Page 10 of The Lab: Rigg

What? “I’m not.” It was true. I should have been, but I wasn’t. My wolf knew with certainty that we were safe with Rigg. “Why would?—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Rigg changed into a completely different person. A gorgeous man who looked slightly wider and older than the guy in the breakroom but younger and sexier than the guy at the table. And the complete opposite of the man I’d woken up next to. He was watching me closely, keeping a cautious gaze on me. “This is the real me.”

I wanted to touch him and feel the solidness of his arms to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “How?”

“Same way you turn into a wolf.” He smiled softly, keeping his voice low. “I don’t have any animals in me, but I shift into people.”

“Where are we?” His explanation felt genuine, so I skipped the obvious questions about his genetics and focused on where we were. “Do you live here?”

“No, we’re next door to the bar in an empty restaurant. But you're safe.” Rigg reached for my hand, and as soon as he was holding it, we both sighed out loud. “I just needed to make sure you were safe.”

A flush came over my face when I remembered what I did in the breakroom. “Oh, um, sorry about earlier. I promise I’ve never attacked a stranger before, but…I just knew, and my wolf couldn’t be stopped.”

He grinned and gave my hand a squeeze. “Don’t apologize. I was pretty hot.”

Would he be different every time I saw him? “This is what you really look like? Do you have a permanent face?”

“This is me.” He smirked. “Hope you’re not disappointed.”

Now that I knew who he was, I couldn’t see him any other way. “You’re gorgeous.” The words came out before I could censor them. “I mean, no, I’m not disappointed.”

He chuckled and pulled my hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. “You’re pretty gorgeous yourself. And that mouth…” His eyes glinted with desire as his gaze lingered on my lips.

“So, now what?” I sat up and wrapped my other hand around his and held on so he couldn’t disappear again. “I’ve never had a mate before.”

“That’s a relief.” He grinned, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “Neither have I. But now, I guess we need to get you home. Did you drive to work?”

“Yeah.” I pressed my hand to a bump on the back of my head. “I think I’m fine now. I should get back to work.”

“You’re concussed. And even if you’re not, you’re not well enough to be on your feet for a few more hours.”

That was a good point. My head was pounding, and it wouldn’t feel better until I shifted. “I need to let my wolf out. Shifting will make me feel better.”

Rigg bit his lip like I’d said something fascinating to him. But he already knew my secret. He’d just asked me about it. “Yeah, good idea.” He stood up and reached for my hand. “Let’s go find a place.”

7

RIGG

Walking beside Niles, I couldn’t believe he’d accepted me and my situation so easily. We’d only met a few hours ago, but he was already one of the four most important people in my life.

Not to mention, I was horny as fuck. My body was half crazy with need to feel him again, feel his mouth on mine and get my mouth on him. All over him.

The relief in his shoulders was visible when I told him what I was. Like he’d been waiting for me the same way I’d been waiting for him. This gorgeous omega wolf with messy hair and a crooked grin had turned my world upside down as completely as the pups had. Did that mean I was rightside up again? Had to be, because I definitely felt right.

Niles stopped just past the treeline beyond the parking lot and pulled off his shirt. “This is far enough.”

“Does it hurt?” My eyes were glued to his body as he exposed it to me. I wanted to be respectful and not gawk, but that was almost impossible.

“Not really. Does it hurt when you shift?” He looked at my face as he lowered his pants and stepped out of them, completely naked.

“Uh, no. Maybe in the beginning but not anymore.” I wanted to close my eyes to resist the temptation to look, but more than that, I wanted to see him shift.

“Same.” He glanced over at me and grinned. “Have you seen a wolf before?”

I shrugged. I’d seen just about everything, but I didn’t want to throw too much at Niles all at once. “Yeah, but not during the shift.”

A moment later, my omega was gone and a beautiful wolf stood in his place. Nature could be so beautiful sometimes, even when it was born of evil and greed. His wolf scooted closer to me and sniffed my hand.

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