Page 48 of Reaper
Chapter Seventeen
Reaper
Reaper shouldn’t have been surprised by how exquisite he found Ara in wolf form.He found that he couldn’t take his eyes from her.
Warring between exhaustion and enjoyment from her shift, Ara laid her face against her paws and closed her eyes.
During their run, he could feel her excitement as she darted through the woods, kicking up snow.He was almost surprised that she didn’t howl at the moon.But for the first time since he learned the reason behind her fever and pain, he relaxed enough to enjoy his time with her, experiencing her first shift.
When he’d first heard her voice in the early morning hours, he thought that she lay right beside him.It took him by complete surprise when he understood that she had communicated with him through their mind link, from another room.He should have realized that once he’d taken her as his mate that the mind link ability would become a possibility, but until he heard her panic in his head, it hadn’t even occurred to him.
He had been so exhausted from staying up the night before and the entire day, monitoring Ara’s progress.The fever had broken by mid-morning, and although he still couldn’t touch her without causing her pain, he was grateful when she fell into a deep sleep.
The assassins, concerned for the newest shifter, had trailed in and out of the room, checking on her and to see whether he needed a break.He couldn’t pull himself away from his mate; whatever she had to go through, he would be right there with her.
When he had found her on the bathroom floor, guilt assailed him because he’d fallen asleep and allowed her to go through the first part of her transition alone.But she had been so strong during the entire process.As he knelt beside her, her panic ceased and she relaxed, allowing the progression of her shift to proceed naturally.
Running together, side by side, had solidified their bonding and he couldn’t help being proud at his mate.
While she enjoyed her time outside, he had been on alert, scanning the woods for anyone trailing them.An immortal would know that they were shifters, but if they stumbled upon a human, they would see two wolves in their natural setting.He’d sensed her exhaustion toward the end of the run, and led her to the house before she collapsed.
“You okay, beautiful?” he asked.
She huffed out a breath and opened one eye to glance at him, but made no other moves to answer him or get up off the ground.He shouldn’t have had her run so far her first time out, but he enjoyed her excitement and hadn’t wanted to dampen it.
He smiled at her, but her breathing turned into a whine, and he realized that her body wanted to shift back to human.
Without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms and darted toward the living room and the stairs that would lead them up to their room.Before he could take three steps, her whine grew louder and he glanced down.Her shift back to human had begun.
As his foot reached the first step, her form grew smaller in his arms and he glanced down to see Ara, naked, with a deep blush on her cheeks.Despite the fact they were standing in the living room, he couldn’t help that his body responded to her.Hell, he would have to be dead in order to not respond to his mate.
For a moment, he stood frozen as his gaze raked over every inch of her honeyed skin.
Back in her human form, she regained some energy and she moved her hands to cover herself.He was rendered mute by her beauty and his desire only for her.
It wasn’t until a whistle echoed throughout the room that he snapped out of his stupor and reached for a blanket on the nearest couch.Before he could reach it, he was blinded completely.
“Uh, beautiful.I can’t see anything.”His hold on her tightened.
She wriggled out of his arms, and he started when she dropped her hands on his shoulder.He reached for her, but before he could get his arms around her waist, she slid her mouth against his for a second before she pulled back.
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
Again, his arms reached out for her, but he heard her soft footsteps dart up the stairs.He wanted to follow her, but he didn’t trust that he could make it up the stairs without destroying anything in the process.The moment he heard the distinct click of the door to their bedroom, his vision returned.He blinked at the brightness of the lights in the living room, and glanced around.The others blinked and rubbed their eyes, and he knew that she had blinded everyone in the room.
“I think that her powers have grown stronger since her transformation,” Hunter mumbled.
“I wouldn’t doubt it.She keeps surprising me,” Reaper said.
“I have an idea.”Hunter darted toward the door that led him downstairs.
Reaper had kept his eyes on the door where Ara had disappeared through minutes before, and he blew out a relieved breath when the door opened and Ara ran down the stairs.Surprised when she launched herself at him, he easily caught her in his arms and kissed her for the first time in days.He had missed her touch, her lips.
As he broke the kiss, he sat down and kept her on his lap.They glanced around to see the assassins staring at Ara.
“Did you see anyone during your run?” Ghost asked.
“No, and I didn’t sense anyone,” Reaper said.
