Page 54 of Rescued By the Beast
My heart leaps in my chest. My stomach sinks in sheer terror.
I was so lost in my depressing thoughts that I didn't see it coming until it was too late.
But now, sharp, gleaming teeth are inches from my face.
I freeze. My lungs lock up. I can only draw air in small gasps.
It's a wolf, but... not completely. There's something different about it.
A hybrid.
A huge wolfdog, with long legs and a majestic bearing. With every movement, his caramel coat ripples in the light, and his golden eyes — intense, cunning — fix on me, analysing every inch of my body.
He lowers his head, coming closer.
I let out a meow, a thin, wavering sound, and crouch down on my paws. My ears flatten against my head.
His muzzle touches my neck, just below my ear. The warm air from his nostrils makes my skin tingle beneath my short coat. He sniffs me.
Oh, stars in the sky.
Has he discovered my identity? Just when I agreed to stay, agreed to be his pet cat?
My breathing becomes erratic when I feel the sharp tip of a fang brush against the back of my neck and the moisture of his saliva.
He could kill me with a single bite...
A low, trembling sound escapes him. A whimper. And then he presses his muzzle closer to me, as if he were... comforting me?
My eyes flicker. The wolfdog pulls away, lowers his head and stares at me, his eyes shining in the natural light streaming through the windows. I shudder when he briefly touches his nose to mine. Then his rough tongue slides down the side of my face.
I freeze.
Did he lick me?
Another growl. And this time, when he steps back to stare at me, there is something almost sad in his eyes. My chest expands in a shaky sigh.
He doesn't want to hurt me.
The wolfdog moves forward a little and pushes his snout against a toy scattered on the floor. The little stuffed mouse slides closer to me. My gaze flickers between the toy and the huge animal, and before I can react, he does the same with another toy, his snout pushing a pompom next to the first one.
Does he want to... play with me?
Fear still pulses beneath my skin, but something begins to change. My tail curls around my body as I watch him, still cautious.
He rolls on the floor, tongue out and tail wagging. When he gets back on his feet and sees me frozen in place, he growls. A low sound. But this time, it's not threatening.
He wants me to join in.
I let out a short meow, uncertain. My heart is slowing down. The beats no longer sound like a funeral march.
The wolfdog pushes the toy again, as if to say, "Come play with me."
My body relaxes a few millimetres.
If I could smile, I would.
Because that's absurd.
