Chapter Eleven

 

 

The rest of the week was a blur. Between my heavy hours at work, getting my car, and my fox wanting to run with Dova every spare second I had, I couldn’t tell up from down. My mind was constantly in a fog filled with thoughts of Dova, her wolf, and when we’d run again. I also thought about my folks, the old glade we used to visit, and the look-alike Dova had found for me.

To say my heart was full would’ve been a vast understatement. But even with all that happiness, by Friday night, the only thing I wanted to do was to eat my takeout, then pass out in my room.

“Come on, Lynn. We have to play,” Zack whined when I tried to go upstairs for the third time.

“I’m exhausted,” I told him while holding the railing so I wouldn’t collapse.

“Which would’ve been avoided if you two stopped gallivanting around,” Brandon pointed out from his side of the Monopoly board.

“You’re just annoyed because you want to win our money,” Dova chimed in. “Come on. We’ve all had a busy week. Aren’t you at least a little tired?”

“Sure, but this is the only night we’ll get to play. We need to bond with our housemate too.”

Dova stared at her brother, partially in shock. “I’m sorry guys. I didn’t mean to hog Lynn from you.”

“It’s all right,” Zack said with a laugh. “You have your reasons.”

“Still isn’t fair to the rest of us, though.” Brandon said.

Dova didn’t give in. “You want shared custody?”

“I’ll take Fridays and Saturdays,” Brandon said before anyone could cut in. “Zack can have Mondays and Tuesdays, and you can have Wednesdays and Thursdays.”

“But I work on Thursdays,” Dova argued.

“And so do we.”

“What about Sundays?” Zack asked before I could do the same.

“We’ll do it on a rotating schedule,” Brandon decided. “That way, everyone’s happy.”

“Brandon, you get to have me every morning,” I told him. “And Zack hangs out with me before dinner every night. I honestly don’t see the problem.” They were teasing me, of course, but I decided to play along. “But Dova gets me on the holidays because it’s just about the only time she’ll take off.”

Zack and Brandon both groaned but didn’t say anything after that.

“So it’s settled, then?” Dova raised an eyebrow at the guys, then folded her arms in front of her chest. “Good. That means tonight, Lynn is mine.”

“But it’s Friday,” Brandon said.

“And it’s Friday the 13th, which is a holiday,” Dova added.

“It isn’t a holiday, and you know it.”

“Well, it should be.”

Brandon let out a huff, then sank on the sofa. “Fine. Go. Be a couple and do coupley things. But if I hear one peep–”

“Peep,” Dova and I said in unison, laughing when Brandon glared at me.

“You owe me a new game,” he said, keeping a straight face just enough to almost look annoyed.

“I’ll buy you parcheesi. How does that sound?” I teased.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No. You just want to play the same game so you can win. You really do have a problem. You might want to get that looked at.”

“Ha ha. Very funny. I’m the doctor, remember?”

“Doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

“All right, you two,” Dova said once there was a break in our conversation. “You, get upstairs and go to bed. And you, be nice to our fox. Now, say goodnight.”

“Goodnight Lynn,” Zack and Brandon said in a singsong voice.

“Night guys. Don’t let her tug on your tails too much,” I said as I continued up the steps.

“Tug on their tails?” Dova asked as she followed after me. “I’d never do that.”

I nodded, then stifled a yawn with my hand. “Man, this week kicked my ass. I don’t think I can even lift my arms to get dressed.”

“I could help.”

“Oh no,” I said with a quick shake of my head. “We both know what’ll happen if you do that.”

“We wouldn’t do anything,” Dova said with a bat of her eyes. “I’d just pamper you.”

“Pamper me?” I stumbled into my room, then leaned against her.

“Mm-hmm. First, we’ll take off your shoes.” Dova bent down to remove my sneakers as she spoke. “Then let down your hair.” She removed my hair tie next. “And we’ll get you under the covers where you can be warm.” She walked me over to my bed, turned down the covers, then helped me in.

“And then what?” I asked as she walked around to the other side of the bed.

