Page 5 of The Artsy Girl’s Guide to Mating with a Werewolf (Mate Hunted #2)

“The one here is out of network for her health insurance.”

“No it’s not. We have the same insurance,” Jade argued.

She tried again to step past Maya.

Maya blocked her at the last second, once again gesturing violently behind her back.

Graham finally got the memo and dropped to his hands and knees. The couch blocked him and my wolf from Jade’s sight.

Furball met his gaze. His expression was slightly amused.

Maya threw out a few more bullshit excuses before she managed to step outside and lock the door behind her, keeping Jade out.

I knew my friend was going to assume I was on drugs. That was what she’d figured with Abby. It was the most logical explanation for the weirdness going on when werewolves were involved.

She definitely wasn’t just going to leave things alone if she believed I was sick, and in Moon Ridge.

That was a problem for another day, though. A day when I could actually do something to help.

My wolf licked Graham’s face, earning a small smile from the man. “I’ve got a lot of work to do, Furball.”

She nodded.

There was no denying that I was swamped at the moment. He probably thought that was the only reason my place was such a mess, but he was wrong. It always looked like that.

I wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but it was what it was.

After making some pasta from the infinite stash in my pantry, Graham spent all afternoon and evening filling my orders. He was slow at first, but he hadn’t lied to Jade about remembering how to do it. He did everything perfectly, and by the time night set in, he’d gotten just as fast as I was.

There was still a massive pile of work to do when my wolf forced the guy to my bed. He dropped his pants and boxers before he collapsed on the mattress unceremoniously, mumbling something about paint before he fell asleep.

I didn’t know what the pajama pants were for, if he slept naked.

Guess I’d ask if my wolf ever decided to bite him.

Furball snuggled up with his stupidly gorgeous body and spent the night staring at him like an ultimate creep.

Somehow, the time still passed quickly.

Three more days went by while Graham filled orders. I would’ve paid Jade or Maya to help with them if I’d been doing them myself, but obviously he didn’t know that and couldn’t have done it anyway.

My wolf was an overpossessive bitch.

He talked to Furball on and off throughout the days, texting his packmates a couple of times too.

She was blatantly obsessed with him, and I wasn’t sure I blamed her. He was calm, upbeat, and just nice to be around overall.

The fourth day, he spent half an hour talking his uncle into claiming that I was too incapacitated to teach until the next semester or later.

That was definitely illegal, but I was pretty sure it would work. I didn’t teach many classes, and enough weird shit happened in Moon Ridge that I doubted anyone at the school would look too closely at the note.

Other than my friends.

Jade kept calling and texting, and came by repeatedly too.

Maya said she was handling it, but it didn’t seem to be working. Jade was too stubborn for that. I was pretty sure someone was going to have to tell her that Abby was right about werewolves being real, but I didn’t think it would be Maya.

Honestly, it would be best if she heard it from me, but I had no idea how long my wolf would hunt Graham.

After the doctor situation was settled, Graham carefully packed up all of my paints and other work stuff, threw a few pairs of my clothes in a bag, and headed back to Moon Ridge for a Thanksgiving celebration. He was still scratching my wolf’s head.

Graham had video chatted with his family for thirty minutes or so between packing, and they seemed nice.

They were thrilled about my wolf hunting him, and my wolf managed not to snap her teeth at his ex when she and her new mate appeared on the screen.

Apparently, they were participating in his family’s pack’s Thanksgiving.

No wonder he had moved.

It was late afternoon when we got there. Graham took all of my stuff into his house—with two spare bedrooms, it was definitely a better place to run my business from—before leading Furball out into the forest.

He wore nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. He hadn’t worn a shirt since the first day anyway. He seemed to wear pajama pants, sweats, and basketball shorts interchangeably when he didn’t need to go anywhere important. Which was most of the time.

All of the time that I’d known him, at least.

My wolf walked at his side, leaned up against him while he rubbed her fur.

If he was that touchy when I was in my human form, I didn’t know how I’d feel about it.

I mean, yeah, it sounded nice. I’d never had much cuddling in my life. Or touching at all, really. The only time I’d ever shared a bed with someone was when my ex’s wolf was hunting me, and I’d liked that.

It was the only thing about the entire experience that I missed, other than the pack part of it.

Having a pack had been really nice while it lasted.

My family hadn’t been close for a long time.

My siblings and I were never friends, so we didn’t really stay in touch.

I talked to my mom every few months, and typically joined the family for Christmas, but they’d all decided to go on a long cruise for the holiday this year.

The dates hadn’t worked out with the start and end of the semesters, so I’d opted out.

I had planned to spend the whole break painting if all of my friends were busy.

Now, I might be spending it in my wolf form.

Yay.

The odds of my wolf making her mind up in the month before the holiday arrived seemed pretty slim. She was definitely into Graham, but her suspicion was still running at full speed.

It didn’t take long for him to reach a small clearing.

There was a campfire in the center, and a simple table off to the side.

A large turkey sat in the middle of the table, with mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables surrounding it.

There were a few plates of cookies on the side, and a pumpkin pie too.

All of the food looked like it had been attacked, but there was enough left for Graham to have some of everything.

