Chapter 6
Daniel had been glad he’d cleaned up the place before he’d brought Selena home.
He’d done so with the idea that he’d ask her over for dinner.
He hadn’t expected to have her stay at his home, but after all that had happened, she had to stay with someone who was with law enforcement.
Peter and Meghan would have offered, but he was glad to be the one to do it, and that she had agreed.
He closed the door to the garage, relieved that no one had followed him. Then the doorbell rang, and he had an eerie feeling it was trouble. “Why don’t you wait here for me?”
She nodded and stayed in the car. He went to the front door and found only Peter there with Selena’s bags.
“Thanks, Peter.”
“No problem. Just keep her safe.”
“I will.”
Then Peter left, and Daniel went out to the garage to speak to Selena. “Peter brought your bags. So now the question is, do you want them in the guest room or my bedroom?”
She smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you set this whole thing up.”
He chuckled. “Not me.”
“I’ll stay in your bedroom, better security that way.”
“That’s just what I wanted to hear, or I would be up all night worrying about you staying down the hall.”
“Do you live way out?” she asked, carrying one of her bags while he got the other two.
“I live out of the way so I can run as a wolf anytime I want. But I took several detours also to make sure I wasn’t being followed.”
“I guess I can’t look for an apartment anytime soon.”
“Not until we catch these bastards.”
“Okay.” She didn’t want to impose on Daniel for too long.
When they reached the bedroom, she said, “Oh, how spacious your room is, even with a king-size bed taking up some of the room. I love the big windows on either side of the bed, which offer views of the forest. The windows make me feel like I’m outdoors.
How pretty.” She ran her hand over the bedspread.
“I love your bedside tables because they have three drawers each, providing more storage. I had just bedside tables, and I always thought I should have bought ones with drawers to organize things better. Love your highboy and the dresser with a mirror, which makes the room look even bigger. Having everything in ivory makes the room look uncluttered and spacious.”
“Thanks. Yeah, I couldn’t figure out a color scheme and saw that online, so just went with that. Just touch the lamps on the bedside table and they come on automatically.”
“That’s cool.” She opened her suitcase and wondered if he had a spare drawer or two.
As if he read her mind, he moved some things out of a few dresser drawers. “You’re not an imposition. I’ll enjoy the company. You can use these drawers, and I’ll move the clothes in the closet so you have room. If you need more space, just let me know.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
He hated living out of a suitcase himself and wanted to make Selena as comfortable as possible. “I’ll start dinner.”
“Do you need me to help with anything?”
“No, just get settled in, and then you can join me.”
She soon joined him in the kitchen, sidling up to his side at the counter, and before he could even finish rinsing the mushrooms, Selena had already commandeered the chef’s knife. She cut up the mushrooms, then placed them in the colander.
He watched as she immediately moved on to the onions, rolling one beneath her palm to loosen the outer skin before pinning it with her thumb and drawing the blade through in a single, confident motion.
He cut the steak into cubes and placed them in the saucepan.
Selena, meanwhile, hummed tunelessly—not a song he recognized, just a low vibration, a sign she was deep in her own process.
He stole glances at her—her hair hanging in massive curls, wild, her face open and intent on the task, her lips parted only when she exhaled, blinking back onion tears.
He liked having her help him with a meal.
Even in the kitchen's fluorescent lights, with the tile counters cluttered with pans and bowls, it felt homey.
He felt like he had a real person in his life, not just a rotation of guests visiting for a good time.
She reached for the container of sour cream and knocked over the salt shaker instead. When he picked it up for her, she smiled and wiped her wet palms on a paper towel. She watched the onions cooking in the pan.
He was used to cooking alone, used to the silent cadence of chopping, heating, seasoning, and plating. But with her there, it was fun.
They worked in concert, trading off tasks without needing to say what came next. She salted the mushrooms with a flourish, then gestured for him to pour in the wine, which hissed and sent up a vapor of earth and alcohol.
He tossed in the meat; she stirred it with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the saucepan. The whole room filled with an aroma that was both savory and made their stomachs growl, a richness that made him want to eat right out of the pan.
