Page 24 of Curvy Girl and the Mountain Man Wolf
And beyond the practical considerations, something deeper holds me in place… The knowledge that despite what I just saw, despite what he apparently is, Kane has had countlessopportunities to harm us and hasn't. If anything, he's gone out of his way to protect us.
I step in front of the door, blocking the entrance to the cabin where my daughter still sleeps.
"Explain first," I demand, my voice steadier than I feel. "What are you? How is this possible?"
He takes a deep breath, his massive chest expanding.
"I'm a wolf shifter," he says simply. "I was born this way. There's nothing I can do to change it. I can transform from human to wolf and back again at will, though strong emotions can sometimes trigger an involuntary shift."
"That's—that's not possible," I stammer, though the evidence of my own eyes contradicts my words.
"I know it seems that way," he says, and there's a gentleness in his voice I've never heard before. "But it's the truth. I'm still me, still the same person you've been talking to, eating with, staying with these past days. I just have... another form."
"The wolf I saw that first night," I say slowly, pieces falling into place. "That was you?"
He nods. "Yes. I often run at night. It helps... calm the wolf side of me. Keeps me balanced."
"And when you disappeared this morning?"
"I needed to run," he admits. "To clear my head after our conversation last night. Being around you—" He stops, seeming to catch himself. "Being around people after so long alone is challenging for me. For both sides of me."
He takes a step forward, and I tense, unsure. This man helped Lily and me when we were desperate, took us in, fed us, gave us shelter. He's shown nothing but kindness and respect. But he'salso something I didn't think existed outside of fairy tales and horror movies. Something wild and potentially dangerous.
Yet as I look at him, I see the same Kane who sat with Lily last night, showing her the stars. The same man who shared his painful past with me, who listened to mine without judgment. His form may have changed, but his eyes are the same—haunted, serious, deep.
"Come inside," I say finally, stepping aside. "It's freezing. And we should talk... properly."
He moves up the steps, and as he passes me to enter the cabin, I'm aware of his size, his proximity, the heat radiating from his body despite the cold.
The cabin's entryway is narrow, and suddenly we're facing each other in the confined space, closer than we've been since I arrived. Melting snow drips from his hair onto my face, sliding down to my collarbone and disappearing beneath my sweater. The sensation sends an unexpected shiver through me.
"Are you afraid?" he asks, his voice low, searching my face for signs of terror or revulsion.
"I should be," I admit. "Everything I know about the world says I should be terrified right now. But I'm not. Lily was right. The wolf is protecting us, isn't it?"
"Yes," he says, his eyes never leaving mine. "The wolf—I—would never let anything happen to you or Lily. Not as long as I’m breathing."
The conviction in his voice, the intensity of his gaze, makes something change inside me. In all my life, no one has ever looked at me the way Kane is looking at me now, like I'm something precious, something worth protecting at all costs.
"I couldn't have ended up in a better place, could I?" I say softly, looking up at him properly for the first time.
Without the barrier of fear or uncertainty between us, I allow myself to really see him—the strong lines of his face, the contrast of his dark beard against his skin, the way his damp hair curls slightly at the ends. He looks like something from a dream, a rugged wilderness god stepped out of ancient mythology.
A low sound rumbles from his chest. Not quite a growl, but something primal that makes my heart race. His eyes darken, pupils dilating.
"I'm sorry," he says roughly, taking half a step back. "I'm losing control. The wolf... he wants to claim you. To make you ours."
The words should frighten me. Should send me running for the bedroom to grab Lily and flee. Instead, they ignite something inside me.
"What are you waiting for?" I hear myself ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not going anywhere."
Kane's eyes widen, and for a moment he looks more shocked than I felt when I saw him transform. Then he squeezes his eyes shut, as if fighting for control.
"Lois," he says, "You don't know what you're saying. What this means."
"Maybe not," I admit. "But I know what I want. I know what I feel."
Something breaks in Kane then—a restraint, a barrier he's maintained not just with me but perhaps with himself. With another growl that's more wolf than man, he reaches for me, his hands finding the hem of my blouse and lifting it over my head.
