Christmas with the Grumpy Alpha (Feuding Hearts Christmas)

16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Tanner

It’s time.

No more nonsense. No more faking it.

No more lies and deception, and no more pretending.

It’s time for the truth to come out. It’s time for Lena and I to realize the truth about each other and discover if we’re really fated to be together or not.

Tonight, all the cards are laid on the table.

We head outside, and it’s colder than ever past midnight, with the wind howling around us, whipping the snow up into swirling ghosts that disintegrate as soon as they form.

Lena and I walk slowly under the moon’s omniscient eye, our bodies outlined in silver, our faces cloaked in shadows. Before us, the forest looms, its spindly trees sprouting from the snow like a sea of gnarled fingers.

“What exactly are we going to do?” Lena asks, her hands jammed into her pockets.

“Patience,” I tell her. “Just trust me.”

As we get closer to the forest, its eerie appearance transforms into one of splendor. Now we can see the moonlight striking the snow-packed earth and making it glitter like an endless carpet of jewels.

The trees stand dark and erect upon it, inviting us into their shadowy lair of possibilities.

“Are you ready?” I ask, turning towards Lena.

“Ready for what?” she asks me.

“To let go.” I grin, allowing my inner wolf to take the reins.

It leaps forward with a delighted howl, finally given a chance to be in control this close to Lena.

My body drops and morphs instantly, a pelt of midnight fur sprouting over my skin and overtaking my hair.

I feel my human teeth retracting, being replaced with the longer, more vicious instruments of carnage my animal form uses.

My fingernails disappear into my fingers, and a moment later, the fingers themselves are gone. In their place, sharp daggers emerge—wicked claws that glint in the moonlight. They sink into the snowy earth, securing a firm grip.

Over my muscled, sinewy frame, a tail as black as the starless sky swishes, excited to be released after so long.

In this new form, I gaze upon Lena’s shocked features, inviting her to do the same.

She obeys.

The change is just as fast in her, and just as breathtaking.

But instead of a black pelt like mine, her body transforms into a breathtaking cascade of fiery red fur, vibrant and rich like a sunset burning across the horizon.

Every inch of her is covered in that striking color, her claws and teeth sharpening, fierce yet beautiful, like a force of nature designed to protect.

This is going to be exhilarating.

I leap into motion, sprinting across the snow-covered ground. The soft crunch of snow behind me and the rush of wind lets me know she is right there, following closely.

Together, we race into the woods, our pace quickening with each step.

Our claws scrape the snow, sending it flying into the moonlit air like shimmering bits of crystal. The forest looms ahead, dark and inviting, a vast open mouth beckoning us into its mysterious depths.

We answer its call, ready to embrace the thrill of it.

As one, Lena and I leave the lodge behind, diving into the shadowy woods. The darkness wraps around us, but our heightened senses adjust, guiding us as we push deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

The wind howls in my ears, cold air stinging my skin, but it only sharpens the exhilaration coursing through me.

Lena is no longer trailing behind—she’s right next to me, her movements perfectly in sync with mine, step for step.

I glance at her, catching the fierce determination in her eyes, and let out a wild howl of challenge. Without hesitation, I push myself faster, daring her to keep up with my wolf.

The trees blur around us, the world dissolving into a rush of shadow and speed. My senses are alive with the thrill, every dodge and weave through the trees making my heart pound harder.

There’s danger in every step, but my wolf craves it, thrives on it. It was born to race through the night like this, born to run wild and free.

Beside me, Lena matches my speed, her growls teasing, daring me to go even faster. And I can’t resist—I accept her challenge with a grin, pushing myself to the limit, knowing she’ll rise to meet me.

The world shifts further, turning even less solid, transforming into a kaleidoscope of gyrating blacks. My breath leaves my nostrils in tight spurts while I push myself harder, while I let myself experience a kind of freedom I have never experienced before.

Here, in this world, nothing matters but the run.

