A snarl whipped out of me, and my teeth gnashed together at even the suggestion that he would do something to Bowen. Zee let out a loud laugh and slapped me on the back. “Just checking. No need to bite my head off.”
I was about to reply when a scream sounded in the back of my head. A scream in the distance. A scream that reached into my very soul and ripped me open. My wolf tore through me in a flash, huffing and scenting the air. It happened so fast that even Zee and Maxime startled and jumped away from me. They’d never been frightened of me before, but I didn’t have any sense to care about their reactions.
“Bowen!” I howled and charged out of the lobby. I took to the steps, leaping over them, following the cry in my head and the tug in my chest. My hands were clawed and hairy, my chest had expanded, stretching the material of my shirt, my snout extended, and my vision was his. Through a pink hue, I looked at each floor, stopping to smell for him, and continued on. When I got to the third floor, his scent was strong in my nose. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear footsteps following me, could hear shouts of concern, but I didn’t care. The only thing I could focus on was Bowen.
When I came to the door that was perfumed with his scent, tainted with fear and sweat, my furry hands in this state couldn’t grip the doorknob. Instead, I bellowed, needing to get inside, and threw myself against the door, hearing the frame crack around it. The door fell with a boom as I landed on top of it.
A shout sounded from across the room, and I leapt to my feet. Bowen was sitting straight up in bed, eyes wide at the sight of his door now busted down. When he saw it was me, I could feel and smell his relief.
“Thank god! I thought it was here. I thought it was coming for me.”
Stalking toward him, I leaned in and sniffed his hair. He gave me a light pat on the top of my head. “I’m okay, big guy. It was a nightmare, that’s all.”
His fear had been real, so real that the bitterness of it lingered on my tongue. I couldn’t leave him like this. Couldn’t leave him alone. “No. Bowen, come.”
Bowen grabbed his glasses off the side table and put them on. He looked up at me and gave me a smile. “Sure, let me just grab my things.”
“No! Come now!” I felt my lips pull back in a snarl, unwilling to wait even a second longer. I scooped him up and cradled him to my chest. He let out a laugh, which rumbled through me, settling something in my chest, but not enough to put him down. My instincts were to keep him close and not let go.
Carrying him in my arms, I headed toward the broken door. “Wait, let me get my bag at least.”
An annoyed huff puffed out of me, but I carried him across the room to grab his bag off the chair without ever putting him on his feet.Can’t let go.
Another sweet laugh bubbled through him as I held his small body against my chest and took the stairs back down. “Icanwalk,” Bowen offered.
“No!” The growl rolled through me, and I held him tighter against me. My vision was still that of my wolf’s, but my mind was unexpectedly present. I wasn’t going to try to claw my way back out, though, not when I knew that this form was the best way I could protect Bowen. We were of one mind. In sync. It was such a rarity, but I needed my wolf right now. Needed him in a way I never had before. In exchange for my surrender, I remained withhim.
When we reached the second floor, the others were there. Friends. I knew it, but I also saw them as obstacles between me and Bowen.
“Uh, Wolfie? Everything okay?”
I swung my head toward the griffin and snapped my teeth in warning.
The vampire’s voice was soft as he asked, “Mr. Thomas, are you all right?”
The man in my arms laughed and gave a wave. “Yeah, all good. Though not really how I expected to greet you all, and in my underwear, no less.”
My gaze snapped down and took in all his bare skin. The only thing he wore were his glasses, a pair of black boxer briefs that hugged his form, and his bag clutched to his chest. A roar burst out of me, wanting to keep him for myself and not let anyone else see the body that belonged to me. “Miiine.”
The griffin let out a laugh and stepped aside. “By all means.”
The faerie chuckled. “I would call that confirmation of my theory.”
Shrugging past the group, I hurried down to the bottom floor and continued to the basement. I felt a moment of hesitation when we came to the steel door. My werewolf had never knowingly put himself in the room; I usually had enough presence of mind left to lock him in. The discomfort and anxiousness I felt within were set aside with a sniff in Bowen’s hair. We needed him to be safe more than weneeded to be comfortable.We.It was strange to feel like a unit. It was always him or me, and never us. But it felt different. Something felt different.
I walked into the nearly empty room, leaving the door open. Climbing onto the mattress, I lowered down and released Bowen enough to lie down.
He turned to face me with a look of admiration, and fuck, he smelled of want, too. “If you wanted to get me into bed, big guy, all you had to do was ask.”
Bowen dropped his bag over the side of the bed, and I snaked an arm around his belly and pulled him toward me. Nestling his back against my chest, I wrapped my large, furry arms around him and held him in place. “Stay!”
The man was tiny next to this larger form, but he felt so perfect against me. Bowen wiggled and adjusted until his body stretched along mine. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”
I buried my snout into his hair, letting his scent fill every cell in my body. Safe. He was here, and he was safe. There was nothing else either my wolf or I needed than this right here. It didn’t matter that the door to my room was open and unlocked. We had one job to do—protect Bowen—and we were in complete control.
Bowen
If I thought Rudy was hot as a human, he was scalding as a werewolf, as far as body heat went. The large body against mine radiated so much heat, I was glad I was practically naked, or I would have sweated through my clothes. Once the adrenaline and mortification of being paraded through the hotel in only my boxer briefs wore off, my dream returned. I didn’t know how Rudy knew, but when the loud boom of my door falling woke me up, I thought I was a goner.
