“What the fuck happened?”
Hunter sat at the table with a washcloth, wiping the same length over and over as he bit his lip, darting worried glances my way.
Jordan’s chest puffed out and stretched. “The thunderstorm scared him.”
“The thunderstorm’s gone now, and he hasn’t shifted back. Something else is going on.”
Oh… Craig’s glare wasn’t actually pointed at me… it was pointed at Jordan.
“He’s been through a lot.” Jordan kept his voice even and low, but with an edge of defensiveness and anger not present earlier.
“Of course he has. It didn’t help to have an untrained alpha chasing him through the woods at night.”
I whined in protest. Yeah, Jordan pursuing me had been scary, but only because I didn’t know who he was. What he was. If he hadn’t followed me, I didn’t know where I would have ended up.
Justin stepped between us. “Craig, the important thing is Wyatt is home safe, right?”
Craig coughed, looking away from him. Interesting that he had no problem going up against a big alpha like Jordan, but a few words from this older omega had him bowing his head.
“We need to get Wyatt cleaned up and in bed. He’s having trouble shifting, and he’s injured, which is why Jordan is carrying him.”
“Whatever.” Craig kicked his heel against the wall. “We can handle it from here.”
Jordan tightened his fingers and pulled my fur a little too much. “I think it’s best if I stay to help him.”
“We can handle it.”
Before the two could fully lock into a staring match, Justin intervened, turning his back to Craig. “Wyatt, it’s up to you. We can stay and help, or we can go. What would you prefer?”
Why didn’t one of them shift so I could talk to them for real? There was the undressing and the dressing and the shifting, and everyone was tired…
I mean, fair. That was reason enough.
Since I didn’t have words to answer, I lifted my head and darted a lick at Jordan’s rough, bearded chin. In human form, I never would have felt bold enough, but somehow in wolf form, it felt… safe. All of Jordan made me feel safe. Was this how pet dogs felt with an owner who cared for them? Maybe I was a dog and not a wolf. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
At the moment, I could imagine staying in wolf form, curling up at Jordan’s feet for the rest of my life. It was just a thought, though. I wasn’t ready to give up cinnamon rolls and opposable thumbs. But safety… I could spend a lot of time in wolf form if it was safer.
Craig pushed off the wall and pulled up his headphones. “I’ll be in my room. Let me know when the bear leaves.”
With a sad smile on his face, Justin stared after him before he turned to me. “Don’t take Craig’s rough ways too seriously. He has a hard time showing he cares.”
Was Justin suggesting Craig had been showing he cared? He definitely had a strange way of going about it.
“Hunter, would you mind showing Jordan to the bathroom? I’ll make us some tea. I’ve been meaning to ask you how classes are going.”
Jordan’s fingers guiding the warm water through my thick, muddy fur was absolute bliss. And while he worked on rinsing me clean, he talked. Half of the time, I barely heard what he said, I was so deep in relishing the unfamiliar joy of relaxation and being taken care of, but bits came through here and there.
“I wish you hadn’t felt afraid tonight, but I’m glad I got the chance to meet you. It’s likely we would have run into each other at some point, with you living here and me working, but there’s a lot of residents I never see because they don’t go out at night. I hate to think how long it would have taken if tonight hadn’t happened.
“Would I have caught hints of your scent? Would I have started dreaming about you before I met you? How many times would we have passed within minutes of each other without speaking? I can’t even bear to think about it. All it took was one scent to know that you’re my true mate, Wyatt.
“And I don’t say that to pressure you. I wish this bathroom wasn’t so damn small. I want to talk to you again, hear what you think. But I’d break something. Probably myself. So I’ll have to wait to talk to you. Believe I’m excited. I think you’re wonderful. I know I don’t know you yet, but I can’t wait to get to know you.”
When I was clean, he carefully fluffed my fur with a towel, then finished with a hair dryer he found under the sink. I buried my forehead against his chest anytime I could. Everything about him—his scent, his warmth, his heartbeat—grounded me, made me focus on the here and now, not the past. His constant low chatter kept my brain from winding up and running so fast I tripped over myself.
“You’re all dry and extra fluffy now.”
I grumbled at him calling me fluffy, but I was starting to kind of like it.
“How’s your leg feeling?”
I’d been balancing on my other legs, but I set the injured one down and tried putting weight on it. I barely leaned before pain shot straight to my shoulder. I picked it right up and shook my head.
Jordan ruffled my ears. “Hopefully you’ll be able to change back soon and heal that right up. But for now...” He scooped me up in his strong arms and left the bathroom. “Which one’s yours? This one?”
Mine was the only open door, so it was an easy guess. Hunter’s, Justin’s, and Chance’s voices drifted up the stairs.
Jordan laid me on my bed, with my head on the pillow. He untucked my blankets and ruffled them into a nest around me. “How’s this? I always like feeling like I’m snuggled in a cozy den when I sleep in my fur.”
I shuffled my shoulders. To make it perfect, I could have stood and dug at it more, but Jordan would fuss about me hopping around on three legs. I gave him a wide-mouthed, tongue-lolling, wolfy smile.
His eyes twinkled in return, and he scratched the fur between my ears. “Get some rest, Wyatt. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
I whined. Did he have to leave?
He might as well have actually heard me. “Sorry, fluffy. I gotta go face the music. I’m still technically on the clock, and I don’t think they’ll extend the rules about alphas in the residence too much further.”
He leaned down, so close his breath tickled the fur on the edge of my ears.
“Good night, fluffy.”
The soft words made me want to roll over and wiggle my belly. But he patted me on the head one last time and shut the door softly behind me.
I sighed and pulled my front paws over my nose. Without his presence, the room seemed so much colder.
I perked up at a soft knock on the door, but it wasn’t Jordan returning. Craig peeked in.
“How you holding up, Wyatt?”
I thumped my tail in answer. It was a pretty good universally positive indicator, I was learning.
“Right. Give me a minute.” Craig stripped his shirt off, just a normal t-shirt now, and unbuttoned his pants. He leapt out of his clothes as he shifted, a sleek red fox. “Sorry. Mind if I come up?”
“Uh... sure?”
“It’s yes, or it’s no, newbie. First rules of consent.”
I’d never met anyone as confusing as Craig. “Yes.”