Fated To The Alpha: A Paranormal Shifter Romance by Simply Shifters, Jasmine White

“We should get going.”
     
    “But where can we go where he won’t find us?”
     
    Jeremy looked around, thinking.  “There’s a river about half a mile that way,” he said, pointing off into the distance.  “He won’t be able to follow our scent trail if we cross it.”
     
    I nodded, and we shifted to our four-legged forms and ran off in that direction.
     
    Judging by the look of the night sky, it was nearing 4 a.m. by the time we reached the river.  I’d never been much of a swimmer, but when faced with the choice of that or whatever Leon might do if he caught up with us, I wasted no time in jumping right in after Jeremy.
     
    The water was freezing, and rushing like mad.  My paws worked hard to keep me moving forward, fighting against the tow that worked relentlessly to pull me downriver, away from my goal on the other side.  I saw Jeremy reach the shore and climb out, shake himself dry, and then turn his head back to me.  I surged forward with a renewed dedication to reach him—
     
    —when something, I’m not sure what, maybe it was a limb or something, but something in the river collided with me, knocking me off my course.
     
    All sense I had of up or down vanished as the current carried me helplessly tumbling along.  I could hardly tell if I was paddling at water or empty air.  All I could see were indistinct blurs of white water foam and occasional glimpses of the sky.  The only time I could tell what was above or below me was the brief time when I went over a few feet of waterfall. 
     
    Yeah, that was scary.
     
    Just when I was starting to think I would drown before Leon ever caught up with me, I felt a pair of jaws close around the back of my neck and start pulling me in another direction.  All at once, I could breathe again, and I felt dry land beneath my side.  I coughed water out of my lungs and shakily pushed myself up on my front paws.
     
    I blinked a few times to see Jeremy shifting to his two-legged form and kneeling in front of me.  “Are you okay?”
     
    I shook the water out of my sopping wet fur, making Jeremy recoil and shield himself, before I retook my two-legged shape.  “Peachy,” I croaked.
     
    “Well, as unpleasant as that was,” Jeremy said, “It probably worked out for the best.  We’re way downriver now from where our scent trail ends, so it’ll be that much harder for anyone to find us.”
     
    “Great,” I grunted as I pushed myself up to my feet.  “Next time, let’s pack a raft.”
     
    Jeremy pulled my arm across his shoulders and helped me continue forward for a ways.  By the time we’d made it up the hill in front of us, I finally could go no further and told him to let me down.  I fell asleep in his arms shortly after that.
     
    *
        I awoke the next morning to see the sun rising over the tops of the trees, with nothing but the sound of nature around me, the morning breeze on my naked skin, and Jeremy’s body spooned against my back.  Despite everything that had happened, I felt like I hadn’t slept this well in years.
     
    I rolled around in Jeremy’s arms to see his face.  The motion started stirring him, and he grunted and blinked awake, smiling as he slowly recognized my face.  “Morning,” he said.
     
    I propped my head up on my elbow as I studied his face.  “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you in daylight,” I said.  “Every time we’ve been together it’s been dark.”
     
    “You like what you see?” he asked.
     
    I nodded without any hesitation.  “I really do.”
     
    “Me too,” he grinned, looking down over my body, running a hand along my side and over the flare of my hip.  My flesh tingled at his touch, making goose bumps break out across my skin.
     
    I leaned forward to kiss him, bringing my hand up to cup his face.  The kiss was light and tender at first, and then steadily increased in intensity.  We soon parted our lips and allowed our tongues access to each other’s mouths,