AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh. Well… it’s a long story.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Carter snorted. “Funny. I don’t know why I forgot how funny you could be. It’s annoying.”
I didn’t say anything.
He sighed. “Listen, you can—would you look at me?”
I thought about ignoring him. I turned around instead.
He looked exasperated as he pushed himself off the wall. “There. Was that so hard?”
“Where’s your shadow?”
“Fuck if I know.” He shook his head. “I ditched him in the woods. Figured it’d give me a few moments alone with you. He’s not going to be happy when he finds me, but fuck that guy. You know how hard it is to jerk off when a wolf is watching you?”
I gaped at him.
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t look so offended. We don’t have boundaries here. The quicker you learn—relearn—that, the better off we’ll be. It’s probably not healthy, but it works for us.” He paused. “Well, most of the time.” He shuddered. “I could have gone through the rest of my life without knowing Joe is a screamer.”
I laughed. I didn’t mean to. It caught me off guard. He looked just as surprised as I did. He stared at me in wonder with that dopey look I was coming to expect from him. I knew what he was going to say next even before he opened his mouth. “I missed tha
t. You. Laughing. It’s a good sound, man.”
I looked away.
He sobered. “Anyway. My dad….” He swallowed thickly. “My dad used to bring us down here when we were little. Told us that it wasn’t a place for us to play. But you know how it is. You tell a kid not to do something and they just have to do it. He yelled at us a few times. Especially when they had this rogue wolf down here who—uh, doesn’t matter. I stood where you are now. A couple of years ago.”
I lifted my head. “Why?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know how much I’m allowed to tell you.”
“Then why are you here?”
He shrugged. “To see you. Probably threaten you a little, if I’m being honest.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
“Okay. So far. I mean, you’re the one behind the silver and I can go outside whenever I want.”
I scowled at him. “I don’t like you.”
He nodded. “Oh, sure. Most don’t. I tend to grow on people, though. Like a fungus. Give it time. You’ll love me soon enough. You did once. I can wait for it to happen again. I’m irresistible that way.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. He looked ridiculous.
“Go away.”
“Nah,” he said easily. “I’m not—”
A snarl came from somewhere up inside the house.
Carter rolled his eyes. “Dammit. He found me quicker this time. Motherfucker.”
The timber wolf appeared through the open door. It—he—didn’t look pleased. He growled under his breath as he circled Carter. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at me, and it was all the warning I needed. Fucking with Carter meant the wrath of the wolf. “Dude, stop it,” Carter said, shoving the wolf’s head away. “Go upstairs. I’m trying to talk to Robbie 2.0.”
The wolf did not go upstairs. Instead, he sat down next to Carter, his massive head cocked.
“Good job,” I said. “He really listens to you.”
