The Wolf Within (Book 1 of Wolf Within Series)

The Shocking Truth

** Lia's POV **

Oh my gosh, that felt amazing. Her body against mine, even for just those two seconds sent sparks across my entire body. She so perfectly fits in my arms. I could have stood holding her like that forever if she had let me. I hovered close by as I was reluctant to let her go.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Never better," She answered, with a playful grin. Her voice held a lower tone but it was so expressive: like when Al was confusing her earlier it was distinctly higher. On the whole it was such a smooth sound, like a finely aged whiskey poured over ice. Wait, did she just say "literally falling for her, huh?" under her breath?! It was quiet, sure, and I was so lost in her voice that I almost missed it but my wolf ears were fully tuned in so I said "what was that, I didn't hear it?" to be sure. To my disappointment she said "nothing!"

With that, she began walking toward the edge of the forest. I was thankful for this new view of her. Her body was like that of a Grecian goddess; curves in all the best places and chiseled to perfection. Goddess help me. I was doing everything in my power not to spin her around and kiss her right there. The wind wafting her strong and delicious scent to me every two seconds didn't help. Goddess why are you teasing me?

As we neared the forest line, I could see her pace slow, she walked tentatively forward, closer to where she had stopped last night and let out a small sigh.

"Well, this is it." She said, her voice held a tinge of sadness. "This is where I saw that wolf."

I wasn't sure what I expected to happen, given that she had shooed me away that night, but I had no idea how to proceed really. She was acting like she didn't recognize me as that same wolf. I couldn't be the only one feeling this tension, this magnetism, this intense desire, could I? Why does she sound sad right now? I decided to just stick with the ranger façade until I had more information.

"Can you give me a description of it?" I asked as I made my way to the paw prints, trying my best to play the part.

"Sure, it was a female, the largest female I've ever seen." Her voice drifted off for a moment.

I looked back over my shoulder to her to see if she was alright and caught her staring at me. I couldn't help but smirk. "Go on," I coaxed, relieved to see her give me that beautiful blush of hers again before looking down.

"Um, it's fur was almost black, with streaks of a deep red, almost burgundy through it. It was a thick fluffy coat, the kind of fur you just want to stick your face in, just like your hair—" She stopped immediately then, her face and ears burned red. She likes my fur. I thought to myself as I felt myself blushing hard. I coughed slightly and went back to measuring the paw prints.

I hesitated for a moment, thinking of something else to ask. I really didn't know how to do this, but I didn't want our interaction to end. The thought of her shooing me away popped into my head again and my heart sank a little bit. "Did it look threatening or scary to you?" I inquired, worried about the response, but I wanted to know.

"Not at all," she replied quickly. "As a matter of fact, it looked sweet enough to bring home." She trailed off again, "Of course, I know that wolves are wild creatures, not to be brought home, no matter how cute and fluffy they look." She smiled at me as I looked back to her, happy to hear that I hadn't frightened her. Still, I was more confused than ever, so I remained silent trying to think of what to ask next.

"What WAS scary was the army of wolf howls I had heard earlier in the night." She continued. "I had no idea there was such a high wolf population here. My family has had this cabin for decades and I can easily say I've never experienced anything like that before."