We flew. With each step Payne took, the hold Able had on the both of us faded. My heart thrummed in time with Payne’s as I wrapped my arms around his powerful body. My fingers sank into his thick, soft fur and I pressed my cheek against his back. His mighty heart beat in time with my own.

I don’t know if Payne planned his path. I think he just meant to get as much distance between Able and us as he could. As the sun dipped below the horizon, my breath caught. Payne finally slowed as the air changed and the temperature dropped.

I slid off his back. My limbs turned to rubber as I tried to regain my footing. We were in another deep valley with woods all around. Ahead, water churned and the wind rushed past my ears.

“We’re here,” I said, my voice sounding small and distant like I hadn’t used it in years.

Payne’s wolf stood at my side. I reached for him. I’d been so afraid to touch him for so long; now I couldn’t go more than a few seconds without it.

With my hand on his back, he shifted. The force of it blew my hair back. Where my fingers sank into his fur, they now felt the solid flesh at the small of his back as he stood beside me.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

“Those lights in the distance are Banchory,” he said. “We’re at the Ohio River.”

My heart flared with renewed hope and terror all at once. We’d done it. We’d reached the border. I could see freedom on the opposite banks of the wide, churning river. The current was strong, but I wondered if I could simply dive in and swim to the other side.

I walked toward it. My steps faltered at first, but before I knew it, I was running. Panic seized my heart. We were so close. It couldn’t be this easy. Able knew what we were trying to do. I’d felt him probing my thoughts and Payne’s too. This had to be a trap.

“Come on!” I shrieked. “We have to make a run for it now. Able’s going to catch up. He’s known all along what we were trying to do.”

Payne’s grip on my arm pulled me back. I whipped around to face him, my hair flying in my face.

“What!? My God, what are you waiting for? We have to go! Now!”

Payne grabbed me by the shoulders, rooting me to one spot. “Your mark,” he said. “Lena.”

He said other things, but his words blended together. The proximity to freedom made me a little drunk. I couldn’t think straight.

“Lena!” he shook me again. “What happened back there? That wasn’t me. Able wasn’t getting to you through me. You have to tell me. I need to know exactly how you got that mark.”

I pulled away from him. “What difference does it make? And I already told you. His name was Shelby. Now, I don’t ever want to say it again.”

“Right,” Payne said. He started to pace. His eyes flashed with wild fury. “And he’s dead. You’re sure of it.”

I let out a hard breath. “Yes.”

“Tell me how you know. I need to be sure. Because you were two seconds from blowing your own head off back there. And you weren’t doing it of your own free will. He’s tapped into you, Lena. I need to figure out how.”

“I know because I saw Shelby’s head separate from his shoulders, okay? Not even a shifter can survive a wound like that.”

“How?” Payne wasn’t satisfied. He rounded on me, blocking my view of the river.

I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to give another second of my thoughts to Shelby or Able or any of it. But, I knew Payne was right. If it happened once, it could happen again.

“Able,” I said. “When he realized Shelby couldn’t be controlled, he killed him. He had just enough control to keep him from fighting back. But, Able went for him and ripped his head off. He laid it at my feet to show me just how powerful he was. Okay? Is that what you needed to know? As far as how Able can get in my head…”

Payne dropped his chin. “My God,” he said. “I’ve been so stupid not to realize it before. Lena. Able killed your Alpha.”

“Stop it. I told you never to call him that. Shelby wasn’t my anything.”

“I know. I know. You’re right. I’m sorry. But, what I’m trying to say is that I think you’re wrong about what happened to Shelby just before he died. I think he did subjugate to Able. Even if it was for a split second. It was long enough to let Able control your mark.”

I slapped my hand on the back of my neck. The scar was cool now, but it had flared hot back in the woods. Able’s command had burned through me. His voice had been inside my head.

“Take it away,” I said, breathless. “Tell me how to take it away. Payne, please. There has to be a way. Cut it out of me. I don’t care how much it hurts. I can’t let it happen again. I really would rather die than leave myself open to that.”

Tears streamed down my face. Payne stood before me, his face ashen. “Lena...I can’t…”

“Yes,” I said. “You have to. If Able can get to me through this mark, then cut it away. I’ve tried a hundred times. Something always stops me. It’s like a hand closes over mine and I can’t make it happen. Now, you’re telling me that hand has been Able all along? No. Hell, no. I won’t live like this. Taking me across the border won’t be enough to release me from him, will it?”

Payne put his hands on top of his head as if he were afraid it would pop off. Fresh from his shift, he stood naked before me. In all the chaos, I hadn’t even been aware of it. I’d grown up around shifters my whole life. This was just as natural as being near their wolves. It was different this time though. My senses heightened around him. I could feel his body heat coming off of him in waves. His blood raged and his heart pounded a furious beat matching my own.

