Julian looked down at the tangles and at the signs on the collars. "This wolf needs you?"
"Desperately."
"I was scared." His voice broke. "I watched your body change into something that shouldn't exist. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen."
"I know. And I'm sorry you found out that way. I was going to tell you. I just—" I couldn't finish the sentence.
"You just what?"
"I was scared too. That you'd react exactly like you did and that you'd run and never come back."
Julian was crying again, but quieter now. "I don't know what to do with this. You turn into a wolf and shifters are real."
"You don't have to do anything right now. Just don't shut me out. I’ll explain everything and help you understand."
"And if I can't? If it's too much?"
The question was a knife to the chest. But I forced myself to answer honestly. "Then I'll respect that, but please give me a chance first."
He looked at me across the tangle of dogs and leashes. Those brown eyes I'd fallen for were red-rimmed and exhausted, and I wanted to reach across the space between us and wipe away the tears still on his cheeks. If I pulled him close and breathed in his scent, my wolf would be content and so would I.
"The partial shift thing," he said quietly. "Will that happen again?"
"Not if I'm in control."
"Are you in control now?"
"Barely. My wolf wants to be near you."
"What does that mean?"
I chose my words carefully. "Shifters have strong instincts about people we're drawn to. My wolf and I recognized something in you from the moment we met."
"What?"
I couldn't say mate, not yet. That was too much too soon. "You’re someone worth protecting."
Julian made a sound that might have been a laugh or a sob. "You're asking me to accept that you have an inner wolf with feelings about me."
"Yes."
"That's really out there.”
"I know."
He didn't move but tears were still tracking down his face and he was staring at the four dogs with their ridiculous signs.
"This was a really dorky grand gesture," he said finally.
"I'm not good at them.”
"No. But you're good at showing up." He wiped his face again. "Even when it's hard."
"Always for you."
Julian looked at me as though he was trying to see past the human exterior to the wolf underneath.
"I need time," he said. "To figure out what it means."
