Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 7: The Moment

Layla POV

    Layla had known exactly who she was messing with when she’d growled back at that gray wolf, so it came as no surprise when she heard him coming. When she heard him pounce, she swiftly dropped and rolled out of the way while still holding her prey in her powerful jaws. She leapt back on her paws and quickly placed her food behind her before turning back and dodging him as he came at her again, all claws and jaws. Finding an opening, she leapt, tackling him to the ground and receiving a s***h from his claws as she took him down.

    She’d only had him on his back for a few seconds before he managed to toss her off. They both recovered quickly, backing off and circling each other, each looking for weaknesses to exploit. Blood matted the fur on her shoulder from the claw wounds, and now she saw she’d managed to do some damage to her chest after she’d pounced on him. The sight made her grin a wolfy grin, and he huffed in annoyance.    

    Suddenly, he sat on his haunches. She stopped moving, tilting her head in confusion. He merely huffed again and laid down, indicating he was done with this. She responded by grabbing the dead rabbit where she left it before returning to her spot, watching the other wolf carefully as she dug in.

    He was a beautiful wolf. His fur was gray for the most part, but on his back were two wide streaks of black on each side, slightly curving around the edge of his belly and ending in fairly sharp points at his haunches. Black fur also streaked down his snout and dotted the tops of his ears.

    Having eaten half the rabbit, she held it in her mouth and walked slowly over to him, so as not to startle him. His eyes were closed, his head on his paws, and, if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was asleep. When she had gotten within a few feet of him, his head came up, eyes open and ears perked. He tilted his head, obviously wondering what the hell she was doing. She gently placed the rabbit on the ground and backed away, sitting down as she waited for him to take what she had offered.

    He rose, eyeing her warily as he walked to the rabbit. He looked down at it, still flicking his eyes up at her to make sure she wasn’t tricking him, and, once he’d assured himself it was offered with no ill will, he dug in. She watched him tear the meat from the bones and fur, finishing his meal in record time. She snorted a little at his lack of decorum, earning her a hard look from him, at which she looked around, acting like she had no idea what had just happened.

    He stalked forward, not stopping until he was snout to snout with her, looking into her beautifully blue eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest at how close he was, his fall and cinnamon scent swirling and combining with her own between them. He pulled in a long breath through his nose and looked at her with a questioning gaze. It was then that she realized he had no idea who she was, and that, since they had been surrounded with other people in all their interactions so far, he hadn’t been able to pick out her scent.

    Feeling a little playful and rather emboldened by the realization that he didn’t know who she was, she suddenly turned around and teased him by waggling her tail in his face before taking off. By the delay in between her taking off and him following her, she could tell she had shocked him. But not a couple seconds later, she could hear his paws hitting the forest floor as he gave chase. She smiled to herself as she skillfully dodged trees and the occasional bush, her endless hours of training coming in handy as she pushed herself as hard as she could.

    They ran like that for a couple of miles, looping around through the forest, with her turning each time she heard him get close, not allowing him to pounce on her. After circling the forest around a few times, she realized she couldn’t hear his paws pounding after her. She stopped short, turning to look behind her, sniffing the air and searching for his scent. Where was he? With his build and the fact she could tell by his build and how he carried himself that he trained just as hard, possibly harder than her, so that distance shouldn’t have tired him out. Did he get lost, maybe?

    Just as she was considering going to find him in case he’d somehow managed to get lost, she felt and heard the air move behind her, turning just in time to get tackled by him. Looking up at him, she huffed in his face in irritation, letting him know it was a dirty trick. He snorted, very obviously laughing at her as he let her up, wolfy grin in full bloom on his snout.

    She rolled her eyes and, just when she saw he’d lowered his guard, leapt at him. This time, she was on top, grinning in his face and earning an echo of her own irritated huff. Then, she made the mistake of looking into the blue depths of his eyes, which radiated a heat that made her heart pump wildly. Caught in the moment, she dipped her head, touching noses with him. His eyes widened, and then he nuzzled her. She leaned into it and nuzzled him as well.