Abby and Nico were snuggled up in a metal, outdoor chair, with a bunch of gigantic dudes scattered around the fire. Everyone had empty plates beside them or on their laps.

Ethan, the guy my wolf had met a few days earlier, was sitting on the dirt while leaning back against the far side of a smooth wooden log, still wearing a grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

Graham introduced me and Furball to everyone else around the fire.

Wyatt was leaned up against the same log Ethan was.

Connor and Finn shared a metal bench.

Austin and Enzo occupied more metal chairs near Abby and Nico’s.

Graham grabbed a plate and sat down on the only empty bench, with Furball at his feet. She watched everyone with suspicion, leaning her side against Graham’s shins for comfort.

None of the guys mentioned or questioned the wolf, though I noticed Abby watching her.

She noticed too, but Graham scratched her lightly on the head before she growled. The contact calmed her.

The guys traded funny stories about the people they were coaching. I didn’t understand what there was to coach through—shifting was a matter of surviving hellish pain until it ended—but couldn’t exactly ask.

The mood was laid-back, and Abby had no problem participating in the conversation even though most of the guys didn’t address her directly.

Considering they were all rejected, I had assumed they either didn’t like women or just didn’t want to associate with us. They were decent enough to Abby, though.

After dinner, everyone cleaned up together and gathered around the table for card games. Camping chairs came out, along with a massive bag of candy that was apparently being used as poker chips.

Though I didn’t participate, it honestly seemed like fun.

I wouldn’t have admitted it aloud, but I kind of wished my wolf would shift back already so I could play.

Connor and Ethan ate their candy while the game went on, knocking them out of the game fairly quickly. They stayed anyway.

Abby was a horrible liar, and was out fairly quickly too.

Wyatt, Austin, and Enzo weren’t nearly as competitive as Finn and Nico, so they were the next ones out.

The battle between Nico and Finn was intense, but short, because Abby, Ethan, and Connor kept sneaking candy from both of the guys’ stashes.

Finn guarded his “chips” better than Nico, so he came out on top in the end, and everyone finally attacked the rest of the pile.

It had to be midnight when the final piece of candy—I mean poker chip—was gone, and everyone headed back to their houses.

Graham led my wolf into the forest with a playful grin, rather than heading to his place. When we were far enough from the rest of his packmates, he threw his clothes into what looked like a metal toolbox that was sitting nearby, and shifted.

If I’d been in human form, I would’ve gaped.

Not because of his body—though that was undeniably attractive.

Because his shift was instant.

I’d never seen anyone change forms without an awful amount of suffering. The shortest shift I’d ever seen was three minutes of agony, and usually it was more like five or ten. I’d been proud for years that I could change in four minutes.

An instant shift was unheard of.

The amount of pain he had saved himself was eye-watering.

Was that why everyone always talked about the feral pack? Because they could shift so quickly? If it was, I could definitely see the appeal.

Graham’s wolf approached mine slowly. His eyes were intelligent, and maybe a little cautious too.

When Furball growled at him, he stopped immediately and waited.

She eyed him.

He watched her. There was no doubt or worry in his stance. Just patience.

Slowly, she took a step toward him.

Then another.

And another.

Until finally, she was close enough to lean in and sniff his neck.

He didn’t so much as flinch.

Satisfied with his scent, she walked around him, sniffing and nudging him repeatedly.

He didn’t growl or move.

Just stayed where he was, giving her time.

When my wolf finally reached the front of him again, she nuzzled his neck lightly. There was some hesitation behind the motion, but when he nuzzled her back, her worry seemed to melt away.

She barked once at him, almost as if she was telling him to stay.

Then, she took off into the forest.

His chuff almost sounded like a chuckle as she sprinted away.

She wanted a head start, and if Graham’s wolf was anything like the man, he wouldn’t hesitate to give it to her.

A few minutes passed as she sprinted, hurtling over logs and around trees, barreling through bushes.

Her breathing was almost as loud as the branches she cracked beneath her paws.

Though I spent a lot of time hiking, she and I were both too nervous to shift very often outside of Moon Ridge.

Being quiet in the forest wasn’t something she’d ever had the chance to learn because of that.

Most of our time spent outdoors was while I hiked with Jade, who obviously didn’t know what I was.

I’d tried to talk Maya into shifting with me a handful of times, but she downright refused.

I was pretty sure there was some trauma behind that, and wasn’t about to push for information. If she wanted her past to stay private, that was her right.

It couldn’t have been ten minutes before Graham’s wolf brushed up against the side of mine. She hadn’t heard him coming, but she’d smelled him. He’d made sure he didn’t catch her unaware.

He nuzzled her neck as they ran together, and she tackled him in retaliation.

Or tried to.

They ended up rolling around in the fallen red, orange, and brown leaves instead.

That was just the start of their game.

They spent the night in the forest, playing and then sleeping.

By the time they made it back to Graham’s house the next afternoon, the sun was rising.

I was starting to wonder if maybe my wolf was right about choosing another mate. She’d never been so happy, and me?

Well, I thought I might be able to get there too, if Graham really didn’t reject me.