Heart of a Wolf

I held her tight, refusing to open my eyes. “What time is it?”

“Almost four,” she said, kissing the side of my neck until a shiver raced up my spine.

Ugh. I let out a groan, then immediately pulled the covers over our heads. “Too early.”

“Come on.” This time, she sat up, taking half the blankets with her.

“Is there a fire?” It didn’t smell like a fire, and I was almost certain she’d let me know if there was.

“No, why would there—”

I cracked open an eye, searching for her through the darkness. “A pack drill perhaps?”

That time she laughed. “No?”

“Then go back to sleep. The sun won’t be up for another hour.”

“Which is why we need to go now,” she said, scooting over to the edge of the bed so she could get ready.

“Go where?” I asked with an exasperated sigh. “What on earth is so important that we need to leave the house now?”

“Our hunt,” she said matter-of-factly, pulling on the covers again when I tried to curl up underneath of them. “Come on, Jo. You promised. It’s been weeks since you took Val to the city, and you still haven’t joined me on a hunt.”

“We got that rabbit,” I reminded her. “Besides, why would you want to go all the way out there when you can stay in here with me?” I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes, smiling at the woman staring back at me from the other side of the bed.

“As tempting as that is, my wolf needs this as much as yours does. You’ve been cooped up inside for days.”

“I can’t help it if Quinn likes to talk.”

Even when the infirmary was slow, it was almost impossible to get him to shut up. He was a wealth of knowledge and a total airbag, but he definitely knew his stuff.

He never complained when I had a question or when I asked him to repeat himself again. He just took it in stride, teaching me everything he could about wolves and the anatomy they never bothered to teach us in school.

Once Ash was sure I could keep my wolf under control, she invited me to shadow Quinn in the infirmary. Needless to say, between my lessons and our differing schedules because of Fallen’s work under Ash, we had to take whatever time together that we could get. Which includes sleep.

“We just got to sleep three hours ago,” I said, holding out my hands for her so I could pull her close again. “Three hours isn’t nearly enough for this wolf.”

“You can sleep later,” she said, taking on her wolf form before tugging on the sheets all over again.

“Careful,” I warned. “I don’t think Ash would appreciate us ruining your sheets.”

She gave me a wry grin, waiting long enough for me to sit up before promptly

flopping in my lap.

“Has anyone ever told you how much of a puppy you are?”

It was so adorable, in fact, that I couldn’t help running my hand through her fur.

“You bring out the best in me.” She licked my cheek, then backed up so I could join her. “Which is the same thing I’m trying to do for you. Your wolf needs to run, and the fresh air will do both of us some good. Come on. If it takes longer than an hour to pick up the game’s scent, we’ll come straight home.”

“Promise?”

“I did say I have the entire day off, didn’t I?”

“Last night.” A lot could change in a few hours.

“And it’s still the case. Ash has Trevor with her today. She knows how important our time is together, so I doubt we’ll be disturbed.”