Chapter 5
five
Morgan
He doesn’t talk to me for two days.
I’d think I hurt his feelings if I really wanted to put a description on what’s happening, but we don’t even know each other.
I don’t even think he came home last night.
Which is…fine. He’s allowed to do that. I’m just the help, right?
Not sure why I keep bothering to dress up cute to clean his stupidly nice house when he’s not even here, but on the off chance he’s got cameras or some shady shit, I don’t want to be in breach of contract and lose this job.
It’s been a relief not to worry about future bills, because I don’t have any now.
I’ve been trying to memorize the layout of his home, letting myself experiment a little in the kitchen with no one else around to tell me no, enjoying the kiss of well-worn sweats and t-shirts while I stir thick homemade soup and pop fresh rolls into the oven.
Rayna hasn’t been here so either she got fired or got dead, don’t really care which. Okay I do, but like, not by much.
I stay on top of my duties. The floors get mopped, the sofa gets vacuumed and fluffed, the baseboards get scrubbed…there’s a lot of house for one person to clean, but even I have to admit this is a huge step up from working at a shitty gas station for minimum wage.
I don’t have to deal with anybody else really, and I get to just focus on my tasks in a comfortable environment.
My chest still feels hollow though with Alex not here, and by the end of the second day of him being gone, I give up fighting my wolf and decide that shifting is what I need.
Alex has a gorgeous garden out back that’s fully fenced and fully private, and I eye the spa with wide, gleaming eyes as I walk past it and to the wilder part of his property.
Even standing bare outside under the moon has me a little calmer, my wolf settling. I can’t stop there, though.
I pull my wolf forward and lunge to the trees, weaving in and out of them to see how fast I can go.
I’m free and strong, with mother moon’s blessing glowing down on me, and it’s hard to feel upset by human things when I’m in my most primal form.
Every once in a while, I catch hints of Alex from him running through here in the past, making my wolf want to whine and roll over.
I run until I can’t anymore, and then I collapse, panting, near the pavement where I left my clothing.
I’m just about to shift back and head inside for a hot shower when I realize I’m not alone.
It’s a slight breeze along my spine, ruffling my thick gray fur that tells me he’s here.
My wolf does what she wants, doesn’t bother with emotions. So, when we get a fresh hit of Alex’s scent, we’re bounding towards him. My wolf doesn’t care about what human me cares about.
Alex’s wolf is gorgeous, a darker gray than I am and standing much taller than I am with his piercing blue eyes that make me want to do anything he wants. It’s dangerous, is what it is.
He shifts back before I do, standing before me, waiting for me to join him.
It’s not awkward to be standing out here with him, naked, because my wolf has cooled my defenses down.
“Had to know you were okay. I was trying to give you space, but I needed to know. Are you…okay?”
I’m confused. “Why wouldn’t I be? Is something happening?”
I look closer, and he’s a mess. Dark circles under his eyes, and the shift seems to have taken something vital out of him, because his body just feels…off.
“Didn’t even notice I was gone, did you? I’m such a dumbass. Okay, sorry for bothering you. Call me if you need anything. I’ll make sure groceries get delivered regularly.”
He turns to leave out the side gate he must have snuck in through, but everything in me is begging me to run after him, to stop him from leaving.
My touch seems to burn him. He hisses out as I reach for his arm, pulling him around to face me again. “What’s going on with you?”
He scrubs his face, completely miserable. “Just a wolf being rejected, that’s all.” He attempts a half smile, but it doesn’t do much for me.
“Rejected?”
“It will be okay, Morgan. But it’s probably best if we don’t talk anymore. I’m in the process of transferring the house to your name. You won’t want for anything.”
“What the fuck is happening right now? Alex, are you fucking crazy?”
“I mean, kind of feels like it, if I’m being honest. Just trying to take care of you, whether you want me or not.”
“I'm losing my mind. That's what's happening, right?
What do you mean you're being rejected? Rejection implies there was an offer made.
