Page 3 of The Bookish Girl’s Guide to Mating with a Werewolf (Mate Hunted #1)

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ABBY

It took what felt like ages to get out of the grocery store and to the truck that was supposedly Nico’s. The truck’s dark gray paint was still shiny, but the vehicle didn’t look new. There was dirt all over it, and a handful of dents on the lower half.

“Great work,” Nico’s friend said. “Now you can just take a step back.”

This was my chance.

I carefully pulled Nico’s warm, gigantic hands off my waist, and stepped backward.

Turning my head, I watched a shiver roll down his spine. Fur broke out on his arms. On his face, too. His spine bent backward?—

And I turned, and ran.

Thankfully, I’d left my car unlocked. I ripped the door open and threw myself onto the driver’s seat quickly, locking the door behind me as fast as possible.

My chest rose and fell heavily as I looked out the window.

And screamed.

There was a gigantic, gray wolf sitting outside my door.

He looked calm.

Way too calm.

My scream died down slowly.

He wasn’t ramming the door, or trying to break in.

His buddies were jogging up behind him. Nico was gone, so it seemed safe to assume he was the wolf.

His dark-haired friend was next to an equally gigantic guy with tan skin and wavy golden hair that fell to his shoulders. The golden-haired dude had to be the blunt newcomer I preferred over the other guy.

The dark-haired one said something I couldn’t hear.

The blond guy rolled his eyes and pointed his finger emphatically toward the asphalt.

He was telling me to roll down the window so I could hear what the other guy was saying.

I didn’t particularly want to. But I also didn’t want to try to drive away if Nico The Wolf was going to charge toward my car and dent it or something.

After hitting the lock button again, just to make sure it was well and truly secure, I rolled my window down just a crack.

Nico’s buddies stepped closer, until the wolf growled at them. Then they stopped behind him.

“Look, Abigail,” the dark-haired one said, lifting his hands. “I’m Graham, and this is Ethan. We’re some of Nico’s best friends. I know you want to run. I get it. We all do. But there’s no getting away from a wolf that’s hunting you. You need to go back to Nico’s place.”

“You’re insane,” I called back. “I’m not going home with any of you.” I paused. “And what do you mean, he’s hunting me?”

Being hunted by a wolf definitely hadn’t been in any of the werewolf books I’d read. That didn’t sound sexy. Or romantic.

“What Graham Cracker forgot to mention is that you accidentally triggered something with Nico that we werewolves call a Mate Hunt,” Ethan revised.

“He’s going to be stuck in his wolf form until the wolf has decided you’re not going to reject him.

Then he’s going to bite you, and you’re going to turn into a wolf too.

After your wolf decides he’s not a piece of shit, she’ll bite him back, and you’ll have sex. The end.”

“The end?” My voice raised. “That’s a lot to unpack.”

“If you go back to Nico’s place, you’ll have plenty of time to unpack it,” Ethan said.

“Even if I wanted to go home with him—which I don’t—I have work.”

“Where do you work?” Graham asked.

I eyed him. “That’s none of your business.”

“It’s not,” Ethan agreed. “But if there are other men around you, Nico’s wolf is going to be a menace.”

There would definitely be other men around me.

“Assuming he can find my workplace after I drive away,” I said.

Ethan snorted. “You’re his mate, Cupcake. He’s going to find you.”

“Stop calling me Cupcake.”

The wolf growled in what was clearly agreement, and I leaned away a little. His growl cutoff immediately at my reaction.

That was weird.

But it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that a wolf could follow my car through the forest. Particularly when I thought about how slow I’d driven on the way to Moon Ridge

I wasn’t just going to let him ride with me, though. He was a freaking wolf. What if he got tired of waiting and bit me?

“How do I get out of this mate hunt thing?” I asked, after a beat of silence.

“You don’t.” Graham almost looked apologetic.

Maybe I liked him more than Ethan after all.

“At least let me give you my phone number, in case something happens with Nico’s wolf and you need backup,” Graham added.

Okay, when he wasn’t beating around the bush, I definitely liked Graham more than Ethan.

“Fine.” I grabbed my phone. He rattled off his number, and I added it to my contacts without sending him a message. I didn’t want him to have my number unless I actually needed something. The last thing I wanted was him checking in on me.

Well, maybe not the last.

But it definitely didn’t sound appealing.

“Let him know if you need Nico’s address,” Ethan called out, as I reached over to roll my window up the rest of the way.

I gave him a thumbs-up, though I had no intention of following through.

Despite what Nico’s friends said, there had to be some way out of this mate hunt thing. If I could get away from the wolf or play along long enough, maybe it would end.

I could hope so, at least.

I pulled out of the parking lot, and when I peeked at the rearview mirror, saw a wolf trotting away.

Though my stomach tightened a little bit—he knew where I was going, and he probably knew how to get there better than I did—I ignored the feeling.

