The first thing that struck Senan as he watched Finlay getting undressed in the forest clearing some miles out of town was how at home Finlay seemed to be in the great outdoors.
Senan was feeling so much better - relaxed, happy, pleased to have a chance to share his passion for people-watching with his mate, and now it was time for him to share something that made Finlay happy as well.
“You don’t have to worry about the Luna Pack,” Finlay said.
He pulled his shirt over his head, folded it loosely and dropped it on the hood of the car.
“The pack is about thirty minutes that way.” He pointed to the right.
“But we’re going the other way. The boundaries of the pack territory are at least a mile away from here, so we shouldn’t come across any wandering pack members. ”
“I’m sure you’ll protect me from them.” Senan smiled and raised his eyebrows in an effort to hide his sudden onset of nerves.
He hadn’t deliberately gone anywhere near the Luna Pack ever, and just knowing he was within running distance of the territory – at least in wolf terms – didn’t fill him with warm fuzzies. I’m doing this for Finlay.
“If there was anywhere else suitable where I could shift and run, then I would.” Finlay seemed to be doing a spot of mind reading.
“It’s fine.” Senan wasn’t lying. He understood Finlay’s wolf had to stretch his legs, and there weren’t that many options when it came to places he could shift and run outside of town.
Senan’s back garden was barely big enough to host a flower bed, and from what he’d seen at Finlay’s when they went to get some clothes for him, there wasn’t much room there either.
“I’m sure you know this about wolf shifters, but I should probably repeat it anyway. My wolf looks like a natural wolf, he’s just a little bit bigger.”
Senan chuckled. Finlay was in the process of taking off his pants. “I think everything about you is a little bit bigger than the norm, don’t you?” He made a point of directing his gaze at Finlay’s crotch and waggled his eyebrows.
“Gods, you shouldn’t do that.” But Finlay was laughing, hopping around to get his left foot out of his pants leg. “You just have to look at me, and my cock goes boing and springs to attention. My wolf wants out, and that doesn’t mix with a hardon.”
“I can try not looking.” Senan hid his face with his hands, but then he opened his fingers so he could peep through them. “I thought shifters were fine with being naked.”
“We are. I am. But you rev my motor just by looking at me. I don’t usually have that issue when I shift.” Finlay finally got his pants off and put them with his shirt. “Okay, just a few quick things. You know my wolf is sentient.”
Senan nodded, dropping his hands so he could pay attention. Not exactly easy when his sexy mate was naked.
“My wolf knows who you are, he sees you as his precious mate, and he’ll understand everything you say, even if he can’t exactly talk back.
I think my wolf’s total range of vocalizations includes a few growls in different pitches, barking, the wolf howl of course.
” Finlay flicked a glance in the direction of the pack grounds.
“My wolf won’t be doing that today, but he’s also been known to huff on occasion. ”
“A huffy puppy, how adorable.” Senan laughed as he watched Finlay’s body shimmer with magic. That magic was unique to shifters everywhere, and something that a fae, mage, or any other magic user had no hope of repeating.
Within a blink, where Finley stood, a large, black, gray, and brown wolf appeared.
The first thing Senan noticed was the intelligence in his bright yellow eyes.
Finlay’s wolf had a healthy coat, with a wide chest. Standing still the way he was, Senan estimated the wolf’s back was at least as tall as Senan’s hip bone.
Sort of natural. Not small. But Finlay’s wolf was definitely magnificent.
“Is there a sniffing protocol for shifters when they meet their mates in their shifted form?” Moving forward Senan held out his hand, not quite sure what the wolf would do.
The wolf sniffed, licked it, and then nudged Senan’s hand so that he was petting the wolf between his ears.
“Ah, I see how this is going to go,” Senan said, laughing quietly.
“For all you looking big, fierce, and intimidating, you’re really just a gorgeous fur baby that likes scritches, aren’t you? ”
The wolf was wagging his tail, and he had a big grin on his face.
Senan had heard that term before - a wolfy grin - but now he was seeing it in the flesh, and it really was darn cute.
It was clear the wolf was happy to see him, and be touched by him, and that made Senan feel a lot better about where they were.
“Did you want to go for a walk? I can walk with you for a little way, if you like. Or do you want to run off and go and sniff and do whatever it is that wolves do? I don’t need you hunting me a rabbit,” Senan added quickly when the wolf looked keen to take off into the woods.
