Big Bad Wolfie novel Chapter 50

"Why do I keep doing this to myself?" I sighed into his shirt.

"What?" Wolfie rubbed my back soothingly.

Oh, screw you and you're soothing touches.

"Falling back into your arms after telling myself I wouldn't. How can I not get something as simple as that right?"

He gave a sad chuckle. "Don't worry, the mate bond makes me do crazy things too. I don't wanna care about you so much," he hugged me tighter, "but I do."

"Oh wow, thanks so much for the honesty," I rolled my eyes.

He sighed. "Why do we always have to fight?"

"Ha! What a dumb question. I thought we covered this at the club?"

He shook his head. "Listen. I see you. As much as you think I don't, I do. I know what I'm missing out on. I know you deserve better than me." He inhaled a deep breath of my hair and took my face in his hands. "You don't deserve any of this, all the chaos that I brought into your life and even everything that was there before me. . . You don't deserve any of it. I'm so sorry."

I gave a humorless chuckle. "Don't deserve it but not worth the trouble to stop it? Yeah. I get that a lot."

Nothing.

He's speechless.

That's what I thought.

I had to dig for the strength that a new day after a h3llish night gives me and pushed away from him to stand on my feet.

"C'mon, we've got ground to cover," And I was off.

Let's just hope I can keep my promise to myself to stay away from him this time.

Ha, who am I kidding?

At least my leg and arm are a little better.

-----

Jason's POV

'Grrrrr!'

What are you growling about? I questioned Ki dejectedly.

'Comfort mate!'

I rolled my eyes. She doesn't want our comfort.

'That never stopped us before!'

I know, and it's not going to stop us later, but now she needs time.

'Ugh! Time, time, time! That's all I hear about with her!'

Calm down buddy.

'No! She needs to —'

"Did you hear that?" Her voice broke my train of thought.

I shook my head to clear it, "Um, no, what?"

I watched her look around attentively. Not stopping her stride forward but slowing down enough to analyze her surroundings very carefully. Skeptically.

Goddess, she looks delicious in this light.

Well, she looks devour-able in every light, but the rising sun sending golden rays on her pale skin is enough to make me melt.

And how her curvy hips, even in basketball shorts, sway as she treads carefully.

Jeez, I can't wait to grab onto those hips and —

"There it is again," she jumped and swung her head toward another spot in the forest.

I almost sighed out loud.

Why you gotta ruin a good thought like that, Maria?

"I don't hear anything," I shrugged, going back to sulking behind her.

She gave one last skeptical glance around the forest and finally digressed. "Alright well, let's hurry up and get back to the group."

"Right behind you."

And I wouldn't trade the view for anything.

"Stop staring at my @ss."

"Stop being so gorgeous, then maybe I'll consider it."

She didn't say anything, but something, maybe the mate bond, maybe intuition, told me she was blushing.

I smirked.

I just made a vampire blush.

And it was the only one I'm really interested in seeing blush again.

We finally made it back to the group.

The rest of the journey was pretty uneventful, other than Maria constantly looking over her shoulder.

She keeps a relaxed exterior, but I can tell she's watching, waiting for something to happen.

"Does anyone else feel like they're being watched?" She asked, still maintaining her cool.

Rose looked around, "Nope, why? Your spider senses tingling?"

"Yeah," Maria's nose scrunched up a bit in an adorable way, "but I don't smell anything out of the ordinary."

Zach took a whiff of the air. "I don't either. Must just be your imagination."

"Yeah. . . Must be," she mumbled.

But, I could tell throughout the rest of the way she had her guard up.

A few hours later her mood changed completely.

She rang her hands together and her eyes were darting every which way.

"Did you hear that?" She asked the group again for the first time in hours, but her eyes were wide and she looked anxious. Scared.

It's unsettling. I don't know why, but it is.

Everyone looked around.

"Nope," Cali responded.

"You're just anxious, Maria," Brandon said softly. "It was probably just an animal."

I stayed quiet.

"No, it sounded like a person. A person running," she shook her head. She looked to me, her eyes almost doe like, "Didn't you hear it?"