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My hand finds the back of his neck, and I pull him against my chest, pressing his ear above my heart.

“Do you hear that, baby? That’s the sound of a heart that loves every inch of you. I’m still learning who you are, but I already love those unknown parts too.”

There’s a wetness against my fur. Blake’s shoulders shake as he sniffles, wiping at his face.

“I want you, Arden,” he whimpers against me, his voice vibrating through my sternum. “Please, Daddy.”

CHAPTER 13

BLAKE

Chatter fills the opulent hall. Crystal chandeliers hang from the high ceiling above and the clack of shoes on the marble floors echo through the air.

A waiter with a tray of champagne glasses walks by and I snag one, taking a healthy sip. I’ll need it to get through the night. My father stands beside me, speaking quietly with one of the evening’s sponsors. But I stand to the side, partially listening in case I’m pulled into the conversation, but I never am. Usually I’m ignored. But when I am it’s not the kind of attention anyone wants. Either snide comments or compliments with double meanings. All of it’s fake.

“Lennox!” A voice carries over the crowd.

Our heads turn to a pudgy man with a thick mustache bounding towards us. A sickly thin woman with ruby red lipstick that doesn’t match her skin tone, hangs off his arm, her stilettos clacking against the floor.

“Simon.” My father raises a hand, shaking the other man’s hand with enthusiasm. “How have you been, old friend?”

He doesn’t actually care how the man is. All my father wants to know is how deep his pockets are and if they’re weak with holes.

“Very well, and yourself?” Simon gives my father nothing to work with. It’s a good tactic for a man who is just as deep in this game as my father.

The two men carry on, discussing pointless politics, surgical news and random stories that I’ve heard a thousand times. But just as I’m zoning out, their eyes snap to me.

But they say nothing. As if they’re waiting for a response.

I choke on my drink, “Apologies gents, but come again?”

Simon huffs. “I said, you’ve got some pretty big shoes to fill, young man.”

I smile weakly. Sure. Just what I need. Another stranger telling me how to live my life. But I’m the idiot here, because only up until a year ago did I realize my life isn’t my own. It belongs to my father. Yet everyone under this roof already knew that. I was just a naive idiot walking blindly into their games.

Thump, thump, thump.

Arden’s heart is like a drum in his chest. It shudders against my ear as I listen to each beat. With my face pressed against his chest, his thick fur is saturated with his smell. I drink it down like a drug as I feel his body against mine.

He won’t leave me. He wants me.

My brain repeats his words over and over, as I bask in the reality that someone actually wants me. Despite the fact I’m no good at anything. That I’ve failed more times than succeeded. Or that I don’t even know who I am. Arden seems to not just like me but love me.

Yet amongst the soft, warm emotions that flow through me, there’s a shadow sitting in the back of my mind. One that I’ve shoved down and bottled tight. One side of myself I didn’t think I would ever show him.

“There’s something you need to know.” I speak weakly with my tongue filling my mouth and my eyes already watering.

A low purr fills Arden’s chest, and I come to the realization I’ve heard this purr many times before. But only until now that he’s a Sasquatch have I put the pieces together. I thought it was just the sound of the cabin, the low constant hum, but it’s been Arden all this time. As if the cabin and himself are one entity. Home.

“I-I’m studying to be a lawyer,” I start, struggling to swallow the jagged edge in my throat.

“That’s wonderful, baby.” Arden soothes me, but I’m shaking my head so hard the world spins.

“No, it’s not. I hate it. I’m not good at it and my father wants me to become a lawyer because he’s a neurosurgeon. He wants me to live up to his reputation. He wants me to be as successful as him, to have infinite money and a mansion and people to make my bed every morning.” I feel the tears dripping down my cheeks. “Since my mom died, I’ve never been able to tell anyone this. She was my safe haven, the person I could say anything to and wouldn’t be scrutinized. Mom never told me I had to be a lawyer; she only wanted me to be happy. And then she left me behind.”

Arden tenses beneath me, yet his arms slide along my side, wrapping around my frame like a furry cage and I sink deeper into him.

Resting his chin on the top of my head, he sighs. “I’m so sorry, baby. No child should ever lose a parent that early in life. It’s not your fault she passed away. She sounds like she loved you very much.”