by Lynn Marie
Metal glinted in her periphery and she turned. The gun! In all the excitement, she’d forgotten about it. The corner poked out from under a leather armchair. Moving slowly so she didn’t attract attention, she inched towards the weapon. She wasn’t sure if Michael would appreciate her interference or not, but she didn’t give a shit about his pride. This was life or death.
There was a shriek of wolf-pain and she heard a huge thump as a body fell to the floor. She was too scared to look, instead lunging for the gun, grabbing it and spinning around in one fluid motion. Her arms shook as she pointed the barrel and her heart beat so loud that she couldn’t hear anything else.
She jerked back and dropped the gun, realizing it was Michael’s wolf that was still standing, not Trip. Trip’s wolf lay motionless in the corner. She stared, stunned, at the huge animal standing before her. God, he was just… so… massive. She fingered the gun at her side, ready with Michael’s warning echoing in her mind about how he wasn’t always in control.
The wolf had more intelligence than she gave him credit for. His icy eyes flicked down to the gun and his lips rose in a snarl. She jumped and held her hands up in surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry… no guns.” She kicked it across the floor, away from them.
His ears pricked forward and he whined at her. Moving slowly, he approached and she held her breath. Jesus Christ, he was big. And so were his teeth.
“Michael?” she whispered, shakily holding out her hand to him. It was Michael, she knew, but he was just so damn big. What if he didn’t recognize her as his mate?
Oh God. What if he did?
Evelyn froze in indecision. Michael was in there. Somewhere.
Much to her surprise, he sniffed her palm and she had to hold back a giggle as he licked her fingertips. He started sniffing again at her feet and found the blood on her leg. He licked it through her clothes. The wolf whined again, sounding exactly like a dog.
“I’m okay,” she said.
He went to her. He butted his head up under her hand. She sucked in a breath. The fur was coarse under her hand, but had a certain silkiness to it. She found herself smiling as she ran her palm along his neck and back, feeling the powerful ridges of his muscles and spine. She eyed the teeth with apprehension, but realized that the wolf was doing something akin to smiling at her. He thrust a cold nose in her chest and she relaxed. He would never hurt her. “You’re gorgeous,” she breathed.
He buried his head into her stomach and she giggled, scratching behind his ears. “I’m okay, thanks to you. You saved me. But what about you? You were shot.”
Michael pulled away and looked over his shoulder at Trip, who was still lying unconscious. He growled.
“Don’t worry about him,” she said in a soothing voice, scratching him some more. To her relief, he was responding to her tone, lowering his hackles. “You beat him. And I’m not sure man-Michael would ever be able to forgive himself if he killed someone.”
Michael cocked his head to the side, like he was trying to comprehend just what she was saying. She resumed petting his soft head. “Not that I don’t like your company, but I’d like my man back now. If you don’t mind.”
The wolf grinned at her again. He jumped up and licked her, leaving a big trail of slobber on her face. Closing his eyes and leaning back his head, he howled, then laid on the ground. Slowly, the fur fell away, the body shrunk, the limbs thickened, and then a man replaced the wolf. Naked. She knelt next to him.
“Thanks,” Michael said, sounding tired. He looked a bit green about the gills, too. “I was so mad at him, I couldn’t change back. I would have killed him.”
“I know. Here, let me get you a blanket.”
She rose and headed for the couch. Halfway there, she heard the gun cock. Like it was in slow motion, she whirled on Trip, who was pointing his gun at Michael. Michael opened his mouth, probably to tell her to run, and the desperation in his eyes was wild. Unthinking, she lunged for Trip.
The gun went off with an ear-splitting bang just as she body-slammed him. Unprepared, he was thrown off-center and she collapsed on top of him. Her shoulder screamed in pain from the impact and she saw stars as her breath was knocked out.
“You bitch!” he screamed.
Just as he locked a hand around her throat, he was ripped away from her. Michael threw him against the opposite wall and when he fell, he hit his head on the corner of the coffee table. He lay on the ground, bleeding from the head, and didn’t move again.
The police had already been on their way, as a neighbor had called about the gunshots. Trip was taken into custody, Evelyn’s leg was checked on by an EMT, and they’d tried to make Michael come to the hospital for treatment of his wound, but he’d flatly refused.
Besides, after the EMT looked at his wound and declared that it looked a couple weeks old already, he knew that he wasn’t in any danger. The bullet had grazed him, so the healing magic was already doing its thing.
He stood with her wrapped firmly in his arms and they watched the red and blue flashing lights fade into the distance. Michael was shocked silent for maybe the first time in his life. Trip had tried to kill him. His best friend had been lying to him, nursing a grudge and plotting how to get revenge. The betrayal cut him so deep, he felt physical pain in his chest.
But seeing him pointing a gun at Evelyn… he’d lost it. He’d gotten her call while he was on the way home, listened to about thirty seconds of it before he got the gist of the situation, and then he’d only have time to drop the phone before the change burst out of him. His wolf had never been more desperate, more furious.
“What happened to your leg?” he asked, low. “Did he hurt you?”
“He bit me, or he scratched me… I’m not going to become, like, a werewolf am I?” she asked,
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine for the man I love to sometimes be a wolf, but I’m rather attached to my humanity.”
“What did you say?”
She smiled tentatively. “That I like being human?”
He growled, deep in his chest. “The other part.”
“I love you.”
His eyes closed on their own and he breathed deeply. “Say it again,” he whispered.
“I love you. I think I’ve loved you from our first date… You… you’re everything I ever could have asked for or wanted in a man. I love you so much. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
He took her chin between his thumb and finger and shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I knew you’d get there, and I’m glad you did.”
Tears welled in her eyes and she covered his hand with hers, clasping it to her chest. “God, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said, resting his head just above hers. “It’s you and me now.”
“Michael, will you marry me?”
He chuckled, tightening his arms around her and leaning down to seal it with a kiss. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
* * *
The End
About Lynn Marie
Lynn Marie lives in Pennsylvania with her platonic wife and stupid (but loveable) cat. When not at her day job or writing bonerrific novels, she’s usually immersed in an overly ambitious home or kitchen project of some sort. “Animal Attraction” is her first novel.
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