“Payne,” I said, my voice choked. We’d emerged in the thickest part of the woods near the river. The place seemed desolate. Wild. As if this small patch of earth had somehow gone untouched from the pioneer days. I could see the lights of the bridge and the belching smokestacks from a steel mill on the other side of the river. They couldn’t touch us though. There was magic in this place. I felt it. I breathed it.

Again, my hand went to the cruel scar at the back of my neck. It had been forced upon me like so many other things. I hadn’t wanted it. I hated what it represented. I vowed I’d never let another man touch me, let alone a shifter.

But, I’d been fooling myself and I knew that now. Payne wouldn’t say the words. He stood before me, chest heaving, his eyes alight with fury and passion.

“Able can touch me,” I said. I took a hesitant step toward him. Payne stood in a ready stance, his feet planted wide apart. His arms bent at the elbow. His fists clenched against his need. My need. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he ground his teeth together.

“Yes,” he whispered. “I don’t know why he’s waited this long.”

“And he can do it again. Anytime he wants?” I knew the answer. Even now, I thought that if I closed my eyes and went very still, I’d be able to hear Valent’s voice in the distance. He’d never risk coming this close to the border. But, if I crossed now with his connection to me unbroken, I knew in my heart I’d never truly be free.

“Take it away,” I said for the third time. I raised my chin and leveled my gaze at Payne. His flared bright.

“Lena.” Payne swayed on his feet as if the weight of my words settled on his shoulders.

I went to him. I don’t know what he would have said if I’d let him. For my part, I was beyond words. Pulsing need spread through me. I wanted this. Needed this. At first it had to do with Able, but with each step I took toward Payne, it became something else.

My fingers hovered, suspended in midair for an instant as I stood no more than an inch from Payne. I had to crane my neck to keep his eyes. A low, guttural noise escaped from his throat. Then, he brought his hands up and threaded them through mine.

I tilted my head. Payne brought his chin down and touched his lips to mine. Lightning cracked inside my brain. My nerve endings sparked with heat from the base of my neck straight down to my toes.

When my knees buckled, Payne slid a strong hand around my waist. As he leaned forward, deepening the kiss, my back arched. He held me in a swoon. Heat pulsed through me, settling between my legs. My jeans scraped against my newly sensitive skin. I wanted more. So much more. It wasn’t enough to just have Payne’s lips against mine and his arm around my waist.

He broke first, coming up for air. I staggered backward, bringing my hand to my lips. The skin was swollen and hot. Just that simple touch had changed something in me on a molecular level. God, I could feel it. My nerves and cells seemed to realign as if they’d magnetized and Payne was true north.

“Lena,” he said my name again. This time, his voice had a raw edge as if he could barely keep his wolf contained. I didn’t want him to. The second I thought it, I wanted to lunge for him, I wanted to scratch and claw and bring the beast out. His eyes held a question and a promise. He found the strength to give voice to it.

“With Shelby…” I said, my voice raw. Payne blanched. He seemed to shiver between wolf and man, struggling to maintain control.

“He hurt you,” Payne said. “What he did to you...I would never do. I would never force myself on you…”

“No!” I cried. “No, Payne. Shelby didn’t...I mean we never…Able wanted him to. He goaded Shelby. But, he didn’t. There was something wrong with Shelby. He couldn’t...I don’t know. We were never intimate like that. But...he cut me instead. When I realized he wouldn’t force himself on me, that’s when I got the idea to try to turn him against Able.”

Payne’s face went through a thousand changes. There was a flicker of relief, followed by instant rage as he imagined Shelby hurting me. Then, it all seemed to fall away and there was just the two of us. Our pasts melted into the ether, at least for now.

“I’ll never touch you unless you want it,” he snarled, showing me a hint of fang that set my blood humming. “But, if I touch you again, I won’t be able to stop.”

There it was. My choice. Once I’d made it, there would be no going back. I thought I wanted to be free of shifters forever. But, as Payne stood before me, naked and wild, I knew I’d never truly be free without him.

I don’t remember making a conscious decision to go to him. It happened in the span of a heartbeat...mine and his combined. I made a strangled sound born of lust and longing. I’d pushed away these feelings for so long, one kiss and the dam burst.

The moment I let my guard down, hell broke loose inside of me. I literally threw myself at Payne. He caught me in his strong arms and we tumbled into the tall grass together. Later, I might remember how fitting it was that we should come together here. This place was wild, untouched, just like my heart. On one side of the river was freedom, the other, pain and uncertainty. My heart warred with itself. The one thing I knew could save me was the thing I’d tried to run from.

