48. Claire: White Wolf

48. Claire: White Wolf
CLAIRE

The monstrous wolf’s attention lands on us immediately. Before I even have the chance to sit up from where I’m sprawled out across the ground, he’s standing over me. His giant white head lowers, his nose dragging up and down the length of my body as he sniffs.  Searching for injuries if I had to guess.

His nose hovers over the pule point in my neck, lingering there for a drawn out moment, taking in my scent. As he does, a low satisfied growl emanates from his chest and my entire body involuntarily heats beneath his attention.

Before my thoughts can go to places they most definitely shouldn’t, I slide my fingers into his silky white fur and push at his giant chest so I can drag myself up into a sitting position. “I’m fine,” I tell him, “Just tired is all.”

From a few steps away, now hidden behind a massive, fluffy white head, Vivian huffs loudly—like Nik’s worry is somehow a personal insult. “You really think I’d let something happen to her, Nik? We were just taking a quick break after working on her Shifting.”

The wolf tilts his massive head, as if weighing something, before lowering it to meet my gaze. The frustration and tension that had been simmering from my failed attempts at Shifting dissolve in an instant, replaced by a soft warmth blooming in the center of my chest. His dark, familiar eyes lock onto mine, and I can’t help the way my lips curve into a small smile.

“Hi,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper.

His mouth curls up in response—twisting into something that looks startlingly like a wolfish grin—and it sends a sharp, aching warmth straight through my chest. My heart squeezes, too full and too fragile all at once. For a second, I almost forget myself, tempted to lean into the solid comfort of his huge, wolfy form and just stay there. But I catch the impulse just in time, swallowing it down with the rest of the things I can’t let myself want.

Instead, I awkwardly clear my throat and push myself up from the ground, brushing away the leaves and dirt clinging to my clothes with a little more force than necessary.

“You’re back early,” Vivian remarks slowly. Her chocolate brown eyes shoot to Nik with a knowing smirk that makes the massive wolf shift his weight slightly, like she’s said more than her words let on. 

Nik’s wolf lets out a low, growly chuff in response, then turns and pads toward the house. A few moments later, he reappears in his human form—barefoot and shirtless, with a pair of black joggers slung low on his hips, clinging to his muscular legs in a way that’s hard to ignore. He crosses the yard in long, unhurried strides until he’s standing in front of us again.

It’s a struggle to keep my eyes from drifting down to the expanse of tanned muscular skin on display. But by some sheer miracle of pure willpower I manage to keep my eyes trained on his face. And somehow, in a way, that’s almost worse. Because it’s even more difficult to ignore the way his eyes trail over my face or the way they soften as they meet my own.

“You holding up okay Nik?” Vivian asks, a layer of concern in her voice, “You look exhausted. Did you manage to get any sleep at all last night?”

Now that she’s pointed it out, it’s impossible to ignore the dark bruise-like circles under Nik’s eyes and lines of exhaustion crease his face. 

“I got enough,” he responds gruffly. 

From the blatant exhaustion lining his face, I have a hard time believing that though. I make a mental note to bring it up later if I need to. The last thing I want is for Nik to run himself into the ground because of me.

Before Vivian can grill him anymore, Nik turns to me, changing the subject,  “You said you were working on your Shifting? How did it go?”

I can’t fight back my grimace at the reminder of my failure of the night. 
“Not great,” I sigh at the same time Vivian says, “Good.”

Nik’s brows scrunch together, questioningly.

“I couldn’t manage to Shift again,” I admit, my grimace deepening.

Nik’s expression doesn’t betray any sign of horror or disappointment like I might have expected from anyone else. His dark eyes keep the same unwavering calm that I’ve all-too-quickly come to depend on these past few weeks. That unflappable strength an anchor for me in what feels like a never- ending storm.

“You’ll get there,” he assures me, with a confidence I wish I felt, “Shifting is still new for you, and it’s a huge adjustment for everyone. It will all come more naturally over time.”

Vivian turns to me, pointedly raising her eyebrows in a way that says ‘see, what did I tell you?’.

I want to believe them— I really do— but with the way my life has been going the past year, my track record in the luck department would suggest otherwise.

Rather than give voice to those doubts, though, I shove down any linger thoughts of self doubt and force myself to nod.

Vivian shuffles over to grab her car keys from where she’d left them lying on a nearby rock, “I need to get back to the office and meet up with Ricardo for a few hours. You two need anything before I go?”

Nik assures her that we’ll be fine and we walk Vivian back to her car, the three of us rounding the side of the house together. Before she gets into the Jeep, I wrap my arms around her in a hug, thanking her again for the Shifting lessons.

Vivian pats me on the back and from my peripheral I can’t help but notice the way Nik’s body goes rigid. I shoot a questioning glance his direction but as I take a step away from the Jeep and closer to his side, his tense stance eases back into something resembling relaxed. I can’t help but wonder if he’s still feeling the side effects of the Frenzy that Vivian had mentioned back at the cabin.

But as the Jeep backs out of the driveway, those thoughts cut off as I wave a final goodbye to Viv.

Her tail lights disappear from sight a few moments later, leaving me alone with Nik.