“That’s sort of fair,” Eran nodded.
“We can take a trip up there at some point. I don’t think you’d like living up there. It is really cold but we could visit. Meet my parents and all that.”
“Will they be upset if you move?” he asked.
“Not really,” I shook my head. “They have kids every few years and most of them are litters of five to eight. Not always all puppies of course. Usually, some bears thrown in. Even if they’re all bear cubs there are usually at least two.”
Eran’s pupils dilated as I spoke.
“Don’t worry. We might not have that many. I did come from a litter of eight but you’re not a twin, are you?”
“How do they afford to feed them all?” Eran blurted out the question and I laughed.
“My family is wealthy, but we don’t buy most of our food. We hunt, fish, farm a bit of what we can. We gather a lot. We trade with the moose shifters and the dog groups. Some other lesser-known ones too. I’m not at liberty to speak of all of them because they value their privacy. Were you part of a litter?” I tried again now that his pupils were back to their normal size.
“No, I was a single birth.”
“I think more babies are born in wilder places because of two things. We have more natural diets and back before all the modern stuff – which we do have a hospital and a midwifery house – more babies died. So, evolution said ‘I’ll give you more babies and at least one of them shall live to carry on the family line!’ Do you want kids?”
“Yes,” Eran said without skipping a beat.
“I know how to build big houses if we end up needing one,” I said, starting to vibrate all over again because my dog was wagging his tail inside his inner sanctum. “I’m not a musher but we all learn to travel through snow and how to get around with our stuff if we need to as well. I can also hunt and cook and of course fish. I’m really good at catching waterfowl, obviously. I’m a canine therapist by trade and…”
“Therapist, huh?” Eran grinned.
“Are they going around saying I’m only a trainer? Some people do that, but I went to the Northern Academy of Shifter Well Being. We’re an inter-world recognized medical school even if we don’t get spoken about as much as the Moonscale and Hemlock Academies.
“I have a similar degree. My sire is a therapist too,” he said.
“Oh. Wow. We have that in common too,” I smiled and vibrated again. “I really want to stick my head out the window and howl.”
“Go for it,” Eran said and pressed a button on his door to make the window roll down.
I wiggled out of the top of my seatbelt and half-leaned out of the truck. Even my howls sounded like the screams my ancestors were known for but it was exhilarating to let it out with the wind ruffling my hair and pushing my face this way and that. Life was good.
Chapter 6
Eran
Guardians of Glitter Bomb Territory
My phone had vibrated my ass cheek all the way home, but I didn’t dare pull it out of my back pocket while driving. I was already distracted enough. It was probably Jeran or maybe my carrier. He’d popped on and off the family link telling me to let him know if we needed anything and I would but at the moment thinking about anyone besides Vatten was annoying. Was that why Nashen hated me now? Not because of anything I did but simply because I wasn’t Bernard? I could almost wrap my head around it.
I tapped Vatten on the shoulder, motioning for him to come back inside the truck properly before we hit town. I wasn’t worried about who might gossip about us, but I was worried about the number of things he might get whacked against in town. It was probably low but everything inside me wanted to protect the omega sitting in my passenger seat from everything and anyone that might have a miniscule chance of harming him. My pulse practically hummed with the word ‘mine.’
Vatten slid back into his seat and righted his seatbelt. I rested a hand on his knee because tapping his shoulder made me want him that much more. Not just sexually, but in all the ways.I just needed to touch him. He vibrated under my touch and I forced my eyes to stay on the street.
I turned onto the street that housed both my apartment building and Glitter Bomb. It was chaos. How were there so many people and vehicles here when so many were at the farm? I spotted the bear who squashed me this morning and waved him over.
“The place is haunted,” Amorti said.
“Glitter Bomb?” I asked, tightening my grip on Vatten’s knee.
“No, The Cuddle Club,” he said.
“A haunting at a cuddling club?” Vatten asked.
“What happened?” I asked, killing the engine.
