“You don’t remember what you did to me before you shifted?” His nostrils flared.

Knowing he could scent my deceit, I came clean. “No, I do remember it.”

“Does that mean—”

“Fuck, this is weird.” I scratched at my chest, wishing she would go back to sleep, because I had enough to deal with right now given my own reaction to the hunter’s nudity.

Kaillen cocked his head, his attention coming back to my face, but that potent musky fragrance still clung to him. “Is it your wolf?”

I nodded, not able to meet his eye. The dude’s boner was still commanding all of my attention.

My wolf whined again.

I nearly tripped when I heard that sound inside me, but I did my best to ignore my wolf’s growing interest, because the reality was that Kaillen and I were naked in the woods. This was full-blown streaker activity on steroids. Not to mention, I’d just spent the night as an animal, and now all I wanted to do was climb all over the hunter right out in the open. What the hell? Had I completely lost all rational and sane decision-making abilities?

“Can we go back to your house?” I scratched at my skin again. “I want to shower and put clothes on, and you know, feel human again.”

His expression didn’t falter, but another scent rose from him that hinted at anise. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, totally fine,” I said through clenched teeth. My wolf whined again, urging me toward the hunter.

Stop it! I snapped at her.

Her head jerked back, as if I’d just slapped her, but then she bared her teeth.

Are you fucking kidding me?

But I didn’t direct that question at her, that one was entirely for myself at how absolutely insane this entire situation was.

I scrubbed my hands against my face, then stilled when I sensed Kaillen’s presence directly in front of me, only inches away. He touched my waist again.

“It’ll get easier,” he said quietly.

His hand began making soft, soothing motions. He felt so good, so warm and solid. But the hunter’s gentle words and touch only fueled the rising flames of my freaking-the-fuck-out.

“It shouldn’t have to get easier.” I lunged back, breaking our contact. My wolf growled, but I ignored her. “I wasn’t born a werewolf. I shouldn’t be in this position.”

Kaillen’s jaw locked, some of his potent arousal dimming. “No, you shouldn’t be, but it was either give you my blood or watch you die.”

“But you didn’t have to spell your blood,” I reminded him, then crossed my arms. “You didn’t need to bind me to you, and in the process, give me your werewolf mojo or whatever the hell happened. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t be naked in the woods with a canine growling at me.”

He frowned. “She’s growling at you?”

“You’re missing the point.”

He took a deep breath. “Right. Sorry. I’ll keep apologizing if it makes anything better.” That mandarin and honeysuckle scent rose from him like before, and I knew he was being genuine. Ugh.

“Why are you being so nice right now?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you?”

“Because you’re also a demon?”

“Look, I know this is hard for you.” He closed the distance between us again, and his fingers brushed mine.

My wolf whined eagerly.

I pulled my hand back. “You said your house was that way?” I jerked my thumb behind us.

He nodded, so I did a one-eighty and began walking in that direction. I felt his gaze rake over my frame with every step I took. His musky scent once again saturated the air.

“It’s rude to be perving right now,” I called over my shoulder.

He chuckled, then jogged to my side. “It’s hard not to. You have the sexiest ass I’ve ever seen.”

I snorted, even if another aching curl knotted my belly. “Did it ever occur to you that there might be other people out here watching us? What if there’s a hunter in a tree stand right now videoing us and posting it on social media?”

“There’s nobody out here but us.”

“How can you be so sure?” I stepped over a rotting wood log, not entirely sure where I was going, but I figured Kaillen would steer me back on track if I headed the wrong way.

“This is my land.”

“All of it?” When he nodded, I asked, “How many acres do you own?”

“Fifty thousand.”

My eyes bugged out. “Seriously? That had to cost a fortune.”

“Perhaps, but it also means I can run in my wolf form whenever I like and not worry about neighbors.”

“What about trespassers?”

“There aren’t any. My wards encircle the perimeter. Besides, you’d be able to scent them if they somehow managed to get through it.”

“Oh.” Of course, I could, because now I was also part-werewolf.

Tentatively, I sniffed, smelling the breeze. The hunter’s natural fragrance mixed with his heady arousal hit me first, then the smell of trees and soil, along with other alien fragrances that I had no idea how to identify. They all rolled into such a tornado of scents that I couldn’t decipher what was what. I grumbled.

“You’ll learn how to use it better,” he said. “I know it’s confusing right now, but that’s because you’re mostly dependent on sight since that was your strongest sense before. But as a wolf, you’ll learn to use your hearing and sense of smell more. They can become as reliable as your eyesight.”

My gut twisted as my wolf once again brushed inside me. She was wide awake now and practically begging for Kaillen’s wolf to take notice of her.

Kaillen grunted, then muttered something under his breath.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just my wolf.”

My gaze snapped to his. That flaring golden light encircled his irises again. “Is he being weird too?”

“That’s one way of putting it. Now that you’re awake, he’s becoming a bit restless.”

“What’s he doing?”

He smirked. “You don’t want to know.”

“What if I do?”

Kaillen gave me a look, as if to say he’d warned me. “He wants me to rut with you. Right now. For as many times as you’ll let me.”

I tripped over my own feet, but Kaillen caught me before I fell. I hastily pulled my arm free as soon as I righted myself.

“He wants you to do what?” I squeaked.

Kaillen grinned, the expression transforming his face into a portrait of male sensuality. “I told you, you wouldn’t want to know.”

I hastily looked away as my heart hammered wildly while my wolf whined again. I absentmindedly scratched my chest. “Is he like that because I’m your . . . mate?”

“Yes, but also because he’s even more eager to seal the bond now. He’s absolutely infatuated with your wolf.”

Seal the bond. As in, claim me. If we did that, Kaillen would bite my neck, infuse his magic with mine, which would render us forever connected. No, not connected. Mated.

My jaw dropped at his total honesty and willingness to share that information just as my wolf barked, then yipped again. I trembled in exertion, because the urge to join with Kaillen nearly overtook me. Gods, what the actual fuck? It was like I had even less control of my life now.

“I think my wolf feels the same,” I finally mumbled.

“Really?” That pineapple and sunshine scent again rose from him.

I gave him a glower, then turned my expression inward. Just go lay down or something, I snapped at my wolf.

She bared her teeth at me, so I did it right back at her. Huffing, she gave me her rump, and I rolled my eyes.

Kaillen inhaled. “You’re irritated.”

I snorted. “You picked up on that?”

“I can scent it. Among other things.”

Since my arousal had dimmed because my anxiety had grown, I figured that was what he was referring to. “This is just so weird. You want me because your wolf told you to, and now my wolf is urging me to be with you too.”

“Would it be so hard to listen to them?”

I stopped to face him. He stood completely still, not one muscle moving in his body. His face was a total blank canvas, yet, I detected other things. His heart was beating fast, much faster than it had been a second prior, and that sunshine and pineapple fragrance hit me like a Mack truck.