Chapter 16 #2
“When did that happen?”
“On the roof. Come on, take me to dinner, and I’ll tell you all about it.” I gave him a wink and tucked my hand into his.
Rudy melted at my touch and let me lead him out of my room.
We walked down the flight of stairs side-by-side.
A much different experience from the last time he’d run up and grabbed me in his werewolf form.
It was casual and… normal. Not that I minded being carried by him; it had been a rush, but this was nice, too.
The thrum in my neck hummed with a pleasant ache. “I’m not going to turn into a werewolf now, am I?” I asked in a light tone. It was something that swirled in my mind as Rudy slept. According to my Google search on werewolves, it was a pretty common part of the legend.
Rudy huffed out a surprised laugh. “No. There are some species of lycanthropes that can turn others, but I was born, not bitten. It’s inherited.”
“I wouldn’t mind, per se, but I have to admit, I like that you can carry me around like it’s nothing. It’s exciting and makes me feel special.”
“You are special.”
Damn, this man. So big, so fierce, and so sweet. I leaned my head against his shoulder with my lips stretched wide in a smile. It might just become my new permanent state with him.
When we rounded the corner on the second floor to continue down the stairs, Rudy froze. His entire body went stiff. I could feel the battle within him, his wolf pushing, ready to tear free. The sensation was so intense, nothing like when he had been trying to get to me. It was something else.
My eyes darted around to see what might have triggered it. I could feel him heaving with an instinct that was too strong to ignore. “What is it? What happened?”
Rudy’s fingers lengthened around my hand, and his claws came out. Hair covered the backs of his hands and climbed up his arms. This wasn’t the same as the wolf wanting to make itself known with me; this was an urge he couldn’t control.
“Moon.” His gravelly voice snapped out as Rudy’s face began to contort.
Moon? What? It was still light out. His glowing pink eyes stared straight at the wall as his chest heaved.
I followed his gaze and gasped. There it was.
A small round paper stuck to the wall that showed the full moon.
Any image of the moon. That was what he said in his windowless room.
I grabbed the Post-it off the wall, crumpling it and shoving it into my bag.
Turning back to Rudy, I reached up, reaching higher than before as his body had already grown. I stroked my hand over his cheek, feeling it tighten beneath my touch. Fangs had already pierced through, and he was moments away from losing himself completely.
“It’s okay. It’s not real,” I kept my tone soft and gentle and continued to brush my hand along the side of his face. “I’m right here, stay with me.”
Pink eyes locked onto mine, and I could sense him trying, but the urge was too strong. While the praise tactic worked before when he was fully in his werewolf form and I hadn’t known him yet, I knew it wouldn’t be enough right now. Sometimes canines needed a clearer directive.
I lifted my chin and rolled my shoulders back, trying to show my confidence. “Sit!”
Rudy huffed but did as I said, squatting down to put us at the same level. I kept my tone low but firm. “It’s not the moon. It doesn’t have control over you. You are not going to change right now, because Rudy promised me dinner and you’re going to help him keep that promise.”
His head cocked, listening, and I could feel his tension soften, but it didn’t let go yet, so I continued. “Settle, big guy. Settle and give us this time. Later, when the moon is out, you can come out and show me what a big, strong, beautiful beast you are. Deal?”
A heavy sigh released from him, and I saw Rudy’s face relax. “Yes, Bowen.”
Rudy fell forward, and I caught his large form as I felt the wolf let go.
I felt it externally as Rudy returned to his usual large size, and I felt it within, in my own chest. Rudy’s relief was my own.
Needing to acknowledge what the wolf had done, I reached into his mind and said, “You’re such a good boy. I’m so proud of you.”
Rudy stood up, cracking his neck and shaking his hands out, but when he looked at me, his blue eyes were filled with such awe and admiration that it made my heart explode. He lunged forward and drew me into his arms, lifting my feet off the ground.
“I can’t believe you did that. I’ve never been able to fight the moon’s draw before. Bowen, you’re amazing.” His arms squeezed around me before he set me back down.
I reached up and cupped his cheek. “It was you, Rudy. You did it, I just gave a little encouragement.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Amazing.”
“I made a deal, and I intend to keep it, so we’d better eat before night falls.”
His head bobbed. “Yeah, yes.”
We started walking down the stairs again, but he stopped suddenly and slid a glance at me. Already, I could see heat crawling up his neck. “Did you… did you call me a good boy?”
