Chapter 6 – Fergus
Chapter Six
Fergus
Violet’s wolf wraps her mouth around my hand, tugging me down.
I kneel, giving her my throat, and she sniffs the now-visible bite.
“Talk about a shock, am I right?” I chuckle awkwardly, running my hand down her neck.
“It clicked into place without any confirmation on my part. You know what that means—we’re truly fated mates.
I could tell you didn’t mean to initiate the bond.
” Her warm, scratchy tongue licks over her teeth print, and a shiver runs down my spine.
My claiming bite is still quite sensitive.
“I’m sure you’re going to be cross with me for keeping it from you, but I needed a bit of time to come to terms with things myself. It only happened last night.”
Violet’s wolf whines, bumping her head against my jaw.
I have the irrational urge to look to Bryant to translate what it means, but that’s ludicrous.
She’s my mate.
I’ll learn to decipher what her wolf means as we go along. This is only the second time I’ve seen her in shifted form, and the first, Violet doesn’t know about, since it happened while she was asleep.
Waking up to a massive wolf resting on my chest was unexpected, but knowing we’re mates, I like to believe she was just introducing herself.
Violet’s wolf huffs, and her frustration is almost palpable.
“What’s the matter?” I ask, wishing I was more fluent with wolf behavior. My head swivels to look at Bryant, and the fucker has the audacity to shrug. “Would you like to go home? I’m sure you’d be more comfortable in your own bed.”
Violet growls, nipping at my wrist.
The asshole chuckles. “Seems like she’s most comfortable here with me.”
Violet’s wolf turns to him, growling low and feral. It comes off like she’s even more annoyed with him than she is with me.
“You can pout all you’d like,” Bryant says, his eyes glowing with the presence of his wolf.
“That won’t change the fact that you’re mine.
” He strides over, squatting on her other side.
“That also means, I’m yours. I don’t want to force you to change back, but the three of us need to have a conversation.
If you’re stuck like that, I can use my alpha command to make your wolf hand control back. ”
Violet’s wolf doesn’t like the sound of that. She growls and backs up before bounding onto the bed.
Every cell in my being riots at hearing him calling her his mate.
Though, I don’t believe he’s lying.
That complicates things significantly.
I should have realized it was a possibility.
She’s a hybrid, after all.
Being her beloved accounts for her vampiric side, while Bryant would be her wolf’s fated mate.
Violet and her wolf are one in the same, meaning… We’d all best come to terms with our connection.
I stand as Bryant does the same.
He frowns, crossing his arms over his chest. “Stubborn little wolf.”
“Her vampiric side isn’t any more reasonable, I’m afraid,” I say, wondering if today will ever end.
I didn’t even get to relish in our bond for twenty-four hours.
Fate is an asshole.
“A vampire?” Bryant asks, turning toward me.
I quirk an eyebrow. “Did you miss the blood-red eyes?”
He scoffs. “They’re more orangy-red than blood-red.”
“Would you like to continue to argue semantics? They’re clearly not the color of other pure-bred shifters.”
“Fair enough,” he mutters, swiping a hand over his face.
“We should take her to her house. Perhaps being in her own space will allow her wolf the comfort she needs to relax.”
“If she refuses to leave the hotel room?” the mutt asks. “Do you expect me to pick her up and tote her a few blocks?”
“She’s hardly more than you could handle, but no.
” I smirk. “I’ll form a portal to her bedroom, and we can step right through.
I’d like to hear exactly what happened tonight, and if someone is after you”—I nod to the wolf—“it’s probably better to not be exactly where they expect you to be.
” I’ve also got several protection spells placed around the house Violet is staying at, but I keep that to myself.
Tonight is one of the strangest in all my long life.
Violet does pass through the portal with a bit of gentle goading, but she ignores us both as soon as we land in her bedroom. Her wolf jumps up on her bed, pulls the covers back, and plants herself right in the middle of the mattress.
“I believe the other rooms in the house are vacant,” I tell Bryant, wondering why I’m feeling so helpful. “I need to portal to my house to grab a few things. Don’t attempt to leave without me. I’ll simply track her through the bond all over again.”
I’m gone for less than five minutes, and when I reappear in Violet’s room, the male wolf is stretched out on her bed, shirtless.
My eyes narrow, but Violet’s wolf raises her head and whines. I drop my bag next to her dresser, tossing my braids over my shoulder as I prowl closer to the bed. I frown when I see his shirt between her paws, but I don’t let it get me down.
She claimed me.
I might have to put up with him—there’s no guarantee, only time will tell—but I also get to keep her. They say shifters are comfortable in their own skin from having to undress to shift, but I’ve lived long enough that I have no shame when it comes to my form.