And I started my drive back home.

The excitement and fear of the morning faded away as I drove, leaving exhaustion in their place. By the time I parked in my apartment’s assigned spot, I could barely keep my eyes open.

Staying up all night was truly a questionable decision.

Hell, after what had happened because of it, it was worse than questionable. It was just a freaking mistake.

I slipped out of my car.

And stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Wolf Nico laying on the sidewalk like a normal dog. Just staring at me.

I stared back.

His tail wagged, just once.

The furry, cuddly-looking bastard was happy to see me.

I finally dragged a hand through my hair, pulling the tangles away from my face. Finger-combing the naturally straight strands after my one hour of sleep hadn’t been enough to deal with the mess of an all-night readathon. I’d switched positions too many times, and my hair paid the price.

“Guess your friends were right about you being able to find me,” I said.

The wolf didn’t respond to my comment.

His tail wagged one more time, though.

He liked it when I talked.

Or he liked that his friends were right.

Or he liked that he’d been able to find me.

I was too tired to figure out which of the options it was.

Whatever the case, getting rid of him was going to take more energy than I had at the moment. Maybe more energy than I’d ever had. I might need to call Jade for backup.

Or maybe someone else, because Jade wasn’t exactly on my side with the werewolf thing.

I’d figure it out later.

“Fine. Come on.” I trudged toward the stairs, not bothering to lock my car. It wasn’t like I had anything worth stealing in there. Just a couple of classic books in the back seat, and a change of clothes. None of which were expensive or rare.

I didn’t think those words described anything I owned, to be honest.

The wolf followed me up two flights of stairs and waited calmly at my side while I dug around in my messy bag for my keys. When I found them, it took me a solid minute to get the door open.

My eyelids were getting very heavy.

I definitely should’ve picked sleep over that sexy werewolf book.

Finally, I made it inside. The apartment was two bedrooms—one for my room, and one for my library-slash-office.

It wasn’t fancy, but everything was clean and smelled nice.

The cabinets were up to date, and the flooring was too.

The paint wasn’t even old. My furniture was mostly second-hand, but it looked good and was comfortable.

I was proud of my home. It was mine, and I’d worked my ass off to make it that way.

The wolf followed me inside, looking around as I locked the door behind us.

I couldn’t help but relax as I hung my purse from its usual hook and stepped out of my pants. The latter went over the back of the couch, in case I needed them later.

Inhaling the smell that was uniquely mine, I sighed.

It was good to be home.

“The university offered me a contract to teach online starting next semester,” I murmured, padding across the apartment and into my bedroom.

The wolf followed at my heels.

It was easier to think of him as an animal than as a gigantic, gorgeous dude. Maybe I should give him a different name. The wolf could be Nico. The sexy giant could be Cucumber.

I had to bite back a snort at the thought.

Something told me the giant wouldn’t agree.

Then again, I didn’t really know anything about him. Other than the bit where he liked certain long, phallic-shaped vegetables.

“My friends don’t want me to take it, but I think I’d like it more.

And after the drama last semester, I think they want to minimize any problems that could come from having a young female professor in the English department.

” I tucked my feet beneath the blanket, yawning widely before I lowered my head to the pillow and looked at the wolf.

“There was another professor in my department. She taught creative writing. Totally hooked up with one of the students. It was a whole thing.”

He was already staring at me.

“I don’t know why I told you that,” I whispered. “I still have two weeks to decide whether or not I’m going to take the online position next semester.”

He didn’t reply.

Probably because he was a wolf, and this wasn’t a freaking romance novel.

“Maybe you should stay in this form forever. I’d like having a huge dog more than I’d like having a husband. Probably.”

The wolf snorted as if he saw through that bullshit.

I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning.

He was right.

I would like having a husband.

Probably. It was just a theory. But if I picked the right guy, I could see myself enjoying wedded bliss tremendously.

Regular sex.

Comfortable conversations.

Someone to snuggle with while I read.

Sure, it would come with problems to be dealt with, but what didn’t?

The wolf took two steps closer, and nudged my blanket.

Frowning, I moved it a little.

He gestured to the space I’d revealed next to me on the bed, and gave me a look that could only be seen as a question.

It took me too long to realize what he wanted.

“Oh. You want to cuddle?” I asked.

He dipped his head once.

I hesitated.

He was still a guy beneath all the fur. Or inside all the fur. Or somewhere else. I wasn’t quite sure where the person went when a shifter shifted. Whatever the case, Nico was still Cucumber, somehow.

But snuggling did sound nice.

And he was currently trapped in his wolf form, according to his friends.

So, why not?

I pulled the blanket back more and scooted over to give him more space. He jumped smoothly onto the bed, and plopped down right up against my side.

He was warm.

Cozy, too.

I found myself burying my fingers and face in his fur before I closed my eyes and fell asleep.