The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 3

Axel's POV.

I relax my body and clear my mind. Focusing on my wolf, I feel my body change shape. My bones pop out of joints and click back in a different way. My muscles move under my skin and my face tingles as it changes.

Grace's eyes remain on me the whole time, wide with awe and slight apprehension.

When I've finished shifting, I wait for her to make the first move. I remain perfectly frozen on four paws.

Grace stares at me, her eyes trailing over every inch of my fur—covered form.

I sit down and lower my head, trying to look less intimidating. Grace takes a cautious step forwards and I let out a quiet whine.

She takes another step closer and reaches out to me. Her handshakes as it nears my head. Slowly, she strokes the side of my face with her fingers. It feels nice and I can't resist nudging my head into her hand.

A light laugh escapes her lips, and she buries her fingers deeper into my fur. My tail wags on the ground, making her smile. She rubs behind my ears, filling me with happiness.

She's not scared of me!

I drop the ground and roll onto my back, bearing my stomach to her. Grace laughs and crouches down next to me.

'You're like a dog,' she comments amusedly, rubbing my belly.

I let my tongue hang out of my mouth, lolling to the side as I pant.

Grace pats me for a bit longer and then I sit up again, an idea coming to me. I shift back, leaving me naked and in a crouch.

Grace squeaks with surprise and jumps back.

'Sorry,' I apologize quickly. 'But I'm just wondering…do you want to ride on me'

Her lips part in shock, her eyes as wide as saucers. 'What'

I chuckle. 'Nothing sexual about it, I promise. But you can ride on my back. Do you want to try it'

'Is it safe'

'Yes.'

I would never hurt her or let her get hurt.

'Um.' She bites her bottom lip. 'Okay.'

I shift back into my wolf form and flatten my stomach against the ground, lowering myself as much as possible.

Carefully, Grace swings her leg over and climbs onto my back. She sits just behind my shoulder blades. Her fingers delve into my fur.

I gently get stand up. Her feet leave the ground and Grace cries out in surprise, but she sounds happy, not scared.

She holds on tightly to my fur and I take a few experimental steps forward.

She weighs next to nothing on my back and doesn't move about. I break into a trot, testing out her balance. When she doesn't slide off, I speed up bit.

Grace lowers her body against my back, tucking her face behind my right ear.

When I'm confident she's comfortable and will be safe, I break into a sprint. I weave through the trees, straddling the fence that indicates the border of Alpha Damien's territory.

'This is amazing!' Grace exclaims excitedly in my ear.

I run until I'm exhausted, and then run a bit more. I love hearing Grace's laughs and gasps of excitement.

She's enjoying it and I love that she's happy.

Eventually, I loop us back to where we left my clothes.

Thank Goddess, they're still there, or I might have had to take up naturism.

I lay down on the ground and let Grace climb from my back. She's bouncing up and down with adrenaline as I shift back to my human form. She averts her gaze as I pull on my clothes.

I cough to get her attention. 'I'm decent.'

She spins around to look at me, grinning happily.