Pulling my shirt off over my head, I toss it to Violet’s wolf.
She catches it in the air with her impressive teeth.
I would normally let her peel me out of the lace-up leather breeches she loves so much, but that seems like a lot of work with the alpha wolf glaring at me.
Instead, I swipe a hand of silvery-blue magic over my bottom half.
The leather pants appear in a pile on my duffel bag while sweats materialize in their place.
Crawling onto the bed at Violet’s side, I stretch out next to her as she noses around my T-shirt. She finally settles, resting her muzzle on the pile of my and Bryant’s shirts.
I chuckle.
If anyone were to walk in right now, I’m sure they would be mighty confused.
Now that I think about it, I am too.
Ehh.
Life becomes monotonous after living for thousands of years. At least today was something unexpected.
“I’m fucking starving,” the alpha wolf says, shaking me awake.
It’s tempting to use magic to seal his lips together. I could stick him to the wall and form a sound bubble around him so I could go back to sleep.
I stretch, and my hand runs through a coat of soft fur.
Violet is still in wolf form, and that frightens me enough that my eyes pop open.
Bryant leans over me, and I fight the urge to shove him away.
“What time is it?” I ask, trying to check the windows. They have a UV filter, but Violet’s dual nature makes her immune to sun damage.
“Nearly one in the afternoon,” the shifter growls. “And I’m fucking starving, but there’s not a bit of food anywhere in this house. Is she starving herself? Can she not afford to eat?”
I would roll my eyes, but he seems genuinely alarmed.
“Violet is a hybrid. She can sustain herself solely on blood if she so chooses. She doesn’t require food like you or I do.
” I swipe my hand through the air, and silvery-blue magic glows from my fingertips and palm.
“You should find bacon, eggs, hash browns, and the ingredients to make pancakes or waffles downstairs.” I frown, wondering if there are pots and pans.
I would assume so since others have rented rooms here, but I have no idea what types of supernatural creatures they were.
It’s mildly annoying to conjure dishes and cookware, but my magic is well replenished, so I do.
“You’ll find everything you need to cook it too. ”
“Has she ever stayed in shifted form for this long before?” Bryant asks, nodding past me to Violet’s sleeping wolf.
“Not that I’ve seen, but we’re only just getting to know one another.”
He scoffs. “You’re bonded.”
“Yes, well, she’s cagey. I made myself available for what she needed, which was only blood and sex.
Though I like to think I’ve been slowly winning her over.
” I frown, wondering if I’m still half asleep.
I didn’t mean to say any of that. “I know her mother is a witch. She has a twin sister that’s some type of demon, and several younger siblings. ”
“How does that work?” he asks, tilting his head. His shaggy black hair falls into his face, and he shoves it back.
I had similar questions myself. The math doesn’t seem to add up when you know Violet is half shifter and half vampire.
Where did the witch DNA go?
How did she get a twin sister who is a demon?
None of it makes any sense to me either.
“She changed the subject when I asked,” I tell him, wondering if she’s awake and listening to everything we’re saying.
There’s every chance that she wouldn’t want me to tell him her secrets.
I also get the feeling the alpha wolf is more abrasive than I am. Where I’ve respected her privacy and accepted that she’ll tell me her secrets on her terms when she’s ready, I believe he would be the type to push for immediate answers.
“I’ll cook, but the two of us need to discuss what to do if she doesn’t shift back.” Bryant stretches over me, brushing the backs of his fingers down her muzzle.
He departs, and I wait for the door to close before rolling toward Violet.
“He’s gone,” I murmur, keeping my voice low. “Are you ready to shift back yet?”
Her wolf stretches her front legs, and her nails scratch against the pillow. Her shocking eyes meet mine, and I can’t help myself.
I bury my fingers in the fluffy hair around her jaw, giving her scratches down her neck. “Such a majestic wolf.”
She leans over, resting her snout on my chest.
“If you change back, we can enjoy a nice leisurely shower together,” I offer, wiggling my eyebrows.
Those huge blood-red eyes of hers blink repeatedly, but she doesn’t move or make any indication that she might be interested in changing back.
Well, I tried.
“Are you angry with me about keeping our bonding from you?” I ask, studying her face. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were a little upset, but I feel like I need to remind you, you were the one who bit me and thus initiated the bond.”
Violet’s wolf huffs.
“I couldn’t be happier about our connection.” I run the backs of my fingers up and down her snout. “I just don’t want there to be any animosity between us.”
She doesn’t shift back, but she does lick my wrist. It feels like she’s apologizing for biting without asking, or maybe I suck at deciphering wolf behavior. Either way, at least she’s not snapping or snarling at me.