Page 3 of Her Bossy Wolf Protector

“I was—” I manage to say before hiccupping loudly.

He crouches before me, and I hold my breath, not knowing what to expect.

He reaches out to tuck some of my blonde hair behind my ear. It is such a tender move that it confuses me, and I sober for a few more seconds.

As I gaze into those enigmatic yellow-ringed eyes, my fear subsides, replaced by a curious fascination with the man before me.

“You saved me,” I whisper.

“Yes. You shouldn’t have been out here.”

“I know…”

Unable to finish my sentence, I turn my head and throw up.Yuck!

Dizzy, I am clearly not sober at all. I turn to the man who is watching me.

“Sorry about—” I slur.

I can see a burst of colors behind him.

He shakes his head, and I am pretty sure he says something, but I don’t hear him.

Everything goes black.

I groan as I slowly awaken, a throbbing headache pounding behind my eyes. It feels as though a small construction crew is hammering away inside my skull. I try to make sense of my surroundings, but everything is a jumbled mess. My room is a chaotic blur, and I can’t remember how I got home last night.

I lift the sheets and discover that I am naked.Why am I naked?

Blinking in the dim morning light, I reach to grab my phone from the bedside table. Surprisingly, it’s connected to the charger, which is a small victory for my foggy brain. I must not have beenthatdrunk if I remembered to charge my phone.

Picking up my phone, I slowly try to piece together last night. I remember the pub and Alyssa. And then the alleyway? I blink slowly. I think I saw a creature turn into a man. I let out a giggle.Damn! I must have been drunk.

As I sit up, my head is so heavy I think I might die. Wait until I tell Alyssa all about the night I had. I am so done with tequila. My hair falls forward and ‘Ewwwww!” There’s vomit in my hair. I didn’t think I drankthatmuch last night.

My head is still throbbing, as I check my phone to see several missed calls from Alyssa. There are also several text messages asking me to call her as soon as possible. She must have been worried sick. I decide to call her back immediately just to let her know that I made it home okay.

However, the call goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and quickly text her apologizing for not checking in.

The clock on my phone shows it’s already half past six.

I let out a sigh of relief. Even in my hungover state, my internal clock woke me up early. I have more than enough time to shower and wash my hair.

On wobbly legs, I stagger into the bathroom, turn on the shower, and wait for the water to reach the right temperature before getting in.Why do I still feel drunk?

I let the hot water soothe my muscles as I grab the shampoo. The smell of passion fruit fills the small room as I lather and rinse my hair.

I close my eyes and let the calming scent and warm water wash away the remnants of my hangover. I grab my favorite body wash and scrub away. The pounding in my head slowly subsides. I feel squeaky, clean, and renewed.

For a moment, I allow myself to forget about my first-day jitters. I recall the excitement I felt when I was offered the job and the last thing I would want is to make a terrible first impression.

I turn off the water, step out, and wrap myself in a big, fluffy towel. While drying off, I glance at my phone. It’s now a more reasonable time for Alyssa to be awake. I dial her number once more, and again, the call goes straight to voicemail.

Concern gnaws at me so I send her a text telling her to call me as soon as she wakes up, and then I go back to getting ready.

I pick a navy blue pantsuit, which helps with my confidence. Then I dry and straighten my hair and do my make-up. Ready for the first day, I pick up my phone and purse and head out the door.

It is still pretty cold outside as I make my way to the bakery right around the corner. I don’t drink coffee because it usually makes me jittery, so today, I opt for a soothing matcha latte. The pale green liquid warms my hands as I head into the city.

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