Page 11 of Bewitchingly Hers
I knew some shifters who had spent so long as their wolves that they’d gone feral, and I wasnothaving that happen to me.
Leaving me sitting, she walked over to the cage, reaching her hand in and pulling out the small creature, who curled itself into a small ball. “Hi, Nutmeg, my sweet girl.” My mate scratched under the hedgehog’s chin. “How wasyourday? Our big scary wolf friend didn’t try to scare you, right?” Her eyes drifted over to me.
Nope. I was a perfect gentleman.
Nutmeg—the hedgehog—climbed into her shoulder, cuddling up against my mate before giving me a discerning look.
I was a little jealous of her, because she could nuzzle against my mate, while I couldn’t. Pouting, I let out a few whimpers as she lavished the tiny creature with attention before returning it to the enclosure.
Gods, I was acting like a pup right now, not a full-grown adult.
Following her to the kitchen, I tried not to get in her way as she unpacked the bags from the grocery store.
“I brought you a steak,” she said, and I wagged my tail at the thought of a delicious, juicy steak. “Thought maybe it might cheer you up after all those potions.” A whine left my throat at the thought of drinking that bitter concoction again. “Don’t worry. You’re mostly healed, so I don’t have another one today.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, I watched her as she opened up the packaging with the raw steak, and then looked down at me. “Should I cook it, or…”
While I’d had my fair share of raw meat as a wolf, I definitely was still a human who preferred it cooked.Please.
She nodded to herself as I perked up my ears. “Okay, then. Guess we’re cooking a steak.” She muttered under her breath. “For a wolf. Goddess, when did my life get so fucking weird?”
I yipped once in agreement.
If she knew how truly bizarre this situation was, what would she think? Would she accept me? My mate had a tender heart. I could see it in the way she took care of me, even when she didn’t have to. She could have left me in that alley to bleed out and die. She could have taken me to a veterinarian, someone who had a lot more experience treating dogs and wild animals.
But instead, she’d taken one look at me, and jumped into action. Yet, I still knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t accept me when she found out what I was. Though I’d only heard bits and pieces of her conversation that first night with the witches—it was evident that this town didn’t even know about us.
What had happened that this city had closed itself off from the world?
I needed to find out.
After I got my strength back and couldshift.I missed my human body, my ability to speak. I couldn’t communicate with her like this—not until we’d bonded. So, for the moment, I was stuck.
It wasn’t all bad living with her. Her presence calmed a piece of me that had always been restless. I was still trying to figure out how the fates had matched me with a witch, and not a wolf. In the beginning, I’d thought maybe I’d just been hallucinating, but her scent wasn’t like any shifter I’d ever met.
She was a witch.
I watched her move around the kitchen, doing things I’d never even imagined—and with my job, the unimaginable was my specialty. But seeing her float things through the air, to summon something from the cupboards without even batting an eyelash was… incredible.
There was no doubt about it. I was in awe of my little healer. The mate who didn’t even know we were destined. I couldn’t deny the pull towards her though. The faint thread that kept ustethered. Every time she left the house, I wanted to go with her. To be by her side. The way she was taking care of me—nursing me back to health—was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
A whimper slipped free from my wolf at the thought of leaving her unprotected. She was small—five foot two, maybe—and though she had beautiful curves, her body wasn’t covered in muscles, like mine.
I licked my paw at the thought. We were strong.We can protect her,my wolf insisted.She has us now.
“I’m sorry,” she said, putting the now-cooked steak onto a plate and setting it onto the floor for me. “I’m sure you’re starving.”
Dipping my head down, I sniffed the meat. It smelled like the best thing I’d had in months.
Being out on the road meant I didn’t often get a home cooked meal, living off of fast food and diner meals. I gobbled it down in a few bites, glad for my extra sharp canines that helped me rip through the meat. The steak was juicy, tender, and perfectly cooked—still a little rare, which my wolf was happy about. He didn’t like it when the meat was too done.
Damn bastard was perfectly happy wagging his tail as we ate, and I knew our mate was watching us with amusement.
Settle down,I scolded my wolf.She’s going to think we’re some sort of trained house pet.
I really hoped with how comfortable she was with me in her house that she didn’t make a habit of picking up injured animals off the street and nursing them back to health. What would I do if I came home one day and found her cuddling anactualdangerous animal?
Pushing the plate towards her with my nose, I watched as she cleaned up the kitchen before sitting down at the table to eat the meal she’d cooked for herself.
