Chapter fourteen

Naomi stared at those deadly but familiar red eyes and the only thing she could think about saying was, “it’s you.” She noticed the shock in the wolf’s eyes and it slowly retreated it’s paws, giving her room to get up, which she did and walked out into the moonlight. She stood, glancing up at the really big wolf, her eyes on its soft looking furs which she knows now were even softer than they looked. “I felt you today, but then you suddenly left. Why?” she took a step closer, her heart beating loud in her chest but not out of fear, instead it was out of anticipation.

Asher stared at her, so he was right, she really felt him this evening. He was still thinking of that when he felt a rustling in the woods. His giant head turned around immediately, searching and waiting to know what it was.

“Is everything okay?” he heard just as he felt the soft caress on his neck. He turned back to look at the girl but she was glancing at the shadows behind them, her hand casually on him like it was the most natural thing to do. He could feel it from her, she was not afraid him. Really, she is surprising him because the few humans who had been able to see his wolf form —which are the wolf hunters— had been scared silly that they peed their pants before running away.

The noise came again, distracting his thought and he turned behind him and growled softly. His growl was similar to that of a lion and Naomi felt fear run down her spine. Not because she was afraid of the wolf, but because she was afraid of what it would do to whatever that seemed to have piqued his interest.

The wood was still that even a pin drop could be heard. The noise didn’t come again and Asher knew he must have frightened whatever it was, but he wasn’t at rest. It wasn’t because whatever it was interrupted his moment with Naomi but it was because he couldn’t tell what it was. It didn’t have a scent and it was a strange thing for him. Nothing in this world is without a scent so what on earth could it have been?

“Whatever it was, I think it’s gone now,” Naomi said, then she laughed, “it could have been a little bunny,” her laugh intensified, “you are not afraid of a little bunny, are you?”

Asher turned his giant head at her. How could she laugh at a moment like this? Or even think up something as him being afraid of a bunny? Is that possible? He watched her as she continued to laugh as it finally dawned on him what she was doing. She was trying to liven the atmosphere and while he really wanted to know what it was tonight, her humor was getting to him. And so, without thinking twice, he bent his big head and hastily threw her on his back. Her shriek was to die for and if he was in his human form, he would have laughed so loud that he would have fallen on the floor. That’s right, who is laughing now, Naomi? He thought before he sprinted into the woods.

Naomi thought that her heart had flown out of her chest as she hastily searched for where to hold on and prevent her from falling. She was uncomfortable and that was because she didn’t climb on, on her own and was rather thrown on its back. So grabbing onto the furs to prevent herself from falling, she closed her eyes, waiting for when the moment was over.

Oh, but how wrong she was because when she eventually opened her eyes, she saw that they were now running on trees. How could that be possible? They were jumping from one tree to another and like that wasn’t enough, the wolf suddenly threw her up and she rose above the trees that she could see the moon so clearly and the very big shape. And then, she was falling and it all dawned on her that maybe, she had trusted that wolf so much because now, she could clearly see that she was going to fall to her death.

She screamed so loud and the air was too much that she couldn’t even hear her own screams. As she was approaching the forest floor, she closed her eyes, guess, this is it, she thought and prepared herself for the hard impact. If God loves her, then she might not even feel the pain and would just die immediately.

However, when she did land, she landed on something so soft and warm. A shrilling scream was resounding around her and it was only after a moment that she realized the scream was coming from her. She stopped, opened her eyes to see that she was on a sliver pillow, a warm and breathing pillow. She raised her head to see the pair of red eyes staring at her and right at that moment, she didn’t need rocket science to know that those eyes were laughing at her. And seriously, that was the last straw for her. “How could you?” she yelled and punched it’s chest but all she got was a low growl. “I could have died.”

‘But you didn’t’ Asher said in his mind but he knew she wouldn’t hear, she wasn’t a wolf after all.

“Why would you do that?” Naomi kept asking as she kept punching him. “I was so scared,” she sniffled.

Asher had been laughing in his mind all along until he heard that sniffle and glanced at her to see two lone tears run down her cheeks, and it was at that moment that he wondered, maybe he had gone a little too far.

Seeing that the animal had noticed her distressed, Naomi sniffled once more and climbed down from its big and soft body. She turned her back to it and quickly wiped away her tears. “I was already in a bad mood today and seeing you, I was happy but then you did this, I was so scared,” she sniffled, “I thought I was going to die.”

Asher wanted so badly to comfort her, he wanted so badly to bury her in his arms and tell her how sorry he was but two things where stopping him from shifting. One, she might be too scared to see him and he doesn’t think he is ready to reveal himself to her and two, he would be totally naked should he shift and he doesn’t think he wants her to see his body yet. Yes, he has a to die for of a body but he doesn’t undress in front of a woman unless he wants to get down there with her.

And so, all he could do was place his giant head on her shoulder, his snout touching her neck. Naomi shivered at that contact and turned sharply to the wolf behind her. His eyes had turned a fierce red and his breathing had became shallow that it was almost a growl. Her body started trembling, and she knew very deep within her that it wasn’t out of fear. The skin on her neck where his snout touched was itching her and she couldn’t refrain from touching it, backing away from the animal as her body was suddenly hot, very hot.

Asher stared at the girl, his body was reacting violently to her. When his snout touched her skin where a mating mark should be assuming she was a wolf or one of his kind, he felt his body tremble. However, what he couldn’t understand was why touching that place was making his body hot and his fangs were itching to be buried right on that spot. Something was forcing to come out of him, to lay a claim on her and it was scaring him. Yes he knew he was pulled to her by the peace she brought him, but that was just it, why is touching her marking spot driving him crazy?

Naomi couldn’t tell what has gotten over her but right that moment, she gasped and her eyes turned lifeless and she saw it, that shadow like man, coming for her, reaching to take her, his claws reaching out to grab her neck and that time, she felt it, she felt the pain like she was already experiencing it and she screamed, she screamed so loud.

“Naomi!” Asher yelled as the girl slumped on the floor. Even if he didn’t know when he shifted. All he knew was that he was still going through what could possibly be happening to him when he felt a sharp pain on his chest, the pain he was used to now after experiencing it at five years old. However, even though he was the one that felt the pain, he wasn’t the one screaming and so he looked up only to see that Naomi was visibly in pain and the next thing he knew, she was slumping on the floor, unconscious.