Selena leaned against the counter, arms crossed over her chest, watching him finish up. “My foster mom used to make Hamburger Helper out of a box and call it stroganoff. I thought that was the real thing until I was, like, sixteen.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t,” he said, plating the noodles.
She smiled, and for a moment, there was no banter, no nervous energy. Just the two of them, standing close in the steam and the bright kitchen light.
Then he spooned out the sauce, and she carried the plates to the table.
“This smells delightful,” she said.
“It does. Are you ready to eat?”
“I sure am.” She got them ice water.
He added glasses of red wine. Then they sat down to enjoy dinner.
She took a bite. “This is really delicious. So much better than my foster mother used to make it.”
“Now you know how to do it.”
“I sure do.”
After they finished dinner, they cleaned up the kitchen, and then they decided to watch a movie on TV.
“Wolfman?” she asked, searching for a movie to watch.
“Yeah, sure. I haven’t seen it yet.”
They cuddled on the couch together as if they’d been dating for a while. It felt so right.
She ran her hand over his. “Afterwards, we could run in your woods?”
“Absolutely.”
They watched the movie, enjoying it, and when it was over, they stripped off their clothes and ran as wolves.
She was beautiful to look at with or without clothes, he thought, right before she shifted.
And her black wolf coat was striking. He shifted into his gray coat and led her through the wolf door that took them out back and into the woods.
They ran through the forest, and Selena thought how lovely it was that Daniel’s home was backed up against it.
She was still smelling the air, looking for any sign of the three men who had come to her shop, though she probably didn’t need to.
She realized that she was spooked more than she thought she had been.
She hated them for making her feel that way.
Daniel nipped at her tail in playful fun, taking her mind off the men. She rounded on him and nipped his neck. He howled with joy. She offered her own howl, showing how happy she was. Now, anyone who heard her howl would know she was with Daniel and most likely realize she was Selena.
He chased after her, and she kept out of his reach for a while. But he soon caught up with her, and she rounded on him again, biting at him as he bit back at her. She kept out of his reach when she bit at him, but he did the same with her.
She darted away from him, and he tackled her in a pile of leaves. Both were wearing leaves stuck to their fur, and she wanted to laugh.
Then they lay down on the grass and leaves and looked up at the sky, at the stars, and at the moonlight, highlighting the way. It was a beautiful night to be out for a wolf run, but she was growing tired.
She licked his face and then rose to her feet. He joined her, and then they raced back to the house. Arriving before she did, he let her go through the wolf door first.
They shifted and began getting dressed. “That was fun.” She’d really enjoyed running with Daniel in the cool night air. With other wolves she’d run with, they didn’t play with her. This was so much more enjoyable.
“I feel the same. Playing with you was super special.”
Then he led her to his bedroom.
“Do you have to work tomorrow? I need to go into the shop and make sure everything is ready for the grand opening.”
“I’ll go with you until I’m relieved. Then I’ll come and help out at your grand opening.”
“Okay. I look forward to it.”
“Do you prefer one side of the bed to the other?” Daniel asked.
“I’m fine with either side, but I’ll take the side you don’t usually sleep on.”
“Okay. You can shower in here. I’ll take one in the guest room.”
Once she was finished showering, she dressed in pajamas and climbed into bed, realizing she didn’t know which side of the bed he slept on. He could make her move when he got here.
He finally joined her in bed.
“Am I on the right side or wrong?”
He smiled. “You’re on the right side.”
Then they forgot about sides and curled up together, feeling it was so right. The bed was as big; they could have slept apart, but this was perfect. Never had she met a wolf that she was so into before.
Daniel hadn’t envisioned ending the night like this, but he was glad for it.
Selena’s body, pressed against his side, radiated a gentle, persistent warmth that seeped beneath his skin and settled deep in his chest. She curled into him with ease, like a cat finding its favorite spot on the sun-warmed windowsill.
He was startled by how completely natural it felt to have her tucked beneath his arm. Her hair spilled over his shoulder and tickled his neck, making him hope they could spend a lot more time together like this—sharing meals, playing as wolves, snuggling in bed together at night.