A laugh popped out of me, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to cover it. It was completely natural to do so with his wolf, but now that it was a gorgeous man asking me that, I couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous about it. “I wasn’t sure if you heard that, but yeah… sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Rudy covered his face with his hands. He took a breath and peeked out between his fingers. “I think, actually… I like it. It’s nice to hear.”
With a smile on my face, I grabbed his hands away from his face and spoke into his mind. “Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret.”
Rudy gave me a sheepish smile, but I could feel the burst of joy inside him. Fuck, I loved this man. I pushed up on my toes and gave a quick kiss, not willing to deter our date any longer.
When we made it to the dining hall at last, the families and individuals that were already seated all seemed to stop and stare when we entered hand-in-hand.
Sure, our size difference was probably a sight to see, but I didn’t expect this kind of reaction.
Rudy’s hand tightened around mine, and he squared his shoulders.
It was then I noticed it wasn’t really us they were looking at, but me. More specifically, my neck.
It took everything in me not to cover the marks on my neck.
Why should I? I wasn’t ashamed of them. The opposite.
They made me damn proud. I squeezed Rudy’s hand in return.
The host greeted us, their eyes dancing between us, and showed us to a table.
The rest of the dining hall tried to return to their own conversations and meals, though I could feel eyes watching me.
Maybe things weren’t so different here from the real world.
“Ignore them. It’s just us.” I pushed the thought into Rudy’s mind and gave him a smile as he sat across from me.
“Okay.”
Footsteps sounded from behind me, and I heard a familiar voice. “Hey, Wolfie.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. Okay, it was just us and Zephyr, apparently. When he came to the side of our table, he met me with a smile, but his eyes rounded, and his smile fell when he saw the four bruises on my neck.
“Oh, shit! Wolfie, what did you do?” Zephyr asked in a hushed tone.
After realizing the moon paper must have been intentional, I was already feeling defensive. Even more so now. I wasn’t going to let anyone, not even Rudy’s friend, make him regret what happened between us.
Lifting my chin, I narrowed my eyes at his best friend. “Nothing I didn’t ask him to do.”
Zephyr grabbed a chair from an empty table and pulled it to ours. Sitting down, he leaned in close. “I’m not sure you understand what this means to him.”
A surge of protectiveness rushed through me, and I couldn’t figure out if it was from Rudy or me, but the mix of dread I felt was definitely his, and I wouldn’t have it. I held my hand across the table, and Rudy hesitated before taking it. I kept my gaze locked on his and spoke carefully.
“It means I’m his mate.”
Rudy’s eyes blew wide at the same time the warmth of his pride filled my entire being. “How… how did you know?”
Rubbing my thumb over the back of his hand, I said, “Your wolf told me.”
A hint of pink colored the edges of his eyes, letting me see them both, feeling both of them. Feeling the love and admiration that grew in my chest. “Our mate.” I heard their voices blended together in my mind, and I grinned widely.
A loud clap broke our attention, and Zephyr let out a laugh. “Well, I guess that’s settled. Congrats to you both. Dinner and dessert are on me.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “That’s so generous of you, considering food is covered by the inn, but thanks.”
Zephyr stood and gave a slight bow. “I live to serve.”
He started to walk away when I remembered the crumpled paper in my bag. “Wait!”
The griffin turned back around and arched a brow with a smirk on his face. “Yes? Out of lube already?”
Rudy let out a growl and muttered, “Dick.”
With a roll of my eyes, I tossed the crumpled paper at him. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Zephyr looked at it and quickly tucked it into his pocket. He gave a shrug and an all-too-innocent look. “I was helping.”
Rudy snapped his attention to his friend. “What? You did that? I’ve found a few, and it… hasn’t gone well.”
“Let’s call it immersion therapy,” Zephyr snickered. “What? You’re both here, so it must have worked.”
I stood up, standing to my full height, which was still a foot shorter than the man with feathered hair, and I pointed a finger at his chest. “If there are any more, you’re going to take them all down, or I’m going to come into your kitchen and switch all of your salt with sugar.”
Zephyr’s head snapped back. “Ouch, harsh. Okay, okay, I’ll take them down.” He turned his attention to Rudy. “I really didn’t mean any harm, Wolfie, but breaking the back stairs, you gotta admit that was some funny shit.”