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“And these ones are tailored to a wolf, not a human,” Griffin adds, somehow hearing that from what I said, and I nod.
“He wants me to shift into my wolf,” I say, changing the subject. “Regularly.”
“That’s something you should do anyway,” Atticus says. The others all nod, and I just leave it at that.
“He also gave me this,” Fin says, and I grab it before nodding.
“Here,” I say, not bothering to open it, and just give it to Atticus. Everyone watches, confused. Even Mal has sat back up, after kissing my forehead, of course.
“What is this?” Atticus asks before opening it up.
“Another fit note?” Griffin asks, and Atty smiles at me.
“Yeah,” I reply. I’m glad George didn’t pressure me to use it, but he provided it like I needed. It gave me the chance to realise, for myself, that I want to take more time off work.
“Does this mean I get another couple of weeks off work?” Micah asks, holding one of his hands up in the air like he’s waiting to be called on.
Atticus rolls his eyes, and Griffin glares at the movement.
“You’ve got plenty of holiday time if you want more time off work,” Atty says.
Micah shrugs. “Okay, Kai, class this as my however many weeks off work notice.”
Mal rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile on his face.
“You’re staying off, too?” I ask Micah, a smile in my words.
“Are you kidding?” he demands. “Do you think I’m going to go off to work whilst you get to sit on your own and finish our jigsaw?”
I grin, and he returns it, the easy familiarity making me grin. “Point to you.”
The others groan, and Mal crosses his arms around me, glowering at the back of my head.
I wriggle, and he sighs and let’s me move back to my seat. That doesn’t mean that the pout on his wide, full lips isn’t distracting.
“I never get any fucking points,” he says. I’d give him a point to let me suck on that—
“Eat your dinner and shut up,” Orson says, and Malachi rolls his eyes but does as Orson says.
Atticus smirks. “I got a point earlier.”
“Oh, of course, you did,” Griffin says, rolling his eyes. Voss coughs, and Griffin groans, realising he did it again. “I think we need to start keeping track of these points. I think I’m still on zero.”
I bite my lip, looking down at my plate, aware that I’ve caused this little competition, but I have absolutely no intention of keeping track.
As the guys bicker about the points, and what should be a worthy way to earn them, I just revel in the atmosphere.
I’m glad that Atticus was relieved to see my sick note. I’m also really happy that this one is for a month rather than just two weeks because that gives me six weeks to try and get some things sorted.
And I don’t think it’s selfish to take the time I need.
I’ve sat and talked it through with George, and he has reassured me that, yeah, I’m unwell, and I need the time to learn how to cope with all the changes in my life—particularly, my wolf.
I think going back to work now wouldn’t be a bad thing, but it wouldn’t be good for me, either. I’d go back there, and I’d bury myself in the work, and it would once again put me in a situation where I’m not putting myself or my needs first.
So, I’m doing the opposite. I’m putting myself first. I need to sit and make sure that I’m doing exactly what needs to be done for my mental health.
Which means, I need to figure out how to bond with my wolf. I need to spend time bonding with my mates. I need to be part of the pride, spending time with other shifters.
