Page 5 of The Bookish Girl’s Guide to Mating with a Werewolf (Mate Hunted #1)

four

NICO

My wolf played along while Abigail and her friends picked out a collar with the name of their university on it—and a fucking bow. He didn’t so much as grumble when they attached a leash to it and walked around the campus for hours.

He sat at her feet while they had dinner together, joined by a few other women who seemed like they were all friends. He only growled once, when a guy bumped into her as he walked past.

He was typically calm, but with the woman he wanted as his mate?

The bastard was impressively controlled.

Particularly considering the extreme levels of overpossessiveness I’d witnessed from other hunting male wolves.

Things got dicey at dinner, when a group of male college students came over to talk to the women—clearly flirting—but between my wolf’s low growl and the women’s skill at shutting them down, they were gone as quickly as they’d arrived.

I was honestly surprised how well the women put an end to the flirting.

Then again, I’d picked up on the fact that all of them were young, female college professors at the university in town. They were participating in some sort of pilot program that tested out the impact of hiring younger-than-average professors.

They were all nervous about messing with the program after the drama with the creative writing professor they’d been friends with.

My wolf growled at two more men during the walk back to Abigail’s apartment, which wasn’t great.

Luckily, she had convinced her friends that she wasn’t on drugs, so they let her walk back alone with him. They also seemed to believe for the most part that he was trained after spending the day with him, so they’d relaxed slightly on that.

“Cool it,” she grumbled at him the second time, swatting his head lightly.

He took the opportunity to nuzzle her hand.

She gave him a reluctant smile. “It’s too bad Cucumber’s in there. You’d make a good pet.”

He snorted, nipping at her hand lightly before nudging her to keep going.

The asshole he’d growled at was still watching her. The wolf was probably itching to snap his teeth at the guy rather than herd his mate back toward her apartment.

Our mate.

My mate.

That was bizarre.

I was pretty sure I was the one she was referring to as Cucumber. Which seemed unfair, considering she was the one who had been blocking the produce.

Granted, I could’ve gone around her.

In the moment, I wasn’t sure what compelled me to talk to her rather than just step up beside her to grab what I needed.

Now, I understood.

Fate was a pain in the ass.

Having made it to thirty without a mate, I’d thought I would go my entire life.

I hadn’t been excited about being alone until I died, but I had accepted it.

It seemed safe to assume at least part of my pack would live the bachelor life with me, considering the majority of them had already been rejected.

The last thing I’d expected was to find my mate in a grocery store in the middle of Moon Ridge.

The fact that she was only there looking for a werewolf after staying up all night reading a paranormal porn book seemed even more ironic.

We made it back to Abigail’s apartment without further drama, and she tossed her pants over the back of the couch like she had the last time we arrived.

That was a nice fucking ass.

Her tiny thong put the whole thing on display, and she didn’t seem insecure about it.

She did want me to stay a wolf, though.

I’d have to figure out a way to convince her I was decent in human form too.

Considering her choice in books, I had a vague idea of how to do that.

I’d just have to ask one of the rejected guys in my pack for advice or something, because an unmated wolf didn’t let his human sleep with a woman who wasn’t his. My only experience with sex was my teenage interest in porn, and I was aware it wasn’t an honest representation.

Not that werewolves in general had a normal human experience with it.

I’d figure it out.

Unless Abigail rejected me.

Statistically, that wasn’t likely. But there was still a chance.

If she did, I’d have to fight like hell to keep my wolf from losing his mind. That was far from ideal.

Particularly when the mate fate had chosen for me was a brilliant, amusing ginger with the world’s nicest ass. On top of being gorgeous, she liked to read about werewolves. And sex.

I’d have to be insane to let her walk away.

I wasn’t insane.

So I’d do whatever I had to, to convince her that I’d be a good mate. Or husband. Whatever she wanted.

Abigail padded to the bathroom, and I could’ve drooled at the sight of her ass as she walked. She left the door open, so my wolf followed her in. She didn’t try to get rid of him as she turned the water on.

Or as she started stripping.

Her top went over her head, exposing more of her smooth skin, along with the band of her bra.

She reached around her back to unclasp it. The action must’ve felt awkward, but she did it so easily that she was clearly used to it.

“We need to talk about the thing where you keep growling at men. I noticed it,” she said, looking over her shoulder as she slipped the straps down her arms.

I’d talk about whatever she wanted if she kept taking her clothes off. The woman wasn’t built skinny—she was strong and sturdy, like I preferred. There was weight to her ass, her hips, her arms, and her tits. She was a fucking wet dream, right in front of me.

And she could be mine .

Even in my wildest dreams, I hadn’t dared imagine a life with a mate.

