Page 6 of Bewitchingly Hers (Witches of Pleasant Grove #3)

CHAPTER FOUR

barrett

T here was something wrong. I couldn’t shift back to my human body.

And my wolf was too damn comfortable letting our mate pet him to care.

Dammit, I needed to get back out there. At this point, the trail was probably cold.

I’d spent too many days lazying away in her house, sleeping as my body stitched itself back together.

Licking at my wounds, I hoped my saliva would help.

I was almost fully healed—I knew it. And yet, there was a tightness to my body that hadn’t existed before.

Each step I took still felt like needles in my side.

But I knew I needed to do it.

My mate had left me this morning, heading to her job.

I’d deduced that she must have worked at a bakery, because she came home smelling faintly of coffee and baked goods every day.

I had a faint recollection of collapsing outside of one, of being brought into a large kitchen filled with appliances, but all of the memories from that night were hazy.

The memory of her was the strongest.

Still, she was so sweet to me, considering she thought I was a wild wolf.

There was no fear in her eyes—not as she stroked my head or told me what a good boy I was as she continued to feed me those disgusting potions.

At least they were working, even if it was slow.

Whatever had attacked me had messed with my shifter healing abilities, and whatever the witch had sent was doing its job.

How many days had passed? I couldn’t keep track. I didn’t have my phone or any of my belongings. All of my stuff was still at the inn I’d been staying at before I’d caught the trail of the reported monster living in the woods.

I was stranded here. No clothes, no way to contact anyone.

But… she was here, so maybe this was where I was supposed to be.

With each painful step, I padded around the house, using my nose to smell around. I couldn’t explain why I wanted to explore my mate’s house, only that I wanted to get to know her better. To understand the person the fates had decided to bless me with.

Her sugary smell was everywhere in this house—like it had seeped into the very walls. I didn’t smell any other males here, which satisfied me more than it should have. Nor had she brought another man home in the last week or so since she’d rescued me.

I preened at the thought. It shouldn’t have made me happy that she seemed to be single, but I was glad I didn’t have to fight someone else for her. An alpha wolf who found their mate was prone to jealousy and was known be quite possessive.

We didn’t share. When a wolf bonded with their mate, it was for life. Not that we were anywhere close to bonding. Especially when she didn’t even know who—or what—I was.

There were plants scattered everywhere, small pots that looked healthy and well loved. Collections of crystals, dried flowers, and a pile of books sat on the table next to her couch. The entire house was full of rich, warm colors, obviously well taken care of.

The only other smell in this house belonged to whatever animal lived in the large cage in her living room. I stared at it, sitting on my hind legs. The creature burrowed under the bedding of what looked to be paper shredding, poking its head as it took me in.

It was a hedgehog, who wiggled its little nose at me as it seemed to sniff the air. I wasn’t a threat to her pet—though my senses told me this was a deeper connection than just of a pet and owner. The way the little beast stared at me, as if trying to parse out my intentions, felt different.

I’m not going to hurt her, I wanted to tell it. I’m going to keep her safe. My little healer was precious, and there was no way I could ever let her come to harm.

We were in a staring contest, the hedgehog and I, and I refused to be the one to break.

Finally, I looked longingly outside out the sliding glass back door, feeling the urge to run unfold under my skin. My wolf wanted it—no, needed it.

But we were in no shape to run. And I knew our mate would give us a scolding if we split any of the wounds open and ended up bleeding again.

Plus, I didn’t want to ruin her bed. The comforter was cozy, and it was ten times better of a sleep than I’d ever gotten at home.

Maybe that was just her.

Finally, I gave up, curling in a ball in front of the front door so I could wait for my mate to return to me.

“I’m home,” my mate called. “Sorry it took me longer than I expected, I stopped by the general store to pick up a few things, but the line was long, and…” She blinked, like she just realized I was sitting on the floor and not on her bed where she’d left me.

A little gasp left her lips. “You got up.”

I couldn’t help the involuntary wag of my tail at the sound of her voice. At seeing her sweet form in front of me.

Her shoulder length ginger hair with those blunt bangs was wavy, and she was wearing a pair of black denim jeans today—along with the pair of black combat boots she wore most days—and a cozy dark green turtle neck. She’d even done a little bit of makeup, highlighting her blue eyes.

“I hope you didn’t get into anything while I was gone.” She narrowed her eyes at me as she carried her bags over to the kitchen counter, and then turned back to look at me. “Do you want to… go out?” My mate looked almost embarrassed, a little pink blush blooming over her cheeks. “It’s been awhile.”

Yes. I did want that. My wolf let out a bark of confirmation.

Standing up, I hobbled over towards the door and sat, waiting for her to open it for me.

“I’ll take that as your answer,” she laughed, letting me out the door. I trudged out to the yard, relieving myself behind a tree before padding back to her, sitting in front of her. “Good boy,” she praised.

I wagged my tail. I was a good boy, wasn’t I?

Wait, fuck. What was I doing? I wasn’t a dog. I was a human, dammit. And I needed to get back to my human form. It wasn’t good for shifters to spend this much time in their animal form.

I knew some shifters who had spent so long as their wolves that they’d gone feral, and I was not having that happen to me.

Leaving me sitting, she walked over to the cage, reaching her hand in and pulling out the small creature, who curled itself into a small ball.

“Hi, Nutmeg, my sweet girl.” My mate scratched under the hedgehog’s chin.

“How was your day? Our big scary wolf friend didn’t try to scare you, right? ” Her eyes drifted over to me.

