Gwen’s POV
Stefan and I rush off into the forest with the cheers of the crowd behind us. We run for about half an hour, getting deeper into the jungle to where it’ll be easy to find prey.
I find that I’m enjoying the hunt–as any wolf should.
In this form, my senses are so much better. I can hear every little sound in the forest, see clearly in the dark, and pick up all sorts of scents. And when I run, feeling the wind move over my body is the best thing ever.
It doesn’t take long for us to track down an antelope and bring him down. It helps that he’s a lone ranger, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy.
“So what now, we drag him back to the compound?” I ask Stefan through the mind link. It’s an ability I find to be quite useful when we are in our wolf forms. It would be super cool if we could do it in our human forms too, but that privilege only belongs to vampires, as I’ve heard.
“I’ll call others to get him.”
“Should we get back now?”
Stefan doesn’t reply right away. Instead, he steps up to me, his eyes staring into mine. Then he starts moving around me, sniffing me.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he keeps up with his circling and sniffing. It almost feels like he is a predator and I’m his prey…
I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel his muzzle bump against my behind. Whirling around, I give him my wolf version of a glare.
But he ignores that and starts moving again, and this time, the destination is clear—my behind.
And I keep turning, keeping my precious behind from him, because what is this—a mating dance? Do wolves have that? I’ve seen somewhere that some birds—
I let out a bark of surprise when his front paws land on my back, his powerful body looming over mine.
“I want you,” he tells me through our link.
What?
Now?
Out here?
Like this?
I crane my neck back to look at him. I catch his scent, which seems to be rolling off him in waves now. He doesn’t touch me for a week and now he wants to do it in our wolf forms?
Before I can start questioning whether this is a good idea, I feel my body responding to him.
“This is weird,” I tell him.
“It’s natural,” he says back.
Yeah, I guess.
And since I’ve come this far… Why not?
***
The ceremony is a success if the sounds of the partying werewolves outside are anything to go by. Hanna wasn’t kidding, she made it a big party. A party that I barely managed to get away from for a much-needed shower.
It’s been a long night–hunting, sex in the woods, the bonding ritual, and having to hang around for as long as possible. Now, it’s almost four a.m and the only thing I want is a hot shower and my bed–mine and Stefan’s bed now.
The housekeeper moved all my things across the hallway to his room earlier, so I don’t have to fetch anything. I head straight for the shower and minutes later walk out, wrapped in a white towel.
I’m at the closet reaching for a nightdress when the door opens and Stefan appears. “You left without me,” he accuses, striding across the room to where I’m standing.
“Well, you looked otherwise engaged, Alpha,” I tease, tilting my head so he can place a kiss on my lips.
As he steps up behind me and bends to kiss me, his body presses up to mine, and I don’t miss the hard length suddenly pressing against my bottom.
Looks like someone is a little too excited tonight.
I push back into him, grinding my ass into his hardness while he deepens the kiss.
He pulls back and groans. “If you keep that up, you’ll have to get back in the shower with me because I’ll get you all dirty again.”
“Keep what up?” I ask, reaching behind with one of my hands, bringing it to his thigh. With my other hand, I loosen my towel, letting the white fabric fall.
I hear his sharp intake of breath as it falls away, exposing my naked body.
I move forward a little, allowing the towel to get past my hips and down to the floor. Then, pressing my palms on the closet door and throwing him a look over my shoulder, I say, “I want to get dirty, Stefan.”
***
By the time we finally settle in to sleep, it’s already sunrise. And with the way my body is feeling, I might just not leave this bed until it’s sunset.
All sorts of feel-good hormones are running through my veins as I lie here, my back pressed to Stefan’s front, his arm around my middle.
I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy, this carefree. As if everything in my world was alright.
And it is.
If this is because of all that sex or because I’m loving my new life, I’ll probably find out tomorrow.
“That was amazing, by the way,” I mumble as my eyes start feeling heavy.
Stefan’s chest rumbles as he chuckles. “Yeah, you’ve already told me that about a hundred times already.”
My face heats up. “I mean back in the forest.”
“Oh. The hunt?”
I frown. Is it not obvious what I’m talking about? “No. I mean yeah, that was exhilarating too, but the sex was a hundred times better. Let’s do it again, in our wolf forms.”
“What?”
I half-turn around to give him a look. “Are you half-asleep or something?”
Stefan looks back at me, a weird look in his eyes. He looks confused.
“Stefan?”
He nods, and then the confusion drops from his face. “Yeah, sure. Let’s do it again.”
I turn back around, smiling. “Good, I can’t wait.”