Sally’s brain was going ninety to nothing as she tried to process what she had just agreed to. She had never slept with a guy.

“Don’t overthink this, beautiful. I promise to be a perfect gentleman.” Sally heard him through the bond and had to admit she loved the intimacy in it, that she was the only one he could do that with.

“I trust you. It’s just weird,” she told him as she grabbed her pajamas and head into the bathroom to change.

When she came out of the bathroom she froze. Costin was lying on his back in her bed, arms behind his head, legs crossed. He was attempting to look as innocent as one could on his girlfriend’s bed…shirtless. She took slow breaths as she approached her bed, unable to keep from noticing his defined chest and arms, and flat, washboard abs. She closed her eyes as she climbed into bed next to him. Her only thought was how she could ever compete with such perfection. She wasn’t athletic in any way – in fact, the only exercise she ever got was when Jacque and her had to run for their lives because of some stunt Jen had pulled.

She didn’t have washboard abs, she didn’t have defined arms, but she had a defined chest, just not in the same way his was.

“Hush now, quit your worrying,” Costin told her as he rolled over and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. “I assure you, your body is perfect for me. And I’m quite glad that your chest isn’t defined like mine. To be honest, that would be a little disappointing.”

Sally couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled up at the picture he had in his mind. She slapped his arm. “You said you were going to behave.”

“I have been. You’re the one who brought up your chest. I mean, really, Sally, how is a man supposed to ignore that topic?”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think about how it would affect you,” she told him bashfully.

“Go to sleep, beautiful. One day I will show you just how perfect you are for me.”

Sally snuggled closer against him and smiled to herself. She believed Costin. After the things she had seen and felt in his mind, she knew he would never lie to her. If he said she was beautiful, then he meant it. If he said her body was perfect for him, then she would stop worrying about it.

~

“What do you ladies want to do tonight?” Fane asked Jacque and Jen as he and Decebel led them out of the meeting room.

Jen looked at Jacque and grinned. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I’m feeling the need to get furry.” Jacque winked at Fane.

Fane and Decebel grinned.

“I’m always up for a good chase.” Decebel smiled at Jen wickedly, his canines sharpening and his eyes glowing.

Fane crossed his arms and looked at both girls. “Tell you what. We’ll give you guys a three minute head start.” He turned toDecebel. “You cool with that?”

“Oh, I’m cool. It doesn’t matter how far ahead my girl gets in front of me, I will always find her.”

Jen shivered under his intense gaze.

“Okay, you two, save it for the chase.” Jacque rolled her eyes. She leaned into Fane and kissed him deeply, drawing out a low growl. “That’s some incentive for you to not dawdle.”

“Dawdle,” Fane scoffed. “Woman, I've got plans for you. So no worries, there will be no dawdling of any sort.”

Jen and Jacque both walked backward toward the exit, to the freedom where they could be who and what they were. They each blew kisses to their mates and then turned, taking off at a sprint.

“How far do you give them?” Fane asked Decebel, still staring at the door his mate had just fled through.

“Half a mile tops. And that’s being generous,” Decebel answered. His focus was firmly on his mate, who was studiously attempting to block him. She was learning that the longer they were mated, and the more intense and intimate their relationship became, it became much harder to hide things from him. It wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult.

Jen hopped in place as she tried to pull her pants off.

“Jen, your shoes, ding bat. You aren’t going to get those pants off without taking off your shoes.”

“Oh, crap, my bad. I just want to hurry. I want to give him a run for his money, which is very hard to do.”

Both girls focused on undressing as quickly as possible and then dug deep inside themselves, calling on their wolves. Every change became easier and easier. Jen had told Jacque that she could almost feel her wolf just beneath her skin.

Once in wolf form they nuzzled each other briefly, Jacque keeping her head lower than Jen’s since she was the Alpha female of the Serbian pack. With a quick yip from Jen they took off in a flash.

The cold night air rippled through their fur as they darted into the surrounding forest. There was still snow on the ground but it was sporadic now and what was left was slushy. They attempted to avoid it so as not to leave paw prints. They were getting pretty good at dodging bushes and branches in order not to disturb the foliage around them, giving away the trail they had run. Suddenly Jacque broke away from Jen and Jen took that as her cue to go the opposite direction. They'd decided earlier to crisscross each other's trails. They started out in large sweeps, Jacque running left, then making an arch heading right, back toward Jen, who was coming in the exact same figure from the left.

Gradually their sweeps became tighter and tighter. They both faltered in their steps when they heard two loud howls go up into the clear night. Then they both doubled their efforts and, as discussed, continued their crisscrosses for the duration of the run.