“Yup.” He didn’t put me on my feet. Instead, he kicked the door shut with one boot before turning toward the house and carrying me up the sidewalk and through the front door. He finally put me down on a brown leather couch, placing a pillow behind my back and stretching my legs out to set my feet on the cushions.
Yup?
What kind of an answer was that?
“I get that you’re the sheriff around here, Zeke Blakesley, but I’m going to need more information than that.”
“More than you know, but let’s get you comfortable first,” he muttered before he started to unbutton my coat. Instead of doing the safe thing and crossing my arms over my chest to stop him, I leaned forward so he could tug the sleeves down my arms. When he got up to hang it on a hook by the front door and shrugged out of his coat, I noticed how girly it was next to his. “My mom got it for me. The coat,” I blurted awkwardly. “Red is my favorite color, but I know it's more than a Little Red Riding Hood-ish.”
“Funny you should put it that way,” he chuckled.
I felt as though there was an inside joke I wasn’t getting, and my brow wrinkled. “Really? How come?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ll get to that in a minute.”
Considering the wolf wanted to eat the girl in that story—and not in a sexy way to make her orgasm—his reaction to my lame attempt at a joke was more than a little confusing. “I’m already feeling much better. Maybe you should take me back to campus?”
He shook his head as he strode back to the couch. “You were just in an accident. Someone needs to watch over you tonight to make sure you’re okay.”
“That won't be a problem.”
“Won't be a problem?” he growled, lifting my legs to drop down on the cushion next to me before setting my feet on his lap. “Why? Do you have a boyfriend who’ll want to watch over you tonight?”
“Boyfriend?” I shook my head, my cheeks heating because it would be super embarrassing to admit I’d never dated anyone before. “No, I’m only a freshman. Even if I had a boyfriend, which I don’t, he wouldn't be allowed in my dorm room without getting into trouble. I live with my two best friends.”
Most of the tension drained from his body at my admission, and his thumb stroked the inside of my knee. Even through the thick material of my jeans, I felt the heat of his touch all the way to my core. “Good, because I’m the one who should be taking care of you tonight.”
I tilted my head to the side, my long, black hair falling over my shoulder. “How come?”
He reached out and twirled a dark lock around his finger. “Because we belong together.”
I was starting to wonder if I'd hit my head harder than I thought. “Am I in a coma or something?”
“No, why would you think that?”
I waved my hand between us and then in a circle. “How else can I explain all of this?”
“All of what?” he asked.
“You. Me. Us,” I sputtered.
“You’re going to have to give me more than that, baby.”
“I just mean that you’re so...”
He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, stemming the flow of words before I totally embarrassed myself. “Perfect for you?”
“We just met,” I breathed.
Zeke’s eyes filled with heat as they scanned down the length of my body. “Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything when you finally find the person who is meant to be yours.”
His palm cupped my cheek, and I leaned into the touch. “I thought it was just me. You feel it, too?”
“I do,” he confirmed with a sexy grin.
“Wow,” I sighed, completely blown away by his response. Zeke has the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing down to a T. I was surprised that he’d be into me enough to feel comfortable admitting it out loud so quickly. “I’m starting to think that being in the car crash was totally worth it.”
His hand slid down my neck, and his fingers drifted over my sore shoulder. “Nothing is worth you being in pain. Especially since I would’ve found you without the accident.”
“You can’t be sure that would’ve happened,” I disagreed. “I’m on campus most of the time, and I’m sure you’re busy around here, being the sheriff and all.”
“You were only a couple of towns away. Fate would have stepped in at some point,” he insisted.
I liked the idea but had a difficult time understanding why he seemed so certain. “How can you be sure?”
“I need you to keep an open mind.”
“Okay,” I drawled, pressing against the cushion at my back. it probably wasn’t a good sign that he felt the need to ask me that.
Resting one hand on my thigh and wrapping the other around my calf, he said, “There are things in this world that are kept a secret from a lot of people because they wouldn't be able to understand the truth or accept it.”
“Whoa, hold up! Are you trying to tell me you're married or something?” I squeaked in horror as my gaze moved to his left hand, but there wasn't a wedding ring there.
“No! Of course, not.” He dropped his head to stare down at his lap and heaved a big sigh. “There's no other way to say this other than to just put it out there. I’m a wolf shifter, and you are my fated mate.”
“I’m sorry. Did you just say you’re a...a...a werewolf?” I sputtered.
“No.” My sigh of relief abruptly ended when he continued, “We prefer to be called wolf shifters. There are too many negative connotations with the term werewolf.”
“Negative connotations?” I echoed softly, scooting deeper into the cushion at my back.
“Yeah, popular culture got so many things wrong, and it’s a big part of the reason we keep our animal sides hidden from humans.” I was close to hyperventilating, but he didn’t seem to notice how freaked out I was. “We don’t turn other people into shifters by biting them. We’re born this way. And it isn’t just during the full moon that we change. Our animal side is just as much a part of us as our human halves. We can shift whenever we want.”
I shook my head, back to thinking the coma explanation made sense. Then I came up with another possibility. “Seriously? That’s the story you’re going to try to tell me to get into my panties?”
“It isn’t a story,” he insisted, his hand tightening around my leg as I tried to scramble off the couch.
“Oh, yeah?” I huffed. “Then prove it. If you don’t need to wait until the next full moon, show me how you can shift into a wolf. Right now.”
5
Zeke
My gorgeous mate was already fair skinned, but the news I had just dropped on her had made her even paler. Her skin looked almost translucent in contrast to her long, dark hair and brown eyes. Her curvy body looked so small as she tried to curl up in the corner of my couch. I wanted to cuddle her on my lap until she wasn’t scared of me anymore. This was the first time I resented the animal side of my nature because it was frightening her.
I had never told a human that shifters existed—not only was Timber Ridge an all shifter town, but we also had rules about not sharing information about our existence without a damn good reason—but I figured her shock was to be expected. “Are you sure you're ready to see my wolf?”