Chapter 8
The werewolf watchers on the forum were all over the news about the unicorn in San Francisco.
One less place that the half-shifted existed, some lamented.
Adam had spent the afternoon reading about other cities where magic had appeared and what that meant.
Too many of the people who called themselves werewolf lovers were not happy when the werewolves were able to shift again.
There were a few pictures posted of what werewolves looked like in their true form, which was human-ish. And then he’d fallen into a rabbit hole until he forced himself to put down his phone and go to the gym.
It was clear that Jake, like the other werewolves in the city, could now shift, which meant he no longer looked like the Jake he knew. The man he’d fallen for…
And he wanted to say that it didn’t matter, but he wasn’t sure.
So he spent thirty minutes on the treadmill berating himself for being a shallow asshat. Would he stop liking Jake if he got injured and lost a limb?
No.
If he got dementia?
No, and he saw how hard that was for his mother every goddamn day.
He should be happy for Jake. He should be happy for them. They’d be able to go out to more places. That he seemed more human meant that when, not if—he refused to think that was a possibility—the bill passed, Jake would be classified as a person.
Except there were stuck werewolves all over the country, and the government couldn’t say only werewolves with the ability to shift were people. Could they?
People on the forum had discussed the best places to find werewolves still in their half-shifted form. He wasn’t like those people. He didn’t want to chase werewolf tail. Or was he?
It had been his curiosity and then involvement that had spurred him to be brave enough to approach Jake. He’d seen others in that bar, but it had been Jake who’d caught his eye.
He was still convinced he was an asshole when Jake texted just after eight that the meeting was over, and Adam almost considered not going, but then Jake might assume the worst, and there’d be no coming back from that.
So Adam grabbed a couple of meals of Italian takeout and garlic bread and headed to Creature Hollow to find out if he had a boyfriend or not. Because they were either dating or over. He didn’t want them to be over. His heart wanted Jake. Though neither of them had said those three little words.
Damn, he always hated these types of conversations. Every relationship had them. Were they fuck buddies or more? Were they exclusive or open? Even though he wanted to know, his stomach wouldn’t settle, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat a bite of the pastas he brought around.
He knocked when Jake didn’t open the door after hearing his footsteps or smelling him enter the building. That was weird.
“It’s open,” Jake called. His voice was familiar, even though his behavior was strange.
Adam let himself in and shut the door.
The man sitting on the sofa wasn’t the one he was used to seeing, but he could tell it was Jake from the way he sat when he worried. Elbows on knees, staring at the floor.
He glanced up. “The increase in magic means I can shift, not that I’ve tried.”
Adam put the food on the coffee table, as there was a puzzle on the dining table. “Is this what you looked like on Tariko?”
“I guess.” Jake shrugged. “This isn’t what you want.”
Adam sat on the coffee table and held Jake’s hands.
His palms were smooth, and his short, thick fingers were still tipped with claws.
Jake glanced at him, his eyes the same wild gold, but instead of being filled with desire, they were full of worry.
His face was mostly human-looking. In a crowd, a glance would skip over him.
A second glance would note the more pronounced jaw and pointed ears.
He liked what he saw, just as much as he’d liked what Jake had looked like before. “I still want you.”
Jake’s lips twisted into a smile. “You don’t have to say that. This is weird for me. I contemplated leaving the city to revert to what I know for a bit.” He pulled a hand free and swiped at his cheek. “Everyone else is so fucking thrilled, and I don’t even know myself when I look in the mirror.”
“You won’t be the only one privately struggling.”
“I’m expected to be excited. The children who’ve never seen anything different freaked out and cried and begged to go back to half-shifted at the meeting, and I envied them because they got away with saying it.
” He bared his teeth, all tiny and pointed.
“And then with you… I couldn’t bring myself to say anything—”
“I wish you had. I read about it—”
“I’m sure your forum is full of talk about it.” There was a snap of bitterness that made Adam wince.
“Yes. And it’s true I was attracted to you because of the way you looked, but I fell in love with you as a half-shifted werewolf, and I still love you even if you’re not as big and hairy.”
Jake gave him a small smile. “So you’re not breaking up with me?”
Adam cupped Jake’s face—his stubble tickling his palms—and kissed him. His lips didn’t move for a moment, as if he didn’t know what to do.
