But I knew I needed to do it.
My mate had left me this morning, heading to her job. I’d deduced that she must have worked at a bakery, because she came home smelling faintly of coffee and baked goods every day. I had a faint recollection of collapsing outside of one, of being brought into a large kitchen filled with appliances, but all of the memories from that night were hazy.
The memory of her was the strongest.
Still, she was so sweet to me, considering she thought I was a wild wolf. There was no fear in her eyes—not as she stroked my head or told me what a good boy I was as she continued to feed me those disgusting potions. At least they were working, even if it was slow. Whatever had attacked me had messed with my shifter healing abilities, and whatever the witch had sent was doing its job.
How many days had passed? I couldn’t keep track. I didn’t have my phone or any of my belongings. All of my stuff was still at the inn I’d been staying at before I’d caught the trail of the reported monster living in the woods.
I was stranded here. No clothes, no way to contact anyone.
But…shewas here, so maybe this was where I was supposed to be.
With each painful step, I padded around the house, using my nose to smell around. I couldn’t explain why I wanted to explore my mate’s house, only that I wanted to get to know her better. To understand the person the fates had decided to bless me with.
Her sugary smell was everywhere in this house—like it had seeped into the very walls. I didn’t smell any other males here, which satisfied me more than it should have. Nor had she brought another man home in the last week or so since she’d rescued me.
I preened at the thought. It shouldn’t have made me happy that she seemed to be single, but I was glad I didn’t have to fight someone else for her. An alpha wolf who found their mate was prone to jealousy and was known be quite possessive.
We didn’t share. When a wolf bonded with their mate, it was for life. Not thatwewere anywhere close to bonding. Especially when she didn’t even know who—or what—I was.
There were plants scattered everywhere, small pots that looked healthy and well loved. Collections of crystals, dried flowers, and a pile of books sat on the table next to her couch.The entire house was full of rich, warm colors, obviously well taken care of.
The only other smell in this house belonged to whatever animal lived in the large cage in her living room. I stared at it, sitting on my hind legs. The creature burrowed under the bedding of what looked to be paper shredding, poking its head as it took me in.
It was a hedgehog, who wiggled its little nose at me as it seemed to sniff the air. I wasn’t a threat to her pet—though my senses told me this was a deeper connection than just of a pet and owner. The way the little beast stared at me, as if trying to parse out my intentions, felt different.
I’m not going to hurt her,I wanted to tell it.I’m going to keep her safe.My little healer was precious, and there was no way I could ever let her come to harm.
We were in a staring contest, the hedgehog and I, and I refused to be the one to break.
Finally, I looked longingly outside out the sliding glass back door, feeling the urge to run unfold under my skin. My wolf wanted it—no,neededit.
But we were in no shape to run. And I knew our mate would give us a scolding if we split any of the wounds open and ended up bleeding again.
Plus, I didn’t want to ruin her bed. The comforter was cozy, and it was ten times better of a sleep than I’d ever gotten at home.
Maybe that was just her.
Finally, I gave up, curling in a ball in front of the front door so I could wait for my mate to return to me.
“I’m home,” my mate called. “Sorry it took me longer than I expected, I stopped by the general store to pick up a few things, but the line was long, and…” She blinked, like she just realized I was sitting on the floor and not on her bed where she’d left me. A little gasp left her lips. “You got up.”
I couldn’t help the involuntary wag of my tail at the sound of her voice. At seeing her sweet form in front of me.
Her shoulder length ginger hair with those blunt bangs was wavy, and she was wearing a pair of black denim jeans today—along with the pair of black combat boots she wore most days—and a cozy dark green turtle neck. She’d even done a little bit of makeup, highlighting her blue eyes.
“I hope you didn’t get into anything while I was gone.” She narrowed her eyes at me as she carried her bags over to the kitchen counter, and then turned back to look at me. “Do you want to… go out?” My mate looked almost embarrassed, a little pink blush blooming over her cheeks. “It’s been awhile.”
Yes.I did want that. My wolf let out a bark of confirmation.
Standing up, I hobbled over towards the door and sat, waiting for her to open it for me.
“I’ll take that as your answer,” she laughed, letting me out the door. I trudged out to the yard, relieving myself behind a tree before padding back to her, sitting in front of her. “Good boy,” she praised.
I wagged my tail. Iwasa good boy, wasn’t I?
Wait, fuck. What was I doing? I wasn’t a dog. I was a human, dammit. And I needed to get back to my human form. It wasn’t good for shifters to spend this much time in their animal form.
