Page 139 of His Hungry Wolf

“I think he’ll care more about if you’re an animal where it counts… in the bedroom?” Lou said with a suggestive smile.

“Come on, Lou. I’m being serious. This is a big deal for me. I’ve been dealing with this my entire life and no one has ever stuck around after they found out.”

“I’m still around,” he said sincerely.

“And, why is that, by the way? You’ve seen what happens with me. Or, at least, you heard it. I’m… a monster. Why haven’t you run for the hills by now? I’m serious, Lou. Why?”

I was expecting Lou to make another joke, but he didn’t.

“It’s because I’ve met you. Yes, it was a little unnerving when you told me about it during our roommate chat before we moved in together. I’ll admit that I had my reservations. But then we continued talking… and we met. It didn’t take me long to see who you are. You’re a good person, Quin. I trust you. You’d never let anything happen to me.”

“You don’t know how difficult it is keeping that part of myself under control.”

“But, you do. And, I know you’ll continue to. If Cage is the guy you’ve been telling me he is, he’ll see that to. I can only imagine how hard it is for you to trust people. But, haven’t I shown you that you can?”

“You have. You’ve been the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s because you let me in. If you give that boy a chance, he might do the same. But, you’ll never know unless you put yourself out there. Quin, you have to try,” Lou concluded with a thoughtful smile.

Cage wasn’t exaggerating when he said he lived far away. For him to make a 7 am practice he would have to leave his house at 6 am and get up at 5:30 at the latest. The amount of devotion it would take to do that every day for years, if not his entire life, was impressive.

And, the closer I got to his place, the more nervous I got. Whatever it was that he was embarrassed about, I was sure I would be able to accept. But, what I had to tell him could easily be too much for him.

Telling him might be the end of what we have going on… whatever that is. Tonight could be the last night that he looked at me like I was the only person in the world. That would hurt.

By the time the car pulled up in front of Cage’s place, I was nearing a panic attack. Everything surrounding me was too much to ask someone to be around. Cage had his whole life ahead of him. He was going to be a famous football player with millions of fans. I would be an anchor around his neck.

It wouldn’t even be fair to ask him to deal with my stuff. He had his own stuff going on. Add that to whatever he was dealing with with his dad, and my stuff was starting to feel like something best kept to myself.

Cage stepped out the front door before I could call him letting him know I was here. Adding a healthy tip for the driver, I got out and approached him. He wore a plaid shirt, shorts, and he was barefoot. I had never seen his feet before.

I didn’t have a foot fetish, but his were wide and strong looking. It made me think of other parts of him that I did have a thing for. But I quickly pushed aside the thought knowing that I didn’t want to meet his father for the first time with my wolf humping Cage’s leg.

“You made it,” my host said uncomfortably. “Did you have any problems finding the place?”

“No, it was pretty easy.”

“It was far, right?”

“You don’t live close to campus.”

I looked around at the thick woods surrounding the cabin and imagined what it would be like to let my wolf roam free out here. I could tell he was thinking it too. His excitement for it made my heart race.

“Did you grow up out here?” I asked pushing the thoughts aside.

“From as early as I remember. You said you grew up in New York, right?”

“Manhattan, mostly,” I clarified. “But, I did spend some time upstate. It wasn’t like this, though. This is…”

“Where Bigfoot lives?” Cage joked.

I laughed. “Pretty much.”

Cage seemed to relax for the first time.

“Well, Bigfoot actually lives a few miles from here, so… Great guy, by the way. You don’t even notice the fur once you’ve talked to him for a while.”

I chuckled, but I hadn’t missed his fur reference. I also wondered if he was being serious. If wolf shifters existed, what else could be out there?

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