Legacy

Chapter Two - Dismissal

For a moment she just stood there, rock still in her mouth, staring at him. Then her gaze shifted to the quiet stream behind him, marking her home territory. He was still human; she could probably outrun him and act like nothing had happened.

His muscles bunched as though he could tell what she was thinking. “What are you doing on my territory?”

She wanted to ask him what he was doing back. Ears flattening back to her head, she tried not to linger on the way his voice had sounded. Deeper, more powerful. Commanding. He sounded serious. Dropping the rock back onto the ground, she let a low growl slip from her mouth: she could be serious too.

Confusion was evident on his face. He looked to the rock and then back to her uncertainly.

She knew lunging at him in an attack was a huge mistake, but it felt so right. Her teeth connected with the muscles in his upper arm, and she hung on until he shifted too and made it impossible. Keeping in motion, she made sure to stay out of his reach.

Wait until her brother’s heard she’d attacked an Alpha.

Everything was a blur of motion as they danced around each other. His dark gray coat flashed in the moonlight and he evaded her just as she evaded him. One of his ears twitched back and she took his moment of distraction to knock hm over. It felt good, empowering. When she backed up, he was growling at her in warning.

She didn’t heed.

Her teeth managed to catch his neck before he let out an irritated snarl and bit into her side forcefully. She let out a low whine and attempted to kick him away, but he was already gone. The bite had forced her to shift, and soon she was human again, spitting mad. Who did he think he was, forcing her to shift back?

He’d shifted too, and his hand clamped over her mouth, adding to her irritation. She flailed against him, her fists connecting with his sides.

“Were you followed?” he asked in a low voice.

“Get your stupid hands off me,” she spat when he moved his fingers to let her talk. “I wasn’t freaking followed, who in the world would be following me?” She didn’t exactly have much value, what with being third in line for the throne, being female, and having human blood in the mix.

“Be quiet,” he muttered into her ear. His arms were restraining her, and her back was against his chest. Neither of them moved, and Eileen couldn’t even hear anything else moving around in the woods. If he thought this was funny, he was wrong.

Just about to tell him off, she flinched when a loud crack echoed through the trees. An answering thwack had Eileen jerking out of his grasp.

Gray was clutching his shoulder, his eyes burning blue; not a happy camper. When she approached he reluctantly moved his hand and she noted the bullet buried into the skin, burning everything in its path. It was made of silver.

“Hunters,” she breathed. Her fingers worked quickly to pull the bullet out, even as her skin began to peel and burn.

“Down,” Gray commanded, pushing them both to the ground. Eileen allowed it, placing the bullet underneath her back in case the hunters were looking for it. The skin on Gray’s shoulder was angry but healing.

Footsteps approached, and Eileen realized how this would look. Two naked teens embracing at midnight. Good God.

The bullet began a slow burn against her back as someone she couldn’t see said, “Whoa.”

Playing along with the vision in her mind, she let out a shrill, embarrassed gasp that she would have never made under normal circumstances and buried her head into Gray’s shoulder. He pulled back marginally, unsure of her plan.