Chapter 9
nine
JADE
Wolf Wyatt hopped out when I held the door for him, and we went inside together. I was carrying his human’s clothes, since I didn’t think Zoe was stalking me anymore.
“Welcome to my toaster,” I said, locking the apartment behind us as I looked around.
I’d been there that morning, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
I’d been focused on paying off the small amount of loans I’d taken out to finish my degree when I moved there, so I’d been living as cheaply as possible.
The loans were paid now, and I’d been looking at bigger apartments, but I hadn’t found anything I really loved and was willing to pay a higher price for yet.
If I got the job and ended up working in Moon Ridge, I’d need to move.
And if Wyatt and I were going to be together, living with him seemed like the only logical conclusion.
Wyatt shifted back. “This is a toaster oven, at the very least. Maybe an air fryer.”
“Air fryer is a real stretch.”
“It’s comfortable.”
“Cozy would be the positive synonym for small that you’re looking for.” I tossed Wyatt his pile of clothes and yawned, stretching a little.
Driving back to Moon Ridge sounded awful. I just wanted to crash.
“Do you want to stay here tonight?” I checked.
Wyatt’s lips tilted upward. “Sure.” He paused a moment before admitting, “None of this feels real yet.”
“Truer words have never been spoken.” I undid my bra and tugged it off through one of my sleeves, tossing it on my tiny couch. My pants followed it. “I’m ready to crash.”
“I can sleep in wolf form, if it’ll make you more comfortable,” Wyatt said.
I shrugged. “I’m plenty comfortable. Sleep however you want. I think there’s an extra toothbrush in my bathroom—the two-pack was only a few cents more than the single.”
Padding across the room, I took a moment to empty my bladder and brush my teeth.
I was yawning again when I made it to the mattress and slipped beneath the blankets.
Wyatt took a turn in the bathroom before hesitantly climbing beneath the blankets with me. My bed was only full-sized, to save room, so it was a tight fit. Our sides were pressed together, and I was squished against the wall while he hung off the ledge a bit.
“Truth or dare?” I murmured.
Wyatt chuckled. “Your choice.”
“I dare you to cuddle with me.”
“Don’t know if I can handle that,” he said, as he rolled to his side and carefully tucked me up against him.
My throat swelled.
I hadn’t shared a bed with anyone in so long. I’d never liked it when I was younger. It had been too intimate.
With Wyatt, it just felt… safe.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.
He still smelled like home.
But neither of us had really had enough time to work through everything that changed. Wyatt hadn’t wanted a new mate before. I knew I should probably give him an out, just in case he needed it. The last thing I wanted was to make him feel trapped.
“If you decide you want out after you have time to process everything, I’ll understand,” I said quietly.
“The mate thing happened fast, and I can be a lot. I’m not going to apologize for it, but I do understand that it can get overwhelming for some people.
We can try to make our wolves satisfied with just being friends or something if you don’t think you can survive rejection. ”
“I’m still wrapping my mind around everything, but I’m really damn sure I don’t want us to be just friends, Hoover.” Wyatt’s arm tightened around my middle, pulling me against his back a little harder. His erection was impossible not to notice, wedged against my ass the way it was.
“You don’t know if you’ll get burnt out by all of it yet.”
“All of what? You?”
“Yes.”
The man laughed. A rumbly, full-belly laugh.
My face warmed.
“You’re a breath of fresh air, Jade. You tell it like it is and don’t try to dull yourself for other people. I’m sure we’ll butt heads every now and then, but I’d have to be fucking insane to get tired of it.”
I melted at that. Just a little.
“You don’t even know if you want to have a mate,” I said, though there was no bite behind the words.
“I don’t know how I feel about having one,” he said. “But if it’s anything like the second half of today has been, I’m a really lucky bastard.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes.
The conversation was short, but it eased my fears significantly.
“When do you think this starts feeling real?” he asked me, his voice quiet and his arm still locked around my waist.
“I don’t think it’s just going to suddenly feel real. I think your mind is slowly going to adapt as your life does. Eventually, you’ll have a hard time remembering what it was like before things changed. Which could potentially be good, or bad.”
“We’ll figure out a way to make it good,” Wyatt said.
“I hope so.”
“We will.” He sounded more certain than I felt, but I wasn’t opposed to that. If anything, I was grateful for it.
His lips brushed my cheek. The kiss was foreign, but I liked it tremendously. “We might need to stay in your toaster until you get that lab job, so you can keep teaching.”
“Yeah. Or until the chase is over, if I don’t get it.”
“You’re going to.”
I hoped so.
Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath and leaned into his heat just a little more.
Regardless of anything else, snuggling with Wyatt was an absolute dream.
The next morning, we took a trip back to Moon Ridge to pack some of Wyatt’s clothes. While we were there, we ended up moving my car out of the hospital’s parking lot. We finished the maintenance on the vehicles still in Wyatt’s garage, too.
It was late that night when went back to my apartment for a few days, so I’d be ready for my classes the next morning.
We stayed through the entire work week.
When things got awkward, one of us brought up a truth or dare question. It happened less and less every day, as we grew more comfortable around each other.
I taught my classes like usual, with Wyatt sitting in on the lectures like he was a normal student. He managed not to fall asleep at any point, and seemed more interested than the majority of the students.
He even asked me questions about the lectures afterward.
Which led to me over-explaining and going on and on about scientific shit he probably had no interest in, but he somehow managed to seem fascinated every time.
Though we had a large quantity of ultra-steamy makeout sessions, it never went further than that. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for, but I didn’t have a problem with getting off on foreplay instead of full-on sex. Wyatt definitely didn’t either.
We went back to Moon Ridge after my last lecture on Friday, and straight to my interview with the werewolf research team.
Wyatt had to attend with me, which was slightly awkward, but we all just kind of pretended he wasn’t there.
The man and woman interviewing me were two of the scientists. They assured me that they were well aware of the wolf mating process and had no problem with adapting for it.
The interview went on for over an hour, but by the time it ended, both of the researchers were grinning and welcoming me to the team. I signed the paperwork that day, agreeing to start in two weeks.
I managed to keep my cool until we made it to the car—and then I was throwing myself into Wyatt’s arms and biting back a shriek of excitement.
“I’m going to do actual research!” I cheered into his shirt. “I don’t have to teach fucking bio 101 anymore!”
“I actually like biology 101, Hoover,” Wyatt said into my hair.
“You’re the only one.”
He chucked as he squeezed me tightly. “Congratulations. I’m happy for you.”
“And that you won’t have to live in a toaster with me anymore.”
“Nah, I’ll miss your tiny bed.”
I was too excited to roll my eyes.
I emailed my boss my two-week notice on the way to Wyatt’s house. As we parked in the garage, my phone buzzed with an email, and I looked down at it.
My eyes widened as I read it.
Then reread it.
And re-reread it.
“What is it?” Wyatt leaned closer.
I turned my phone so he could read it too.
“Damn.” He whistled. “You bought us two weeks to do whatever we want. Good work, Hoover.”
My boss’s email said he had someone to cover my classes, and told me not to bother coming back in.
The message kind of stung, but it would be nice to have a little time off between jobs.
“We’ll have to go clean out my office,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “And my apartment, I guess. Shit. Is this really happening?” I looked up at Wyatt.
“Yup.” He dropped his hand to my thigh. “Welcome to Moon Ridge.”
I bit my lips to hide a grin.
Wyatt popped my lip free from between my teeth, then got out of the truck.
Welcome to Moon Ridge indeed.