“I’ve already had lunch so I’m not hungry. Let’s make sure no innocent animals die just because you think you have to provide for me. I know you want to provide for me. I don’t need you to prove it to me right now."
He got a woof for that, which made him jump, but that struck Senan as being funny as well.
He’d never been in a situation where he’d ever talked to an animal, let alone talked to an animal that could actually understand him.
“I’ll follow you. We’ll wander for a bit, and then if I get tired, I’ll just sit somewhere, and you can just go run and do wolfy things. ”
Back before Senan got a job, he liked spending a lot of time outside.
There was something very freeing about walking through an unruly garden, or patches of bush and seeing the way plants grew and adapted to their neighbors.
Another way I rebelled against the fae life.
His former friends and family preferred environments they could control.
Senan was also curious, watching the wolf in what was his natural habitat.
Finlay, as a wolf, seemed to be a lot more alert than other animals that Senan had seen in videos and films. He seemed to be constantly sniffing the air, or around the bases of trees, perhaps picking up traces of other wolves.
He got the distinct impression Finlay didn’t want to come across anybody from his previous pack, and frankly Senan felt the same way.
You can keep being as protective as you like.
But as they walked along it was easy for Senan to convince himself that there were no other predators or people around for miles.
The trees provided plenty of shade overhead.
The air was mildly warm enough to be pleasant that Senan didn’t feel he needed a coat.
He would’ve loved to have let go of his glamour and just wander along in his natural form, complete with wings, but Finlay’s caution made him hold back.
He could tell just by the way the wolf was acting that Finlay wasn’t as comfortable roaming lands so close to the pack as he might have been in the past.
That has to be because of his brother. Letting Finlay pick their trail, Senan thought back to when Finlay had pulled out his card to pay for their meal at the restaurant.
His card was attached to the back of his phone and when that came out of his pocket, Senan had caught a glimpse of the screen.
There were at least twelve messages and missed calls all from the one number.
As Senan hadn’t heard any dings or notification bells while they were eating he could only assume that Finlay had his phone on silent.
Morgan. It had to be. If it had been anyone else leaving that many messages or calls, all from the same number, then Senan was sure Finlay would’ve at least read the messages.
Finlay had an important job. Keeping his phone on silent probably wasn’t allowed if Finlay typically got called into work.
Senan got another warm fuzzy feeling, knowing that Finlay was genuinely making an effort to focus on him for their first day, but the sheer number of attempts at contact concerned him.
I can’t think why Morgan wants to get in touch so badly anyway.
Senan believed Finlay when he said he’d cut his ties with the pack.
His mate didn’t lie. It made sense to Senan that if Morgan was still trying to get in touch with Finlay, despite his mate not being part of his pack anymore, then it had to be because of Senan.
It's not like you can tell me, running around on all fours. Senan smiled at the wolf who was loping along ahead of him, his tail waving like a flag, his head going in all directions. And I did shut down Finlay’s conversations about his brother the two times he tried to talk to me about it, so I don’t have anyone else to blame for that than myself.
Finlay barked, and Senan looked up, glancing around - not that his magic could sense anything at all beyond the natural wildlife that was supposed to be in a forest area.
“What’s up? Is something bothering you? If you need to run, you know I can’t keep up with you.
But I can sit here if you like.” He pointed to a fallen tree that provided a perfect bench seat.
“I’ll just perch my butt on here, and you go do whatever it is you need to do.
My magic will be able to sense you, and I know you won’t go far. ”
The wolf seemed undecided, looking at Senan who did go and sit down, and then looking out in the direction of where Senan knew the pack grounds were.
“You go and check for intruders. I’ll be fine here on my own.
I’ve got my phone so I can listen to some music or read a book while you’re gone.
” He wagged his finger at the wolf who was listening intently.
“Just don’t forget me and leave me here because I’m not sure I know how to get back to the car without just translocating to it. ”
The big wolf bounded over, sniffing at Senan’s chest, and then rubbing his head on it.
Senan gave his ears another rub. “Go on, I’ll be fine.
” After another sniff, the wolf bounded off and disappeared into the bushes.
Senan tugged at his shirt and sniffed the material.
“Did he just scent mark me? I thought that was what cats did.”
Giggling at the mental image of an offended looking wolf shifter who would probably hate being compared to a cat, Senan pulled out his phone, seeing a message from Gabby.
After replying to her that, yes, he and Finlay would be at his place later, Senan went into his reading app and clicked on a book he hadn’t finished yet.
Yawning, he settled his butt a bit more firmly on the log and started to read.