Page 16 of The Return
He moved to the side before he cocked his head and gave me a curious glance.
“Everyone in town is a werewolf, right?”
He yipped in answer.
“So no one is going to think it’s weird if you’re outside?”
A slight shake of his head.
“Cool.” I reached down and booped his nose. “Tag, you’re it.”
Then I ran for the door, threw it open, and took off down the street. It wasn’t but a moment or two later, I could hear the pounding of feet as Jonas was in hot pursuit. I took a sharp left, and he ran by me, but then turned and headed back. He would catch me eventually. He was built for speed and endurance. I was not. But I was going to give him a good chase.
Every time he got close, I veered off in a different direction. He was snapping at my heels, but never once did I think he’d bite me. The chase didn’t last nearly as long as I’d hoped. I was already sucking in lungfuls of air, trying to get rid of a stitch in my side, and still keep away from Jonas. He could have easily taken me down, but now he was keeping pace with me.
“You’re—enjoying—this,” I gasped out.
He got closer and nudged me to the side. I tumbled down onto the grass of Mr. Henderson, who was definitely one of those “get off my lawn” types. I was about to suggest we move elsewhere when the door to the house opened and Mr. Henderson, clad in a blue bathrobe, stepped out. I was waiting for the litany of words about how we were inconsiderate, had no business on his property, and the works. I was surprised when he smiled and waved.
“Jonas! It’s good to have you back, kid. That means we can finally stop looking after your pain-in-the-ass mate.” He winked at me, then turned and went back into the house.
“Pain in the ass?” I squeaked, still not drawing a decent breath.
Jonas shifted, a scowl on his face. “Well, it’s not like he lied, is it? You didn’t listen to a damn thing I said, did you? Don’t make eye contact. Don’t run. Two simple rules, and you ignored both of them.”
“No, I didn’t ignore them. I heard what you said, but chose to take my own path. You’ll notice you didn’t hurt me.”
“That’s not the point!” he snapped. “You are dealing with a wolf, and—”
“No. I’m dealing with Jonas. The best friend I ever had. The same guy who stood between me and everyone else, even when he wasn’t much bigger than me at the time. What makes you think I’m going to stop trusting in you just because you’re in a different body?”
“Core, you have to know, not all wolves have that kind of control. Only an Alpha possesses enough self-awareness to—”
“But I wasn’t playing with all wolves, was I? No, I was playing with you.” I couldn’t help but smile. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you saying you were an aware wolf.”
You could see he was having a hard time not rolling his eyes. “Have I ever told you how annoyingly frustrating you are?”
“Dude, like I kept track of all of them.” I put a hand on his knee and squeezed. “You will always have my trust, and—wait. You know you’re outside and naked, right?”
“Like I said, if we could, everyone here would be naked all the time. Wolves don’t have the hang-ups about nudity that a lot of humans do. We trust our senses, and when there are no perfumed clothes in the way, things are a lot sharper.”
I stroked a hand over my hairless chin. “So then, by that line of thinking, I could go naked all the time.”
He bared his teeth. “No, you most certainly could not.”
I arched my brow. Something I perfected after seeing how awesome it was that Spock could do it. “Excuse me?”
He withered under my scowl. “No one can see my mate and—”
“If I was a wolf, it wouldn’t be a problem?”
He shook his head. “No, they can never see my mate.”
“Well, that’s fucking…. not sexist, but still damned rude. I’m a human being, not a marble dildo you put on the mantel when you’re done using it.”
His lip curled up. “Marble dildo?” he questioned. “Where the hell does your mind go?”
Psh, like I knew. Bitch wandered off all the time and never brought me back takeout or souvenirs. “You’re missing the point.”
