Lashing Out

I eagerly made my way inside the store, looking around for my precious Annie. When my eyes landed on Scarlett, who was leaning against the coffee shop’s counter with her ankles crossed, she nodded her head toward the romance section, and I immediately headed in that direction. I discreetly followed her through a few of her aisles, a little concerned that she hadn’t noticed my presence. When she stopped to pick up a book, I read the title over her shoulder before taking a few steps back. When she got slightly aroused, I inhaled deeply, sending Luge along with myself into a fully aroused state.
I quickly picked up *Training The Trainer*, the sequel to the book, in her hands. Ever since I had chosen her as my future Alpha Sow, I had been in contact with Osprey, asking him all about her. I knew what her favorite foods were and what her favorite activities were. I had made it a point to read an entire book every other day, so that when the moment came for me to meet her, we would have something to talk about.
“You’re perfect,” she whispered longingly as her finger moved over the title slowly.
“If you like that one, there’s a whole series by that author,” I murmured huskily from behind before cursing silently as I held out the book in my hand to her.
I hadn’t meant for my first words to be so sexually charged, but I couldn’t help it. She was just so delectable. Luge made me inhale deeply, drawing the intense scent of her rapidly rising arousal into our nose as she slowly turned around to face me. Her eyes moved down my body before shyly coming back up to meet mine. When she let out an audible, sharp breath, I wanted to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go. Her green eyes stared into mine while confusion, lust, and then awe moved rapidly through them.
“Here. This is book two. You should take it as well,” I said as I took a step toward her, ecstatic that she obviously wanted me too.
“Wh-why?” She stuttered.
“Because I read the one in your hands in a single night and devoured the second one just as fast. They run on the same timeline,” I told her as I took even more steps toward her.
My fingers itched to run along her skin. I wondered how soft she felt, and I didn’t just mean her skin. I had admired her body the entire time she had been at the mall, and I desperately wanted to touch every last inch of her. I took more steps toward her, mirroring each backward movement of hers until she hit the bookshelf and couldn’t keep trying to get away from me. When she lifted her hand to put it on my chest, Luge growled a little, letting her know that we wanted her.
“L-Logan?” She whispered breathlessly, making the desire to pick her up and ravish her against the shelves stronger, knowing she knew my name.
I lowered my head to peer into her eyes before letting my eyes drop briefly to her perfect lips that I longed to kiss.
“Hey, Annie,” I murmured softly.
Giving into the need to feel her lips on mine, I started to lower my head even more so I could finally kiss her. Suddenly, she shoved me away from her, dropped the book she was holding onto the floor, and darted off like a scared little bunny. I immediately started to chase her, intent on catching her to keep her by my side.
“ANNIE? WHAT’S WRONG?” I heard Scarlett call out, and I sped up.
If she made it out of sight of the store, there was a real chance that I would lose her, and I couldn’t afford for that to happen. Not when I knew where she would be going if she managed to get away from me. As I skidded to a halt outside of the store, I lifted my nose into the air, scenting for her to no avail. Her scent was all over the damn mall, and there was no clear direction of where she went. When I gave up a few minutes later, I linked Giselda and Scarlett to meet me at the fountain. I paced in front of the fountain while I waited for the girls to arrive. As soon as Scarlett arrived, I pinned her with a furious glare.
“Why in the hell didn’t you stop her?” I growled.
Scarlett put her hands on her hips as she bared her teeth at me. “What did you do to make her run? Did you touch her? Did you frighten her?” She put her hand on her stomach. “I’m pregnant, or did you forget? I’m not chasing her down. She was freaked out, and she might lash out at me. I’m carrying our sleuth’s future alpha. I can’t put myself at risk of losing our child. I’m sorry, Logan. I want to help you two, but I won’t allow my cub to be put in harm’s way. I know where she lives. I’ll talk to her later.”
I growled at her again before turning my anger on Giselda. “Why didn’t you chase her? You’re not pregnant!” I roared.
She rolled her eyes. “Because I didn’t know she had run until I got back to the bookstore.”
“Where did you go?” I asked angrily.
“I went to the bathroom, Logan. Calm down. I know that you feel like this was a loss, but it wasn’t. She knows you exist now. That can only help. Let Scarlett go back to Annie’s house and talk to her. I will speak to her tomorrow at school. We will figure this out together. You just need to have a little patience, cousin. You will have your mate.”
I narrowed my eyes on her before baring my teeth. “I better, or you won’t like being my beta!” I took a deep breath as Luge tried to take control of our body. “Now that I’ve met her, I want her even more.” I stuck my hands in my pockets as I looked toward the parking lot. “She is my fated mate, Gizzy. And that is all that matters to me. If I don’t have her soon, I will challenge that bastard for her. The only reason that I haven’t done so yet is because Osprey asked me not to. He wants to protect Gerald, and if I challenge him, I won’t let him survive.” I turned my head to look at Scarlett. “In three weeks, I will walk up to that house and issue a challenge. And just so you are clear, I am only offering you that much time because I have a lot of respect for you and Osprey. I also don’t want one of Annie’s first memories of me to be me ripping Gerald’s head off of his shoulders. So, my advice to you is as follows: Help me get my mate or you will lose a brother.”
I didn’t wait for her to respond as I walked off toward the trees that stood between the mall and the hotel that Giselda and I were staying at. As soon as I was out of sight of the mall, I stripped my clothes off, letting Luge out to blow off steam. We ran through the forest angrily tearing into trees, small animals, and eventually a deer to curb some of the violence inside of us. Not that it helped much. Long after the sun had set, we made our way back to the hotel, where Giselda sat on our room’s balcony, obviously waiting for me. I stopped to get dressed, grateful that the Grimm Forest Sleuth had left clothes for shifters all over the place.
“How are you feeling?” Giselda asked as I walked in.
“Fine,” I grunted as I moved past her to get a beer out of the fridge.
She sighed as she leaned against the counter. “Tell me what to do, Logo. I’ll do anything to help you get Annie.”
I guzzled down my beer before opening another one as I studied her face. “Would you kidnap her for me?” I asked half-jokingly, half-seriously.
Giselda nodded enthusiastically. “If that’s what it takes to get her, then that’s what I’ll do. Just say the word.”
I sighed as I finished my second beer. “I wish I could have you kidnap her. That would make all of this so easy.”
She moved to my side to rub my shoulder. “I know, Logo. I know.”