Chapter Six
Falkan
“Okay, so you don’t want to shift back,” I said softly, bending down to the beautiful red-gold wolf. “That’s all right. We’ll take this slow.”
I had gotten my pants on, still shirtless. The wolf looked at me, panting, but that could mean anything. He was our mate. Mine and Griffith’s. We knew that, but maybe he didn’t.
Omega. Mate. He is scared, but deep inside he knows. Nuzzle him. Comfort.
He was in no shape to be nuzzled at the moment. My beast held back, though I could tell he wanted to shift again and take him underwing.
Griffith, also bare-chested, shrugged into his T-shirt and bent down. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said.
Over the wolf’s head, we eyed each other with worried expressions.
Usually, a beast who refused a human shift was a beast who was traumatized.
Here we were, our mate in front of us, our third.
Everything should have felt wonderful, like the universe had lined up and presented us the luckiest day of our lives.
Instead, anxiety and uncertainty ruled. This might not work out for us.
But I wouldn’t allow myself to think like that.
Griffith and I already loved each other in this short time, but it wasn’t the whole package.
If Kyle bolted, we’d always have a missing space inside each of us.
The devastation of having lost our third would be a cloud over us for the rest of our lives.
“We would love to sit and talk with you. Or just be together without saying a word.” I kept my voice low and calm.
Griffith nodded in agreement.
The wolf’s mane was up, full and defensive-looking. The hair on his back was not standing straight up, but neither was it flat.
Griffith slowly shook his head, holding his hand up for me to stop talking. He bent and spoke in an almost whisper. “You don’t have to shift. We think you’re beautiful just the way you are.”
“Right,” I added. “Look at you. Magnificent. We accept you in any form you present. I promise you that.”
The wolf let out a quick, high-pitched whimper. His pink tongue lolled, then he went back to panting. He seemed receptive, but his tail still curved between his legs.
Do more. He is still scared.
I was trying my hardest.
“Hey,” I said. “I’m going to sit here on the bench and put my shoes on. Okay? I’m not going to leave you. But if you want to run away, we won’t chase you.”
Griffith sent me a perplexed look. I shook my head once at him.
I continued. “We want you here because you want to be here. We hope you understand. We truly truly believe you are our mate. Our fated mate. I know you understand what that means.”
I reached down and casually put on my socks and shoes as the wolf stared at me, watching my every movement with quick flicks of his gaze, waiting for…what? I didn’t know. He still didn’t trust either of us.
When I was done, I kept sitting, my hands resting on my thighs. After another minute, while the wolf didn’t run, Griffith came around the beast and sat beside me. He also put his shoes on as if we did this every day while a scared wolf watched.
“It’s good that you’re still here with us,” I said.
“Yeah.” Griffith shot him one of his addicting smiles. Addicting to me, at least.
The wolf seemed to respond to that, too. He whimpered again then lowered his head.
“We’re just happy to be here with you,” Griffith said. “I hope you can feel that, too.”
The panting slowed. The tongue went back into the mouth. Hair still up, the wolf tilted his head. That was a great sign. He was acknowledging he was listening and processing.
“You do feel the same, don’t you?” I asked.
The wolf tilted his head to the other side.
Griffith blazed right through me with an even wider smile. “I think that’s a yes.”
“Yes.” I wanted to laugh. It was such great progress to both of us that the wolf was calming, even though it seemed such a tiny result.
We continued to talk softly, saying things like what a beautiful night it was and how our beasts admired the wolf and hadn’t meant to scare him.
Griffith reached for my hand and took it in his. He held our clasped palms up for the wolf to see. “This is how we are to each other. And we only just met.”
I squeezed his hand to let him know I agreed.
I spoke. “We felt the fated part of it immediately, but we were both also scared to say anything. It’s only today that we’ve acknowledged it. Because of you. You’re one of us. If you wish it. We won’t force the issue.”
The tail relaxed. The hair on his back flattened. He took a step forward then sat at our feet between us.
Together, we lowered our clasped hands to gently brush the top of his head. I was shocked that he allowed it and yet also relieved. We spoke the truth, but he still stiffened at the touch.
We didn’t linger and took our hands back in seconds.
More small talk ensued.
The wolf settled forward on his front legs, head down. Acceptance? I shrugged at Griffith.
Griffith said, “Would you like to come with us? I have a house here. It’s about a fifteen-minute drive. Falkan only has a hotel room, and that wouldn’t work for you right now. But at my house, you are free to stay shifted. Would that be okay?”
The invitation was the right thing at the right time. The wolf made a sort of whistling sound and jumped back up to sitting position, watching us carefully again.
“That sounds like a great plan,” I said. “I haven’t seen Griffith’s house yet, either. It will be a surprise treat for both of us.”
Griffith chuckled. “Well, I haven’t had time to clean for guests.”
Suddenly, the wolf snorted. I joined in laughing.
“I think that means we don’t mind,” I said to Griffith.
I wasn’t sure the wolf would follow when we got up to walk. I still wasn’t sure of anything where Kyle was concerned, but as we got up and started back into the club, the wolf came silently at our heels, graceful and elegant.
We moved through the club. There were a few stares but not many. Sometimes people chose to remain in their shifted form even while partying, so we weren’t a completely unusual sight. Kyle was just an unusually handsome wolf.
The wolf followed us out to the parking lot and, when Griffith opened the back door of his car, he jumped in without hesitation.
“So far so good,” I breathed to Griffith as he shut the door.
“We’ll see.”
The wolf lay flat on the back seat throughout the drive.
We pulled into a pretty little neighborhood with jacaranda and eucalyptus trees lining the road.
We then turned into a driveway of a small one-story house.
It looked somewhat old, but homey. Like how Griffith felt to me when I’d first met him.
It might have been old, but it was kept up. The lawn was neatly trimmed. Pink flowers greeted us by a tiny porch. A welcome mat met our feet at the door.
The wolf grunted.
We both looked at him, but he did nothing more than sit and wait to be let in.
Griffith snapped on the lights, and immediately we were standing in his small living room. There was a fluffy blue couch and two fluffy chairs facing a coffee table and big TV.
“Can I get anybody a drink?”
“Sure. What do you have?”
“Water. Juice. Coke.”
“A Coke would be nice, please.”
Griffith looked at the wolf, who stuck out his tongue and gave a quick pant.
“Water for you, Kyle,” he said softly. “Okay?”
The wolf grunted.
Griffith brought out a large bowl with fresh, cool water and two Cokes. We both sat on the couch as the wolf lapped at the bowl, drinking half the water in one gulp.
“Nice place,” I said.
“Thanks. It belonged to my grandfather. My parents own it now. I pay them rent, but it’s very low.”
As we talked, the house took on a comfy, warm atmosphere. Everything about Griffith, and now Kyle, made me feel like this was right. True. Like a special lightning strike that hit only once a lifetime, if that.
At last, the wolf, settled. He laid his head on his front paws between our feet. After a minute, we heard soft, slightly wheezing breaths.
“Is he asleep?” Griffith asked.
“I think so.”
“He’s so wonderful. Do you think he accepts us?”
“If not, he’s well on his way,” I replied, hoping on all the stars above I was right.