Asshole.
“Better hurry up, she seemed ready to suggest shifter meat for dinner. I wouldn’t push the little thing. She’s full of fire,” he says, a lazy smile tugging his lips as he turns to look at the bathroom door, and I sigh.
“You like her, huh?” I know Dean. He’s been my best friend since we were kids and our fathers started discussing combining our packs. He pauses, still staring at the bathroom door.
“I just met her,” he murmurs softly with a frown, and I shake my head at him. The dreamy, lost look in his brown eyes is something I have never seen on his face before.
“I've been in love with her since the day I first saw her.” I turn and look at the same door, remembering the day like itwas yesterday. “She was so scared, but the curiosity in her big emerald eyes drew me in. I lay down, showing her my belly like a damn fool. I don't think she realizes, even now, how insane that was.” I shrug, and Dean chuckles.
“You were ten. Hiding from your whack job of a mother. Delilah was a distraction.” I shake my head at his dismissive words. Yeah, I was hiding from a woman who’s long dead, but it was more than that. It was Delilah. Not just my trauma.
“It was more. We knew the rules. Humans can’t interact with shifted Wolves because it’s not safe. She still chased me around that clearing like she’d known me her entire life. She trusted me.” I remove my shirt, then jeans. There’s no question. If this is what Delilah needs to heal, then this is what I’ll do. I'll throw myself into a pool of lava if it means Delilah will be mine, or at least on her way to being mine.
I’ll do anything for her. I’ll never let her down again.
Delilah
When I pull the bathroom door open, I keep my eyes closed. The sound of nails on the tiles has my heart racing. He’s close.
I take one step forward and lift my hand, waiting. When I feel a cold, wet nose nudge my fingers, I finally look up. White fur, big eyes, and a towering beast, much too large for this room, stands before me.
“Bunny.” Fuck. Seeing him like this, after all this time, is too much. And also not enough. The feelings I’d locked away just this morning, burst free, and I wrap my armsaround his neck. Or, I would, if they reached all the way around.
I bury my face in his fur, remembering the way it used to comfort me. The winter scent, the calm after every storm. The safety.
“I’ve missed you,” I whisper. I can’t help it. I don’t know if hiding my true feelings is the right thing to do, or if I should throw myself into the fire. Let myself burn.
Bunny takes a step back, so I release him, and in the next moment, he’s back to his other form and lifting me into his arms. I let him hold me, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I cry against his shoulder, and he holds me tight the entire time. He’s warm and strong. He feels like the missing piece of my history.
“I wish things could have been different back then, but I’m here now, and no matter what I’m never leaving you again. Give me time, please,” he begs, and I nod against his skin, not wanting to lift my head. I don’t want to let reality back in.
I just cling to him, letting my foolish heart have her moment in the sun. Maybe Matteo can never be the hero I had once wished for, but he’s here now, and I want so desperately to let him heal the cracks in my heart.
“Okay,” I agree, and reluctantly let him set me down, only now realizing he’s naked. I lift my eyes to the ceiling, and Dean chuckles.
“Never seen a man naked?” he teases at my blushing, and I refuse to answer. “Oh, uh. My bad.”
“I’ve seen men without clothes, I just…” I trail off. “I’ve never seen Matteo naked.” I manage to say. I’ve seen Coal and Quil naked. Well. Sort of. I never saw either of their important bits.
“Right.”
“Maybe we can talk about something else?” Matteo suggests, uncomfortable with Dean and I discussing his nakedness.
“Good idea.”
The rest of the night is quiet. Matteo stays close to me as we eat, and I keep stealing glances at him. I catch him and Dean both staring at me from time to time. I felt like I need to keep moving, so I can release some of my restless energy.
By the time dinner is over, I start falling asleep on the couch. Dean insists on cleaning up and refuses to let me help. It is another one of those surreal moments.
One of them moved me into Dean’s bed at some point. I wake up with my face buried in his pillow, practically humping the blankets. His clean and woodsy scent is hard to ignore. My mouth is basically watering the whole night.
In the morning, I launch myself from his sheets and shower like it will somehow save me from my hormones. I say goodbye to Matteo, and Dean walks me to my dorm, so I can change into a clean uniform before meeting with Coal.
Coal and Quil ignore me entirely. It is very bizarre and creeps me out. I sleep in my own room that night, wondering what the hell is going on with them. So hot and angry one moment, and then cold and indifferent the next.
Thursday is similar to Tuesday with Dean and Matteo, and by the time Friday rolls around, I am feeling a bit more relaxed. Finally getting the hang of things, and learning that Dean and Matteo won’t let me do anything for them at all.
I thought Coal would at least use me to do his classworkon Friday, but he once again ignores me. At least, up until the very end of the day.
