Page 14 of Rogue If You Want To
It was on the tip of my tongue to jump in and yell that if he didn’t shift both he and Otto might die. But that would probably terrify him more. My wolf knew better.
Dark fur sprouted over Otto’s body. Before his human form vanished, his wounds closed up and, while not healed completely, signaled our mate would not die from them or any subsequent infection. A tail emerged and a cute little nose, along with whiskers. Gods, he was adorable.
Stop. He’s our mate’s beast, not a stuffed toy.
I was learning so much about shifters today and most of it was to know when to shut my mouth. Wishing I could hug my beast, I made do with telling him how well he’d done.
Auden, Creven, and Larkin congratulated my beast and left us alone.
Does he have to return to his human form straight away?my wolf asked.
I didn’t see why we couldn’t mosey around the pack land and maybe a little beyond.
He wants to go to the stream.Says there’s one nearby.
It hit me that the two beasts had returned to speaking directly to one another, just as Otto and I did in our human form.
Otters weren’t made to bound about on land, but my wolf followed the tiny beast as he scented the air and checked the sightlines. The otter leaped into the narrow stream that was just behind the orchard. He splashed about, and I swore he was smiling. He dived under the water as my wolf waded into the shallow part.
His play was so joyful, and if I’d recovered from a near-death experience, I might have acted the same way. Somehow I doubted it, though, and suspected I’d be in bed with a good book and my favorite foods.
The otter scrambled out of the water and slid down the bank. Awww, he was so adorable. I’d fallen in love with him as well as Otto. He did that multiple times, and then while in the water, stared at my wolf.
I think he wants you to do the same, I pointed out to my beast.
I know he does, but I don’t slide down muddy riverbanks.
But the otter splashed my beast, and I held my breath, hoping there wasn’t going to be an ugly confrontation. My wolf harrumphed and got out of the stream. He stood on the bank and didn’t slide but sort of tumbled into the water. I was almost seasick at being turned upside down.
But the otter seemed pleased, and he did more sliding. He had more energy than I did. My wolf got out and shook himself, saying he’d had enough being wet. He sat on the bank, keeping watch while the otter frolicked. Maybe there were wild otters in the area so our mate could play games with them.
I’d like to hunt.
Maybe not today. I didn’t want the otter or Otto venturing far from pack land. Not until we knew if his brother was looking for him. The pack said they’d protect us, but if Otto’s brother had paid a renegade bear to attack Otto, he could have summoned an army to search for him.
It must have been a while since the otter had been so carefree because he was in the water for hours. In future, we’d have to find ways to occupy ourselves while he was swimming. My wolf would only submit to water play for a short time every day.
I was dozing when the otter emerged and shifted. There were ugly red jagged scars on Otto’s body, but he was whole. And I couldn’t resist a peek at his crotch. Nice. I took my skin and reached out to him.
“Thank you.”
“I did little except get in the way. It was all my wolf.”
He glanced at the stream. “It seems appropriate that as our beasts have been in the water, you and I should take a dip together. Our first.”
With our hands clasped, we ran toward the stream and leaped high in the air, landing with an enormous splash. We kissed underwater before emerging, our hair stuck to our scalps and sporting big smiles.
“Something tells me pruney hands and feet are in my future.”
Otto chortled. “Better get used to it.”
8
OTTO
It took me a couple of days after that first shift to be fully functional again. I’d been stuck in a broken body for too long and had faced too much trauma… Being in my fur wasn’t enough.
My gut instinct was to run, get away from here, keep everybody safe, protect them from my brother… but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The pack was so welcoming and, as selfish as it was, I felt safe here and didn’t want to leave.