Guess I wasn’t much for dreaming.

My wolf sat down, as if committing to the conversation. He was probably doing so for my sake. I appreciated it.

Abigail turned partway, giving me a side-profile of the world’s prettiest breasts. They were heavy. Her nipples stood out. The far one looked slightly bigger.

The need to have them in my hands was intense.

“Can Cucumber see me through your eyes?” she checked.

My wolf nodded.

Of course the bastard did.

He wasn’t going to lie to his female. That wasn’t in his nature any more than it was in mine.

Her face reddened.

Her tits did too.

She didn’t turn away, though.

“Well, it’s probably better to get the awkwardness out of the way before you stop being furry anyway.

” She gestured to her body. “I’m not super skinny.

Probably won’t ever be. I have thigh fat.

And cellulose. And stretch marks, even though I’ve always been this short and curvy.

I walk to stay healthy, but otherwise exercise isn’t my thing.

Neither is dirt. If that’s a deal breaker, you know where the door is. ”

She finally turned around, stepped out of her thong, and slipped into her shower.

The door was glass, but she left it open.

If that wasn’t the world’s biggest invitation, I didn’t know what was. If only I wasn’t trapped in the fucking wolf, I would’ve come up with some way to tell her how much I loved her body the way it was.

But I was trapped.

And the wolf was still sitting dutifully. Waiting for permission or something.

Abigail sighed in contentment as the hot water ran over her skin, wetting her face and hair and breasts.

Especially her breasts.

She stood there like that for a few minutes, and the urge to join her was tremendous.

If I had even a small amount of control over my body, I would’ve done exactly that.

“You know that I’m a college professor,” Abigail said, as she reached for her shampoo and pumped some into her hands. She brought it to her head, and began scrubbing her scalp as she looked at my wolf.

He nodded.

I hadn’t ever attended college, so I wasn’t sure he knew what that actually meant. But apparently he was going to act like he did.

“I teach English 101. That means I stand in front of big groups of mostly eighteen, nineteen, and twenty year olds while I’m at work. Men and women. They all listen and take notes while I talk, and we have discussions about books, authors, essays, and other related things,” she said.

My wolf went still.

I could imagine how he would react to having a large group of twenty-year-old men staring at his mate, and it wasn’t good. He was the calmest wolf most people had ever met, but he was still a wolf.

“It’s my dream job,” she stated. “And I’m not going to quit. So if you can’t handle me going to work tomorrow, you’re going to have to either leave or turn back into Cucumber. Um, your human. Nico.”

She stumbled over my name.

She was trying to adapt to the situation she’d found herself in, despite how insane it must’ve felt to her.

The wolf stared at her.

She finished scrubbing her scalp and turned back to rinse her hair beneath the water.

The wolf stayed still, watching her wash the suds out.

As she reached for her shower gel, he stood up and stepped into Abigail’s shower.

She looked down, her big brown eyes widening as she watched him lick her ankle.

He bit down just hard enough to break her skin, and she sucked in a sharp breath. Her knees buckled, and my wolf backed off instantly, allowing me to shift in the blink of an eye.

I managed to catch Abigail by the waist before she hit the floor, and her hands landed on my shoulders as her wide eyes met mine.

They flickered between red and brown, her face contorting with pain.

There was no way around the pain of a first shift. It took time to get to a point of peace with our wolves to where any shift didn’t hurt.

“Don’t fight the wolf,” I said, holding her gaze. Though I tried to portray calmness, my heart beat rapidly in my chest. “I know it hurts, but try not to focus on your body or your surroundings. Let her take over.”

Abigail was wet and naked, her body nearly pressed against mine.

I wanted her so fucking badly, I could hardly stand it.

“Don’t know how I’m not supposed to focus on this.” She cried out as her head tipped back, her eyes slamming shut. “Holy hell.”

“You’re going to be fine, Abigail. Just let go,” I repeated.

“In my fantasy, you’d be saying that to me while we screwed. Not spouted fur.”

A laugh escaped me.

It caught me off guard.

When was the last time I’d laughed?

Abigail shook and shuddered as fur broke out on her arms.

It wasn’t ideal as far as shifting order went, but we would work on it.

She was shifting.

That was what mattered.

Getting stuck halfway between human and wolf was what could kill humans who were becoming werewolves.

I wasn’t sure where to touch her while she shifted—would she be comfortable with my hands on her back? Or her shoulders? I wasn’t going to make the painful first time any more traumatic for her than it already was by adding physical touch she didn’t want to everything else.

She pressed her face to my neck as she moaned through the pain.

I shouldn’t have been turned on, but fuck it, I was.

Slowly, the fur spread over her body as she twisted and contorted, until finally, she was fully wolf.