Reality was jarring.
Adele jolted awake to find her hands buried between her legs. Wait a minute, had she been touching herself this whole time?
There was no time to process that as panic took over.
With no hesitation, Adele threw the door open and ran.
Micah had found her. That was the only thought screaming through her mind.
"Hey! Where are you —" The clerk shouted when she zoomed past her.
But Adele did not look back and kept running to God knows where.
Where was Micah? Where was she running to? Why was she running? The questions pricked at the edges of her mind, but panic had already drowned out reasoning, silencing everything else.
Adele made it off the main road, crashing blindly through the underbrush until the motel lights were swallowed by trees. She didn’t stop running until her legs gave out and the crushing silence of the forest pressed in around her.
Only then did she realize that she had isolated herself.
The woods were eerily still, save for the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant hoot of an owl. Moonlight bled through the canopy in broken shards, casting long shadows.
What now?
She was exhausted, barely standing. With her wolf suppressed, her strength had drained away, leaving her no better than a vulnerable human. Maybe adrenaline had carried her this far, but now, the mating fever struck with full vengeance like a tidal wave slamming into her gut.
"Ugh," Adele groaned, collapsing to the forest floor, her fingers clawing at the damp earth as pain scorched through her like wildfire.
Tears blurred her vision.
How had she ever believed she could survive the Bondfire alone? It was burning her alive from the inside.
She rolled over, panting, and writhing. Desperation took over and she squeezed her breast, pressing her thighs together in a useless effort to extinguish the ache.
But it only made it worse.
She slid her hands lower, touching herself desperately—and even though she finished off, quite quickly—it was still not enough. It wasn’t the real thing.
She wanted her mate.
"Micah." Adele choked out his name, tears streaming freely down her cheeks now. She had been stupid. It was impossible to ride this out. God, she was in torment.
And while she lay on the ground, trembling and soaked with sweat, the air suddenly shifted, carrying with it a fresh, electric scent. At the same time, the Matebond flared alive.
Micah.
Adele’s eyes snapped open, and the next, she was up on her feet. She stumbled at first but didn’t stop running towards him. Although she couldn’t see him, but she felt him. Every part of her did. The Matebond throbbed like a live wire under her skin, and tugged at her soul, leading her through the dark like a beacon.
The branches scratched at her arms, and the wind tore through her hair, but nothing could stop her now.
Then Micah broke through the treeline just as she did, his chest heaving, eyes wild. The second their eyes locked, they both surged forward, faster than before.
When they were close enough, Adele didn’t hesitate and leapt. Micah caught her effortlessly, as if her body belonged in his arms. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, while his arms locked around her, and then their mouths collided.
They kissed like they would die without it. Because they would.
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