Payne’s strong hands dragged my jeans down. I’d landed on top of him. I pulled the hem of my shirt and yanked it over my head along with the tank top I wore beneath it. The cool air hit my bare breasts, making the nipples pebble instantly. Payne groaned at the sight. He leaned forward, bringing his lips to my left nipple. I held my breath as he kissed me there. He was so strong, so careful not to startle me.

“Payne,” I gasped. A flood of desire slammed through me. That one kiss, one touch had unleashed a torrent of emotions. My sex throbbed. Payne’s cock went rigid against my thigh. Already slick and wet, I ached for him to fill me.

He let me take the lead. Payne put his hands on my hips as I straddled him. My hair fell down like a thick curtain, brushing against his shoulder. I slid my hands over his shoulders. He was so strong, so solid. The hard-cut muscles of his chest and abs clenched as I leaned down and kissed my way to his hips.

Payne whispered my name over and over as he struggled to keep his promise. He wouldn’t touch me unless I wanted him to. He wasn’t kidding. He hooked his hands behind his head and lay on his back as I did all the exploring. He shuddered with coiled desire as I kissed back up to his shoulder. I hovered above him, nose to nose. Then, I crushed my lips to his.

Gasping for air, I drew back. My sex pulsed with need. His thick cock throbbed against my thigh. I couldn’t hold back for another second. Positioning myself over him, Payne finally brought one hand from behind his head. He placed it on my hip to steady me.

Our eyes locked and I knew exactly what he was thinking. As his blazed green, he wanted to know if I was sure. Maybe my head wasn’t, but my heart was true.

“Yes!” I gasped. Payne jutted his chin up then thrust his hips forward. I circled my fingers around his hard cock then drove him home.

Heat and light exploded behind my eyes. Payne stretched me wide and filled me. I cried out his name as I settled over him and brought my hips down. Oh, God. He was in me. His cock twitched against my walls and it felt like flying.

Yes. This. Always.

Payne let me set the pace. I went slowly at first, savoring every steel inch of him. Then, instinct took over. All I could do was hold on and ride the wave. Payne held me steady with his hands on my hips. I bucked and rocked, taking him deeper with every stroke. Desire built within me reaching a crescendo, bursting, then rising again. I’d never felt anything like it before. It seemed the more I took, the more I wanted. My body and soul had been starved for so long, I felt like it could never be sated.

I came around him in a starburst of color. My juices coated us and eased him even deeper. Sweat popped out on Payne’s brow as he held back. He kept his promise. But, now that I’d touched him and brought him into me, I knew he couldn’t be gentle. Oh, God. I didn’t want him to be. With each thrust and every deepening inch I took something back.

My choice. My body. My needs.

As Payne let me fuck him, I smashed a barrier I’d built inside my heart. No more. No more. No more.

Payne took it. Every punishing thrust seemed to heighten his own desire. He grew fuller, thicker, longer. He spread me wide and filled me deep. He was everything. With each pounding thrust, he gave me back to me. God, why had I waited so long to take it?

Then, when my bones turned to rubber and I started to slip, Payne took the lead. He flipped me with dizzying speed and had me on my back, my legs spread wide. I thought I was done. It turns out, we had only just begun.

“Lena,” he whispered my name in my ear as he took his pleasure from me. For as much as I felt like I’d clawed something back, when Payne fucked me, I knew it was the same for him.

We found ourselves in each other that night on the banks of the Ohio River. There were no rules. No control. Just passion, desire, and fate. Mine and his.

“Yes!” I cried as I felt Payne’s balls hitch. He had so much to give and I wanted to take it all. I found the strength to wrap my legs around his thighs, spurring him on. Payne clawed the earth, bracing himself on either side of my shoulders. His wolf eyes flared bright as his nostrils flared and he arched his back.

“Yes!” I shouted again. Then, acting on pure instinct, I dug my nails into his back, drawing blood. Payne went rigid. A great shudder went through him and he threw his head back. A howl ripped from him as he spilled his seed inside of me. Oh, yes, I’d set him free. Over and over again.

Heat blossomed at the base of my neck. I felt a new pulse there and an almost overpowering urge. I knew what it meant. I ached for it with a craving so strong it took my breath from me. Payne met my eyes. His were wide, luminous, and green, the dark pupils mere pinpoints as his inner wolf flared hot. His lips curled and the tips of his fangs came out.

Leaning up, I threaded my hands around his neck. I kissed him once on the cheek as he crested down. Oh, I wanted so much more. I was so close to turning, going on all fours and exposing my neck to him.

Payne moved, coming to rest alongside me. He gathered me into his arms and placed a chaste kiss at the base of my neck and held me close beneath the stars.