Witches Get Stitches by Juliette Cross

Chapter 14

~NICO~

The rippingof my skin and breaking of my bones didn’t even hurt anymore. Much. The shift was painful, yes, but fast. As soon as I’d become the nine-foot monster standing outside the cabin, it wasn’t the physical pain that lingered. It was the hollowness echoing inside my chest, my heart. My lonesome soul.

Jerking my snout toward the sky, I howled up at the moon. An aching, long wail that went unanswered. That’s where the true agony was.

We need her.

The gruff voice of my wolf in my head didn’t startle me. His will became my own this time of the month. He also erased any pretense that I could hide from what we both wanted most. The one woman who would satisfy us. Complete us. Fill this hollow ache in my chest, my soul.

When I had been with the Blood Moon pack, there was a unity among us that kept the piercing emptiness away, the reminder that we might be monsters, but we weren’t alone. Still, living with a pack was dangerous. We were dangerous. It was safer to be on my own. That way, no one got hurt. No one suffered. Only me.

A feral growl rippled through my chest. The beast was unhappy and restless.

Bring her to me.

That was impossible. Violet was still denying what we could be. While she did, I couldn’t and wouldn’t cross that line. No matter how gutting it felt when the wolf made our needs known. Like now.

I ran. I fell to all fours then whipped through the swamplands, relishing the sound of small animals skittering out of my way. I didn’t want blood yet. I wanted to run. The cold wind on my face, caressing my fur, stinging my eyes, numbing me from the outside in.

I huffed and pounded my way up a small hill onto a man-made levy to keep the bayou water to one side, away from civilization. I galloped to the top then watched the moon glistening on the water, fractured like white glass. Night creatures moved in the brush and trees. In the distance, the stealthy walk of a deer splashed in water. Still, I wasn’t ready for blood.

Tilting my head toward the sky, I howled again. That deep part of me yearned for an answer. For some reply to the hopeless longing throbbing in my veins, pounding in my aching heart. The beast had full sway, snuffling the air for a scent of her. Man and beast sent a mournful cry up into the night.

Hoping.

Craving.

Longing.

But as always, there was no answer. There never was.