“Not friend!” The werewolf stood to his full height and stepped closer, towering over me. I stayed completely still as he leaned down and sniffed my hair. Giant teeth were much closer to my face than I would like, but I forced myself to stand my ground. His jaws opened, and a rumble sounded through him. Well… maybe the bully stick wasn’t quite enough. It took all my strength not to cower with him this close, and his hot breath huffing against my face.
Before I could react, a large tongue swiped along my cheek, licking from my chin to my forehead. “Not friend. Mine!”
I was too stunned to react, but the werewolf pulled away. He let out a roar that reverberated through my body. What the fuck was I supposed to do? “Hey, big guy, we’re cool, right? You’re not going to eat me because you’re a good boy.”
The wag of his tail came again, and he lowered back into a crouch. “Not eat. Not hurt Bowen.”
“See? Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. I’ll probably be around for a few days, so if you see me again, maybe don’t sneak up on me next time, okay?” I reached out and patted the topof his head.
His eyes closed, and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth, as if he were any other canine happy to be petted. A smile tugged at my lips. Sure, just petting a werewolf, no big deal. “That’s a good boy. Be safe.”
When I stood back, the pink glowing eyes seemed to have lost some of their intensity, and an almost human expression could be seen behind them. Right. Because werewolves weren’t just animals. That meant there wassomeoneinside there, too. Someone I had just called a good boy, and who had licked my face. I felt my skin warm at the thought and suddenly needed to get away as quickly as possible before it turned awkward.
I walked backward, watching the big beast to be sure he wasn’t going to follow me. Turning your back on a predator was never a good idea. Though he seemed calm now. Calm and watchful, but I didn't feel any kind of tension from him. Taking a deep breath, I turned away from him and hurried down the path back toward the main building of the inn. I didn’t sense him following me or hear anything else, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the lobby entrance came into sight.
Maxime was at the front desk and opened his mouth to greet me, but I rushed past before I could get drawn into a conversation. As soon as I got into my room, I sank against the closed door, trying to process what had just happened.
So… werewolves were real.Actuallyreal. And I gave it a dog treat. A laugh bubbled up in me at the reality of thesituation. I laughed so hard that I had to wrap my arms around my stomach. “What the fuck?”
It licked me.Helicked me. I’d been licked by plenty of animals, but never by a human, not like that. Shit. What the fuck did I do with that?How does it work, I wondered? This wolf-man guy? Based on the movies and shows I'd seen, he could look like any average human, right? Would I even know who he was outside of his wolf form? Did Iwantto know who it was? Did I want him to lick me again?
I inhaled sharply, surprised by the last thought. The most fucked-up part was… I didn’t know the answer. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe a weird mix of adrenaline and loneliness.
Loneliness didn’t get to me often because I usually found animals to be around. I didn’t date much because people tended to portray what they wanted you to see without letting you in completely. Not that I was one to talk, because starting off a first date by confessing my ability wasn’t something that typically ended well. On the few times I’d managed to pretend my way through a date and get back to their house to hook up, I couldn’t ignore their pets or the secrets they shared.
Nope. Animals were my friends, but as far as romantic or sexual relationships, I’d mostly been on my own. Which left me with this weirdwhatever-the-fuckI was feeling. Longing? Curiosity? Shit, I didn’t know. I was soscrewed up.
Standing, I dropped my messenger bag on the chair and face-planted onto the bed. As much as I tried not to think about the werewolf or the heat of his tongue as it swiped along my face, it replayed over and over until I drifted off to sleep.
My dreams started on the walking path cutting through the woods, and the hulking beast in front of me, huffing and chest rising. My eyes lowered to the sizable bulge in his pants. I could feel my skin heat and an ache low in my belly, but it was soon accompanied by the sense of dread that had been following me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my skin prickled with goosebumps.
The werewolf’s eyes flicked up to peer behind me, and he let out a roar. “Run. Bowen Run.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw the shadowed hand reaching through the trees, reaching out to me. I woke with the feeling of falling against my mattress, and my heart raced as I scanned my room.
“Fuck!” I muttered and hit my hand against the bed. Once again, I found myself opening the curtain and turning the bathroom light on as I tried to get my mind and my heart to relax. This was going to get really old, really fast, if I kept having nightmares like that. Although I’d never had nightmares feel as real as the shadow ones, or woken with the fear still wrapped around me. If only I could have kept dreaming aboutthe wolf-man.
No… it was probably good that it was cut off with the direction it was headed, because that was a morally complicated situation.
Rudy
My cheek was pressed against the cold floor as a foot nudged me awake. I expected to be in my windowless basement room, but had to blink rapidly when met with the morning light shining through the mist. The silhouette of a figure stood above me, and it took a moment for his face to come into focus.
“Good morning, Rudy. Did you sleep out here all night?” Ash’s voice boomed over me.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up, trying to take in my surroundings. The walking path? How did I end up out here? My tongue smacked as a bitter taste filled my mouth. I felt as parched as I normally did after shifting, but I didn’t feel the same bone-deep weariness that usually came with it. I felt surprisingly light.
“I’m not sure.” Ash held out a hand to help me to my feet, and I took it, scanning the area again. “I remember checking the work orders and saw a few ofthe torch posts were loose, so I came out to work on them, but that was last night.”
The dryad watched me with a calm expression, though that was pretty much his default mode. “Do you remember anything else?”
I started to shake my head when I was hit with a strong olfactory memory. That scent! One whiff and my wolf had torn through me last night, shifting faster than ever before. There hadn't even been time to get myself anywhere safe.
“Shit, I’ve gotta go.” I avoided meeting Ash’s gaze or offering any kind of explanation for why I was sleeping on the ground. I didn’t want to face him or anyone else. My feet started moving before I could stop myself.
“Youareokay, right, Rudy?” Ash called after me.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” I waved a hand without looking back and hurried to retreat to my room. Maxime tried to get my attention when I crossed the lobby, but I blew past him. I thought I heard him say something like, “You too?” but I couldn’t be bothered to ask what he meant.