All my worries have slipped away. Tanner Wilde himself has slipped away. I am just Alpha, born for physical conquest.

And I am not alone.

I can still feel her next to me, matching my speed. Her body is barely distinguishable from the rushing river of darkness we’re both immersed in, but I can sense its heat right next to mine.

“ Is that all you got ?”

The thought fills my head so abruptly that I almost collide with a tree in surprise.

It is an alien voice, not mine, and not a pack member. Someone else has sent it, someone else has reached forward and plunged part of themself inside me.

Lena?

It cannot be. It cannot be, and yet, somehow it is. It is her.

Lena is the one inside me, the one whose words have just slipped into my mind. Somehow, she’s telepathically connected herself to me. She can communicate it through the pack bond.

“ I asked you a question .”

How is this possible? How has this happened?

A telepathic connection is no small thing. Even wolves with unbeatable mastery over their magic struggle with establishing a link like this and never linking with someone who isn’t welcomed into the pack.

“ How can we have a bond ?” I respond to her.

“ I think you know how .”

Once again, I mentally rear back at hearing her soundless voice inside me.

I bare my teeth in a savage grin, understanding why this is happening.

Why I’m able to link so deeply with a wolf who’s not even part of my pack.

“ We really are fated mates ,” I tell her.

Lena’s excitement at that admission blooms within me like an expanding electromagnetic field. My muscles are imbued with a new energy, a new power that I alone am not responsible for.

Letting out a victorious howl, I run even faster, breaking all previous knowledge of what a werewolf is thought to be capable of.

Lena and I race through the woods of Hollyridge Lake like wild spirits from another world, the snow spraying in our wake. Our footprints mark the ground as if to say we were everywhere tonight, leaving our trace in the moonlit landscape.

We trace a circular path through the forest, never slowing down for an instant, our bodies leaping ahead in tandem. Our muscles burn with soreness, and the sensation is delicious.

This is what being a werewolf is all about, pushing yourself to the utmost limits.

“ Bet you can’t catch me ,” Lena suddenly whispers in my head, and then I see her figure dart ahead of me, kicking up some snow in my face.

“Oh, you just messed with the wrong wolf, Lena.”

My feet pound the ground and pummel the snow into sheets of melted ice as I run like I have never run before.

Lena senses me approaching from behind and lets out a howl of excitement, hunching her back and running even faster. But fast as she may be, she’s not an Alpha.

I have more experience than her in this, and I know all the tricks of the trade. She should’ve known better than to challenge me.

Fifteen seconds later, I tackle Lena from behind just as she’s about to pass through the trees and out into the clearing where we started our run.

The snow cushions her fall, and she lands softly. Her chest rises and falls as she breathes hard, her breath misting in the cold air around her.

I grunt and trot over to her, my tail swishing behind me in the air, my eyes gleaming.

Lena looks at me from her resting place and lets out a tiny mewl of submission. I accept it graciously, acknowledging my place as victor.

After a short break to catch our breath, we run back to the lodge and transform back into our human selves.

Once we’re back in my room, I sit down on the bed and give my whole body a little rest.

Lena sits down next to me, her skin flushed from the exertion, and her lips look somehow fuller, more inviting. Her fiery red hair is tousled from the wind, making her look effortlessly regal.

I take in the sight of her.

Suddenly, my own tiredness seems to have gone away. The energy is within me again, and so is the hunger, undisturbed by my nighttime activity.

I take her warm hands in mine and look into her chestnut brown eyes.

And I finally say what I’ve known to be true all along. I finally admit it all to her, no longer able to put up my appearance of indifference.

She’s shattered that. This feisty, fiery woman has finally put a dent in my ego and let the real Tanner peek through it.

“Lena,” I whisper, not breaking eye contact with her. “Tonight…”

“Was amazing,” she finishes for me.

I shake my head as if that’s irrelevant. “Tonight proves to me without a doubt that you’re my fated mate. It’s you, Lena. It’s you. No one but you.”

She says nothing. Simply stares.