“I want to... but after what you guys said-” she hesitated.
“I need you there, to help me to catch their attention if I'm right. And you're the only one I trust. Because you'd do anything for Nik.”
“Not anything.”
“Anything that matters.”
She couldn't argue with that.
She changed her clothes and met Alf out back by climbing out her bedroom window, so that no one would see her leaving. She nearly screamed when Alf grabbed her.
He stifled a snigger. “Sorry. Here.” He handed her a small spray bottle with a cloudy liquid inside.
“What's this?”
“Scent blocker.”
Jaz eyed the bottle and them him dubiously as she took it. “Will it work?”
He inhaled deeply. Jaz squirmed a little when she realized he was sniffing her scent.
“You showered this morning.”
She nodded slowly.
“And your bleeding is less. I can barely smell it. About what it would normally be.”
The way he said it made Jaz feel it was accusatory. She inhaled sharply, despite her cautioning inner voice.
He leaned forward.
Her neck muscles stiffened, her tendons protruded as she tipped her neck and head back the closer he got. When she couldn't lean back any more, he stopped inches from her face.
“I know,” he murmured. “I've known a while. I promise you no one else does despite how it may have seemed a few days ago. I've always made them believe otherwise. And always will.”
After a moment she finally breathed and swallowed. The lump was very obvious in her tight neck.
“Now spray this. It should mask your scent enough.”
After a moment of studying his face, she sprayed the scent blocker all over herself. Alf helped spray it on her back.
When he was happy with her scent, he exhaled, “Okay. Now getting there will take three hours or so on foot. But I know a quicker way.”
“A car?”
“Nope. Someone will notice.” He led her ahead into the thick curtain of the trees. “Okay. Wait there.”
She watched his back disappear into the shadows until she couldn't hear him move. She waited for what seemed like hours. Several times she thought she heard him breathing heavily but wasn't sure if it was her mind playing tricks. She used her nose to sense any unwanted guests but no one came.
The sun was starting to lower in the sky now, disappearing behind thick clouds and making her part of the woods gloomier by the minute.
Then she heard a rustling in the trees. “Alf?” she whispered.
The sound of feet moving along the ground made her breath catch. She listened carefully to the footfalls. They sounded heavier. And wider. Not like a man's boots. But a Beast's paws. She heard him before she saw him, inch by inch approaching her, his animal head down.
She observed him, feeling her fear subsiding.
It was Alf. He would never hurt me, she told herself over and over again.
She released the breath she'd been holding captive and studied the fine blond hairs on his body.
He was naked which made Jaz blush a little (he had his clothes tied in a bundle around his waist), but his privates seemed to be concealed by a layer of skin and thick hair. His jaw was long, pointing downwards like a lion and he had large teeth; the canines protruded from his upper lip. His face was covered in fine hair, his nose was flat and crinkled like a big cat. His coat looked velvety and thick and the blond hair on his head was wilder and thicker than usual, spiked up like a mane. His eyes were the same ocean blue, bright and gentle and looking right at her.
She exhaled loudly. “Okay... so what am I supposed to do? I can't Change yet.”
He made a motion with his head, cocking it back. A noise escaped his mouth but she understood it. “Get on.”
She sized up his broad back that looked about ten feet high -but was probably only half that- with nothing to hold onto. “Er...”
He made the same noise again.
“Okay. But I'm gonna pull your hair out holding on.”
“It's stronger than you think.”
She awkwardly climbed on, finding a clump of thick hair at the base of the 'mane' which made a pretty good pommel.
“Hold on, tight.”
She tucked her ankles into his sides, squeezing her thighs in and leant forward, gritting her teeth. She lost her breath when he set off flying through the trees. She was so amazed at how quiet he was and how smooth the ride. But one wrong move and she'd fall, maybe breaking her neck if she smashed into a tree. She held on as hard as she could, to a point where she thought she was bruising Alf's sides. If she was, he didn't complain.
The sensation of the wind's fingers trailing through her hair, down her neck and across her cheeks was exhilarating. She felt like she was flying. Alf's grunts were like the soothing repetitions of a steam train's wheels.
Twenty minutes later, her legs started cramping and her thighs felt like they had been sandblasted beneath her jeans. When her breathing came out in painful gasps, Alf growled to her questioningly to see if she wanted him to stop. She grunted, “No.”
So he carried on.