Page 28 of Finlay

The dog snuggled closer, his jaw resting on my shoulder as he licked my ear. I laughed. “Yeah, you’re pretty awesome too.”

Chapter 8

Finn

If the others ever found out that I’d pretended to be a dog, I’d never live it down.

I didn’t regret it though. Not when it had got me closer to Chester while he was struggling.

He didn’t know it, but I always listened to every step of his morning routine. His alarm. The buzz of his toothbrush. The pitter patter of his shower. The bubbling of the kettle.

Thanks to my supe hearing, I heard it all. Invading his privacy? Perhaps. But these tiny glimpses into his domestic life reassured my wolf. And me. They told me he was safe, that he was going about his day as normal.

Until this morning.

When I’d heard him hyperventilating.

Ceramic hitting wood too fast.

A thump like a body sliding to the floor.

Panicked whimpers.

No thoughts had entered my mind. I’d just changed direction, powering through the water until I was at the shore nearest his house. I didn’t think about how weird this would look. As far as Chester knew, I didn’t know he livedhere. Even if he did know, I had no explanation for why I was completely naked and knocking on his door at six a.m.

I didn’t care. I just needed to know he was safe.

When he didn’t answer, my wolf took over. I couldn’t stop him, and nor did I want to.All I could focus on was making sure Chester was okay.

Getting into his house was ridiculously easy considering the back door was unlocked. I made a note to return to ward it later. That way, no one with ill intent would be able to enter Chester’s home.

Even if he did forget to lock the doors.

When Chester mistook me for a dog, I’d been thrown. My wolf was roughly double the size of a Saint Bernard, and three times as heavy. I could have been mistaken for a husky, I supposed…if it weren’t for the sheer size difference.

Under any other circumstances, I would have been insulted, but when I’d realised Chester was comforted by my presence, I’d leaned into it. I’d made myself as small as possible. It had been a long time since I’d shown my belly to anyone. The act of submission was something every part of me usually rebelled against.

Strangely, it was easy to do with Chester. As was showing him the vulnerable part of my throat—a necessity if I wanted to keep him pinned on the ground.

I’d held him in place until his pulse slowed and his breathing returned to normal. And I’d listened. I’d listened in horror to all the things I knew he wouldn’t be comfortable telling my human ears.

Chester had been a victim of domestic abuse.

He was suffering.

He was miserable.

He was lonely.

Each new piece of knowledge set off a series ofquestions. Who was his ex? How difficult would it be to track him down and teach him the true meaning of pain? What could I do to make Chester happy? What could I do to win his trust? Was he really safe?

It was only the final question that I knew the answer to. Chester would be safe because he had me. Even if I was never anything more than a passing acquaintance to him, I’d still protect him.

Unfortunately for me, lying in his lap in my shifted form yesterday had solidified two things.

The first was that I wanted to pursue things with Chester. There was no point fighting it any longer. My wolf wanted him. I wanted him. Only one other person had ever caught our attention in this way, and she’d never been mine.

Yet I’d lost her all the same.

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