New Territory Read Free Page B

woods, careful to keep a wide swathe of trees between their path and the path Liam had taken. 
     

 
     
    Cian and Keva arrived at the campsite several hours before Liam, but Keva refused to enter the tents or come near the large bonfire that Cian built. He had changed his form inside one of the tents in order to build the fire. Keva watched him anxiously, quivering with the instinct that drove her to run far away. Only the sobering thought that she would probably never see her pack or be accepted into any other pack again kept her in the general area of the campsite. She watched as Cian roamed the area, picking up dry branches for the already raging bonfire. She did not come very close, but she watched Cian carefully, taking in every aspect of his human form.
     
    He was powerfully built, with broad shoulders and a flat waist that rippled with muscle. His golden eyes, black hair, and his wolfish grin were the only things that translated to his wolf form, but she found that she was not repulsed by his human skin. In fact, it fascinated her. She found herself thinking of what she might look like as a human, but forced the thoughts away and looked away from Cian. As she looked away, she caught a glimpse of Liam coming towards Cian with the body of the dead lycan. She shuddered, but found herself staring at Liam’s naked form, which was tan and toned. His shoulders were only slightly narrower than Cian’s, but he was lean. A bit of curly black hair dusted his chest and trailed a line from his navel to between his legs. At this point, Keva looked away, feeling strange. It was so curious to her that humans had so little fur to cover them, and had to rely on those strange clothes to keep their skin safe. She heard a strange, solid thump as the two men tossed the dead lycan into the bonfire, which darkened momentarily, then flared up again.
     
    Keva shuddered again, feeling both angry and frightened, and curled up, watching as the flames consumed the body. Liam had disappeared into a tent, and Cian stood by the bonfire, his arms crossed in front of his body. He turned to look in her direction, but she did not move, afraid to speak to him in his human form. She heard him sigh deeply, but then he disappeared into his tent as well. She sighed, looking over her shoulder into the darkening forest. She should not be alone out here. Pack instinct ate at her, trying to convince her to flee closer to her “new pack,” but she simply could not. Two instincts were warring within her, pulling her in two different directions. She began to feel she might tear in two, but suddenly, Cian exited his tent in wolf form, and padded toward her under the rising moon.
     
    Her ears perked up as he came toward her, grinning in his usual way. “Pack instinct,” he explained, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. He lay down nearby, and watched her with his golden eyes. She felt suddenly comforted, and she wagged her tail slightly at him. “I thank you,” she said softly, knowing that he probably preferred the comfort of his human den. He lifted his head, gazing at her. “No need. Sleeping in wolf form is no sacrifice if I am sleeping next to you, Keva.” Then he laid his head on his forepaws and closed his eyes. Keva sighed happily, and closed her eyes.
     

 
     
    As Keva slept, she entered the wolf dream. The forest was covered by soft twilight, quiet and empty. She sighed contentedly, breathing in the soft scent of the grass and the fallen leaves that covered the forest floor. Here in the wolf dream, she could run as long as she wished, free from all danger. She dashed through the grass towards a treeless field ahead, which seemed to go on forever towards the horizon. She loped on and on, breathing lightly, her heart gladdened by the run. Suddenly, a dark shape appeared in her peripheral vision, and she veered and nearly stumbled. There, running along beside her, was Cian. The breeze ruffled his shaggy black fur, and the soft