Everything Carries Me to You (Axton and Leander Book 3) Read Online Free
Author: S.P. Wayne
Tags: Romance
spilled blood. It would feel so good in his mouth, Axton knew, and it would be so nice to pull the stretchy skin off, to lap up the fat under that fur, to bite into the meat and then crack those tiny little rabbit bones...
And he was so hungry .
Axton looked away from his potential meal and remembered the soft touch of human fingers behind his ears, the sensation and scent of human fingers lathering shampoo into his fur. There were so many sleepy memories of a human arm thrown around his wolfish neck, and the warmth of that human body next to his, and...and loss and where was he now?
Mind and heart may have stayed on the same page, but body had different impulses.
The rabbit was gone in three bites.
++
Dana left the next rabbit on the floor next to the bed, and the one after that in the middle of the room. Each meal sharpened Axton's hunger instead of dampening it. The mental fog was still there, lifting only just enough to let the hunger pierce it.
When Dana returned for the third time, Axton was waiting at the door. They could smell each other through the wood, and Dana paused before pawing the door open slowly. Axton crouched warily, ready to fight for the rabbit dangling from Dana's mouth.
Instead, Dana put the rabbit down about a foot away from the threshold, and backed away. His blue eyes watched Axton with patience, or at least an imitation of it.
Axton edged forward, not looking away from Dana for a second, not trusting him. This rabbit he ate less elegantly than the others, which had neatly been nearly swallowed whole, because he was busy watching Dana. When he was done, Axton was still in an uncertain crouch.
Dana gave him a hard look and then turned away, walking forward a few steps before turning his head and glancing back at Axton.
There was a message there, and Axton understood it before he believed it genuine. But Dana turned his back again, and walked forward, and then waited.
Axton stood up properly.
Dana trotted down the hallway, to the stairs, and then turned to give Axton a long, put upon look. His eyes darted down the stairs, to the front door--
The open front door.
Dana went down the stairs and silently Axton followed.
++
They did not have to like each other to hunt together, and Axton knew this to be true even if he still had no memory for the other wolf's name, and no specific memory to attribute his hatred to. His sense of self-preservation did not need words to tell Axton that he was still weak, that hunting alone would be hard and bad. And the hunger, the hunger was clawing at his insides. He was willing to work with this wolf for big game.
It took a while for the animal scents to crisscross each other, to layer over each other in the cacophonous symphony of life that a properly inhabited forest screamed and sung. The animals seemed to know to avoid the house and the area immediately around it. Axton smelled it first, senses sharpened by hunger--an older stag, already bleeding, but just a little. Silently, he padded after the scent trail, and Dana followed. Soon Dana overtook Axton, who was still moving slowly, and then kept to cover and wound through the tangles of trees for some time. Without even glancing at each other, they parted ways when the smell became stronger, each of them circling widely to cover the stag from different angles. Dana showed himself first, and the werewolves fell in step next to each other as the stag bolted. They kept what was for them an easy loping pace, letting the stag exhaust himself. He'd been grazed by a bullet, just a tiny shallow wound--enough to be painful, enough to slow him, enough to make the scent of blood unfurl behind him like a banner.
Dana moved into position, getting ready to move next to the stag instead of behind him. His head turned, blue eyes searching for Axton to let him know that he should keep running, keep worrying at the stay and nipping at his hindquarters, so that Dana could run ahead and...
And Axton was already
And he was so hungry .
Axton looked away from his potential meal and remembered the soft touch of human fingers behind his ears, the sensation and scent of human fingers lathering shampoo into his fur. There were so many sleepy memories of a human arm thrown around his wolfish neck, and the warmth of that human body next to his, and...and loss and where was he now?
Mind and heart may have stayed on the same page, but body had different impulses.
The rabbit was gone in three bites.
++
Dana left the next rabbit on the floor next to the bed, and the one after that in the middle of the room. Each meal sharpened Axton's hunger instead of dampening it. The mental fog was still there, lifting only just enough to let the hunger pierce it.
When Dana returned for the third time, Axton was waiting at the door. They could smell each other through the wood, and Dana paused before pawing the door open slowly. Axton crouched warily, ready to fight for the rabbit dangling from Dana's mouth.
Instead, Dana put the rabbit down about a foot away from the threshold, and backed away. His blue eyes watched Axton with patience, or at least an imitation of it.
Axton edged forward, not looking away from Dana for a second, not trusting him. This rabbit he ate less elegantly than the others, which had neatly been nearly swallowed whole, because he was busy watching Dana. When he was done, Axton was still in an uncertain crouch.
Dana gave him a hard look and then turned away, walking forward a few steps before turning his head and glancing back at Axton.
There was a message there, and Axton understood it before he believed it genuine. But Dana turned his back again, and walked forward, and then waited.
Axton stood up properly.
Dana trotted down the hallway, to the stairs, and then turned to give Axton a long, put upon look. His eyes darted down the stairs, to the front door--
The open front door.
Dana went down the stairs and silently Axton followed.
++
They did not have to like each other to hunt together, and Axton knew this to be true even if he still had no memory for the other wolf's name, and no specific memory to attribute his hatred to. His sense of self-preservation did not need words to tell Axton that he was still weak, that hunting alone would be hard and bad. And the hunger, the hunger was clawing at his insides. He was willing to work with this wolf for big game.
It took a while for the animal scents to crisscross each other, to layer over each other in the cacophonous symphony of life that a properly inhabited forest screamed and sung. The animals seemed to know to avoid the house and the area immediately around it. Axton smelled it first, senses sharpened by hunger--an older stag, already bleeding, but just a little. Silently, he padded after the scent trail, and Dana followed. Soon Dana overtook Axton, who was still moving slowly, and then kept to cover and wound through the tangles of trees for some time. Without even glancing at each other, they parted ways when the smell became stronger, each of them circling widely to cover the stag from different angles. Dana showed himself first, and the werewolves fell in step next to each other as the stag bolted. They kept what was for them an easy loping pace, letting the stag exhaust himself. He'd been grazed by a bullet, just a tiny shallow wound--enough to be painful, enough to slow him, enough to make the scent of blood unfurl behind him like a banner.
Dana moved into position, getting ready to move next to the stag instead of behind him. His head turned, blue eyes searching for Axton to let him know that he should keep running, keep worrying at the stay and nipping at his hindquarters, so that Dana could run ahead and...
And Axton was already
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