.

I washed the blood from her mark softly, feeling a little ashamed of the fact that I’d bitten her hard enough for her to bleed, but a greater sense of satisfaction pushed the guilt away.

This time, the mark was a spiritual connection. She was mine in more than just body; her soul was a part of me too.

The way she looked at me, touched me; it had changed. There was acceptance, trust, and longing where before there had only been uncertainty.

Now that I’d marked her again, in a way that was deeper than a lover’s mark, more than just partners for the season, she knew that I wanted more with her.

She could start to trust me, to see me in a new light.

And maybe finally…

She could fall in love with me, just like I had with her.