“You should find out what really happened first,” Wendy said. “We need to know if we need to protect the town from whatever it was that attacked him. It could still be out there.”
It was like she was reading my mind. “Do you think we can really go after it? I mean, Barrett’s awolf.A giant wolf. And you saw what happened to him.”
“Yeah. It looked like someone used him as a chew toy,” Rina retorted.
I glared at her. “If that happened to a witch, they’d be done for—instantly. None of us can survive that, and you know it.” Even with an entire coven, what hope did we have against something with claws or sharp teeth?
“So we ask for help. If there’s more people out there like him, wouldn’t they be willing to lend a hand? Isn’t it worth it to at least try?” Wendy crossed her arms over her chest. She was ever the pragmatic one, while Rina often jumped to fighting with her fists first and asking questions later. Between the three of us, we balanced each other out.
She had a point. “But can I ask him to do that? To put himself in danger all over again?” My heart clenched at the thought.
Even if I didn’t know the man, I’d become attached to the wolf. I loved the way he would follow me around, the way he’d tilt his head to the side and perk an ear up, and the way he curled up at my feet. Maybe I liked the way my loneliness had been cured, even if just for a bit.
Wendy and Rina both shrugged. And I knew what that meant, too.
Carrying the pile of clothes we’d found to the register, I sighed. “Alright, I’ll ask him. But no promises.”
I didn’t even really know him. It was a reminder that I needed to keep my walls up. He might have not been a wild wolf, but he was still a stranger. A stranger who needed my help.
And now, I needed his.
CHAPTER SIX
barrett
It was amazing how much better I felt after a hot shower after so many days trapped inside my wolf’s body.
I felt like a human again. I wasn’t sure how I’d shifted back in the middle of the night unconsciously, though it wasn’t unheard of. My guess was I’d felt comfortable in bed with my mate, and it had been an involuntary change.
Being wrapped around my mate when I woke up had been the best feeling of my life. At least, until I realized that it wasn’t a dream, and I’d been two seconds from dipping my fingers under the waistband of her tiny panties. I’d been harder than I’d ever been in my life, having her curves all pressed up against me, her sweet smell in my nose. I was losing it.
When I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist, not bothering to look for the sweats she’d mentioned earlier. Honestly, I just hoped that she found something that actually fit. After I had clothes, I needed to find a way back to my things. I needed to call Ezra and talk about what I’d found. Though I didn’t fool myself into believing we werefriends, I knew he had my back.
And I needed to know if he had experienced anything similar up in his neck of the woods.
The door to the bedroom opened, and then my mate was there, her little hedgehog curled on her shoulder as she carried in a large plastic bag.
Eryne.Yes, I liked the way her name sat on my tongue. I still couldn’t believe I’d found her. That she was mine. My wolf let out a grumble of appreciation as he watched her.
And she had no idea.
It had been clear when we’d woken up that she didn’t know we were mates. But she hadn’t completely freaked out, either, so maybe that was good? I wasn’t sure what the proper protocol was here. For shifters, when we found our mates, the second we locked eyes, the bond was there.
And weknewwe were meant to be together.
Did witches not feel that? Was it possible this was completely one sided, and I was wrong about her being my mate? I hated that thought. It made my mouth taste fill with bile.
No,my wolf insisted.She is ours.
“Here,” Eryne said, handing me the bundle of clothes as she diverted her eyes. Our hands brushed, and sparks ran down my arm. “Hopefully there’s a few things in there that you can wear. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I got a bunch. We can return the rest.”
“Thank you,” I said, truly taking this moment to look at her. I had earlier, but not like this. Not when I could appreciate how much smaller than me she was, how that ginger hair perfectly complimented her skin. “I’ll go change.”
She dipped her head, and then looked at the bathroom. “I’m going to shower now, and then after I’m finished, maybe we could go get something to eat? I’m starving, and this feels like a conversation we shouldn’t have on empty stomachs.”
I swallowed.
She was going to tell me to leave. I could see it in her eyes. She was kicking me out already.
