Page 75 of Finlay

But not in this one.

“What?”

Finn sighed, keeping his arms around me. “IamBuddy. I’m a wolf shifter.”

I laughed, the sound hoarse and wheezy. It was honestly all I could think to do.

“It’s true, m’eudail,” Finn said heavily, his head dropping to my shoulder. “When you’re feeling better, I can show you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I spluttered. “Wolf shifters don’t exist. Besides, Buddy’s a dog, not a wolf.”

I felt Finn smile against my neck. “What kind of dog is Buddy, Chester?”

“He’s a…” I wracked my brain. “Well, a crossbreed obviously. That’s why he’s so big.”

“Okay.” I could tell Finn was humouring me. “Can you explain how he vanished and then I appeared?”

“He must’ve snuck out as you came in.”

“Right at the exact moment to save you?”

None of this made sense. My head was throbbing at this point, but there was no way I was taking anything for it now. “I’m glad you did, Finn. Thank you.”

He leaned his head on my shoulder. “I’m just fucking relieved I was here.”

Because he’s Buddy. He didn’t arrive in time. He was already here.

But that couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. Because if it was…

“Oh my god,” I groaned, slamming both my hands over my face. “This can’t be happening.”

Finn tensed behind me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“You can’t be Buddy, because if you are, then that…that means…” Mortified, my voice trailed off. “Fuck.”

“Let me guess, you’re suddenly realising all the things you’ve told me, thinking I was a dog?”

I buried my burning face in my hands. “That’s about the size of it.”

“Please don’t be embarrassed, Chester. I don’t take anything you told me lightly. You have nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone should feel ashamed or embarrassed, it’s me.”

I lifted my head. “How’d you work that one out?”

“Because I took advantage of your trust in Buddy. I knew you had trust issues, and yet I came back here as him day after day, just to be close to you.”

My breath caught in my throat. I hadn’t thought of it like that. Fuck.Fuck.I should be angry at him for that, right? I should be kicking him out for abusing my trust and never letting him shadow my doorstep again.

But I wasn’t. There was more to this. There had to be.

Assuming I was buying into the ridiculous notion that he could shift into a wolf. For the purposes of the conversation, I decided to roll with it for a bit.

I swallowed hard and asked the one question that would decide how I’d react next. Whatever Finn said would determine how we moved forward.

Together, or alone.

“Why?”

He didn’t hesitate. “You were lonely but not ready to let me in. Being Buddy meant I could be there for you without making you uncomfortable.”

---