41. Keeping Distance

Laura - The meeting grounds
To my surprise, at this gathering, I feel more at ease than at the one before when Paul announced our bond. This time, their gazes aren’t focused on me, though, of course, some are still gawking and whispering.
I'm delighted that Maria informed me about the gathering. I wasn't expecting her to bring me along, but it's lovely of her.
Dan and Maria never leave me alone, assisting me in fitting in with small groups and making small talk. They take turns presenting me to other wolves and making me feel accepted. People even ask me stuff about my life, and I respond with a small smile as I scour the crowd for one particular tall wolf.
“So, Laura, have you ever –”
Someone starts a question, but I can’t hear the last part. Dark gray eyes find me through the crowd. All the sounds fade away, and nothing seems to move except him. My heart flutters. I want to jump into his arms and kiss him. Instead, I stand, frozen in place, staring at him.
Paul walks up closer, raising an eyebrow as he leans his face close. His smile darkens. “I’ll be stealing my mate for a little while if you don’t mind.”
Even though he addresses the wolves around me, he only looks at me. I take a deep breath as he clutches my wrist and takes me toward the forest.
"What are you doing?" I whisper, but I receive no answer.
Darkness sweeps thick around the trees before the moon rises.
We finally stop at the trunk of an old oak, far enough to not be seen by anyone at the gathering.
“You shouldn’t be here, Laura.” He runs a hand through his dark hair, tousling the strands.
"Are you concerned about what may happen to me or to your wolves?"
I raise my chin and gaze into his eyes, waiting for his response. Either he'll go with the wolves, which is more likely, or he'll say "both." My heart hopes for the latter since I can't see him saying he's concerned about me.
“Neither.”
I stare at him, surprised since this response was unexpected.
After some time, he says, "I don't need to worry about you since you're immune to wolf bites and my pack obeys me. But I'll have to battle Alin tonight since I challenged him at the previous meeting. I don't want you to be there when it occurs."
“Why? You don’t want me to see you fighting, or there’s another one of your stupid rules?”
He snarls and pushes me against the tree, pressing his body onto mine. “You really don’t get it, do you? I can’t concentrate on anything else when you’re around. Your scent is enough for me to lose focus and fall out of touch with reality.”
Paul growls, the rumble of his chest vibrating against mine. His tongue lands on my neck, and I press into the sensation. Please, give me more, more, more. I feel his teeth nipping gently, and I shiver at the thought of a stinging love bite. That’s dangerous and could give me the death I sought for so long. Though I don’t think of death so much anymore, a bite from him stirs a yearning for an entirely different reason.
His hug is smothering, yet I adore it. I exhale, suffocating between the tree and his body. It's hard to say which one is tougher, but I know which one is warmer and more lovely. My arms wrap around his shoulders, attempting to imprison him and make him mine. His breath brushes across my skin, causing goosebumps to appear.
“I… I’ll stay here if you want.”
My voice is little more than a desire-filled whisper. When he is close to me, I would say almost anything.
I cling to him. My hands drop to his waist, tugging him closer. The wet slide of our tongues becoming reacquainted sends a warm longing for more deep inside my chest. When Paul steps back, we stare into each other’s eyes, his questioning and mine answering. Yes, yes, I want you.
"Don't go any closer to the meeting grounds," he urges, widening the gap between us. "The battle will take place in the clearing. I don't want you anywhere near it, do you understand?"
I nod just as he turns his back, starting to go toward the pack. His strides grow faster and longer until he’s almost running. As he reaches a tree stump fallen over the path, he jumps over it. In mid-air, the shift takes place in the blink of an eye. He lands on four paws, tangled inside his clothes.
Seeing how easily he gets out of them, I realize this is not the first time it has happened to him. I hadn’t seen a wolf shift until now. The change happened so fast that it was like a miracle. It was like a magic finger snap, with no pain, no bones snapping like in the movies.
What is the range of Paul's olfactory perception? How near can I go to the clearing before he notices me? I'm intrigued by the fight, and I need to know that he'll be okay. A grin forms on my lips as a chilly wind brushes over my face. Yes, that's it! I should be alright if I approach the gathering grounds against the wind so it won't carry my smell toward the wolves.
Careful that the breeze doesn't change direction, I approach the place that Paul forbid me to go to.
The forest is eerily quiet before the wolves start howling with their muzzles pointed straight to the sky. Under the deep green trees, there's hardly any light. But the moonlight shines through the clouds above me, casting long shadows on the ground.
Although most wolves have basically grey coats, they have a lot of base yellow interspersed between the salt-and-pepper fey and black hair. Under the moonlight, their coats grade from almost pure white to jet black.
The fight commences, and I inch closer to be able to peek between the bushes. The pack crams in a circle around the two rivals. I can’t do anything except fidget with my hands and keep quiet.