Page 12 of Her Werewolf Protector

“What’sthe sudden rush?” Despite my question, I got to my feet and started getting dressed as well.“Arethere bears or something in the woods?”

As if on cue, a series of howls echoed, breaking the tranquility of the still night sending a chill down my spine.

“There are bears, but theyaren’t what I’m concerned about. I’m not the only werewolf in town. There’s many others living in town and last night wasthe full moon. Most will still be in wolf form, roaming the woods. I’d rather not have any trouble.”

“Trouble how?” Grabbing the basket, I placed it in the back of the Jeep.“I mean, they’re your friends, right?”

“You may have been sent here for me, but thatdoesn’t mean one of the other werewolves in town won’t try to claim you as their own.”

“Does that happen?”

“From time to time.” He opened the door to the Jeep and helped me inside.“This can be a lonely place without a mate. Most of us just put the time in hoping their connection will come.” He started to turn away from me, then reconsidered, facing me again.“I’vewaited a very long time for you. It’spart of the reason why I don’t want to ruin things by having us move too fast.”

I watched him as he rounded the front of the Jeep and hopped in. He started the engine just as another series of howls began.

“We’vegot less than a week. I think fast is the only way to go in this situation.”

“I know.” Reaching out to me, he placed a hand on my knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.“But it’s not just about what I want. It’s also about your life and if it’s fair to even ask you to remain here with me for an unknown amount of time. We might be the ones to break the curse,but it may never be broken. I don’t take that lightly.” He looked over at me, catching my gaze for a moment.“And neither should you.”

We remained silent for the rest of the trip home. A few times I could have sworn I saw amber eyes similar to Roosevelt’s peeking out from the treeline. But in the blink of an eye, they were gone, if they had even been there at all.

He pulled into the front yard and cut the engine. The urgency that had appeared on his face at the lake seemed to have faded as he helped me out and led me inside.

“So what do we do now?” My eyes drank in his living room. It was cozy. What you’d expect for a cottage in the woods, minus the animal head mounted to the wall. A far cry from the modern homes with state-of-the-art appliances and living room sets that cost as much as some people make in a year. I was beginning to think Ididn’t need those things to be truly happy.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I was out until the early hours this morning for the shift.”

“Want to cuddle in bed and watch some television?” Walking up to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist, placing my head on his shoulder.

“We don’t have satellite signals here. No television.”

I crinkled my nose up at him.“How does all the electricity work?”

“We have no idea. Things just work. The gas stations always have fuel. The water alwaysruns and electricity is always flowing. Must be the magic of this place.”

“Wow.”No television. No phone. No contact with the outside world. No more podcasts or social media. Staying here would mean sacrificing everything I knew and living a life that was entirely new.

As if reading my mind, he continued.“That’swhy you can’t make a rash decision. Your world will change. Mind you, there are also benefits. There’s no stress here. We just live our lives. We don’t have to hide who or what we arein fear that humans won’t accept us. While we’re captive here, we’re also freer than we’veever been. Does that make sense?”

Looking up into his eyes, I nodded.“It does.”

Chapter 7

Roosevelt

Birds chirping happily in the forest outside my window pulled me from a deep and satisfying slumber. I couldn’t remember ever sleeping so well. I felt rejuvenated.

The sounds of soft snores alerted me to the reason for my satisfaction. Rolling over to my side, I watched her sleeping for much longer than appropriate. I was still having a hard time believing she was here. It felt like I’d been waiting an eternity for her.

But there was a war battling within my head. She seemed to have a great day with me yesterday. It couldn’t have been more incredible for me, except for coming home with a serious case of blue balls. However, I feared that the novelty of the townwas what appealed to her. It seemed to sink in for her last night that we really were isolated. It had been hard for me, but for someone whose life revolved around social media and fraternizing with rich and famous people, it seemed like it would be impossible.

Even if our bond was real, and she wanted to be with me, that didn’t mean she’d be happy here for possibly the rest of her life. Would it be selfish of me to even ask her to stay? It felt like the obstacles may be just too much to overcome.

Five days.

That’s all we had left.

My affection for her was growing stronger with every second that I spent with her. Here in this magical realm, a day together felt more like a couple of months. I hoped it would be the same for her as well.

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