Page 165 of Heartsong (Green Creek 3)
And now here we sat under a tree while wolves ran around us. Most of the Omegas had nodded toward me in greeting. One had even hugged me. Several gave me a wide berth. On them I could smell fear. It hurt, though I couldn’t blame them.
It was probably best that I didn’t shift.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Kelly grumbled.
I shrugged. “Maybe I do. I might be dangerous.”
He glanced at me. “Oh, we’re joking about it now, huh?”
“Too soon?”
He huffed out a breath. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
“Make sure you do.”
He laughed quietly. The sharpness of the blue around him faded slightly. It wasn’t much, but I wanted to howl at the moon because of it. I’d done that. Me. And then I had to go ruin it by saying, “Maybe you can ride me.”
He choked. “Holy shit.”
My stomach sank to my toes. “That’s not what I meant! Forget I said that.”
“I don’t know if I can,” he said faintly. “That’s… wow. Just throwing that out there, huh? Dude, my mother is here. Whatever wolfy urge you’re having right now, maybe consider a little decorum.”
“I mean when I shift!”
“I’m really not into bestiality, Robbie. And that has nothing to do with me being ace. I just don’t want to touch your wolf dick. Please don’t mount me in front of our pack. Carter would never let me hear the end of it.”
I groaned, putting my face in my hands. “Why are you like this?”
“You mean amazing? I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been this way.” The blue faded even more, and now it was shot with green and something that felt almost like happiness. It was dim, but there.
I dropped my hands and banged the back of my head against the tree a couple of times. He was covering up his laughter, and I wanted to tell him to stop. To just let it out. To let me hear it. I wanted to hear it. I needed to hear it. I said, “How did we get here?”
“We walked.” He squinted at me. “Did you forget that too? That’s what happens when you promote sex between an animal and a human.”
I bumped my shoulder against his. “I meant… this. Us. How did we….”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
He sighed, folding his hands in his lap. “You really want to hear this now?”
I nodded. “I’ve got time.”
“Do you?”
“I think so.” And because I had nothing else to give, I said, “I don’t know there’s anywhere else I’d rather be.”
He bit back a smile, eyes on me, then away. “Gonna puff out your chest and prance?”
“I’m going to murder Carter,” I muttered.
Kelly laughed. I puffed out my chest, oddly proud.
That only made him laugh harder.
I never wanted it to end. I wondered if it felt like this the first time. Seeing him. Really seeing him.
