Page 5 of Her Bossy Wolf Protector

Gabriel

I’m relieved that my instincts kick in just in the nick of time. Before Jade can hit the ground, I’m already there to catch her. She’s weightless in my arms as I pick her up with care, and gently place her on the black leather couch in the corner of my office. She looks as fragile as she did last night.

This girl really needs to stop passing out on me!

I feel a familiar, unsettling tug deep within my bones once again. It’s a sensation I haven’t experienced in a long time, and it’s one I definitely shouldn’t be feeling now.

I can’t believe I made such a reckless mistake by revealing myself to her. If anyone were to find out that I,the Protector, would do something so daft, I would have to stand before the council and explain myself.

There would be meetings, and planning, and spells to make her forget.

It is against the rules to let humans see us transform, but something about her made me forget all that. I was drawn to her.

I should have left, but something had tethered me to the spot. And she was so terrified. I had to make sure she was okay. Little did I know that it would lead to this mess.

She had been incredibly drunk and in a rather sorry state. I briefly considered leaving her in the alley, but she was unconscious and vulnerable, and there may have been other wolves lurking about. I just couldn’t do it. So, I’d hastily gotten dressed, rummaged through her bag for her ID, and found her address. I took her home thinking she wouldn’t remember the events of the evening anyway.

As I drove her home, she hadn’t stirred once during the entire ride. It wasn’t until I placed her in her room that she began to stir. She started mumbling and struggling with her clothes, clearly still intoxicated. I placed her on her side, just in case she vomited and put her phone on the charger.

“Thanks, wolfman,” she mumbled before drifting back into sleep. That had been my cue to retreat into the night.

I really thought I would never see her again. I had vowed to stay away.

Now, here she is, in my office, unconscious once again.

How am I going to get out of this mess?

My rational side tells me it’s best to maintain my distance and avoid any further complications, but something about her is drawing me in, making me question my own resolve.

The last thing I need is to become entangled in a situation that could jeopardize everything I’ve worked so hard to conceal. Everything I have been tasked with protecting.

I watch her for a moment, her breathing steady and calm. She looks so peaceful in her slumber, completely unaware of the whirlwind of emotions and chaos that’s taken root in my life.

She seems way too fragile for my kind. And she shouldn't be brought into a world she knows nothing about. Getting tangled up with the supernatural is probably the last thing she would need or want.

With a sigh, I sit and wait for her to wake up. I have to find a way to explain everything, to make her understand that what shethinksshe knows, had to have been a dream.

Just then, my phone rings, pulling my attention away from Ms. Easton.

I gently brush a strand of her blonde hair from her face before heading over to where I’d left my phone on the desk.

I check my caller ID and find that it’s my son’s live-in nanny, Mariya calling. Mariya is the only person I trust to look after my four-year-old son, Liam. She’s not only my friend and my son’s nanny; she’s also a witch who casts protective wards over my home. She is my family, and I know she’d go to great lengths to ensure Liam’s safety, as well as my own.

I pick up the call, and Mariya’s voice is warm and reassuring.

‘Good morning, Gabriel. I missed you this morning.”

“Sorry, I had an early meeting today. Everything okay?”

“Liam woke up and was wondering where you were. You came in late and left way too early. I thought you would be here this morning, and had told him that you guys would have breakfast together.”

I run a hand over my scruffy jaw, thinking. My gaze shifts to the woman who has begun to stir.

“Tell him I’ll be there to have lunch with him.”

“You promise? Don’t make me out to be a liar,” she chides.

“I promise. Look, Mariya, something’s come up at work, so I’ve got to hang up. But tell Liam I love him, alright?”

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