Land of Wolves

Chapter 80

I wake up with a jolt, my mind taking a moment to understand where I am and what the giant, fuzzy thing underneath me is.

My shoulder and hip ache from laying in the same position for so long, and I grimace as I roll my arm back and turn to peer at the wolf I've been sleeping on. I didn't mean to fall asleep on the living room floor, but it turns out Caleb's wolf makes a pretty comfortable pillow.

His belly is soft when he's relaxed, and the sound of his heartbeat thundering in my ear puts me right to sleep.

Caleb's chest rises and falls with deep, even breaths, and I mindlessly run my fingers through his fur as he cracks open his right eye and peers at me. I'm sure he woke up the moment I did, my jerky movements certain to pull him from sleep.

"What time is it?" I ask.

I realize only a second later that he can't precisely answer me in this form, and I groan as I turn in search of my phone. It fell out of my pocket while I was sleeping, and Caleb's wolf lets out a quiet huff before lifting his leg.

It's an odd movement, and I hesitantly stare at his newly exposed stomach. Is he looking for me to give him belly rubs? I make a lot of jokes about him being a dog, but this seems a little extreme, even for him. A few seconds pass before I awkwardly reach for his stomach.

Caleb's wolf jerks away before I make contact, a deep rumble emerging from his chest as he avoids my pets.

Isn't this what he wants?

He lifts his leg even higher, and my cheeks turn a thousand shades of red as I realize my phone is wedged under his thigh.

The wolf glares at me through narrowed eyes, probably worried I will try and rub his stomach again, as I quickly dart forward and snatch my phone out from under him. That's so embarrassing, and I pray he doesn't notice how hard my heart is beating.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," I say, clutching my phone to my chest.

Caleb's wolf drops his leg before wiggling closer to me. His body radiates heat, and I press my lips together to hold back my cheesy smile as I check the time. I slept longer than I thought, probably because the giant wolf next to me practically cocooned himself around me until our bond was unnervingly relaxed.

It likes when we cuddle, and being pressed so closely to Caleb almost always puts me right to sleep.

"Adam called me," I say, unlocking my phone.

It looks like the call came in about an hour ago, but he didn't leave a voicemail or send any follow-up texts. Still, I can't help but worry about what could've happened that Adam would call me at four in the morning. I hope everything is okay with Bells.

Caleb growls as I call Adam back and bring my phone to my ear. I ignore it, which the wolf doesn't seem to appreciate as he tries using his hard head to knock the device out of my hand. It's rude, and I push against his snout before standing and turning away.

I'm sure it isn't a coincidence that my phone was wedged under Caleb's thigh where I wouldn't hear any ringing. He probably hid it away the moment it started to vibrate.

The sound of bones popping makes its way to my ears, and I spin around so I don't have to watch the transformation. I've seen Caleb shifting once before in detail, and I don't have much interest in witnessing it again. It's graphic, and even though I know it doesn't hurt Caleb, it's painful to watch his every bone and muscle break and reform underneath his skin.

The noise stops at the same moment Adam sends me to voicemail, and I frown as I pull my phone away from my ear and peer at the screen. I guess whatever he was calling for wasn't that important.