Alex, I don't even know what to say to you right now.
Whatever you're feeling right now, it's of your own making.
I don't want your house. I never said I did, and I'm not going to accept that.
“You hired me to do a job, and I've been doing it. Other than telling me you're not going to touch me until I beg you for it, you have literally not made a single move on me. I don't know what kind of woman you're used to dealing with, but romance is an option. Like, it's something you can do.
“Obviously, I'm jaded. Alright? That's not up for contestation.
I know I'm a kickass person, but time and again the world has beaten me down and told me what I’m allowed to deserve.
Honestly, if you'd been some ratty man with only 50 bucks to his name, and came into that store where I was working and made me laugh, and flirted, and told me we were fated, and that you wanted to see what we could be, and asked me out for a five dollar pizza in a park somewhere, I would have hopped on that so fast.”
“So now I can't be with you because I'm wealthy? I'll give away my money. That's what you want? A broke mate?”
“Oh my gods, you're giving me a headache.
I need you to keep your mind quiet for just like, 30 seconds.
Can you do that for me? Listen to the words that I'm telling you and take them at face value.
You have not expressed interest in me as your mate.
Yes, you've told me why you hired me, because you didn't think I would agree to move in with you otherwise, but we had an incident with your cook, and then you disappeared, and now suddenly I'm rejecting you?
I don't understand how that could be a thing if we literally have not even had a single proper conversation regarding us being in a relationship.”
“Because you won't talk to me! You have this wall around you ten million miles high.
Every time I try to make a moment with you, you shut me down.
Every time I reach for you, to touch you in any way, you recoil from me like I have some sort of infectious disease. How else am I supposed to take that?
“You think I’m having fun here? Hm? Debasing myself for you, and you won’t let me touch you at all? When I have women all over the place I could— I feel like a jackass. You’re impossible to please and all you’ll tell me is that I’m not trying. I’m trying, trust me. It’s you that won’t.”
“I literally don’t even know how to respond to all that, because you’re actually just creating problems that don’t exist otherwise. I don’t want the headache of dealing with you right now because we’re clearly in completely different headspaces.
“I don’t know how to be any clearer about what I need from you; I need to hear you say you want to be with me romantically, and I need you to set time aside in your schedule occasionally for us to get to know each other. That’s it.
“I'm just going to make this real easy for you. I'm not doing this. You want somebody to come in here and clean for you naked, seems like you have a whole litany of women you can reach out to. I'm done.
“Let me know when you’re ready to be a fucking adult instead of a child throwing a tantrum because you didn’t get your dick wet with zero effort on your part to be a partner to me.”
I start walking back to his house, ready to get dressed and go who knows where.
It hurts, but this is exactly what I expected to happen.
It's not about the money. It's never been about the money.
It's about how he just expects me to fall at his feet and swoon over him with no effort.
Just because I am who I am, doesn't mean I don't deserve effort.
“Would you just wait a minute, you stubborn woman?”
I shake my head no, but he's coming after me anyway.
He doesn't say a damn thing all the way through his house, and it's not until we're back in my room and there's a door he can shut to block me in that he does.
“I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'll admit that.
And I didn't hire you because I wanted a topless maid. Although, you do the job justice.”
Unfortunately, that makes me smile a little bit.
“Can we just start over? I've been stupid, you've misunderstood me, I think we've both done some things to derail what we could be.
But you're the only mate I'm going to get, Morgan.
And even if I didn't have this thrumming in my blood telling me that you were made to be a part of my life, I'd still be here, on my knees, begging you for a chance.
“The second I walked into that gas station and saw you, my heart stopped. I hear that's kind of dangerous. Whoa, a smile. Okay, I'll keep going.”
It's a bit tricky to be defensive when he's being kind of cute.
“I made some sort of impression on you because you wouldn't have tripped all over yourself, multiple times in fact, and spilled that disgusting mop water all over yourself if you weren't a bit flustered. You're saying you have trust issues. That you don't believe in my intentions. I hear you.