“I’m going to lay with you and watch you sleep.”

“That’s a little creepy.”

“Not endearing?”

“Not really. Kind of squicks me out.”

“All right. What if I got us some popcorn and put on a movie until you fell asleep? Would that be okay?”

“That… yeah. That sounds nice.”

“Great,” she said, kissing my forehead. “Just give me a few minutes, then I’ll be right back.”

I smiled my thanks when she tucked the sheets around my shoulders, then closed my eyes.

This is nice, I thought as I snuggled into the mattress. A movie and some popcorn is exactly what I need.

“Not to mention cuddles,” my fox said.

I let out a long yawn and listened to Dova’s light footsteps as she headed back up the stairs.

My fox was so exhausted that she didn’t wake me up when Dova sat beside me. She didn’t alert me when Dova got up, turned off my bedroom light, and closed the door.

And she didn’t wake me to say goodnight as Dova lay beside me with her arm draped over my side.

“Rest now, my sweet fox. Tomorrow will be ours.”

 

* * *

 

I felt more than heard someone moving behind me, but before I could react, Dova’s soft voice reached my ears.

“It’s almost dawn,” she told me while smoothing back my hair. “It’s Saturday. There’s no reason to get up. Nowhere to go.” She paused and kissed my temple. “We can stay right here.”

“What about shared custody?” I murmured without moving from under the covers.

“Brandon said I could have today as well. Feeling more rested?”

“A little?” I wouldn’t know for sure until I’d had my shower. “Sorry I passed out on you last night.”

“It’s okay. And I didn’t watch you sleep, by the way. I just sort of hung out, checked things on my phone. You know. Nothing too weird.”

“Find any good memes?” Dova was a sucker for them along with pictures of animals.

“Just one about being in a boat at sea and navigating relationships.”

“You aren’t alone in that boat,” I said as I rolled over to face her. “There’s a lot to navigate.”

“It isn’t hard, though.”

“No,” I agreed, reaching up so I could pull her close. “It isn’t hard at all.”

In fact, now that I’d stopped fighting my fox, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. To let Dova in and to love and be loved. I loved the guys as well, but not like this.

The sort of bond Dova and I shared, the one that started the moment we found each other, was strong. It almost felt like a weird fire in my chest, one that would grow hot, cool, then grow warm again.

I’d never experienced anything like it before, not even with my folks. Sure, they’d made me feel safe and protected, but with Dova, it was different. I didn’t have to tell her if I needed her. She just knew. And while we’d only been dating for a few days, it felt as though we’d known each other forever.

I thought about her constantly. I worried about her and how her day was going while we were both at work. It was pretty distracting, especially when I was supposed to be counting someone else’s money or keeping track of my till.

I hadn’t messed up yet, but with the way things were going, it was a concern.

“How do you concentrate?” I asked as I ran my hand up and down her arm. “At work.”

“With all of the noise and smells?” She tilted her head to the side, then closed her eyes and smiled as I continued the soft motion of my hand along her collarbone. “You get used to it after a while.”

“I meant with us.” I let out a breath, then sat up and placed my hands in my lap. “My fox won’t stop going on about you. I’m constantly anxious, but instead of worrying about someone calling the cops on me, it’s because I’m thinking about you.”

“You were thinking about me before, though, weren’t you?”

She had me there. “I was, but I was also pushing back my fox, which I’m used to doing.”

“But now that you’ve embraced her and are in a safe place–”

“It’s been really hard to shut her up.”

“It’ll get easier with time. My wolf is the same way, but with so many animals around that are in pain, her focus is divided between the animals I care for and wondering if you’re okay.”

I smiled at that, at the thought of Dova’s wolf caring so much for the animals they were trusted with. “Have you ever had to shift to calm another animal down?” I’d never thought to ask before, but I had a feeling it was something she would do.

“Once.” Dova’s voice tightened. “But it wasn’t for their benefit. The poor thing was frightened to hell. The tranquilizers weren’t working fast enough and he’d blocked the door.”

My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. “What did you do?”

