Page 107 of Haze

“Which guy?” He plays dumb.

“The one who is literally ready to rip off anyone’s head who even looks at me wrong?” I clarify needlessly.

Finn nods. “Oh, faolan, they’ll go missing.”

Our mate will protect us so good. My wolf wags her tail.

There is absolutely something not right with the fact that we find the idea of him killing other people alluring. So messed up.

The fingers Finn had slid between my legs move a little higher. I know he knows what he’s doing. Resisting him keeps getting harder.

* * *

“Should I prepare for your wolf to want a piece of me?” Finn’s gruff accent masks a laugh. He’s standing behind me, waiting to shift.

I look over my shoulder and shrug. “No idea.”

Okay, not having Revecca fix it was dumb. But she did say I can do this myself. Drawing a deep breath, I think of four feet and the feeling of running.

The shift comes quickly, and I feel steady. Our feet move with trepidation, walking a bit, waiting for something bad to happen.

Finn’s monstrous black wolf comes to walk beside us, and we don’t snap into the terrible bitey, rageful wolf that attacked him before.

Ours. My wolf gleams.

We turn, lowering ourself to the ground. Finn’s head lowers, and he licks our face. Cautiously rising, we skirt ourselves down alongside him.

This isn’t so bad.

Finn leans against us. Turning, he licks and nibbles at our jaw before moving up our head, cleaning, gently scratching, and showing affection.

Mate approves, she preens.

He pushes against us, rubbing his scent down our body while taking some of our scent with him in exchange. Finn steps toward the woods, and we follow dutifully slightly behind him. Circling back around, he nudges us to stay next to him. His stride changes to take smaller steps, keeping us shoulder to shoulder together.

It feels so fucking good. Being next to him fills us with a warmth I don’t know I’ve ever experienced. It’s like the first sip of coffee on Saturday morning, knowing that you’ve absolutely nothing pressing to do, or climbing into a freshly made bed with fluffy sheets and blankets after getting all clean yourself.

Together we, and Finn, work our way down the driveway to the mowed trail along the ‘public’-facing part of the property.

Even if it’s too good to be true, I want to live in this fantasy for now. We walk leisurely together.

A twig snaps along the fence, and Finn steps in front of us. His black body completely dwarfs ours. We sink low to the ground farther behind him, looking for safety.

Human voices come from somewhere nearby. “Shit, dude, you think this is a good idea? It’s trespassing. They’re wolves.”

“Wolves. Not attack dogs,” another man’s voice answers him.

Finn looks at us. Knowingly, we slink backward, away from the fence into the brush, watching our feet on the frosty earth.

Lights break over the top of the brick wall.

Finn growls, looking back at us. He curls his lip.

We bolt. Even if I wanted to stay and fight, I’m not the one in control. Our feet move as fast as possible. We make it through the brush to the driveway. Then she listens and watches our steps to purposefully trigger the driveway sensors, hoping whoever is awake tonight hears them going off and meets us at the door. We don’t have time to try and shift back.

No one is at the door. Cade’s insistence on a knob over my practical suggestion of a lever is now clearly proving once again I was right. But Thalia thought Cade was joking. On our hind legs, we push up our paws, scratching the doorbell over and over again.

Help Finn. Help. Mate. Paws keep scratching it again and again.

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