Page 29 of The Music in Me

“You may need to speak with one of the trainers to get an answer to that, but mostly, it involves identifying the trigger responsible for the trauma, then finding ways to reassure the animal that they are safe and don’t have to worry about the triggers... Something along those lines,” she finished with a rueful grin. “Like I said, the trainers are in a better position to answer that question. Come on, let’s check out the other animals.”

“Can you see why I’m doing what I’m doing now?” Leon whispered in my ear as we followed Amanda.

“Is this your way of saying you’re training me?”

“Yes.”

I cocked a brow at him. “Really? And I’m guessing that makes me, what? Your pet?”

“Exactly,” he responded arrogantly. “Don’t pretend you didn’t like it when I made you wear that collar last night.”

I blushed deeply and looked up to see if Amanda heard what he said. “Stop it. You can’t talk to me like that outside.”

“Why not?”

“Because someone might hear you?”

“Is that why, or are you worried that you’ll start getting wet if I keep talking like this?”

“Leon!” I hissed and smiled at Amanda when she turned around to see if anything was wrong. “I swear if you don’t stop talking like that…”

“Admit it, Kira. You love being my pet. Hell, I bet you wished you were wearing my collar right now.”

I did, but I had no intention of giving him the satisfaction of knowing that. So I moved forward quickly to join Amanda, asking her questions about the sanctuary and the animals that called it home. Leon’s evil chuckle behind me told me he knew anyway.

We toured the entire sanctuary, and I was glad Leon had gotten me a pair of hiking shoes. I was also glad he’d brought me here, and I enjoyed every moment of it. At the end of the tour, we were asked if we wanted to pet some of the animals, and I nodded with no hesitation. Amanda led us into an enclosure where three wolves were undergoing training to prepare them for adoption.

Even though Amanda assured us that the wolves were safe to play with as long as we followed her instructions, I still felt apprehensive as one of the animals approached us. I took a step back as it came closer and felt Leon squeeze my hand gently.

“That’s Jenna,” Amanda informed us. “She’s more playful than the rest. You can scratch her head if you want.”

“It’s alright,” he whispered, making sure I knew he was there for me. “There’s nothing to be scared of.”

I nodded, and following Amanda’s gentle guidance from the side, I reached out and petted the wolf. It responded by nuzzling my hand, then rubbing its body against me. Giggling in delight, I petted it some more, laughing when it kicked in response.

“Did you see that,” I said to Leon, tugging him forward so he could join me. “Come and scratch his head with me. It’s the best feeling ever.”

As we petted and scratched Jenna’s shoulders and head, the two other wolves slowly joined us. One of them walked right up to me and sniffed around me. Not sure what to do, I held myself still, and it moved even closer, sniffing more aggressively.

I tapped Leon’s leg to get his attention. “Is it just me, or is this wolf sniffing my crotch?”

“He’s marking you,” Leon said after looking down to confirm.

“Marking me?”

“Yeah. Look.”

“Ahh! He’s peeing on me!” I squealed in disgust.

Amanda laughed. “Oh. No. That's Bear. That's how male wolves signal who they want to mate with.”

“Mate?” I squeaked. “Are you saying this wolf wants to mate with me?”

“I’m saying this wolf can smell the scent of your arousal, and it seems he likes it. Can’t say I blame him,” Leon tells me in his hot voice.

“But I’m not wet,” I whispered, cheeks turning red as I instinctively closed my legs together.

“No, but you were wet in the car, and it seems you still smell like it. Looks like this wolf has impeccable taste,” Leon said, and I could see he was having just a little too much fun with this. “Of course, he’s going to have problems with me if he keeps sniffing around you,” he added as he stepped between us, staring the wolf down until he backed off.

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