The Beta's Broken Mate (Book 3 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 15

Talia stood and her gaze darted over to Ragnar's table and the blond who was still sitting there, where he'd left her. She looked back at him. Would this make his girlfriend angry?

She followed him out of the dining hall, down the hall and out a door. They took off up a path into the woods.

It was a warmer day than what it had been and Talia could see small signs of spring starting to appear. The trees were full of buds and small shoots of flowers were visible.

"Ready to shift?" Ragnar asked her, breaking the silence between them.

"Sure," she muttered, watching him turn his back on her. He pulled his shirt off of his back, and Talia felt her mouth go dry as she stared at his muscles. In her dreams, she never saw his back, always just his front as he was over her... She quickly whipped around herself and began to yank her clothes off as quickly as she could then shifted. She turned back around and frowned. Ragnar was gone.

'Let me have control,' Lila spoke up. She was on high alert.

'Of course,' Talia agreed, immediately relinquishing her control to her wolf.

Lila put her nose to the ground and began to sniff. She walked up the path slowly, sniffing. All of a sudden, a large red, white and black wolf pounced on them, startling them both. It took off into the woods just as quickly. 'Ragnar.' Lila muttered and got up to follow him.

He was waiting in a small clearing for her and when she came up next to him, he started licking her snout affectionately, surprising her and Lila. He stopped after a moment and disappeared into the woods again.

'What is he doing?' Lila asked, annoyed that he'd left her again.

'I think he wants to play,' Talia said quietly. 'He knows these woods way better than us.'

He reappeared again, stopping to lick her snout then took a few steps ahead and turned around, barking at her.

Lila took off after him and he led her through the woods, not exactly running, but still moving at a fast pace. When they reached an open meadow, he broke out into a run and Lila did as well. They ran the perimeter of the meadow. It felt so good to run so hard.

They started around it again and Ragnar's wolf disappeared down a path on the other side, slowing down for her since they were on unfamiliar territory. She kept his pace as they headed up the path and came to a stop at a huge lake.

She stood on the banks with him, looking around. It was a beautiful lake. They stood there for several long moments, before Ragnar's wolf suddenly turned to her, licked her again on the snout and took off into the woods.

He stopped when they came upon their clothing, then turned to her and licked her snout again several times. 'You're going to freak her out,' Ragnar warned Rollo.

Rollo huffed in annoyance. 'She's mate.'

'I know, but she doesn't and if you keep that up, she won't want to go with us again,' Ragnar told him. He suddenly found himself thrust forward into control. He shifted quickly, and glanced at Talia's wolf, who was openly staring at him.

He turned his back on her and began to get dressed, trying his hardest to keep from getting too aroused. It wasn't easy with her openly looking at him. His mind went everywhere else but on her.

Once he was finished, he turned back. She hadn't moved and was still staring at him. "I'll give you some privacy," he said, heading up the path a bit. He wanted to pet her wolf, but he really didn't want to freak her out. Rollo has already been overly affectionate with her.