“You want to check on the patients, don’t you? Even though you’re in your wolf form and can’t do anything if there’s a problem.”
Bruce nodded, then cocked his head at Laddin until he eventually gave in.
“Okay, okay. You can tell me if there’s a problem. But be quiet, and don’t take long, because you still stink.”
Laddin opened the door as quietly as possible, and Bruce padded inside. Laddin watched as the wolf inspected the patient, sniffed the wounds—though how he could smell anything over the bad cheese odor was beyond Laddin—and then cocked his head and pressed his ear to the man’s chest. The patient was so exhausted that he didn’t so much as twitch. That might have worried Laddin, but Bruce turned back to the door and nodded with a slight dip of his chin.
“All good?”
Another nod.
“Then I guess we’re on to the next one.” And so they went, from one room to the next.
Several of the patients woke up holding their noses as they complained about the smell. Laddin made them wait as Bruce performed his tasks. Tasks that—incidentally—no one asked him to do but Laddin respected nonetheless. Wulf, Inc. was hard up for medical personnel, so no one bitched too much about having a smelly wolf come sniff their aches and pains.
Eventually the task was done, and they went together out to the barn. Laddin pulled out a couple of bedrolls even though he knew Bruce would likely stay a wolf for the night. It was way more comfortable in a cold barn. He’d do it himself, but he knew that it was better to reserve his shifting strength for when he really needed it.
Bruce busied himself sniffing around the barn. Laddin remembered finding every little smell fascinating. Disgusting or sweet, it made no difference. He actually longed to do it with Bruce now. There was nothing like moving around in a pack, asking in lupine ways,Did you smell that? Cool, huh? What about this? What do you think this is?They never used human words, but everyone knew what the other was saying. Wolves were simple that way.
He stretched out on his bedroll and looked out the window at the three-quarter moon. “Do you see that, Bruce?” he asked as he pointed at the night sky. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Cold, remote, and she still plays havoc with my life. And yet, I look at her and I’m in love.”
Bruce padded over, his gaze on the dark sky before returning to Laddin.
“I’m one of those weres who is affected by the moon. I don’t go rampaging about like a movie werewolf, but yeah, I feel the power in her. It’s like an electric wire in my bloodstream. The stronger her light, the hotter the buzz. And during a full moon, I get hit with Moon Madness. It makes me want to kill everything in sight.” He dropped his head back and stared up at the dark ceiling. “Sometimes I feel like I’m up there, lost in all that endless black. Even before this werewolf thing, I felt different. And it wasn’t just my hand.” He held it up so that it was a dark silhouette over the bright moon. With the three-quarter shape, his hand didn’t seem so weird. “I can’t really connect with people the way I want. I see them. I see what they want and who they are, but they never seem to look at me.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“God, I’m tired. I only get poetic when I’m wiped out. But I don’t want to go to sleep, ya know? I’m afraid I’ll be suffocated by cheese the moment I close my eyes.”
He snorted at the image. It was funny, but only because he didn’t want to feel the horror of it again—of that white stuff binding his arms and legs, of the dark cheddar bits pelting his body or the feel of an American slice covering his nose and mouth. Twice a slice had flattened over his mouth, and twice he’d been able to bite through it while magic tingled on his lips and tongue. He hadn’t had the explosive farts Bruce had let loose, but he’d felt the pixie magic in him all day, and it hadn’t been pleasant—kind of like sparks of energy bursting through his belly. It had taken hours before the magic had come out the other end, and the memory still made him queasy. He had no idea if that was normal, and with everyone fighting monsters near the lake, it seemed too trivial to mention.
A cold wet nose pressed against his cheek, and Laddin smiled. He burrowed his good hand into Bruce’s ruff and scratched through the thick pelt. It was comfort, pure and simple, and he relished every second of it.
“Do you know what the best part about being a werewolf is?” he asked. “It’s this right here. You’ll see. The pack will do things together as wolves. We all have to practice hunting so we know what it’s like and can control the urge when it’s inappropriate. And wolves hunt in packs. We’ll do this whole chase thing. I don’t take down any deer. And I won’t eat the meat either.” He shifted to allow Bruce room to stretch out beside him. “I’m not vegetarian or anything. I just can’t get past eating Bambi.” He gave another shudder. “Then afterwards, we all tumble together and sleep. A big ol’ puppy pile, everyone touching, everyone happy. We’ve usually had a hard run and everyone’s got full bellies. A lot of us do a romp through the stream to get clean, and then we shake the water off on each other before snoozing in the sun.” If he closed his eyes and didn’t inhale too deep, he could pretend he was back in Michigan by the streambed with everyone else. “It’s like having family that doesn’t drive you crazy,” he murmured. “And if they do, it’s okay to bite.”
The wet nose lifted from his neck to his cheek. And then he felt a lick against his five-o’clock shadow, a soft tongue against the roughness of his skin. Sweet. Gentle. He smiled as he turned into the kiss.
And then, quite suddenly, itwasa kiss. A man’s mouth touching his. Exploratory lips. Hardness of teeth. And deepening to more as he opened up to the thrust and parry of their tongues.
It was so natural, he didn’t question it. His hand was no longer burrowing into fur but kneading the back of a man’s neck. And the weight against his side was now man-shaped—no longer soft with fur, but hard with bone, muscle, and a thick erection that was impossible to miss. And extra special, no more rancid cheese smell. Just hot, sexy man.
Until that man stiffened in shock and pulled back.
Bruce was naked and looked so appalled that Laddin felt a wash of shame. But then he bristled internally. He hadn’t asked for the kiss. He’d just gone with it when it came. Whatever was going on in Bruce’s horrified mind, it wasn’t Laddin’s fault. And after everything that had happened today, Laddin didn’t have the mental bandwidth to deal with any more drama. Besides, this particular problem was 100 percent Bruce’s issue. Let the big firefighter figure it out.
And that was exactly what happened when the guy spoke about ten seconds later.
“I’m straight,” Bruce said.
The massive erection against Laddin’s thigh said differently, but he didn’t respond.
“Really, I am. I can’t tell you the number of women I’ve bedded. A different one every night.”
Laddin nodded. “I believe you.”
Then Bruce looked down at Laddin’s mouth, and he bit his lower lip. It was an endearing sight, like a child seeing a sweet and dreaming about licking it.
“I’m not into men,” Bruce said.
