Page 53 of His White Moonlight (Dominant CEO Shifter Romance #1)

Mom’s words broke my heart for both of us. She was the only Mom I remembered, and I didn’t want to lose her either.

“No matter what, I promise you won’t lose me for good,” I said. “Not if I have any say in it.”

She sniffled, and we both stood to hug.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, Sweetheart. So much. Can I ask how things are going with Bennett, or is that a closed topic for us?”

“It’s not closed. But I don’t think you’ll like the answer.”

“Say it anyway,” she said, leading me to her office couch.

“He wants me to stay with him, and I want to leave. We’re at an impasse.”

“But I can smell?—”

“Attraction doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up more of my life for him. I’ve given up enough.”

“Will you tell me if he does something you don’t like?”

“If you want.”

“I do.”

“Okay. Then I will.” I considered her for a second.

“I don’t hate him. Not for any of it. I’m mad, but I can understand too.

None of it was intentional, but intent doesn’t undo the damage or my need to make my own choices.

If something bad happens, I want it to be because of the decisions I made, not because of what someone else arranged for me. ”

“I understand. What are your plans for dinner tonight?”

“I don’t think we have any.”

“Could we try a family dinner again?”

“Sure.”

She smiled and patted my hand.

* * *

The spot beside me was still warm when I checked. Five days had passed since I woke up in the hospital, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was bruise-free.

While I appreciated the reprieve, it also showed the level of boredom the last five days had been.

Eat, sleep, and work—that was it—all under Bennett’s very protective presence.

Except for the few times he let Miranda take over.

Like when I went to the bathroom at work and a very brief lunch meetup with Sophia.

Restlessness was a real problem with me when life got too quiet. It always felt like the lull before the storm, and I hated it.

I glanced at my open bedroom door.

“What’s your schedule like this morning?” I called.

He appeared in my doorway a second later, wearing loose shorts as he towel-dried his wet hair.

“An acquisition call at eight and a partner meeting at eleven. Why?”

“I think I’ll drive in later on my own.”

He stopped towel-drying his hair and sat on the edge of the bed, facing me.

“We’ve been cutting off the Shanes each time they grab a lifeline. Their desperation makes me nervous that they’ll try something. I’d prefer you stay close to me, Mom and Dad, or Miranda.”

While I appreciated that he didn’t just say no, I wasn’t a fan of his non-no either.

“I want to go for a run.”

“What if you bring your running clothes to work and run with Miranda while I’m at the partner meeting?”

“At what point in my slacking off do you think the rest of the office will mutiny? I took a three-hour nap on Monday, and now I’m going to go for a run during work hours. The week before that, I was out too.”

“If they haven’t mutinied yet over my behavior, they shouldn’t over yours either.”

“Completely different standards, but okay. I’ll take a work-run with Miranda.”

“Thank you.” He didn’t leave.

“Is there something else?”

“There’s a pack run tomorrow night. I’d like you to go. With me.”

“So you can say I’m your mate in front of everyone? No thanks.”

“The news has already spread. I’d like you to go so everyone understands you’re under our protection even more now.”

“I don’t think it’s going to work like you think it will, but okay. I’ll go under one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“If I’m maliciously hurt at the pack run, you stop sabotaging my attempts to meet your conditions to stay at school on my own this fall.”

He frowned, looking uncomfortable. “You won’t be hurt.”

“Then it’s an easy deal for you to make, isn’t it?”

“And if you’re not maliciously hurt? Are you willing to kiss me? No timer, and you initiate it.”

“Sure. It’s a deal. Now get out so I can get ready for work, or you’ll be late for your call.”

He darted in and kissed my lips then left me alone to get ready. His touching was becoming more frequent, and while I didn’t hate it, I knew it wouldn’t make anything easier for either of us.

I texted Miranda to pack some running clothes for an extended lunch then hurried through my morning routine. Bennett was in the kitchen, plating a piece of avocado toast topped with an over-hard egg when I entered.

“What days does Sandy work?” I asked. “You seem to be in the kitchen more than she is, not that I’m complaining that she doesn’t work. I’m just curious.”

“She cleans while we’re gone, does the grocery shopping, and is willing to make meals when I ask. I usually don’t ask.”

He motioned for me to sit at the counter and set the plate in front of me.

“Do you like cooking?”

A hint of a smile ghosted his lips.

“For you, yes.”

“Why? I’m not very grateful about it.”

“I think that will change when I find the foods you like.”