Nope. I was a perfect gentleman.

Nutmeg—the hedgehog—climbed into her shoulder, cuddling up against my mate before giving me a discerning look.

I was a little jealous of her, because she could nuzzle against my mate, while I couldn’t. Pouting, I let out a few whimpers as she lavished the tiny creature with attention before returning it to the enclosure.

Gods, I was acting like a pup right now, not a full-grown adult.

Following her to the kitchen, I tried not to get in her way as she unpacked the bags from the grocery store.

“I brought you a steak,” she said, and I wagged my tail at the thought of a delicious, juicy steak.

“Thought maybe it might cheer you up after all those potions.” A whine left my throat at the thought of drinking that bitter concoction again.

“Don’t worry. You’re mostly healed, so I don’t have another one today. ”

Letting out a sigh of relief, I watched her as she opened up the packaging with the raw steak, and then looked down at me. “Should I cook it, or…”

While I’d had my fair share of raw meat as a wolf, I definitely was still a human who preferred it cooked. Please.

She nodded to herself as I perked up my ears. “Okay, then. Guess we’re cooking a steak.” She muttered under her breath. “For a wolf. Goddess, when did my life get so fucking weird?”

I yipped once in agreement.

If she knew how truly bizarre this situation was, what would she think?

Would she accept me? My mate had a tender heart.

I could see it in the way she took care of me, even when she didn’t have to.

She could have left me in that alley to bleed out and die.

She could have taken me to a veterinarian, someone who had a lot more experience treating dogs and wild animals.

But instead, she’d taken one look at me, and jumped into action.

Yet, I still knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t accept me when she found out what I was.

Though I’d only heard bits and pieces of her conversation that first night with the witches—it was evident that this town didn’t even know about us.

What had happened that this city had closed itself off from the world?

I needed to find out.

After I got my strength back and could shift. I missed my human body, my ability to speak. I couldn’t communicate with her like this—not until we’d bonded. So, for the moment, I was stuck.

It wasn’t all bad living with her. Her presence calmed a piece of me that had always been restless.

I was still trying to figure out how the fates had matched me with a witch, and not a wolf.

In the beginning, I’d thought maybe I’d just been hallucinating, but her scent wasn’t like any shifter I’d ever met.

She was a witch.

I watched her move around the kitchen, doing things I’d never even imagined—and with my job, the unimaginable was my specialty. But seeing her float things through the air, to summon something from the cupboards without even batting an eyelash was… incredible.

There was no doubt about it. I was in awe of my little healer.

The mate who didn’t even know we were destined.

I couldn’t deny the pull towards her though.

The faint thread that kept us tethered. Every time she left the house, I wanted to go with her.

To be by her side. The way she was taking care of me—nursing me back to health—was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.

A whimper slipped free from my wolf at the thought of leaving her unprotected. She was small—five foot two, maybe—and though she had beautiful curves, her body wasn’t covered in muscles, like mine.

I licked my paw at the thought. We were strong. We can protect her, my wolf insisted. She has us now.

“I’m sorry,” she said, putting the now-cooked steak onto a plate and setting it onto the floor for me. “I’m sure you’re starving.”

Dipping my head down, I sniffed the meat. It smelled like the best thing I’d had in months.

Being out on the road meant I didn’t often get a home cooked meal, living off of fast food and diner meals.

I gobbled it down in a few bites, glad for my extra sharp canines that helped me rip through the meat.

The steak was juicy, tender, and perfectly cooked—still a little rare, which my wolf was happy about.

He didn’t like it when the meat was too done.

Damn bastard was perfectly happy wagging his tail as we ate, and I knew our mate was watching us with amusement.

Settle down, I scolded my wolf. She’s going to think we’re some sort of trained house pet.

I really hoped with how comfortable she was with me in her house that she didn’t make a habit of picking up injured animals off the street and nursing them back to health. What would I do if I came home one day and found her cuddling an actual dangerous animal?

Pushing the plate towards her with my nose, I watched as she cleaned up the kitchen before sitting down at the table to eat the meal she’d cooked for herself.

I nuzzled my head into her hand, brushing up against her before laying at her feet. I had a good vantage point of the door to watch for intruders.

She scratched between my ears. “You’re just my little protector now, aren’t you?”

Yes, I was.

When she finished eating and got up to stretch, I hopped up on the couch, laying my head down on one of the pillows as my mate cleaned up the kitchen.

I was mostly healed, and there was no reason I needed to sleep next to her. Only that I wanted to—but was that a good enough reason? I wasn’t sure. Not when she didn’t know who I was. Dammit, she didn’t even know my name.

Her footsteps were soft as she padded over to me, kneeling down on the furry rug until we were eye level.“Are you coming?” She looked towards her bedroom.

Raising my head, I looked at her and then back down at the couch.

Did I want to sleep out here, separated from my mate? No . No I did not.

So I hopped up, following behind her, padding across the wooden floor till we reached her bedroom. I hopped up—ignoring the slight sting pain that still radiated through my muscles from jumping—and curled myself into a ball on her bed as she changed into her pajamas.

But I didn’t look—because I was a good wolf who was not trying to catch a peek.

When she came out, sliding under the covers, my mate wrapped her arms around me. She burrowed her face into my fur, cuddling against me like I was her own personal heater and blanket in one.

For once in my life, I couldn’t complain, because my mate was wrapped around me, and the rest of my problems, well… they were later problems.

Tonight, I was just going to enjoy this.