Page 47 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“You’re really something, you know that, wolfie? Reed is really something too. He’s kind, devoted, and I can already tell he’s wicked smart. As weird as this was at first, I kind of wish I had a wolf instead of whatever this is hiding inside me.”

I swallowed hard, confessing things to the wolf I was too chickenshit to say aloud any other time.

“He says I’m not evil, but I guess I just don’t trust it. It’s scary. I don’t want to be a person who hurts others. Am I even a person anymore? Or am I something else? It’s a lot to process, and it’s been such a short amount of time.” I shook my head, burying my fingertips in his thick coat. “It would kill me if I hurt him or any of the pack.”

He looked up at me with those silent, soulful eyes, and I realized the one downside to having a conversation with a wolf. It was entirely one-sided. No reassurances were forthcoming.

I shook it off and soldiered on, saying what I needed to say.

“Maybe I don’t have to figure it all out right now, huh? We have time. We can sort through it, eventually. Though hopefully, Reed’s not mad at me for asking you to come out and cuddle.” I looked down at wolfie, and he licked me on the cheek.

“Eww, that was kind of gross. But does that mean he’s not mad in there? I don’t want the first time we have sex to be… that. Him not himself.”

He licked me again, and I laughed, not able to stay stressed when the wolf’s unfettered joy at being with me was so obvious. “Okay, okay. No more worries. How about I read you a book? What’s Reed reading at the moment?” I picked up the book on the nightstand.

“Economics in Developing Countries. Oh, shit, that’s boring. What do you say I read you some wolf smut instead? Did you know there’s a whole part of the bookstore that’s all about relationships like ours? It’s not just vampires getting all the love these days.” I scratched him behind the ears and opened the reading app on my phone.

“I found the paranormal romance section while I was waiting on Reed to wake up, and let me tell you, I was missing out before. Okay, here we go.”

I began to read, and wolfie rumbled happily in my lap as he stared up at me, intent on the story. Probably because I didn’t skip any of the juicy bits.

TWENTY-FIVE

Reed

Idon’t know how long we lay in Fiona’s lap, listening to her read us a story about a human woman falling in love with a vicious alpha wolf. Time passed strangely as a wolf, but eventually, my desire to shift back to human skin and fuck her faded, and a knock on the door came to burst our little cozy mate bubble.

I growled, not ready to go back to the real world quite yet. But Fiona told them to come in, and Shay let herself in the door.

“Hey, Fi. So, umm, it seems Dirge and I aren’t going to be able to go on the mission to see the dwarf king after all. We think I was able to help power the wall barrier back up. We need you to confirm, if you don’t mind. But if so, I need to stay here, and keep this place juiced up so Brielle can’t be sensed yet. Between that and the fact that Reed being unbonded is problematic for the maidens… How do you feel about going on the journey with Reed? Elodie is going to go along too, so it would be the five of you.”

“I’m fine with going, if that’s what the pack needs. I definitely want to stay with Reed.”

“Okay, great.”

Fiona smiled down at me, stroking my wolf’s ears. “You okay to stay in here while I go peek up at the barrier again?”

“Actually, Brielle’s powers have settled back down for the moment, so he should be safe for a bit. Also, Kane needs him. Apparently, they had a call scheduled with Alpha Todd, from our old pack?”

I sat up and yipped, and Shay nodded. “I’ll wait outside so you can shift back.”

She let herself out the door as I leapt off the bed.

“Should I turn around, or…?” Fiona blushed, the pink in her cheeks absolutely delectable before she stood and turned so her back was to me, crossing her arms over her chest.

I quickly shifted and pulled on a pair of pants.

“You can turn back around now,” I told her as I shrugged on my only clean button-up. If we were going on a trip, I’d need my assistant to send more clothes. What I packed to go into hiding wasn’t sufficient for dignitary business.

She blushed and averted her eyes when she saw my bare chest, and I intentionally slowed down, enjoying the scent of her arousal delicately perfuming the air. Then I remembered that I behaved like a caveman before in the courtyard and briskly finished my buttons, shame filling me.

“I’m sorry for how I behaved earlier. You weren’t even comfortable with platonic touch in front of others, and that was inexcusable. I?—”

“No, it’s okay?—”

We both stopped, staring at each other, our unfinished words hanging in the air like so much unwanted confetti.

“You couldn’t help it. I know that. I just didn’t want…” She didn’t finish, her flush deepening as she stared down at her feet.

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