Heart : Animal Senses Series Book 1

Chapter 14

She turned and headed back up the path and he was almost leaning out the window, just to get a closer look. Dammit! He turned and headed towards the door. He wasn't going to go see her or get close, he was just—what? Going to spy on her? Ogle her? I have to figure out why she was getting to me, right? To do that, he'd have to observe her. It was a flimsy reason, but it was the only one he could come up with as he hit the bush at a brisk jog and headed to the spot in the trees he knew she'd have to pass to get back to her car. He paused long enough to pull his shirt over his head. Hanging it quickly on a branch, he unbuckled his belt and worked to make his jeans quickly follow. He muttered a curse when his jeans hit the boots, still on his feet. As he plucked them off and tossed the jeans on top, he wished that movies were the truth and shifting with clothes on was a possibility. Unfortunately, shifting while still dressed didn't turn out that way. The clothes did not stretch, adapt, or magically dissolve. Instead, they ripped, got tangled in body parts not meant to fit them, or just hurt, period.

He smirked before turning to head through the thick treed area. By the time he'd gone no more than four feet, almost at a run, all four paws working with smooth, precise motion to take him close enough to see her without being seen. This time, he remembered and jumped in time to clear the downed tree without stumbling. As he reached the area he'd been heading to, he stopped and sniffed the air to scent where she was. He'd gotten here before her. Crouching low, he moved over to stand behind the largest trunk in the area, hiding himself in a dark spot, so she could pass without seeing him. Devin focused on his breathing and made sure he wasn't panting loud enough that she might hear.

When he was positive he was hidden, noise moved up the path. She'd thought to wear her shoes with the towel, as the ground echoed her steps. Quickly, he moved down to the ferns covering the ground, almost lying down so he wouldn't be visible even if she was looking around. Hopefully he'd succeeded as he wasn't a small creature to hide. A long piece of the fern was in front of his face, so he had to swipe at it with his nose a few times before he could see under. Briefly, he thought of how ridiculous he looked, a wolf hiding under ferns to spy on an almost naked woman. He thought he should get up and go back to the house and was just about to move when the smell of gardenias filled his senses and he froze. Even in this form she got to him. This wasn't a good thing. He was in control of his wolf, but animal instincts were hard to override, even by someone that had practiced for over a decade.

Devin watched the ground and saw her feet and the cute little white running shoes on them as she stepped in his direction. He moved his eyes, keeping his chin close to the ground and leisurely took in those legs from this perfect height. They were as he'd thought and probably the most appealing, shapely legs ever. She had those cute womanly knees and sexy thighs. He looked at the bottom of the towel and swallowed, she'd stopped with her back to him and was looking at something on the other side of the path.

He swallowed again slowly and let his eyes take in the back of her thighs. If he'd thought she wouldn't freak right out, he'd dart out of his hiding spot, grab that towel and yank it off. The thought evaporated when she bent over slightly to touch one of the... he couldn't even remember what the damn wildflower was called right now, as he got a brief peak of that perfect ass—without a stitch on. Devin knew his jaw was open and his tongue most definitely was hanging out as he could taste fern, but he couldn't move. He was only able to follow her movement with his eyes as she walked right by him, continuing to her little camping area.

He was still lying there when she was out of sight. This was all wrong. His reaction wasn't normal at all. Okay, some of it was very normal, he was male, whether in animal or human form–but this dizzying rush he got just looking at her was, well, he didn't know what, but knew he'd never felt it before.

Huffing out a breath, he finally stood back up and turned to where he'd left his clothes. He looked once in the direction he knew she would be, wanting nothing more than to follow her, just sit and watch —for the rest of the day. He shook his head. No, he was taking his furry ass back to the house and calling his father. If anyone would know what the hell was wrong with him, it would be his father. He is, after all, the alpha and ruler of not just the pack but the entire shifter world, so he would know, wouldn't he?

It was rare that Devin spoke to his father about anything related to their kind. It had always been a sore spot between them. He'd fought being the next in line to take over the pack, but today he needed fatherly wisdom and advice—or answers—before he lost his mind completely. The fact that he was willing to swallow his pride, pride that the Addison family was notorious for, and seek guidance from someone showed he was neck deep in some kind of trouble.

After dressing, he wandered back to the house at a leisurely pace, not wanting to rush and make the call. Just by taking that first step and calling his father, Devin would be giving in to what they wanted for him, in a small way. This alone caused the procrastination. He knew his parents wanted him to step into his so called rightful place as alpha of the pack. If it were just that, Devin may have already agreed by now. By taking over the wolf pack, he was also stepping into the role as the ruler of the Shifter Alliance.

He knew the history behind the Alliance and was all for it, Devin just didn't know if he was the one to take on the enormous responsibility. His father believed he was being wise to stop and consider all aspects. Mother's take on it was that he was being irresponsible.

Devin's sister had taken the easy way out. She had mated with a non-shifter, or a one-form as most shifters called them, as they only had one form. He could do that and marry a one-form too, hopefully he would love that person wholly as his sister, Raquel, did. To mate with one of his own left Devin no choice but to take the succession that was his fathers to give. He didn't like having his options removed any more than he liked to think he would take the easy way out.

The shifter world hadn't always been so organized and peaceful. He shook his head, peace was still something that was hard fought for with infighting constantly flaring up among the varying clans in the many species. In the time of his great-grandparents, and for most of his grandparents' lives, each were out for their own. After too many years of bloodshed with certain species being close to extinct, it was decided that the Alliance was necessary to protect them in their human and animal forms from one-forms, hunters and at times the different clans.

It took years to establish the Alliance of the clans. Each clan had a leader and a sub-leader, both of whom were part of the council, but just one clan would rule as the monarch and be the ruler of the Alliance. He'd always found it odd that the wolves ended up being the ones elected for this honor. Odd in the way that he knew most of the larger shifters could probably tromp him into the ground when in his wolf form, well, if they could catch him and get past him biting their limbs off. Possibly that was the reason the wolves reigned, their cunning was far more advantageous than the quick temper and brute strength of the larger forms.

Devin glanced up to see his door only a few feet away and regretted that he'd reached it so soon. Yes, he was a Prince in hiding. He could not make this phone call and just allow the next in line to take his place, then he thought of his selfish, arrogant cousin, Leon, and Devin made the choice to open the door and go make the call.