“Of course, some of them are still wary, but that’s where I come in.As a rabbit shifter, they’re usually not scared of me.”
Rowan was glad to have confirmation of the kind of shifter Thomas was.Thomas’s behavior made sense.Rowan would have to be careful, but he was sure they could work together.Him being a wolf shifter didn’t mean he was going to hurt Thomas, and he hoped Thomas realized that.
He looked at Thomas’s tense back and at the way he carefully kept his distance.Maybe part of him did know that Rowan wasn’t going to hurt him, but another part was clearly wary of him.While Rowan didn’t appreciate people being afraid of him for no reason, he understood where Thomas was coming from, and he wasn’t going to berate him for it.There was nothing to berate him for, anyway.Thomas couldn’t help the way he felt.
Neither could Rowan, but Rowan could show Thomas that he wasn’t dangerous, and that was what he was planning on doing.They were going to have to work together, and he didn’t want either one of them to be uncomfortable.It didn’t matter how long it took him.He’d show Thomas that he was safe and that Thomas didn’t have to look like he was about to run away when they were together.He wanted this new chapter in his life to start the right way, and making sure he didn’t scare Thomas was part of that.
* * * *
“EVERY ANIMAL HAS THEIRown diet, so before feeding them, you need to check their charts,” Thomas explained as they walked down the row of cages.
He remembered how confusing all of this could be.He hoped Rowan was following, but he wasn’t about to turn and check.He wasn’t sure he could.
Now that he knew that Rowan was a wolf shifter, he understood his reaction to the man better, but still.He’d lived with bear shifters and a dragon for years, so a wolf shifter shouldn’t be freaking him out as much as Rowan did.Maybe it was because he didn’t know Rowan.Hopefully, that would change, because Thomas didn’t want to feel on edge every time they worked together.
And thatwashow he felt.He wasn’t afraid.He knew that Rowan wouldn’t hurt him.He just wasn’t sure what to make of the wolf shifter, and that wouldn’t change until he got to know him better.The only way to do that was to have patience and force himself to actually spend time with Rowan.
That would be easy since they were working together.
“Here,” he said, stepping in front of the cage.“Why don’t you try feeding Finley?”
Finley was a big dog, but he was incredibly gentle.He’d been found protecting a litter of kittens in the rain, and he’d had a broken leg.The kittens had all been fine, though.Finley had made sure of that.Thomas really hoped that someone would adopt him.He didn’t want Finley to have to be moved to a shelter once he was healed.Shane had already mentioned it, even though he wanted to keep the dog here, too.They just didn’t have enough space to keep all the wounded animals that were brought to them.
Finley’s diet was normal, so Thomas was making it easy for Rowan.He still watched Rowan like a hawk, just in case.He also wanted to make sure that Finley was comfortable, which shouldn’t be a problem.Wolf shifters and dogs usually got along.Besides, Finley had been sweet even with Thomas, so Rowan shouldn’t have a problem.
Thomas kept his distance, but he was impressed.Rowan moved smoothly but slowly, clearly not wanting to spook Finley.He talked gently to the dog as he checked the chart, then got his food ready.By the time he was bringing it to Finley, the dog was wagging his tail and looked halfway in love with Rowan.Thomas was almost offended.
“He’s great,” Rowan said once he was done and closing the cage behind himself.
“He is.”
“Has anyone mentioned wanting to adopt him?”
“Not yet.We’re hoping someone will, though.”
Rowan nodded.He was frowning a little now, as if he was worried for Finley.Thomas told himself he shouldn’t find that endearing.Anyone would be worried about Finley’s situation.
“Let’s move on,” he said.
Rowan nodded and followed his lead.They fed everyone who needed to be fed, and Rowan didn’t have any trouble.It was a surprise, but a good one.Even though Thomas had been intimidated by the man earlier, mostly because of his size and because he was a wolf shifter, none of the animals seemed to have a problem with him.Some were a bit skittish, but that was to be expected.
“Hello?”a voice called out from the entrance.
Thomas gestured at Rowan to follow him.“Let’s go see what this person wants.”
Rowan followed easily.He had a lot of questions, which was good.He also allowed Thomas to lead and show him what he needed to know, and Thomas hadn’t expected that.In his mind, he’d decided that Rowan was a problem as soon as he’d seen him, but he’d been wrong.
For now, anyway.
They stepped into the entrance.A woman was hovering at the counter, holding a shoebox.She pushed it over the counter as soon as she saw Thomas and Rowan, and Thomas quickly moved forward to grab it.He didn’t think the woman would have pushed it to the floor, but she seemed in a hurry to leave.“What’s this?”he asked.
“I found it in my yard.My dog was about to eat it, but I saved it and brought it here.”
That could mean anything.Thomas still had no idea what he’d find in the box when he opened it, and the woman wasn’t sticking around to tell him.She was already out the door.Thomas wanted to go after her, but he couldn’t.He needed to see what was in the box.
He sucked in a breath and prepared himself.The woman had said her dog had almost eaten what was in the box, so it probably wouldn’t look great.That wasn’t going to stop Thomas, though.
“Come on.Let’s take whoever this is to the vet,” he said as he started walking.At the same time, he opened the box.
