Page 82 of Howl You Doin?
“Where are we now?” I ask him, growing annoyed at the fur creeping along my arms as the wind picks up.
I force myself to relax against it, relieved when my skin shows again at my midriff as I shove my hands into the pockets of my new coat he pulled out of nowhere. I have got to be able to control this.
As we walk along the path. I recognize we are nearing the maze, and moonlight breaks over the trees just as he tugs my arm. Pulling us into a hidden side entrance, the faint sound of water moving reaches my ears.
“It’s a place where we can change, and you can meet your wolf. We will need to let her out.”
My head whips around at that, and my eyes go wide. “What do you mean,her?”
I’ve read a couple books where shifters have other selves inside them that can talk, but if I start hearing voices, things are not going to be so cool anymore. I do good to keep myself sane now, thank you very much.
He puts his arm around me and rests his hand at the small of my back, ushering me toward another path in the maze I wouldn’t have taken had I been alone.
“ByherI meanyou. The middle of the maze is hidden from all sides. You can shift there, and no one will see the new you.”
The trickling sounds of water I’ve been hearing for a while now get louder and when we turn and head down a new path, a gorgeous white marble fountain comes into view.
“It’s beautiful,” I say as I stare up at the statue in the middle.
A huge marble woman sits in the fountain, mesmerizing and ethereal, especially with how the moonlight bounces off the water and bathes it, and her, aglow. What shocks me is her belly and hips are round, and her breasts are large, unlike anythingI’ve ever seen—except in renaissance paintings. Her hands are held out in obvious supplication, and her head is bowed. I stare at it, wondering at the similarities between us.
I frown.
I could be her.
“I had her placed here two weeks after you arrived,” he says as he looks up at her round face. Then his head lowers so he can look towards the water and his lips flatten. “At first, you smelled like danger. It’s the only way I can begin to describe your effect on me.”
“So that’s why you were such an ass.”
He nods and starts pacing closer to the fountain. “Your scent triggered aggression in me, and I couldn’t figure out why, but it made my wolf want to come out.”
“I see. That totally explains your stance on how I needed a good shag, and you weren’t the one to do it.” I arch a brow.
“I lied, Whitley. I wanted you even then. It’s ridiculous I didn’t see it before, but when I found her on display at some old auction house, I had to have her. That was the week after I kissed you.”
His gaze pins mine, and I can’t look away.
“I was so jealous you would spend time with those buffoons that night, I couldn’t see straight. I didn’t realize it then, but I’ve had this possessive need to keep everyone away from you, despite knowing it was ridiculous because you were supposed to just be an employee. I’ve been battling how much I want you and knew it was best if I kept my distance from you.”
Warmth spreads through my limbs.
His brows come together across his forehead. “You challenge me every chance you get, and it makes me want to know more about how that beautiful brain of yours works. I’m not sure how this happened or why, Whitley, but I would be lying if I told you that I’m not glad you’re my mate. We can work this out.”
My mind races. This wasnotpart of my plan. The only thing that has been keeping me going the last two years is the thought of owning my own bakery. Of course, who can plan for being mated to a lycan after taking a seemingly simple job at a castle?
One more month and I will have enough money to buy the bakery, and no more creditors, but now I have no idea what to do.
“I don’t know about all of this, Connor. You’ve gone from total bosshole to this semi-sweet man. I refuse to be put through any more emotional mood swings. You have to know I really like you, but I won’t lie and say I’m all in and not scared,” I tell him, before licking my lips.
I can’t help looking away when his brow pinches together and my stomach churns softly with anxiety.
“How could you not be? I’m bloody-well terrified,” he replies.
I blink, surprise washing over me that he wouldn’t try to argue or push me one way or the other and isn’t trying to hide it.
“I apologize for how poorly I’ve treated you. Paranormal beings can mate and pair off, go on to live their immortal lives with one another, but I have never met another of my kind. I don’t even know whyyouhave changed. I can only guess.”
He reaches out to touch me and I allow it, letting him pull me into his warm embrace. The move is one of comfort and I would be lying if I tried to say his smell, the very feel of him in my arms, didn’t soothe some restless part of me.
