Page 74 of Glitched Fates & Stolen Mates

The contact made me lurch sideways. Kit immediately froze, ears flattening against his head as he let out a concerned whine. He backed away several steps, lowering his head.

“No, no, it’s fine,” I said quickly, holding up my hands. “I’m just rubbish at balance. Always have been. You didn’t hurt me.”

Kit tilted his massive head, unconvinced.

I couldn’t help but note Wolf Kit was a lot more patient with my athletic shortcomings than Human Kit. “Seriously, I once fell over putting on socks. This is entirely within normal parameters for me.”

Kit made a sound that was definitely laughter this time—a sort of huffing noise that shook his entire frame. Then, to my complete surprise, he dropped into what was possibly a play bow. Front legs stretched out in front of him, backside high in the air, tail wagging enthusiastically.

I stared at him. “Oh, you’re just an overgrown puppy, aren’t you?”

Kit’s tail wagged harder, and before I could process what was happening, he launched himself at me in what might generously be called a tackle. Except it was the gentlest tackle in the history of tackles—more like being nudged by a very large, very fluffy battering ram.

We tumbled to the forest floor together, Kit managing to control his descent so that his full weight didn’t crush me. I found myself on my back with an enormous wolf hovering over me, panting happily.

“Get off, you great beast!” I laughed, trying to push at his chest. It was like trying to move a mountain. A mountain with incredibly soft fur and kind eyes.

Kit whined and shifted his weight, but instead of getting off me entirely, he seemed determined to fit as much of himself as possible into my personal space. His massive head dropped to rest against my shoulder, and I felt the rumble of what could only be described as a purr.

“You’re not a cat,” I told him, but my hand had found its way to the thick fur behind his ears almost without conscious thought. The moment my fingers made contact, Kit melted completely. His eyes rolled back, and he let out a sound of pure bliss that vibrated through his entire body.

“How is something so terrifying this soft?” I marvelled, running my fingers through the surprisingly silky fur at his neck. Kit pressed into the touch shamelessly, any pretence of dignity or “training” apparently abandoned.

There was something oddly freeing about this—Kit perhaps couldn’t overthink as a wolf, couldn’t second-guess every gesture or worry about crossing lines. He just was. Present and warm and desperately seeking affection in the most uncomplicated way possible.

His enormous tongue darted out and swiped across my cheek before I could dodge.

“Ugh, Kit!” I squealed, trying to turn my face away, but I was laughing too hard to put up any real resistance. “That’s disgusting!”

He took this as encouragement, apparently, because the next lick caught me square across the mouth. I spluttered and pushed at his snout, but Kit’s tail was going like a metronome and he looked insufferably pleased with himself.

“You’re enjoying this far too much,” I accused, but I couldn’t stop grinning. “You’re meant to be pretending you want to eat me, remember?”

Kit nuzzled against my neck, and I felt the gentle scrape of his teeth—not threatening, just playing. But something about the contact, the warmth of his breath against my throat, sent my stomach bursting into butterflies.

Abruptly, Kit fell very still. His head lifted, amber eyes meeting mine, and I saw something shift in them. He pulled back abruptly, ears flicking. Then he nudged my shoulder, trying to turn me onto my side.

“Huh?” I asked, but I followed his guidance, rolling over to face the trees. Behind me came rustling, then the sickening crack and pop of bones reshaping themselves. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about what that must feel like.

The sounds stopped after what felt like an eternity but was probably less than a minute.

“Hey.” Kit’s voice, rough, breathless.

I twisted back to face him, immediately forcing myself to keep my eyes fixed firmly on his face. Pine needles nestled in Kit’s hair as he propped himself up on one elbow, his chest still rising and falling rapidly from the exertion of shifting.

“Hey,” I managed back, equally breathless despite having done nothing more strenuous than lie on the forest floor and be licked.

Kit’s gaze was intense, searching my face for something I couldn’t name. The playfulness from moments before had transformed into something entirely different—something that made blood rush through my ears as my heart pounded.

“Sorry,” Kit said. “I had to shift back. My wolf… he was getting out of control. You tasted too good.”

My cheeks burned. “I thought you said you would have complete control!”

Kit winced, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. “Yeah, I massively underestimated my wolf’s excitement at…” He trailed off.

I let out a nervous laugh that pitched too high. “Were you scared you were actually going to eat me?”

A wolfish grin spread across Kit’s face—all teeth and mischief. “I just wasn’t sure how much saliva you wanted to be drenched in.”