Vera’s lip trembled as she smiled and nodded. “Then you will be.”
He brushed his knuckle up her cheekbone. “Vera?”
“Yes, Boy-Boy.”
“You’ve done terrifying things to me.”
The smile slipped from her face. “What do you mean?”
“In a day, you’ve made me question everything and want things I’ve never hoped for before.”
“Like what?”
“Like you. Like a family and a better life. There are these moments when I feel panicked, like I’m changing too fast. The world feels like its spinning, and I’m just holding on.”
“Hold onto me then.”
The corner of his lips turned up. “Strong mate. You’ve been through so much, and you’re still steady in the hurricane. Clayton never had a shot at breaking you.”
“He never had a shot at breaking you, either. By the way, I totally bit you.”
He chuckled deep in his throat and rolled over on his side, taking her with him. “I know. You’re a bitey little thing.”
“You better hope it scars, or you can bet your sexy butt my animal will do it again.” She clacked her teeth and made a chomping noise.
“I like your llama muumuu.”
She tried to hold a severe look but failed. “Nightgown. I also have one with penguins in winter hats, so prepare thyself for mega-boners tomorrow night.”
Tobias kissed her forehead and pulled her tighter against his chest. “I can’t wait. Sleep now, Vera. I’ll keep you safe.”
Safe.
She let off a long exhalation, releasing the rest of the tension she hadn’t realized she was carrying. Tobias was willing to go head-to-head with Clayton—his own father—for her. She didn’t know how she’d lucked into a pairing with a man like him, but she wasn’t one to question gifts like this.
Perhaps this was the balance being restored to her life.
Perhaps Tobias was her sunshine after years of rain.
And for the first time in a long time, she drifted off to sleep, completely unafraid.
Chapter Eight
The woods were freedom. Freedom from pain and human emotion. Free from the misfits who could never run as fast as her. The woods were home for a monster like her.
Trees blurring by, her nails digging into the rich black earth with every stride, mouth open in a toothy smile, the wind whipping through her thick coat. Happy. Yes, that was the word for the woods. They were synonymous with happy. This was the best part of the animal. Perhaps it was the only good part. The smells, the tastes, chasing, running, circling, claiming her territory because Perl was hers.
Harlan thought he was king, but he was wrong.
She was.
Riiiiiiiing.
Vera skidded to a stop, the pads of her paws sliding against the soft earth. She turned and narrowed her eyes at the wilderness behind her. The sun was too bright, saturating everything in eye-scorching yellow light. The noise had been an abomination in her woods. A grating human sound that didn’t belong.
Riiiiiiiing.
Vera gasped and sat up in bed, her head spinning. For a moment, she didn’t know which body she wore, human or animal. The dream had seemed so real, and she could feel her now—the animal that the medicine had tucked away for so long.
Chest heaving, she blinked hard as the phone rang again.
Yanking it off its cradle by the bed, she answered in a rush. “Hello?”
“Good morning. You requested a wake-up call.”
“I-I did?”
“Mr. Silver did, ma’am.”
“Oh okay, thank you.”
Confused, she hung up and turned to Tobias’s side of the bed. “Did you…” She frowned at Tobias’s empty side of the mattress. “Tobias?”
Even if the silence hadn’t told her he wasn’t here, her instincts would have. She could sense a lot more now than she could yesterday.
She looked around the room for clues to where he was. When her attention landed on the small table near the mini-fridge, she smiled. In a glass mason jar was a bouquet of bright orange Gerber daisies. And beside it was a folded piece of paper. Vera bolted out of bed, bare boobs bouncing as she skidded to a stop in front of the flowers. With rushing fingers, she unfolded the letter. A wad of cash fell out. Stunned, she read the scrawled handwriting.
Thistle,
I have an errand to run today. I’ll be back by tonight. I imagine you won’t do well sitting around waiting on a man, though, so I did some research and made a couple of appointments for you. I hope you don’t mind.
Yours,
McBeefcake
p.s. your bite will definitely scar.
There was an itinerary below that.
11:00 – Haircut at Vonda’s Hair right down the street. Take a left on Main.