The wolf inside me chomped at the bit, gnawing on my libido like it was going out of style. I wanted her. I needed her.

But, as I lay in my cold bed alone, it was clear I wouldn’t have her. Not tonight, at least.

I didn’t know what had happened. It was like that damn kitchen buzzer was some sort of alarm bell that just flipped a switch, sending her from hot to cold, like a bucket of ice dropped down the back of her shirt. She’d disappeared into the office and only came back out when I called her for dinner. She avoided my eyes as we ate, answering my few questions with simple yes’s and no’s.

I flipped over onto my side, growling as I beat my pillow with a fist and tucked it beneath my head. What was it? What had I done?

There was only one thing I knew would work in this situation. Well, two things. The first was a fifth of whiskey to drown my sorrow and sexual frustration. The other was to go run, to feel the snow beneath my paws as I sprinted over the ground. Burn off some of this extra energy that was clawing a pit in my soul.

Yeah, a run. That was the ticket. I’d go for a run.

Besides, what did I need to fool around with Elise for, anyway? What kind of cop, or ex-cop, would I be if I started fishing off the company dock? If I started having affairs with innocent women who were just looking for a little help with their problems? I might not be working for Frost Security on this one, or a police department for that matter, but I still had to have some sort of morals and scruples. Didn't I?

I climbed out of bed, shivering a little as my bare feet touched the floor’s ice-cold hardwood. Naked except for my underwear, I opened my bedroom door and crept into the hallway, headed for the front door. It was cold outside and I was practically naked, but why should I care? I was about to have a coat of fur bristling all over my body.

I opened the front door, the blast of cold hair sending me shriveling up into my body, setting an army of goosebumps marching across my legs and arms. Carefully, I closed the door behind me, stripped my underwear off and tossed it on the dry porch, then stepped out into the snow.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I sunk calf-deep into the icy slush. “Motherfucker,” I mumbled. A cold wind blew again, tracing icy lines over my skin. I started the change, finding that spot in my mind that began everything, and held back my guttural release as my body shifted. I sped the process, wanting both to get as much warm fur on my body as quickly as I could, and to make sure Elise didn’t come stumbling out while I had a naked tail sticking out of my backside.

The upside of all that pain? I completely forgot the cold, before my fur had even begun to cover my body. I dropped to my hands and knees, sinking deep into the snow, my back arching as my jaw lengthened and my spine reshaped its curve.

Moments later, I was off in the trees, the smell of a rabbit already hot in my nose.

Blood. Prey. That was what I needed. That was what would make me forget my frustrations.

Wait, no. That wasn't what I needed at all! I didn't need to clean blood from my face. I just needed to go for a light jog and rid myself of this nervous energy.

But, downwind from Mr. Cotton Tail, I bound through the mounds of snow, the ice and powder billowing up around me as I left a trail of giant paw prints from right at my front door. I sprinted hard, the ice freezing in thick layers on my fur as my instincts kicked in and I tracked my long-eared target. It was like I was in a daze, somehow watching my body go through the motions while I just observed.

I found him soon enough, white in a field of ivory, perfectly blended. I couldn’t even see him. It was only his smell that told me he was there. My mouth began to water, forcing me to swallow.

There was a flash of green as he found some grassy forage and began to nibble away.

I lowered myself, tucking my tail close to my body. It was like the conscious part of my brain was shoved to the back. I tried to stop myself, but couldn't.

Just like we’d shown Mary the night before. Just like Peter had taught me when I first came to Enchanted Rock.

Cotton Tail stopped chewing, his ears perking and twisting to catch a stray sound. My stray sound.

I held my breath. Whoops, maybe I gave myself away? Could he have heard me coming up? I crouched low, not moving a muscle as I hunkered down in the snow. Without the rest of the pack to circle behind him and cut off his escape, I wouldn’t have a chance on the open snow. He was too fast, too light, and almost able to run right across the top.

He went back to chewing.

I crept closer, using my head as a plow shovel.

Still chewing.

Closer now. Closer. I began to salivate, my instincts kicking in. This was it. I could launch myself into the air, just like Mary had done, and come down without him even realizing I was diving for his throat.

He stopped.

I followed suit. I licked my chops, my tongue silent as it glided over my white fangs and my furry jaws.

One more bite of grass. One more.

If I couldn’t have her, I’d just take little Mr. Fluffy here. The snow burst around me in an explosion of white as my powerful hind legs launched me eight feet into the air. I arced through the air like a black cannon ball, barely making a sound.

Below me, Fluffy McCotton Tail froze, his black eyes wide with terror as he realized he had no chance, his mouth falling open, half-chewed grass dropping to the snow in front of him.

I looked down into those eyes. I saw fear. I saw acceptance. I saw resignation.

But I also saw an innocent creature that didn’t need to die.

I closed my jaws around his neck, my paws pinning him to the powder-fresh snow. His neck cracked as I closed my teeth down tight.

The little bundle of amazing warmth, so alive and thriving against all the wintry odds, fought against me, screaming its little rabbit scream as it struggled to burrow out of the snow and get away from me.

I tore at him and finished the kill. Disgust and loathing filled me. Not for killing the creature, but for losing control like this. I'd only wanted to run, to stretch my legs.

My brain exploded with pleasure as the blood filled my mouth, as the coppery heat slithered down my throat. I snorted and shook my head, shaking the ice off, and began to tear into my prey.

What the hell was I thinking doing a kill like this? Was I going crazy? Or was it something else? Dammit, why did I even consider coming out here in the damn snow? Just because I couldn’t handle a little frustration from Elise back in the cabin?

I turned around and jogged back through the snow, my head hung low as I pushed on. I veered back towards the road, which I kept shoveled and free of ice and slush. There were ruts there that I took with the truck, and I’d have no problem walking along in them. Soon, I broke out from the snow and walked back to the cabin, my head still down.

Why should I feel frustrated in the first place? She didn’t owe me. I knew she felt an attraction for me, just like I felt for her. What else could that have been in the kitchen before she clammed up on me?

Dammit, why was I so drawn to her? Why did I feel this way about the curly-haired, black-maned vixen? I’d never felt like this about any woman before.

Then it hit me.

I huffed again and had to fight the urge to drop into the snow and just lay there, hoping for the winter to just take me then.

Elise was my mate.