He nodded. “Damari have two hearts.”
Her eyes widened. “Do I?”
“No. But some of your organs have altered.”
“God.” She clapped her hands over her ears. “And I can smell you, and other creatures in the bushes outside. Someone’s cooking nearby.”
“Sensory overload. It happens to our teenagers when they go through puberty. It comes in waves, and it will adjust as your body adapts.”
“I think—”
A wave of crippling pain hit. Everything hurt so badly. She arched her back and bit her lip.
“Poppy.”
Then she was in his arms.
She curled into him. “It hurts. It hurts so much.”
He tipped her head up and studied her face. Then he lifted one of her hands.
“There’s no sign that you’re changing into a wolf, but you still need the wild.” He rose with her in his arms.
She was only wearing the loose shirt and panties, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
He carried her out of the room, down the stairs, and through the broken front door.
As soon as they stepped into the moonlit-drenched darkness, the pressure in her chest eased a little.
Brodin broke into a run, moving with a speed that made her gasp.
In a blink, they left the city behind, and plunged into the trees.
The forest closed in around them, and the noise decreased a little, letting her think.
He reached a clearing and set her down. He studied her with an intense gaze, then cupped her cheek.
She jerked back. He’d cupped the redhead’s cheek, too. The image of that was seared in her brain.
He growled. “I don’t like when you pull away from me.”
“You…” She swallowed, thinking. “You touch everyone, right? Your pack members. It doesn’t mean anything.”
She saw some sort of understanding in his eyes. He closed the gap and gripped both her cheeks. “It means caring, friendship…and sometimes it means more.”
Poppy’s breath hitched.
His strong fingers stroked her cheeks, and she fought the urge not to shudder. The sensation magnified.
“How is the sound now?” he asked.
“A little better.” She was so focused on him, she barely noticed.
“You need to focus on turning it down. You can turn it up when needed, but also block it when you need to. Your mind is good at filtering out the information it needs, and blocking the rest.”
Poppy closed her eyes and tried. She could do this. Slowly, the sound muted.
“Good. Now open your eyes.”
All she could see was that rugged, masculine face.
“Look around, Poppy. See the movement. Note the animals around us.”
She did, astounded at the level of detail she could see. She noted faint smudges of color in the leaves—yellow, orange, red.
She gasped. “You can see thermal signatures.”
He nodded. “It helps us hunt in the dark.”
She swallowed. “I’m not sure hunting small, fluffy creatures is that appealing.” The idea of eating an animal, raw, made her shudder.
Brodin’s lips quirked. “You’ll get over it. The thrill of the hunt is in your blood now.”
Her pulse spiked. She saw a smudge of orange in the bushes. The creature was resting on a branch, and was about the size of a large cat.
She turned more fully toward it, and saw it freeze. It sensed predators.
It ran, leaping from branch to branch. It moved so fast.
Her pulse scrambled. Her muscles bunched.
“Go,” Brodin said. “You want to. You need to.”
Poppy hesitated a beat, then she ran.
She picked up speed, jumping gracefully over a log. She laughed. She felt like she was flying. She felt free.
She followed the trail of color, ignoring others.
She was extremely conscious of Brodin staying one step behind her, keeping pace ridiculously easily and quietly. For such a big man, he made little sound.
The animal turned, picking up speed. Poppy leaped over a bush, claws sliding free from her hands.
She jumped, and caught the animal.
It wriggled and hissed. It was a ball of white, tangled fluff. She had no plans to eat it. She put it on the ground and let it go.
It rabbited away, disappearing into the underbrush.
“A waste of a good snack,” Brodin said.
She winced. “You eat them? Raw?”
“In wolf form.” He cocked his head. “You have increased speed, strength, agility, and the senses and claws of a Damari wolf.”
“But I don’t feel any desire to shift.”
“It appears you had a part transformation.”
She swallowed. “Can I…?”
“Ask me, Poppy.”
“Can I see your wolf?”
Gold rolled over his eyes. He reached up and grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking it over his head.
Her heart stopped. She was distracted by his chest. It was all immense slabs of muscle, with a tattoo on one pec of a howling wolf. He also had a light smattering of silver hair on his chest.
When he reached for his belt, she swiveled. Her pulse pounded in her ears.
She didn’t hear anything. The next moment, something brushed against her hip.
Gasping, she looked down.
“Oh.”
He was huge. The top of the wolf’s head reached her shoulder, and her pulse skipped a beat.
He was gorgeous.
Huge and beautiful, with soft, gray fur. She stroked a hand down his side. Glints of brilliant purple shone in his tail, and throughout his fur.
Gold eyes rimmed in blue looked at her. He nudged her and almost knocked her over. She laughed.
He bumped into her again.
That’s when she realized what he wanted. “You want me to run?”
A solemn nod.
Her breath hitched. “Are you going to chase me?”
Brodin lowered his head, his gaze locked on her. She sucked in a breath, excitement whipping through her bloodstream.
Then she turned and ran.
Behind her, she heard the deep, haunting howl of a wolf on the hunt.
Chapter Five
She ran like a synallis deer—light and quick on her feet, just like the animal.
Poppy was fast. Brodin sensed the Damari in her. He watched her dart to the left, then leap over a fallen tree. Her body was graceful.
He felt the wild thrum through him—hot and powerful. His wolf was close to the surface.
He caught up to her, brushing against her legs. She laughed and he saw the sheen of gold flicker through her blue eyes.
She darted to the right, her laugh echoing through the trees.
He liked hearing it.
She paused in a clearing, her chest heaving. He padded over to her. His wolf liked the way her gaze ran over his body.
She lifted her hand, then paused. He pushed into it.
“Oh.” She stroked him. “Your fur is so soft.”
Brodin liked her touching him.
“Wow, when I stroke your fur, more of that purple light ripples through it.” Her voice was filled with wonder. “I’m guessing it’s some sort of bioluminescence. You must have a bioluminescent enzyme in the fur that causes a chemical reaction—”
He nudged her.
She laughed. “Sorry. I tend to get caught up in things. Especially new things. It drives Mal crazy when I ‘science speak’ her. I’m pretty sure her eyes glaze over.” Poppy ran her hand down his side again. “You really are beautiful, wild.” She pressed her face against him.