Chapter 11
Whatever You Say
~West
Half asleep, I rolled over and hit something solid. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.
“Feeling better?” asked Keith.
I shrugged and slowly sat up. “Tired.”
He leaned over and kissed my neck. His lips touched the new scar.
I jumped at the sudden sensation. “Holy shit.” I jerked away from him and grasped the area. “Don’t do that.”
Keith smiled, laughing softly. “Problem?”
Throwing off the blankets, I climbed out of bed. “Yeah, I’m mated to a jerk.” I went to the bathroom to examine the bite.
The raised teeth marks were a light pink.
Keith appeared and leaned against the door frame. “Jerk?”
I groaned. “I was joking.” Turning back and forth, I looked over the rest of my skin. “This just sucks,” I muttered, lifting my arm. “I like that one. It was from my first fight.” I ran my fingers over the smooth skin. “I won too,” I stated. “I can win fights. I’ve won a lot actually.”
Keith raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, it can’t be reversed.” Walking behind me, he grabbed my sides and pressed his nails into me. “Even if I wanted to.” Leaning down, he kissed my neck. “It would heal too fast to leave a scar.”
“This is so depressing,” I sighed. “I mean look at this. I worked hard for those scars. Now, I look like a… like a sub.” My shoulders dropped. “Lost my virginity along with my pride.”
He chuckled. “Being my mate is that bad?”
I gripped the counter. “It’ll at least keep your dad from stabbing me.”
Keith pressed against me. “Anything else, or are you just in this for my enzymes?”
“They’re a perk,” I whispered.
His hand brushed along my sides. “Are you sure?” He bit my ear gently.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Then why are you hard, West?”
Swallowing hard, I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just am.”
***
~Shiloh
The humans had dropped off the meat in the same location. I walked with the rest of the pack to go eat. Today had been great. The feral wolves played with me, and we took naps together. I really like it here.
The wolves started to eat. I gnawed on a deer leg, watching the humans park nearby. The woman was in the truck. I really hoped she visited again tomorrow.
I heard the engine start. My ear twisted to the side. Some of the wolves started to drag the carcasses towards the trees. Other weren’t bothered by the approaching truck. My tail wagged. I could see the woman. She didn’t look happy though. I’d cheer her up.
Climbing to my feet, I walked to the passenger side of the vehicle and howled to get her attention. She smiled but didn’t move. The man besided her was saying something, but I couldn’t hear it clearly. I moved closer and pawed at the door. The window rolled down.
“I told you not to get attached, Becca,” muttered the man. “They’re just animals.”
She seemed to be annoying him and smiled down at me. “Hello handsome.”
I flickered my tail to the side and waited for a treat.
“Don’t you worry. You’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”
My ears flattened out. I didn’t understand what she meant. I started to whine and lowered my head.
“Such a pretty boy,” she breathed.
I yelped when something struck my side. It made my leg feel weird and the sensation was spreading. I didn’t like it and wobbled off through the snow toward the trees.
Becca climbed out of the truck and was met by the man who had been driving, and an other one was a black beard.
“He’ll be asleep soon enough,” said the man with a gun.
I was supposed to fall asleep. My heart was banging against my ribs. But I might not, would they find out I’m not a real wolf. Would they just kill me? My body felt weird, but I didn’t feel the urge to go to sleep. I laid down and breathed deeply. I could pretend to be asleep. Just pretend, and they wouldn’t think anything was wrong with me.
I stared up at the woman.
She clutched her chest. “You’ll be fine. I’m going to take care of you.”
Whining softly, I tried to get up. Whatever they had injected me with was enough to make me immobile.
“Don’t fight it, just go to sleep.” She knelt down.
“Becca!” snapped the driver. “Do you want to get yourself killed?”
“He won’t hurt me.” She brushed her hand along my back. “I can see it in his eyes. He’s just scared.”
She patted me gently. It was soothing. She was right I was scared, but I was going to have to trust this woman to keep me safe. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.
“Pull the truck around.”
Becca stayed at my side. “He’s so beautiful. His fur is so soft. I’d expect it to be thicker for winter though.” She rubbed her hand along my side to my stomach. “Malnutrition might be the problem.”
“He’s probably has some disease.”
“Robert!” she snapped. “Enough. There is nothing wrong with him. He’s perfect.”
The truck stopped close by, and I heard the crunching of boots.
