Page 36 of The Alpha and the Baker
I also couldn’t believe that she was handling the situation so well. If I was a random human and a giant dog came trotting up to me in the black of night, I would be alotmore worried. And yet Felicia smelled only mildly concerned.
She really was something else.
“Arietty. That was it, right? Where are your owners? I don’t see a leash.” She crouched down to pet the wolf, who immediately flopped onto her side and let out a happy sound that wasn’t quite a bark, but was about as close as us wolves could get.
I was definitely getting played, wasn’t I?
If I was, Arietty was showing more control over her inner wolf than some shifters I knew who were several years into their new lives.
However, as much as I would have liked to see if Arietty kept up her antics, I figured it was my cue to intervene. I shifted as quietly as I could behind the bushes. Once I stepped out, the two other youngsters turned their heads back to look at me, tongues lolling out like they were pleased with themselves.
“Don’t grin at me like that,” I murmured, striding forward. “All of us are going to have atalklater.” The warning had no effect on their mood at all.
“Sorry about that,” I said, putting a bit of breathlessness in my voice. “We were working on some voice commands, and—Oh,Felicia?” I probably laid it on a little thick, but whatever, I wasn’t an actor. “Holy shit, didn’t expect to see you here.” Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part, but I swore I smelled a sharp upswing of surprise and happiness in her scent.
“And I didn’t expect to see you. What are you doing all the way out in the city?”
“I ran behind on chores today, and I was supposed to help desensitize some of our dogs. This park is closest to our property and far enough away from the center of the city, so I don’t have to worry if the training goes south.”
“Haha, you really are a jack of all trades, aren’t you?”
I gave a little shrug, my eyes landing on Arietty. Isworeshe winked at me. “I get by.”
“I’m sure you do.”
Arietty rolled from her side onto her back, showing her belly and letting out a whine for attention.
“Oh goodness,” Felicia crooned, caught hook, line, and sinker. “You want some belly rubs, you beautiful girl?”
While I was still a bit latently irritated at Arietty for nearly giving me a heart attack and drawing us to the edge of the city, it was hard to be upset at the sight of Felicia using both hands to give the young wolf an ardent scratching. A lot of people might have thought that belly rubs were a dog-only thing, but nope, wolves loved cuddling and had high needs for inter-pack, platonic touch.
Arietty’s head turned toward me and again, I could have sworn she was trying to goad me to do something. That feeling was confirmed when Declan and James trotted up behind me and nudged me forward with their cold noses on the back of my thighs.
“Come… on…”I heard a tiny, weak voice in my head. Not sure which of the trio’s it was, but I knew it was one of them.
Did… did these three teenagers just play matchmaker?
And was I actually contemplating going along with it?
“Goodness, you are such a sweetie,” Felicia continued to coo.
I wasn’t going to lie, it was doing things to my wolf. He loved seeing her being so kind and maternal with a young one, loved the way she smelled of all sorts of happy and kind things.
She’d make a good mother.
I dismissed that thought quickly. It wasn’t often that my wolf communicated with the echo of words in my mind. He usually relied on feelings and echoes of ancient instincts, but there was a time and place for such things.
If everyone but me was on the same page, however, maybe I was the one who needed an attitude adjustment.
“Are you my best friend now?” Felicia continued. “Huh, huh? The doggy I never had?”
“I wouldn’t recommend her for a beginner dog,” I said, giving Arietty one last meaningful look that she didnotcare about at all. “Hey, since it seems like we can’t stay away from each other, why don’t we, uh, go to dinner sometime?”
Not the smoothest I’d ever been, but then again, I hadn’t asked someone out in about five years.
“Dinner?” Felicia stood up suddenly, abandoning Arietty. The young wolf didn’t whine. No, in fact, her subharmonics switched over to something quite satisfied actually, like a Bond villain whose master plan had just come to fruition.
“Yeah. Couple new restaurants opened this past year that I’ve been wanting to try. I’d like to take you, get a professional’s opinion.”
