AMELIA’S P.O.V

I agreed mainly because I had nothing else to do. Ian and I walked back to the coffee shop together and I stood anxiously to the side while he paid for my drink. He also got a steaming mug of coffee for himself and I couldn’t help but notice that he had put creamer and sugar which was unlike most of the men I knew.


“So,” he began as we started walking down the road. “What are you doing here alone? I haven’t seen you in this part of town before. Were you looking for something?”

“Not really, I just didn’t want to go home right now and I thought a walk would do me some good,” I shrugged trying to keep my response as vague as possible. I didn’t want to admit that Kaden had gone back to the hospital and I was alone. “What about you? Were you looking for something?”

“Yes, actually, I wanted to get some more mats for training. I managed to get a few and I was heading to the woods for a run. If I recall correctly, I once asked you if you wanted to train your wolf with me.”


I flushed pink. I had completely forgotten about his offer because of everything that had been going on. He looked hopeful and I couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that crawled up my spine. I hadn’t intentionally ditched him, I just didn’t realize it at the time. I wrung my fingers in front of me unsure of what to say to make things better.

“I’m not upset,” he said quickly. “I just figured you had a lot going on. I try not to listen to pack gossip but it is almost impossible not to hear. I hope you know that if you ever need to talk then I’m here for you.”


“Thank you,” I whispered trying not to let my emotions overwhelm me. “Everything is good, I can promise you that but since I’m not doing anything now, maybe we can train. That is if you are free, I wouldn’t want to impose on your schedule.”

He waved me off. “I’m a free spirit, Amelia, I always have time for a friend. My car is just a few feet away, come on.”

There was a mental struggle for one minute. A part of me nudged me not to go, not for any particular reason but because I felt like something bad was going to come from it but it was Ian and I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. He wouldn’t hurt a fly and if he wanted to hurt me, he had better chances to do it. He was alone with me multiple times when Kaden was in the hospital and he could have done whatever he wanted but all he did was be a friend. Besides, he was just trying to help.

He was taking time out of his day when he didn’t have to and was focused on trying to help me train my wolf. It was these thoughts that had me sighing and following him into his car. He had parked a distance away from the market and we had to walk a while. As he drove, I finished up the rest of my iced coffee and tossed the cup into a nearby trash. Ian didn’t say a word all through the ride, he just tapped his fingers against the wheel in a steady pattern of threes.

By the time we got to the woods, it was around four. A part of me wanted to go back but I knew Kaden wouldn’t be home early so I figured I might as well get something out of it. The woods were quiet and I couldn’t see any patrol guards which struck me as odd. Ever since the incident with the rogues, Kaden was careful to make sure that there were always people patrolling the grounds.

“is there a reason this place is empty?’ I asked making Ian turn to me. “I just assumed we would have to go past the patrol guards or something. I don’t think Kaden realizes this place is unguarded.”

“It usually isn’t, I just time their breaks well. You aren’t supposed to go into the woods without a guard present but I would rather not have anyone monitoring me. We have to go quickly, the next shift should be here any minute.”

He took off into the woods and despite knowing how reckless it was, I took off after him. I couldn’t stop the small chuckle that bubbled out of me. It had been a long time since I willingly broke any rules and I had forgotten how fun it was. As we ran into the woods, I heard the tell tale sign of footsteps behind us but we were long gone and they wouldn’t even notice.

We came to a clearing and stopped. I put my hands on my knees to calm myself and immediately burst out laughing. Ian turned to me as if I was crazy but soon enough, he started laughing as well. It was insane, we were insane and I couldn’t believe that we had done that. We were far enough from the guards that they couldn’t hear us and I couldn’t help but realize just how isolated we were.

“Are you sure this is safe?” I asked and he nodded.

“I’ve been here countless times and I can protect you if things go wrong,” he winked at the last part with mirth and humor in his voice. “Come on, let us get uphill a little. It would be easier for us to communicate there.”

We walked another fifteen minutes before we finally got to a spot that Ian thought was good. The win blew through my hair and I had to put up a hand to cover my face because of how cold it was. Ian slowly pulled off his shirt and I flushed pink and had to look away. I had forgotten that shifting meant getting naked in front of the other person.

“Relax, it is just my shirt I am taking off,” he said slowly and I risked a glance at him. “You aren’t going to shift in a day, that is impossible but I want to get you used to werewolves, is that alright?”

“I’m used to them, I grew up with them.”

“That’s not what I meant. Have you ever ridden one?” my brows furrowed in confusion and he smirked. “You have to realize that your wolf is a part of you and what better way to get used to that than to ride one. It gives you a sense of what it feels like to be in wolf form. You feel the win in your face and the speed under your feet.”

“Where am I going to find a werewolf to ride?” I asked and he raised a brow before gesturing to himself. I immediately shook my head. “You have got to be kidding me, right? I can’t do that to you. What about your leg?”

He had tried to hide it from me but I noticed that he always favored his right leg. It didn’t happen all the time, only early in the mornings when it was very cold. It was probably an old training injury or something but it put him at a disadvantage and carrying me on his back while running was only going to worsen that.

“I can’t,” I told him and he frowned. “It would be unfair to you.”

“Amelia, our wolf forms are over ten times more powerful than our human. I can carry you with ease now and I can carry you with ease while shifting. I promise you, it isn’t a problem.” I still frowned unsure. “How about this, if I feel like it is too much, I will let you down? Is that okay?”

“I guess,” I mumbled and that was more than enough for him because he smiled.

“Good, now turn around so that I can shift.”

I heard the shuffling of clothes and the cracking of bones as he shifted. I squeezed my eyes shut for reasons unknown to me and it wasn’t until I felt a wet snout nudge my hand that I opened them. Ian’s wolf was a light brown color, almost the same shade as his eyes. He was large, not as large as Kaden but definitely bigger than most of the others I had seen. He seemed to be fine especially when he crouched down for me to get on his back.

I hesitated and he whined as if urging me to hurry up. I muttered a small prayer to the goddess before climbing. His fur was soft and I was afraid I was gripping it too hard but he either didn’t notice or didn’t mind. He gave me a second to adjust on his back before taking off. My heart leaped into my throat.

The wind beat on my cheeks as he ran faster than I could have imagined. It felt like nothing I had ever experienced before, it was like flying and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like if I were the one running. At first, I was hiding my face but soon enough I was sitting up and allowing the wind breeze past.

Ian only took the larger trails so I wouldn’t have to duck from too many trees. He would occasionally look back at me to ensure that I was doing okay and I wanted to tell him that I was excellent but even words couldn’t quantify how I felt. We ran for what felt like hours and when he stopped, it felt like it wasn’t enough time. I wanted to go again but I noticed that he had started to favor his back paw and I knew it was time for us to end our day. The sun had already started to set as well.

He went behind a tree to change and when he returned, I noticed it was a different set of clothes than the ones he wore before.

“I always keep spare clothes lying around,” he explained. “So, how did you feel? Was it everything you expected and more?”

“It was amazing,” I breathed. “Thank you for doing this for me. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am. Can we do it again?”

“Of course,” he said immediately. “I am glad you like it, it is ingrained in us to want to be free. It is part of our DNA.”

“I can’t wait until I can shift. It seems liberating.”

“It is,” he agreed. “Going for a run is one essential thing for every wolf and you will get to experience it soon, I know it.”

“I hope so,” I mumbled and he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder,

“It is getting rather late, would you like to have dinner first or do you just want to go home?”

I thought about it for a second. Going home sounded nice but what was the point when Kaden might not even be there. “I think dinner sounds beautiful.”