What if Crush was wrong about his family? What if Killian wasn’t demure enough, submissive enough? What if he had too much blood on his hands?
“Sweetheart?” Crush murmured, stroking his ears again.
“Are you sure?” Killian whispered.
“Yes,” Crush said firmly. “But if it makes you feel safer, shift back into your human shape.”
Killian hopped over the center console to the passenger seat, where an oversized hoodie and his pants waited for him. He shifted back into a man and struggled into the clothes. Then he pulled the hood over his head, trying to hide as deeply inside as he could.
A large palm landed on his thigh, squeezing reassuringly. It helped. Especially when Crush’s scent surrounded him, all earthy and wolfy.
“You’ll be fine,” Crush rumbled. “Here, I’ll sing you a song my dad taught me as a pup.”
In a low, smooth voice like rich dark chocolate, Crush sang:
“Tonight with the moonlight clear, as the wolves are all gathered here
It’s a time for us to celebrate: our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters
Together we are pack, and together we are strong
We’ll howl to Mother Moon all night long.”
“That’s a great song,” Killian blurted. “I’m glad I wasn’t the one writing it, or it would have weird dicks and butts in there, and it would end up being about two twigs trying to have sex, but they’re putting their leaves into the wrong holes.”
Crush laughed. “You know, Iwouldlove to hear a song like that. Who knows? It might become famous.”
“For all the wrong reasons,” Killian cried.
“I don’t know about that. It would still put a smile on my face. Is that so bad?”
Killian chewed his lip. “I guess not.”
“When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?”
“Um. A doctor or a lawyer,” Killian said slowly. “Because that was what my parents wanted me to be. I thought... it would make them like me more.”
Crush winced. “Crap. No, I meant... Was there a hobby you enjoyed, that you would’ve liked to do forever?”
“Oh. I liked smelling flowers. I also really liked to grow carrots, except the ground was really hard where we lived, and carrots had a hard time taking root there.”
Crush hummed. “Tell you what. My house in Cartfalls has a pretty generous backyard. If you want, you can grow all the carrots there. Flowers too.”
Killian’s eyes grew wide. “All the carrots I want?”
“All the varieties of carrots, too. Purple ones, yellow ones. Even radishes and yams if that’s your thing.”
Killian quivered in his seat. “I can’t wait.” Then he paused. “Wait. Is this you luring me into your house?”
Crush smiled, looking... almost shy? “Is it working?”
“Yes,” Killian admitted. “Will you have space for Naddie?”
“Of course!” Crush sounded offended. “Sweetheart, I would make space for any child of yours.”
Killian’s heart skipped. “Okay. Then I’ll move in with you.”
Crush’s smile was so bright, he was almost difficult to look at.
