She hugged him, burying her face in his furry neck.“Thank you for saving me, Solan.”
He let out a wolfy growl, and she smiled, closing her eyes in relief.
What the heck had caused her magics to flare like that and go wild?
Boots pounded on the front porch, and she sat back, startled at the sudden interruption.
“Everything okay, Solan?”a male called.“Your house was glowing and shaking.”
She pushed herself up from the floor, and the two of them walked to the front door.She opened the door, and Solan pushed her back, standing between her and two males.
Solan barked sharply, and the males’ heads dropped down to look at him, and then back to her.
“I’m Gabriel, this is Markus.We’re part of the security team.You two okay?”
“We’re fine now, thanks.Just a little magic issue.”
Markus said, “Okay, just checking.Have a good night.”
“Thank you.”
Solan barked like he was saying goodbye, then padded back into the house.
She shut the door and leaned against it, brushing her hair back from her face.She was still shaking a little, but she could feel that she was more grounded and in control than she’d been before Solan marked her.
“How did you know to do that?”she asked him.Then she realized he couldn’t talk.“Never mind, you can tell me later.Holy crap, that was something else.Everything went from nice and cozy to wild so fast!”
She moved back to the couch, her skin still buzzing from the magic rush, and flopped down.He hopped up next to her with a quiet growl.
Resting her head on the back of the couch, she sighed and rubbed the space between her eyes.“I remember now that I was dreaming right before I woke up, and it was about the day my mom left me.I think so much has happened so quickly to me recently—getting kicked out of my coven, coming to Ohio, meeting you—and thentalkingabout my past has just manifested all my fears again.”Her childhood hadn’t been cruel, just cold.Once her grandma had passed away, it seemed like the last person to actually love her had been gone, and Kaeli had been so young.Her mother had met her needs, but she’d never seemed to like the job—motherhood was just a coat she could take on and off when it suited her.Something about the safety and comfort she’d felt since meeting Solan had started to make her old anxieties creep up, dredging up the things she’d thought were long buried.
Fears about being abandoned, about loving someone who would eventually leave her behind, had plagued the vivid dream about her mom packing up and moving on without Kaeli.
Solan nudged her arm, snuggling up underneath and resting his head on her lap.
“I feel like if I hold onto you too tightly, everything’s going to go to hell,” she admitted.“I don’t want to feel so much toward you so fast, but I do.I feel cared for and safe, like the world could fall apart and it wouldn’t matter because I’ve got you.That freaking scares the hell out of me.I swore I’d never get left behind again, but what I ended up doing to myself was just pushing everyone away and relying on myself.I’m so very tired of that, though.”
He growled softly, almost sadly, and tilted his head back, giving her chin a quick lick.She chuckled and scratched behind his ears.
“I think my magics flared up because I was scared, and my magics reached out to you, but it was powerful, and it caused you to shift.You marking me made everything quiet down, just like what happened when we met on the bluffs.Thank you.”She leaned over and rested her head against his, her fingers sinking into his warm fur.
Then she wiggled down into the couch, his big, furry body next to her, and closed her eyes with a yawn.
She rested her hands on him as peace settled over her with one great truth the scary situation had revealed: Solan hadn’t run off, he’d stayed.
ChapterEight
Solan woke as he shifted back to human.Kaeli had been wrapped around him, her face resting on his furry chest.She stirred as he shifted back, and he brushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead, breathing in her sweet scent.
She breathed his name as she came awake, rolling to her back and stretching.
“You’re human again,” she said softly.
“Yeah.Are you okay?”
She hummed and yawned, then said, “Could we go for a walk?Get some fresh air?”
There was something off about her tone suddenly, and he wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she stood and folded the blanket, laying it over the back of the couch.“I’m going to use the bathroom, be right back.”