Had Jake never been kissed?
Adam teased Jake’s lip with his tongue until Jake’s lips parted, and with each passing second, he relaxed, deepening the kiss.
Jake reached out and pulled Adam closer until he needed to straddle Jake’s lap. “Did you mean that?”
“Which part?” Adam whispered against Jake’s lips.
“The bit where you said you loved me.”
“Yes.” That had slipped out and now he wondered if he’d said it too soon. “I want to get to know this body. Not the wolf one. You can shift into an actual wolf, right?”
“Something close to the wolves you’re familiar with. And yeah, let’s draw a line through that. No sex with the wolf.”
Adam lifted his hand. “Can I?”
Jake nodded and Adam ran his fingertips over one pointed ear, then along his jaw. Some people on the forum had called the werewolves human-like form ugly, but that wasn’t true. It wasn’t wolf or human, but something with a bit of both. More man than monster.
“You’re still quite wolfy.”
“I’m still quite hairy.”
Adam smiled. “That’s good because you love me matting up your fur. Not that I’m here for sex. I want dinner with my boyfriend… I’m hoping he still wants to be my boyfriend?”
Jake studied him, his nose twitching. Scenting him. Had Jake expected him to walk out? Had he come across as that kind of guy? Or did Jake think so little of what they had? Of him? The doubts rose, and this time he couldn’t squash them down.
“I want that… but is it going to be weird for you?”
Adam shook his head. “No weirder than it will be for you.” He traced Jake’s lip with his thumb. “Was that your first kiss?”
“Yes.”
Adam leaned in and kissed him again, and Jake responded without hesitation, pulling him closer so their hips were pressed together.
“You smell like garlic bread and lust,” Jake murmured.
“You haven’t lost your sense of smell then.”
“I lost most of my tail.”
“I’m surprised you still have one.”
“I kind of wish you’d been here when I woke up, so we could’ve freaked out together.”
“What do you do when you freak out?” Adam said between kisses.
“Stare in confused denial, mostly.”
“I’m sorry if I made you feel like I wouldn’t want you.” He didn’t want to be a forum asshole.
“You didn’t. But I was scared of losing you when I’d just started falling for you.”
“Oh, you’ve just started—”
Jake flipped him onto the sofa and leaned over him. “And I intend to keep falling.”
Adam’s legs hooked around his hips as if they were about to grind together. There was something in the way he said it that gave Adam pause. “What does that mean to you?”
“That I hope we never stop falling. We should fall in love every day.”
“I’d like that. It’s not one and done.”
“Of course it’s not.” Jake leaned in and kissed him again. “Mmm, I like this.”
“So do I.” He liked the way Jake pressed against him, pinning him to the sofa.
“And, bonus, I can give you a blow job.”
Adam hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Just watch those pointy teeth.”
Jake grinned and there was nothing remotely human about it. It was as if he was ready to devour Adam one small bite at a time. No matter what Jake looked like, he’d always be a werewolf. “And then I’ll knot you.”
“What?” Adam wasn’t sure he’d heard right.
Jake tilted his head. “What? Did you think my dick changed?”
“I don’t know… I guess when people say you’re in human form—”
“This is not very human, is it?”
“No.” His eyes and teeth and tail were all the same, so why not his dick?
Jake’s stomach grumbled. “Why don’t we have dinner and then I’ll give you a tour of the new body?”
“I’d like that.” He ran his hand over Jake’s ass to his much shorter tail.
“So would I. Maybe I’ll begin to feel less weird and more like me.” Jake rocked back and pulled Adam up to seated with him. “I’m still catching myself walking on my toes.”
“Give it a couple of days… it’s been a decade. I can’t even imagine what that must be like.”
Jake got up and fetched a couple of plates and forks. “And I worry about it disappearing after I become used to it again.”
“I’ll still be here.” He pulled the lids off the tubs as Jake sat next to him. “You’ll always be my werewolf.”
Jake rested his head on Adam’s shoulder. “And you’re my human. Everyone around here already knows you are.”
Adam laughed, his cheeks heating at the idea of all the werewolves knowing what they got up. “You should come around for dinner and meet my parents.”
Jake glanced at him. “Maybe we should wait for the bill to pass.”
“We shouldn’t fucking need to.” But it was another reminder that Jake wasn’t quite human enough.