Page 5 of Ensnared By the Werewolf

“Oh.”That’s all I can think to say.I wince.“And he didn’t stick around?”

“Maybe he would have,” Jack says.“The local pack found me during my first shift and said they’d had a loner passing through that was killed by poachers at about that time.”

“That’s...incredibly unfortunate.I’m so sorry.”

Jack’s laugh sounds humorless and rough with an underlying growl to it.“Bad luck seems to follow me.”

A shape moves in the shadows, a hand is splayed out as if to saywhat can you do?The fingers are much longer than a human’s and sharp claws catch the light before he pulls them back.

I clear my throat.“Well, let’s see what we can do about that.”

I ask more questions, trying to pinpoint what’s been dismissed by past professionals.I delve into all the details.The curse happened on Jack’s twenty-fifth birthday.Many of the common avenues of curses have already been explored by other professionals, and one of them said the magic had a taste of fae to it.

I want to groan at that.Fae magics are not easily undone.

“May I touch you?”I ask.“I need to use my magic senses to see what we’re dealing with.”

There’s a pause.Jack swallows.“Yeah.I guess you’d need to.”

I wince in sympathy.“I can reach out my hands, and you can direct them since I can’t see as well as I’m sure you do in the dark.”

I stand and walk into the dark part of the room, lifting my hands out.

There’s another pause before rough hands take my slender fingers.I hold in my gasp at the contact.

A connection lights at the touch, sending sparks of sensation through my very soul.

Oh.Oh.

Soul mate.I want to laugh in incredulity and then cry tears of happiness.Never in a million years would I think that I’d even have a soul mate, let alone meet them.I want to run my hands through the wiry hair on his hands and explore every inch of my found soul match, but freeze instead, my heart in my throat.

Does Jack feel it?His grip tightens on my hands as if he does.Shifters believe in fated mates, but does he?

He releases my hands.The loss is sharp, leaving the world cold in the absence of his touch.

“I’m sorry,” he says.“I’m pretty grotesque.”

I huff in frustration at his misinterpretation of my actions.He doesn’t know.And this calling himself ugly and grotesque is offensive.

“You are not grotesque,” I say.“There are plenty of beings who don’t look human in our world.”

“That’s kind of you to say that, but it’s not like a witch like you would want to associate with things like—”

Annoyance has me speaking faster than my social skills can act.“If you must know, I prefer dating more on the more beastly side.”

The room drops into silence, and my cheeks burn in a sudden blush.I didn’t mean to blurt that out, however true it is.Ihavedated a full gamut of paranormal beings in the past.And I do prefer it.

“The more beastly side?”For the first time, Jack’s voice doesn’t sound like he’s uncomfortable.Instead, it purrs in amusement.

I shrug, trying to play off the sudden embarrassment.“There’s nothing quite like tentacles—”

A disgruntled sound comes from the beast before me, cutting me off.His hands grip mine again, this time lifting before placing them on either side of his face.

I trace my fingers over his cheeks.There’s hair here too, it’s coarse and thins in places, but the action of petting it feels soothing under my hands.I stop myself from exploring his face but note that he seems to have a shorter snout than that of a wolf.

My curiosity about my fated mate burns, but I do my best to curtail it.I smooth my hands over his cheeks again without realizing it and try to keep from wondering just how wide Jack’s shoulders are in this form.

There’s the distinct thwacking sound of the wagging of a tail before it stops abruptly.

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