Page 55 of Iced Out Mate

I started to retract the ask, opening my mouth and blubbering out some nonsense. Miles raised his hand and stopped me. I braced myself for impact.

This was going to hurt, wasn’t it?

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Chase

MILES

I could feel a full moon coming days before it took its place in the sky. It was like an itch between my shoulders I couldn’t quite get to. An incessant buzzing underneath my skin that couldn’t quite be helped. It also played on my mood, making me more snappy, more spontaneous. It pushed my libido into overdrive, which was why Dyl and I had barely stepped out of the house since he’d come over. We only left for practice and for the gym, other than that, we were back at my place, trying to fuck away the increasingly feral energy that coursed through us both. It built up like a flood behind a dam and was never relieved no matter how often we emptied ourselves together.

When he had asked to spend a full moon shift with me, I was initially hesitant about it. I’d been on my own for so long that I was used to spending those nights locked up inside of my home. I had lived in the center of a busy city so I couldn’t exactly risk going out and being seen. I would deadbolt my home, close all the blinds, have a nice and juicy meal waiting, and I’d ride it out indoors. There were a few rare occasions I’d travel somewhere more remote so I could spend the shift as a free were, running through empty woods and howling up at the full moon.

But I also knew that animalistic instincts could take over during these nights, and I didn’t want to make any bad judgment calls because my mind was clouded not just by the moon but by Dylan. What if I made an impulsive decision that I’d come to regret once the sun came up?

I considered saying no, but Dylan’s puppy-dog stare was difficult to turn down.

So I agreed. And so here we were, in the middle of the woods, stripping off all our clothes and tucking them away in a box we’d return to come morning. Shifting into our wolf forms meant we didn’t have to worry about clothes, but shifts into our larger were forms would have ripped everything to shreds.

“There’s something so freeing about being naked in nature, isn’t there?” Dylan asked, completely nude now. I took a second to admire his perfect body. Honed and chiseled by years of training and playing hockey. Broad shoulders that trailed down to powerful biceps, framing a muscular chest. He stood with his powerful legs apart from each other, a hand rubbing his six-pack, fingers trailing down to his trimmed pubes.

In only a few minutes he’d be standing three feet taller, his body covered in dense fur, his fingers elongated to claws and his mouth into a snout.

“Yes,” I said, answering his question as I pried my eyes from him. “There’s something about it for sure.”

I pulled off my underwear and set it inside the box. Last was my jewelry. I removed my earrings, my necklace, and my bracelet and set them neatly in the box which I then pushed in to the base of the tree we’d marked to come back to. Once we arranged some leaves over it in case anyone passed by and got curious, I turned back to Dylan. Only a minute or two left. I could feel the tug of the moon’s magic on my soul, pulling out my inner were.

The winds shifted. I got a whiff of something—of Dylan. Holy fuck. It almost knocked me to my knees. It was like scenting the world’s most expensive, most elusive cologne. Something formulated to completely obliterate the senses. My heart started to race, my nostrils flared. What the hell was that? I wanted to launch myself at him. Only so I could inhale his scent even more, so I could get him underneath me and so I could rub that scent off on myself.

No time to think about it. The full moon reached its zenith. The magical energy inside me rose with it, boiling over, consuming me completely. I fell to my knees. Dylan did the same. A shimmer blurred his form as it did mine. My arms and legs elongated. My bones and muscles reshaped and rearranged themselves painlessly. A tail grew from my lower back. Teeth became canines, nails turned to claws.

Then, as if I’d just blinked, it was over. I stood up on my lean, muscular legs covered in black fur. I stretched my arms, looked up at the moon, pinned my ears back. Howled. Long and drawn out. Dylan joined me. We created a haunting chorus of sound that bounced between the dense wall of trees that surrounded us.

I dropped my attention from the moon. Focused on Dylan. He stepped forward. His tail was tucked between his legs. His hands outstretched, grabbing my arms. Claws tight. His jaw came to my neck. I gave it to him. Tilting, exposing my most vulnerable part. He sniffed. Opened his jaws. Sharp pinpricks of pleasure poked through my skin as his teeth worried on my flesh. A low whimper. He pressed his body against me, his fur warm against mine. His excitement as apparent as mine. He humped me, nibbling on my neck.

Another howl. Another low whimper of pleasure. I grabbed him by the hips and turned him so he was in front of me. He dropped his head forward, exposing his neck same as I did mine. I leaned in and inhaled him. My body felt like it wasn’t my own.

Feral thoughts painted my mind. I wanted to bend him over and take him. Didn’t know if it would hurt him, though. I didn’t want to hurt him. Only pleasure. Only mate.

My mate.

Fated.

I rubbed his chest. His fur was different than mine. More mottled with whites and browns. His ears tipped in shadows.

The moon called to us. As did the wilderness. I let him go. He turned, holding my clawed hand in his. A smile that looked similar to a snarl spread across his lips.

He turned, dropped to his fours, and took off running through the woods at a speed that turned him into a blur. An excited howl tore through me as instincts to chase kicked in.

I fell into pursuit. We ran and ran, howling and yipping, crashing through the shrubs and breaking through low-hanging branches, jumping over logs, splashing through creeks. Time faded away as we played. Joy mixed with ecstasy. I didn’t always have him in sight—he was fast, so fast—but his scent was so potent, so alluring, that I’d be able to track him from miles away.

A thought pricked at the back of my mind. It was a human thought. Not were. Not now. I homed back in on the chase, wanting to catch him.

Wanting to hold him. To mate with him.

My fated mate.

Faster. Heart pounding in my chest. Spotted him. So close.