Ready or Knot (Knotted Paths #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,17
and the dressing and the shifting, and everyone was tired…
I mean, fair. That was reason enough.
Since I didn’t have words to answer, I lifted my head and darted a lick at Jordan’s rough, bearded chin. In human form, I never would have felt bold enough, but somehow in wolf form, it felt… safe. All of Jordan made me feel safe. Was this how pet dogs felt with an owner who cared for them? Maybe I was a dog and not a wolf. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
At the moment, I could imagine staying in wolf form, curling up at Jordan’s feet for the rest of my life. It was just a thought, though. I wasn’t ready to give up cinnamon rolls and opposable thumbs. But safety… I could spend a lot of time in wolf form if it was safer.
Craig pushed off the wall and pulled up his headphones. “I’ll be in my room. Let me know when the bear leaves.”
With a sad smile on his face, Justin stared after him before he turned to me. “Don’t take Craig’s rough ways too seriously. He has a hard time showing he cares.”
Was Justin suggesting Craig had been showing he cared? He definitely had a strange way of going about it.
“Hunter, would you mind showing Jordan to the bathroom? I’ll make us some tea. I’ve been meaning to ask you how classes are going.”
Jordan’s fingers guiding the warm water through my thick, muddy fur was absolute bliss. And while he worked on rinsing me clean, he talked. Half of the time, I barely heard what he said, I was so deep in relishing the unfamiliar joy of relaxation and being taken care of, but bits came through here and there.
“I wish you hadn’t felt afraid tonight, but I’m glad I got the chance to meet you. It’s likely we would have run into each other at some point, with you living here and me working, but there’s a lot of residents I never see because they don’t go out at night. I hate to think how long it would have taken if tonight hadn’t happened.
“Would I have caught hints of your scent? Would I have started dreaming about you before I met you? How many times would we have passed within minutes of each other without speaking? I can’t even bear to think about it. All it took was one scent to know that you’re my true mate, Wyatt.
“And I don’t say that to pressure you. I wish this bathroom wasn’t so damn small. I want to talk to you again, hear what you think. But I’d break something. Probably myself. So I’ll have to wait to talk to you. Believe I’m excited. I think you’re wonderful. I know I don’t know you yet, but I can’t wait to get to know you.”
When I was clean, he carefully fluffed my fur with a towel, then finished with a hair dryer he found under the sink. I buried my forehead against his chest anytime I could. Everything about him—his scent, his warmth, his heartbeat—grounded me, made me focus on the here and now, not the past. His constant low chatter kept my brain from winding up and running so fast I tripped over myself.
“You’re all dry and extra fluffy now.”
I grumbled at him calling me fluffy, but I was starting to kind of like it.
“How’s your leg feeling?”
I’d been balancing on my other legs, but I set the injured one down and tried putting weight on it. I barely leaned before pain shot straight to my shoulder. I picked it right up and shook my head.
Jordan ruffled my ears. “Hopefully you’ll be able to change back soon and heal that right up. But for now...” He scooped me up in his strong arms and left the bathroom. “Which one’s yours? This one?”
Mine was the only open door, so it was an easy guess. Hunter’s, Justin’s, and Chance’s voices drifted up the stairs.
Jordan laid me on my bed, with my head on the pillow. He untucked my blankets and ruffled them into a nest around me. “How’s this? I always like feeling like I’m snuggled in a cozy den when I sleep in my fur.”
I shuffled my shoulders. To make it perfect, I could have stood and dug at it more, but Jordan would fuss about me hopping around on three legs. I gave him a wide-mouthed, tongue-lolling, wolfy smile.
His eyes twinkled in return, and he scratched the fur between my ears. “Get