“I did what I could to protect us. I shifted and grabbed his scruff. He was smaller than me, but I still had that nagging fear in the back of my mind.”

“That he’d bite.”

“Yes. Fortunately, the medication I gave him got him to calm down soon after that. I’ve installed a second door in every exam room and haven’t had to shift since.”

“I can’t imagine having to face a decision like that.”

“What? Harm or protect?”

“I’d just run.” It was the same thing I always did.

“Running isn’t a bad thing, you know. It gives you space to think and to process. It’s also the safer option.”

I wasn’t so sure. “But I ran from you.”

“And then I found you and brought you home. You didn’t run out of fear, not of me anyway. You ran because you felt cornered and didn’t know what else to do.”

“I… yeah.”

“We all need our space sometimes,” she said as she took me in her arms. “Asking for it isn’t something that should be punished.”

“Have you ever run?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked with a laugh. “I did it all the time when we were kids. I was more interested in bird watching and keeping track of the ant hill in our backyard, so when my folks expected me to go on a hunt and make my first kill, the only thing I could think of was to go the other way. Hunting is necessary and important to the well-being of my wolf, but there are other ways.”

Wait. “You played with toys, didn’t you?”

“And I wrestled. A lot. If Brandon and I weren’t tracking down one of the birds from my book, we were scuffling around in the backyard. My folks didn’t quite understand my drive to go after toys and Brandon’s tail, but now that I’m a vet, I guess it all makes sense.”

“At least you had him to run around with. Otherwise, you might not have had a choice.”

Dova paused for a moment, inclined her head, then placed a finger under my chin and lifted my gaze. “We always have a choice. It all comes down to which one is hardest and what we want most.”

“And what do you want most?” I asked, losing myself in her eyes.

“To make you happy.”

My heart fluttered at the way she sounded then. Protective. Determined. Desperate.

Safely tucked in her arms, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to curl up and nuzzle under her chin or if I wanted to kiss her on the lips. Both sounded appropriate, but before I could make up my mind, Dova leaned in and gently pressed her lips to mine.

My head spun as her scent filled my nostrils. My chest swelled when she sought out my tongue with her own. My fox ran around in wide circles when I remembered what day it was.

We didn’t have to do anything. There was nowhere we needed to go. We could sit in all day, just like this.

And it was then I realized how much I wanted her.

To hold her. To kiss her. To keep her right where she was.

“Don’t leave,” I murmured against her lips. “Stay with me.”

“You need to eat,” she told me without pulling away.

“We can order in.” Please don’t make me beg.

“Hmm.” Dova drew back enough to study my eyes. “I was going to make you breakfast, but ordering in sounds good too. Any thoughts on what you’d like to get?”

“Doesn’t matter so long as I get to spend the day with you.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve given myself a full day off. I’m usually the one running around, making sure everyone’s set for the day.”

“But?” I asked, hopeful.

“The other’s can fend for themselves for now.”

“It isn’t like they can do a lot of damage.”

“You’d be surprised. Just you wait. The next time we go downstairs, the entire living room will be flipped upside down.”

“Hmm, then maybe we should–”

Dova grabbed me and held me down when I tried to leave the room. “Nope. We’re staying in, remember?”

I squirmed underneath her, then gave in as she trailed light kisses from my lips, to my cheek, and finally behind my ear. “Okay. If you say so.”

“I do say so,” she said while puffing out her chest. “And what your alpha says, goes.”

“My alpha, huh?” I cocked an eyebrow at her, which resulted in her throwing a pillow at my face.

“I do.”

“And what else does she say?” I asked, hating the way my voice shook then.

“That I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you.”

“What if I don’t want to be protected?” What if I wanted her to pin me down like she had on the bed?

“We’ll get there,” she said, a fire burning deep within her eyes. “But we should really eat first. We can’t be rolling around on an empty stomach.”

“Why not?”

“Because my wolf might get a little too hungry. There could be an accident.” She was kidding, of course, but I shivered all the same.

“Okay. First, we eat. After that?”

“That’s entirely up to you.”