Page 43 of Reclaiming Home

I skimmed through a bunch of more text, then came to a section that explained about typical werewolf behavior when meeting their mate for the first time. There were paragraphs about courting and providing, and about being unable to keep from being physically affectionate even when meeting the person for the first time.

“While werewolves are known to be the most physically affectionate of the three species, the emotions of the inner wolf run high and protective once contact with the mate has been made.

In its purest form, the bond makes the wolf want to provide, and in the olden times, this often led to hunting for the mate and leaving the prey as offerings of sorts at the mate’s doorstep.

In current day, however, the—”

“Brodie’s back!” Carys startled me enough to make my heart race.

I left the laptop behind and followed her to the door.

Brodie got out of his truck appearing exhausted and gorgeous, because there was no way that man could look anything but.

When he saw us, he smiled widely. “Hey you two, how has your morning—” His head snapped to the side, and I could see his nostrils flare. “Who has been here?”

“Relax, it was just Lina Keller. I’ll tell you about it. We’ve been completely safe,” I assured him as I walked closer.

He was still on high alert, so I took a page from Dr. Finlay’s paper and went to wrap my arms around him.

“I promise, Alpha. It’s okay.”

The way he melted into my arms, giving me some of his weight too, told me he needed a nap. Then he buried his face against my neck and let out that rumbly sound again.

“Come on, let’s get you inside. Carys has lunch and then we’re going to take a nap.”

Brodie’s tall form swayed, then he pulled back from the hug and yawned. “That sounds perfect.”

He kissed my forehead and for a moment it felt like he was about to say something else, but decided against it, and we walked inside together.

Chapter Eleven

Brodie

The anxiety I felt driving back home was weird. It felt like a pressure in my chest, something that worsened ever so slightly the closer and closer I got. By the time I parked in the yard and got out of the truck, I was twitchy in a way I couldn’t remember ever feeling before.

Then I saw Kye and Carys, and relaxed minutely, only to catch the scent of a person I didn’t know. My wolf started to approach the edge then, and I was suddenly seconds away from imploding when Kye hugged me.

It was as if he pressed a button to release all that tension, and I swayed into him. My wolf instantly relaxed, flopping in my mind as if it had been doing something incredibly taxing for a long time.

Then Kye suggested lunch and nap, and the gratitude I felt toward him tried to bowl me over.

He was taking care of me in ways nobody really had before. I’d had a couple of on again, off again boyfriends but those were more transactional things than anything like this. I always felt like a service Dom with everyone but Rian.

The fact that Kye was tapping into our bond without knowing it was there told me exactly how real said bond had to be. Not that I questioned it anymore. It had only been days, but it could’ve been months with how my wolf settled around him.

While we had lunch, Kye told me all about Lina Keller. It was clear he’d immediately liked her and thought she would be an asset to our renovations if we managed to get her father to loan her to us.

“I’ll see what I can do about that,” I agreed as I pushed away my empty plate.

Kye’s brows popped. “Just like that?”

“Unless my instincts tell me something negative about her, I don’t see why I wouldn’t trust your judgment.”

“Okay.” He seemed pleased as he stood and gathered our plates. “Let me put these in the sink and we’ll go nap.”

Carys grabbed the iPad. “I’m not that tired, so I’ll continue my hunt for a therapist and read, maybe.” She glanced at the window, then looked at me. “Do you think, once we’re ready to replace the windows, we could put in a window seat here?”

I followed her eyeline and tilted my head. “You know, I’ve seen those window seats where you use them as part of the kitchen table seating. Would that work? I could build a new table and maybe some benches. A proper bay window type of deal?”

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