“Grab his head. I have the rest of the body.”
I felt hands slide under me. I was lifted up and place on the cold metal bed of the truck.
“He’s lighter than he looks.”
“Malnutrition, Robert,” said Becca.
“Well you are the wolf obsessionist,” he scoffed.
“Quiet,” she snapped back.
The truck doors opened and closed. I remained still, doing my best to appear to be sleeping. My limbs were starting to wake up, though, and the urge to run was growing. I needed to trust her, Becca. I had to, being with the wolves was making me forget that I need to get out here and back to Ranger.
The man sitting by my head with a gun was also a problem.
***
~West
I opened my eyes to the sound of the TV. My head was resting on Keith’s shoulder. The scar on my shoulder renewed and even after sleeping, I was exhausted.
“Is it impossible to recover from this?” I muttered.
“Not with just an hour nap.”
I yawned and sunk into him. The game on showed a group of two werewolves wearing different colored harnesses with a number attached to the back and front. “What is this?”
“Football. It’s the second half, so in werewolf form. My brother’s playing.”
“Which one?”
“34, black wolf on the end.”
I watched for a moment as they did a play. The camera zoomed into Keith’s brother. “Wow,” I breathed. “He’s tall.”
“And fast,” he dropped his arm, so it was around my waist. “He’s a receiver.”
“Are you that tall in werewolf form.” I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck. I don’t understand why it was making me sweat. It was a simple question, and he was my mate so there was no reason I shouldn’t ask.
“Do you want to see my wolf, West?”
I shrugged. “You’ve seen mine.”
“Last time we played this game, you slept in the tub.”
I shoved his chest and rolled over. “Never mind then. I don’t care what you look like.”
Keith rolled on top of me, and I felt fur rubbed against my back. The way his body blocked out the light and the warmth I felt from the man above me, he was a typical overly tall and muscular dominant. Damn it all to hell, I was stuck with the black version of Ranger. In werewolf, I couldn’t even tell them apart.
I glanced up at him. Keith fur did have a reddish tone to it though, and their eyes were different.
I hugged a pillow to my chest and rest my chin on it. “Change back, you’re going to break the bed.”
Keith laughed and nuzzled my neck. “No. I sleep as a werewolf, sometimes.”
“That’s weird,” I muttered.
“No, it’s not. What’s weird is everyone’s preference for human. I simply like to sleep in the form I was born in, which is a werewolf.” He licked my mating bite. “You can shift too.”
“I’d rather not.” I glared at the wall.
“I’ve seen you’re wolf, West.”
“Yeah and you’re still bigger than me in human form, so it’s even more embarrassing now.”
“West,” he growled in my ear. “Shift. You can have a pity party later. I want to hold you in your true form.”
“I prefer human,” I whispered, sounding really unconvincing.
“Do it,” he teased, grating his claws along my side.
“Stop it,” I hissed. “I’m tired and my body is messed up.”
“Shift and I will.”
I need to retain some pride as a man, so I sat up. “Fine, since you’re so annoying. I will.”
He watched me with an amused look on his face.
I fidgeted around for a moment. “What?”
“Nothing, just waiting.”
I let out a heated breath and shifted. “There.” My ear fell to the side. “See, it’s embarrassing.”
“Why? I’m larger than most werewolves. To me it would be weird if you were bigger.”
I shrugged. “Still.”
“You’re more honest in this form.” He laid down beside me and pulled me over to him.
I grabbed my tail and forced my ears to stay still.
“And a little self conscious,” he laughed.
“No, I’m not.”
“I’m thinking so.”
I punched his side. “No, I’m not.”
Keith just laughed and rubbed the stop. He glanced at the TV. “When I told Ace I was getting a mate, he gave me some advice.”
I let me place my head on his shoulder. It felt nice to be near another werewolf again in this form. It gave my wolf one of those ingrained comforts of a pack sleeping together. “What was it?”
“To always agree with your mate, even when they’re wrong.”
He tightened his grip on me as I tried to push away.
“You’re not funny. I’m not self conscious.” Somehow I had wiggled around and was straddling the large werewolf. My ear and tail gave away what I was feeling.
Keith just smiled. “Whatever you say, West.”
I moved back to his side and stared at the TV. “Just shut up and watch the game.”
He chuckled to himself. “Whatever you say.” He nuzzled the side of my head. “My mate it always right.”