Love, A Curvy Girl’s Guide (A Curvy Girl’s Guide to Shifters)

Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

T he pack’s guest quarters were a cozy blend of rustic charm and utilitarian design. Thick wooden beams lined the ceiling, and the walls were decorated with faded tapestries depicting wolves beneath the moon. A small window overlooked the forest, allowing a sliver of moonlight to spill across the room.

But it wasn’t the ambiance that caught Haley’s attention.

It was the bed.

Singular.

She stared at it, her pulse quickening. It wasn’t enormous, perhaps a full? While big enough for two people, they had better not mind being close—very close. A neatly folded quilt lay at the foot of the mattress, and the pillows looked fluffy enough to disappear into.

Haley cleared her throat, clutching her bag tighter as Ian stepped past her into the room. He set his duffel on the floor and glanced at the bed before looking back at her.

“They didn’t have any other rooms available,” he said, his voice careful. “It’s this or we sleep outside.”

Haley forced a laugh, though it sounded thin even to her. “What, no couch? Guess wolves aren’t big on furniture diversity.”

Ian smirked but didn’t reply. Instead, he began unpacking his bag, his movements uncharacteristically stiff.

Haley hovered near the door, her nerves twisting into a tight knot. She’d been prepared for a lot when Ian had asked her to come to the pack, but sharing a room—let alone a bed—was not on her list of expectations.

“Well,” Ian said after a moment, turning to face her. “We can make this work. I can sleep on the floor if it makes you more comfortable.”

Haley looked at the wood floor, arching a brow. “It does look very comfortable. Is this your way of telling me you’re a bed hog? Or worse, a snorer?”

Ian chuckled, the sound easing some of the tension in the room. “I’m not a snorer. And if I am, you can kick me.”

“But then I will have to get out of that nice warm bed. There isn’t any way around it, Johnson. We need to share. Deal?” she asked, setting her bag down and perching on the edge of the bed.

He smiled, the sort of slow grin that started out small and then spread out like molasses. “Haley Wheat, are you trying to proposition me?”

She grabbed a pillow and threw it at his face, laughing. “You really can be insufferable at times. Come on, let’s unpack.”

For a while, they moved around the room in silence, unpacking their things and trying not to bump into each other. The quiet was thick, loaded with unspoken words. Haley felt it pressing down on her, and finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“This is weird, right?” she blurted.

Ian paused, glancing at her over his shoulder. “What is?”

“This,” she said, gesturing vaguely. “Us. Here. Together. Werewolves?”

Ian’s lips quirked into a faint smile. “Considering our history, it’s not out of the realm of believability. However, is it ideal? No. But it’s not the worst thing, either.”

Haley snorted. “Thanks for the glowing endorsement.”

Ian sat down beside her, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight. “I only meant that if I have to do this, there’s nobody else I’d rather have at my side. You are kind of incredible, and I’ve never really known how to tell you that before.”

“Kind of incredible?” Haley meant the words to be playful, but there was a loneliness to them that Ian didn’t miss.

“Haley, if it’s too much, I can figure something else out. You don’t have to stay.”

His voice was soft, and the vulnerability in it caught her off guard. Haley turned to look at him, studying his face. For all his strength and confidence, there was something raw in his expression—something she hadn’t seen before.

“I’m not leaving,” she said quietly. “I agreed to come here, didn’t I?”

Ian nodded, his gaze dropping to where he had taken her hand in his. “Yeah, you did. And I’m glad. But I know this isn’t easy for you.”

Haley hesitated, her throat tightening. She hadn’t planned on opening up, but something about Ian’s sincerity made her want to. “It’s not easy,” she admitted. “I feel like my life’s been out of control lately. Between my dad’s cancer and now… this…” She gestured between them, her voice faltering. “Sometimes it feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.”

Ian’s brow furrowed. “How bad is it, with your dad?”

Haley closed her eyes, her voice trembling. “The cancer is spreading. They aren’t talking about if he passes anymore, it’s when. It’s been… hard. My mom, she—” Haley stopped, swallowing hard. “She doesn’t handle things well. She goes through the motions—taking him to appointments, giving him his meds—but she’s so sharp with him sometimes. Like she resents him for being sick. And if I’m not there…” She shook her head, her voice breaking. “I’m afraid things will only get worse for him.”

Ian reached out, his hand covering hers. “Haley,” he said softly.

She looked down at their hands, tears blurring her vision. “I feel like I have to keep everything together. If I don’t, who will? And it’s exhausting. Some days, I don’t even know how I’m still standing.”

Ian’s grip on her hand tightened, his warmth grounding her. “You don’t have to carry it all alone,” he said, his voice low and steady. “You’ve got me now, okay? Whatever happens, I will be there.”

Haley blinked back tears, her heart clenching. “Why do you care so much, Ian? I mean, we’ve been at each other’s throats and we’ve been intimate, but I don’t know if I even believe in this ‘mates’ business. I don’t want you to care about me because you have to.”

Ian’s gaze softened, and for a moment, he didn’t answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “Haley, I have cared about you far too much for longer than you realize. Remember when Drake and Steven tripped you in middle school?”

Haley nodded. “It’s kind of hard to forget.”

“I was so mad at them I punched them both in the nose after school. I was suspended and wasn’t able to play on the JV football team that year. But I didn’t care. They hurt you and you meant everything to me.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Haley’s question was soft and hesitant.

“Because you couldn’t stand the sight of me. And I was a stupid kid. The guys would tease me, and I did everything I could to throw them off my scent. It’s silly now, but it seemed so important then. I panicked when the team came up with that silly bet at prom. I knew I wanted to go with you, but you would never have thought I was being serious. I convinced Casey to ask you because he knew my feelings for you. I can’t believe he still asked you to sleep with him.”

Haley giggled. “After he puked on my dress and got stupid drunk. It wasn’t going to happen.”

“Well, sadly that sounds better than my prom. I took Lisa Abbington and then glared at you and Casey all night. She finally insisted I take her home at eleven. You can’t even imagine how pissed I was when I caught a glimpse of you and Casey leaving the neighborhood so late at night. God knows I sat on my front porch fuming for hours when you weren’t home by two in the morning. I was imagining the worst.”

“Then you jumped on us when he came to drop me off the next morning and I flew off the handle,” Haley finished. “I thought you had set me up as a mean joke or something. Like I wasn’t worthy of going out with one of the football guys.”

Ian shook his head. “No, it was nothing like that. I didn’t want you going out with those over-sexed jockstraps.”

Haley grinned. “Unlike you?”

“Just like me,” he corrected with a laugh. “I was stupid. I’m sorry, Hales. I know the bond might’ve brought us together, but it’s not what’s keeping me here. That’s by choice. And if I had to choose a thousand times, I’d still pick you.”

Haley’s breath hitched, the sincerity in his words breaking through the walls she’d built around herself. She reached up, wiping a tear from her cheek. “You’re not making this any easier, you know. You’re nothing like the person I’d built you up to be.”

Ian smiled faintly. “Good. Easy is overrated.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Haley felt the tension in her chest ease. She leaned her head against Ian’s shoulder, and almost purred when he pulled her into his lap and began to feather light kisses along the mating mark on her neck.

Desire spiked within her, and without thought she moaned softly, turning their night into something else altogether.