Bitten by the Vampires

“You are impulsive and right now, I’d say you’re trying to figure out how you can march over to room number four and introduce yourself without being weird. The correct answer is that you can’t, creeper.”

“I’m not a creeper.”

“No, you’re not, because I’m not letting you be. You male wolves are all the same,” Heather continues. “You think you can just walk up to a woman, declare you’re her mate, and live happily ever after. I hate to be the one to tell you, Adam, but it doesn’t work that way, especially with a human.”

“Then what do I do, Heather?” I’m exasperated. I chug the tea. I eat another cookie. “I’ve been waiting for her my whole life.”

“And she doesn’t even know you exist,” Heather says. “She doesn’t know you’re here, or that you’re destined to be together, or that you’re a damn wolf, so give the girl some fucking time and be patient. You’ve waited 25 years for her, Adam. You can wait a few days.”

I let her words sink in. I know Heather is right. I don’t want her to be, but she’s right. I need to be patient, especially now. I need to wait. I need to play this cool. Amy only just got to Wolfe City and chances are she’s going to be here for a couple of days. That gives me a few days to plead my case. That gives me a few days to win her heart.

“Tell you what,” Heather says, taking pity on me. “I’ll bring her to Tony’s for lunch tomorrow, all right? Herb is going to look at her car in the morning and he’ll let us know how long it’s going to take to fix. I’ll introduce you.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Kid, you’re like a little brother. I’ll do anything for you. Now get out of my hotel, and wash that towel.”

I try to hug Heather goodbye, but she motions at my nudity and simply goes back to her desk and starts playing a computer game.

“Thanks, Heather. Thank you. For real.”

“Uh-huh.”

I take the towel with me and walk out of the Wolfe City Motel. With only one short glance back at room four, I head toward my home. It’s only a few minutes away. Let’s be honest: Wolfe City is small enough that everything is only a few minutes away.

I walk in a daze until I get to my house. Then I open the door and go inside, happy I left it unlocked. Because shifters can’t exactly carry keys, most of the Wolfe City Pack members leave their houses unlocked. We also all have hide-a-keys stashed around town. It’s probably not a good habit, especially when outsiders come to town, but it’s how we live, and it works for us.

My home is small, but comfortable. I have a little two-story house on the edge of town. The backyard opens up to a beautiful field. Sometimes I’ll take a blanket out there and lie down so I can just stare at the stars and think. Living in Wolfe City is incredible. It’s beautiful. It’s lovely.

And it’s better now that Amy is here.

Call me a hopeless romantic, but when I walk into my house, all I can think is that I can’t wait for her to come live with me. I can’t wait to win her heart so I can bring her here and show her my home.

Our home.

The first floor has a living room, kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom. The two bedrooms are on the second floor with another bathroom. There’s a large wraparound porch and the master bedroom has a walk-out balcony. It’s tiny and it’s simple, but it’s mine, and I love it. I love my home.

Once inside, I do lock the door. Then I deposit Heather’s towel in the laundry room and head upstairs to shower. I need to take a long, cold shower. Yes, that’s exactly what I need. I need to shower and clear my head and think about what I’m going to do tomorrow. I need to think about how I’m going to win my mate.

I need to think about the fact that tomorrow, my entire life is going to change.

Tomorrow is the day I’ve been waiting for.