two
CONNOR
My bare asswas becoming one with the dirt while I scratched Zoe’s panting wolf’s head. My heartbeat was faster than it should’ve been, my breathing rougher.
I didn’t think the woman had any idea how close she had just gotten to not making it through the shift.
I fucking hoped she didn’t.
Dragging a hand through my hair, I pulled it out of my eyes and let out a slow breath.
Her wolf was absolutely wiped out, and for good reason. She’d almost fucking died.
I needed to convince her to rest for a while. The shift back to her human form would probably be almost as brutal for both of them.
Zoe wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t know how to relax.
She had pulled through the first shift, though.
That was what mattered. Shifting after the first time could be pretty damn painful, but it couldn’t kill you.
I slowly scratched her wolf’s head, back, and belly over the next hour while her breathing evened out. I’d need to wait until she fell asleep to get up, to check if she wanted to explore the forest. Most wolves did after their first shift.
But most wolves didn’t dance with death like she did.
When Zoe’s wolf finally recovered, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
I picked her up carefully, trying not to wake her.
She didn’t even flinch.
At least she was comfortable with me. We were definitely going to need that.
The walk back to my place wasn’t too bad. Zoe hadn’t gone more than a mile and a half or so. I took the long way, in case any of my packmates were still sitting outside.
I doubted they would’ve cancelled the book club meeting. Between Finn and Abby, they were obsessed.
When I got back to my place, I found Ethan sitting on my porch swing with a couple bottles of alcohol next to him.
Not for the first time, I was glad werewolves couldn’t really get drunk.
“Is that vodka?” I asked, as I stepped onto the porch. Two of the bottles were already empty. Not a great sign.
“I can’t believe the rest of you fuckers have had two mates and I can’t even fucking get one.” His voice slurred.
He was a sad drunk. Luckily the alcohol’s effects only lasted a few minutes, and he rarely drank.
“Most of us would’ve preferred not having one over our first experience,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter, because you all got perfect fucking mates the second time around.” He took a long swig. “I want a perfect fucking mate.”
I sat down on the swing next to him, cradling Zoe’s wolf to my chest with one arm. With the other, I snagged the three full bottles next to him.
The vodka dulled his reflexes long enough for me to throw the bottles at the nearest tree, one by one. The sounds of glass shattering didn’t make any of us flinch.
“Fuck you.” Ethan slouched against the back of the swing. There was no anger behind the words.
“Did you ask the girls’ for Maya’s address?”
