Page 20 of The Vampire's Werewolf Bodyguard

Cody

All the worries of Cody’s other aspect feel distant now, kept at bay by soothing fingers behind his ear. Cody remembers those worries. They’re just irrelevant. Stupid. Don’t shift. Don’t wander. Don’t hurt—but why would he hurt—

Simon.

The moon’s claws loosen.

Cody scrabbles away from those gentle fingers. Carpet snags as his bones convulse. Flesh and sinew snaps from one familiar shape to another, and veins map the contours of his other body. His sense of smell dulls as his thoughts clear.

The transformation is a gasp for breath. He hunches over, naked, hands and knees digging into the carpet, as his fears flood back.

Simon shouldn’t be here. Cody should be locked away. Not in this room, with Simon watching cool-eyed from the bed .

“That was very weird to watch up close,” Simon says, light amusement balancing over an emotion Cody can’t read.

Cody staggers to his feet. One step closer, his first instinct to assess and protect, before jerking himself back. “Fuck, Simon, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?”

Simon tilts his head. He appears unharmed. “You don’t remember?”

Cody cringes. There’s no smell of blood. Not fresh, anyway, just traces of that bottled stuff lingering in Simon’s cold scent. Cody’s clear-headed enough to tell the difference.

“What a pity,” Simon says airily. “I’ll catch you up. I taught you to ‘sit’ and ‘shake.’ We were about to work on ‘roll over’ and ‘fetch’ when you shifted back.”

“This isn’t funny,” Cody snaps, then winces at the snarl in his own voice.

Simon’s smirk softens—which only makes Cody feel worse. “You didn’t hurt anyone.”

Fuck. Simon shouldn’t be comforting Cody. Simon definitely shouldn’t have to remind him that there’s one other person in the house.

“Where’s Tobias?” Cody asks, guilt sharpening with every breath. “What happened?”

“Tobias fell asleep without locking you up properly. Human fragility, you know how it is.” Simon shrugs. “He’s fine. I sent him off for a nap, because it seemed like you only wanted to hang out with… me.”

Eye contact wavers.

That’s one thing Cody remembers from the shift. More than a thought, more than an emotion. An overpowering need to find Simon. To guard him. To breathe him in .

Rationally speaking, that’s the last thing Cody should have wanted. Simon is wearing a lighthearted mask now, damned centuries of smug superiority, but he’s scared of werewolves, for good reason. Cody should be controlling himself.

Instead, he proved that Simon was right to be scared. Weeks of fantasizing torn apart in the moonlight.

“I could have hurt you,” Cody says, rough and quiet.

“You could have,” Simon allows, then taps the holster at his hip. “If my aim was off. Luckily, all you did was shed on me.”

The movement and words draw Cody’s gaze to Simon’s lap, where he hazily recalls resting his head. An intimate, comfortable memory.

Which reminds Cody that he’s naked. Bare skin prickles beneath Simon’s polite—but unaverted—gaze.

“I’m going to put on pants,” Cody says, so steadfast in his guilt that embarrassment is only a distant whisper. “Then I’ll find Tobias and tender my resignation.”

He moves towards the closet, every sense hyperaware of Simon moving towards the door. Near-silent footfalls echo like thunder in Cody’s ears. That’s it, Cody supposes. Nothing more to say.

Simon closes the door firmly—with himself still inside, planted in Cody’s way. “You’ll do no such thing. Tobias needs his beauty sleep, and we need to talk.”

“Nothing to talk about.” Cody drags his sweatpants over his hips. “I put you in danger. That’s unacceptable, especially with your history.”

His pack—his family—was fucking right. He can’t live with outsiders. Humans, vampires, anyone. He doesn’t belong here. Never should have let himself pretend.

With a twist of cold air, Simon is in his space. Fingertips at Cody’s jaw, then behind his ear, holding him in place by his hair. “Listen to me, you fucking dog.” Simon’s words wrench Cody from his self-indulgent panic. “I’m weak, not helpless. I’m not a besotted fledgling. If I decide you’re a threat, or I want you out of my house, I will say that. With words. God help you if you disobey me then.” His grip tightens, and he shakes a bit—though it hardly moves Cody’s head. “Until then, don’t infantilize me as part of your angst. You fucking idiot.”

Stunned, Cody stares into Simon’s fierce eyes. That ashen face has never looked more alive.

“I apologize for being concerned about your safety,” Cody says, when his brain is functioning again.

Simon’s grip softens, more like petting, and the shift memory reels through Cody. How peaceful and right he felt with Simon’s fingers in his fur.

That rightness lingers as Simon steps back.

“Could you understand me while you were in wolf shape?” Simon asks.

“I could in a regular shift.” Cody resists the urge to touch his hair where Simon’s hand had been. He should be apologetic. Professional. Not fantasizing about the memory. “I can’t understand as well during a forced shift like that, when my wolf takes over. I get tone of voice. Impressions. No specific meaning.”

Simon nods thoughtfully. “Interesting. What made you shift back?”

“I don’t know.” Cody feels awkward, like his body hasn’t resettled yet. Except talking to Simon is helping. “Usually, I shift back at dawn. After I’ve torn up the safe room. This isn’t how it usually goes. I get… violent.”

“Only in the safe room?” Simon asks pointedly.

Cody tenses.

“Only when you’re locked up?” Simon presses.

“It’s not that simple.” Cody could use a shirt right now. Shoes. He’s too exposed. Years of half-measures taping over the problems. “Any strong negative emotion or sense of danger could trigger violence, too. The safe room isn’t a long-term solution. My wolf hates feeling trapped. But that’s better than hurting someone, especially when I’m working with humans.”

Simon’s focus would be exhilarating in any other circumstance. Maybe it still is. “You shifted back early tonight. It’s barely midnight.”

“I feel safe with you,” Cody says, before he can stop himself.

It’s the right thing to say. An offer of yet more vulnerability that makes him feel stronger than before. It’s so true it stings them both, by the way Simon’s lips part. The tiny breath that exhales in a quiet, “Oh.”

More than safe, Cody’s wolf sings from the moon’s shadow. Simon feels like pack. Especially now, the way he’s bundled up in Cody’s scent, safely ensconced in Cody’s bedroom. Right where Cody wants him. Right where Cody found him when his wolf went searching.

Wait a second.

Cody jerks out of contemplating Simon’s lips. “I came to find you after I broke out.”

“I’m irresistible,” Simon says, smirking.

“So why were you in my room?”

Simon’s sudden shifty gaze is adorable. A centuries-old vampire caught out. “I wanted to spy on you.”

The lie is even more delightful. It tugs on instincts even more vital than the moon’s call. Something shared and ancient that burns away Cody’s guilt.

“I don’t believe you,” Cody says, reaching out.

He gets his answer when Simon allows the touch on his cold neck. Even before Simon confesses, “Maybe I feel safe with you, too.” Simon traces a chill down Cody’s bare stomach. His touch is no longer soothing. It ignites. “And maybe you shouldn’t have put these sweatpants on.”