I shook my head and took a bite of his breakfast. “If you’re trying to find my favorites, avocado toast is probably at the bottom of my list. Most of the food the school served would be at the bottom.”

“Because you didn’t like how they tasted or because you didn’t like what they represented?”

His question hit home, and I stared down at the toast for a second before taking another bite. This time, I set aside my bias and focused on the taste.

“Maybe there’s something else you don’t like because of what it represents rather than how it actually is?”

“No, I’m pretty sure my reason for not liking a mate is accurate. Even Mom says mates are unbearably clingy until the first child is born. No thanks.”

He let out an annoyed huff.

“But you’re right about the avocado toast. My problems with it have nothing to do with the taste.”

“Stubborn,” he said under his breath.

“Which means you’ll need to be the flexible one if you want us to be mates, right?”

“Eat your toast, Wrenly.”

I grinned as I wolfed it down.

* * *

“Look at your cute little human legs go,” Miranda said, keeping pace beside me.

“I think I like running with Bennett better. He’s quiet.”

She snorted. “Maybe outwardly, but not inwardly. I’m betting he watches the way your boobs bounce in that sports bra, and he’s probably hoping he doesn’t trip over his hard-on. Have you noticed it?”

I almost tripped.

“What? No! What is wrong with you?”

She laughed until tears streamed down her face, but she never lagged behind. Not even a little.

“What’s the point of this run, by the way? Are you worried about your weight or something? I hear humans obsess like that.”

“I’m rethinking our friendship.”

“That’s a lie. Seriously, though, you’re running all out. Humans usually do that when they’re training. Are you training?”

“Sort of. Bennett asked me to go to the pack run with him.”

“Oh.” She said it with all the tone of bless your heart . “You’re not going to try to actually keep up with the run, are you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I just want to be fast enough to reach a tree to climb.”

“You do know that we can climb trees, too, right?”

“Yep. In human form. Shifting takes time, which I’d use to my advantage by screaming my head off for Bennett.”

I felt her glance at me.

“You think something is going to happen, don’t you?”

“I’ve been home for three weeks. In that time, I’ve been thrown to the ground, tripped, held by the throat against the wall, bruised against the bathroom door—not holding any grudges about that one, by the way—drugged, and almost raped.

And that was all while under the Wulfs’ considerable protection.

You’re as crazy as Bennett if you think something won’t happen. ”

We completed the first lap around the park, but neither of us slowed.

“Did you tell him?”

“I did better than tell him. I made a deal. If I’m hurt maliciously, he has to stop sabotaging my attempts to meet his terms for the other deal we made.”

“The one for living alone at University?”

“Yeah.”

“And he agreed?”

“Of course he did. He’s positive that he’s all the protection I need. If that were true, I wouldn’t still wake up screaming once a month.”

Her gait faltered.

“Does screaming yourself awake have to do with the villain in your origin story?”

I hesitated for only a second before nodding.

“Are you ever going to tell me the full story?”

“Maybe.”

“Can I get a little hint today?”

“She knows how to hurt people without leaving a physical mark. Suffocation using a wet blanket. No hands to struggle against that might leave bruises.”

Miranda didn’t say anything for the rest of that lap.

“Does Bennett know?”

“The specifics? No. There’s no point in telling him or my parents. Why make anyone else live with the hell that happened to me?”

“What about me?”

“You’re not emotionally invested in me enough to be fully traumatized by it. You’ll only be a little traumatized.”

She snorted. “So that’s why you know how to defend yourself and why you reacted like you did when I reached for you.”

“Yeah.”

“How long ago did that happen?”

“Three years? Four maybe? The pictures she has of me were from about two years ago. I got a lot smarter after that. Meaner too. I wasn’t afraid of leaving marks.”

Miranda was quiet for a few minutes.

“Lindi Shane won’t be at the pack run, though. So who do you think will hurt you?”

I laughed.

“Every single female who thinks she has a chance at Bennett if I stop breathing. That’s at least what? Fifty maybe? Maybe more if the older ones are thinking of rejecting their mates for him.”

“Hmm. You’re not wrong. But I don’t think they’d do something right under his nose.”

“They won’t. Something will happen to separate us, and they’ll get me to the river where a group will be waiting. No one will chase me directly. Scent trails and all that.”

“Bennett said you predicted what would happen at the charity auction.”

I glanced at her again. “You talk to Bennett?”

She sniffed and grinned. “Careful, I think there’s a hint of jealousy in there.”