Page 44 of Bred By the Wolfman

“Of course it can happen to us. We’re animals, too.”

“Humans don’t form mate-bonds, though.” That’s the problem—or one of them. What Russ feels for me, that instinct-level attachment, I won’t ever feel it the way he does.

Liesel quirks an eyebrow. “How do you know that?” she asks. “His pheromones are designed to bond the two of you. His body is probably sending yours all sorts of messages, if you’re really his mate.”

I hate all this science-y mumbo jumbo.

“So what?” I ask. “So we had sex. So I was out of my mind. That doesn’t mean I can’t see the whole picture for what it really is, which is super fucked up. Russ has been stalking me!” I throw back a bunch of iced tea like it’s a strong cocktail. “He said all this crap about how he wants to protect us, and demanded I move in, and?—”

“That’s coming on a little strong,” Liesel remarks.

“No shit.”

She leans back in her chair and pulls out her phone. “You know, I think I watched something about this on an episode of Wild World.” She pulls out her phone and types something in. “A-ha.” She scrolls a page on the phone, reading. “Just what I thought.”

She hands the phone over to me, and I glance over the headline of the page: AGGRESSION IN MATED WOLFMEN. It’s a scientific article, with a short brief right below it.

I snatch the phone away from her and start reading.

“This study followed two dozen wolfmen throughout the stages of mating. Not all wolfpeople meet a mate in their lifetime, but when they do, mating triggers a powerful rush of chemicals and hormones designed to help the wolfman protect his mate and offspring from rivals, predators, and other dangers. In modern civilization, this can manifest in acts of aggression, fierce rutting, territorial fighting, and in the event of conception, even more dangerous behaviors. Wolfmen were ten times as likely during the onset of mating to display aggression until the bond was secured. In the event of pregnancy, they all insisted on keeping their mates close for the duration. Some couples in the study sought counseling, while others weathered the storm.”

I hand the phone back to her, silent. Damn. So Russ’s crazy isn’t limited just to him.

Still, though, that doesn’t excuse what he did. Lying to me? Following me? Watching me?

“Are you saying I should give him a pass?” I ask Liesel. “Just because he thinks I’m his mate?”

“He doesn’t think you’re his mate,” she says. “He knows you are. You wouldn’t have gone feral last night unless your body and hormones were feeling it, too.”

I shudder all over. “It’s not a choice?” I ask. “I’m human. It should be a choice for me.”

Liesel tilts her head. “Well, you don’t have to accept it. It’s not driving you to do stupid things like follow a pregnant woman around at night and try to out-nice guy her boyfriend. You just don’t have to see him again, and it won’t go any further. Not for you, anyway. You’ll be able to move on with your life.”

I ask a question, even though I’m dreading the answer. “But for him?”

“Well, he’s mated now,” Liesel says with a shrug. “Even if the bond is never secured.”

“And... that’s it?” I wonder what that means, that it will never secure.

She goes back to her phone and does some more research. “This says that in the event the mate bond never secures—in the event of death or rejection—the wolfman will typically live his life out alone. Some found temporary partners, but it never lasted. And they often returned to the homes of their mates, sometimes in their sleep.”

“That’s fucked up,” I whisper, mostly to myself, and I shudder all over. “Really? That’s... that’s it for Russ? Me?” That’s not fair to him—not at all.

And it’s not fair to me, either. It means that unless I want Russ to be alone forever, then I’m all he has.

And our cub, I can almost hear him say. I shudder. Why does that sound so good? While Robbie tries to pretend my belly doesn’t exist, Russ worshipped it.

Liesel pockets her phone. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning. “He’s crazy. He was hiding in the fucking trees when I was walking alone in a park at night.”

“Which was kind of stupid of you,” says Liesel.

“So what?” I want to stomp my feet. “I should be allowed to do it without being afraid someone’s following me.”

“But you know Russ would never hurt you.”

I’m surprised that she’s taking his side. But I know she’s right, too. Russ would never put me in harm’s way, not the kind, gentle friend who brought me cream from the hospital, who told me not to be angry at myself for things I can’t control, who was there for me when no one else could be in the way I needed. He delivers babies, for fuck’s sake.

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