Chapter 12

twelve

RUSS

My favorite activity, which is, perhaps, also the most depressing one, is to sit in a high tree at the park and watch my Dee recline in the summer sunshine. Her water bottle rolls off to one side as she lies back, wrapping one arm around her dog and covering her eyes with the other. She’s... perfect like this, her soft belly now gently swelled, visible even when she’s flat on the ground. Sometimes she even lets out her long, dark hair, and more than once I’ve desperately wanted to jerk off in my hiding place up in the boughs.

Fuck, I need her. I need her like I’ve never needed anything, like food or water or sunshine.

But I can’t ruin her life, either. She seems to be happy—or happy enough. If I did appear at her door as Bill, there’s a very good chance she’d turn me away.

I don’t think I could stand that.

It’s a Tuesday when I’m watching Dee at the park before work, relishing how the sun plays off her skin, how she rests one hand on her stomach like she’s protecting it. I shift in my position in the tree, trying not to make the branches creak. My legs are starting to fall asleep from standing crouched for so long, but I have to stay alert. Anything could happen out in the open like this.

On the path nearby, a runner goes past with a dog in tow. The dog isn’t leashed, though, and the moment it sees Dee’s sweet hound...

It takes a hard right turn and lunges towards them.

I’m on the ground before I even realize I’ve jumped out of the tree. Fueled by pure instinct, I sprint across the grass, toward the dog with the bared teeth. Dee still has no idea, and remains supine on her picnic blanket.

Thankfully, her own dog leaps to its feet and instantly jumps into action.

I come to a grinding halt as the two dogs start going at it. Dee jerks upright as growls and snarls fill the air, and she lets out a shrill cry. I hesitate, not sure if I should intervene or not and reveal myself. While my woman and my cub aren’t directly at risk, I don’t want anything to happen to her beloved companion, either.

“What the fuck?” Dee shouts, then dives at the two dogs. Shit. That’s not good—someone as small and fragile as her shouldn’t get in the middle of a dogfight. The runner is also rushing toward her pet, hand outstretched. This isn’t going to go well.

My instincts know only one thing: keep Dee safe, even if it means she learns my secret.

One, two, three strides, and I have my arms wrapped around her, dragging her away from the fight. Then, once she’s stunned and set on the ground safely a few feet away, I dive for the two dogs.

First I grab the attacker by the head, squeezing my fingers between its jaws to pull it off of Dee’s pet. It yowls as I haul it backwards, and there’s blood on my hands where it got its teeth into the other dog’s flesh. Cursing, I hurl it to one side, and it rolls on the grass before springing back to its feet. I turn to face it, putting my body between the two animals, and it lunges again—this time, right at me.

It’s easy to block with my arm, though, and the beast clamps its jaws around my wrist.

“Poppy! Stop!” the runner calls out, and I realize that she and Dee have both been screaming for some time. “Poppy!” I’m bleeding now, too, but there’s not much the dog’s jaws can do against my thick fur and skin. The runner grabs her dog by the collar, tears streaming down her face as she tugs on it, trying to get it to release me. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

Slowly I lower the dog to the ground while it snarls and wriggles, then I pry its jaws off of me. Once I’m freed, the woman snaps her leash onto the dog’s collar and starts dragging it away.

“Keep your damned animal under control,” I snap at her, and her eyes grow huge. Then I spin around to check the damage.

I find Dee on her knees next to her dog, who’s whimpering pathetically. I kneel down beside her, where she sits sobbing.

“Boomer!” She’s petting him, clearly in shock. “Are you okay, buddy? Oh, look at your ear!” I want to pat her back and assure her that he’ll be all right, but she might not welcome it. Instead, I pull out my phone and start to dial 9-1-1.

“I’ll call someone,” I say. But Dee quickly stops me with a hand on my arm. My hackles raise, highly aware of her touch, and I almost pull away because the shock of it is so powerful.

“Don’t,” she says, glaring at the jogger who’s still standing there, watching us. “I’ll handle it.” Suddenly her voice is firm, despite the shakiness from her tears. Dee pulls out her own phone and stalks toward the woman with the other dog. “Give me your number, your name, and your address.”

The runner holds her dog tight as it snarls, and lists off all the information. When they’re finished, the jogger leaves, dragging her animal along behind her.

Dee looks something up on her phone, then dials. “Hello? My dog was just attacked, and I need someone to look at him.” She pauses for a second. “Okay, you have a spot now? I’ll be right there.” She turns off the phone, shoves it in her pocket, and sprints back over to us.

“Are you taking him to the vet?” I ask as the brown dog paws at his torn ear.

“Yeah, right now. Thanks for your help, wolfman.” She takes the leash in her hand and offers me a thin half-smile—until her eyes travel down to my arm, where blood is dripping through my fur. Her mouth falls open in horror.

“Oh, fuck,” she says, grabbing my arm to get a better look. Her tears start coming again. “Please, please don’t sue me.”

I frown at her. “Sue you? Why would I sue you?” I jerk a thumb in the direction the runner went. “I should be suing her.”

“Please don’t sue anyone.” She helps her dog to his feet and starts walking away, but then stops and gestures for me to follow. Obediently, I do.

“Come on,” she says. “I’ll take you to the hospital right after we drop Boomer off at the vet. He’ll probably need stitches.”

I arch an eyebrow at her. “Vet first?” I ask, in a joking tone. “I know where I fall on the food chain.”

Despite her tears, Dee smiles. “Sorry. He’s just... he means a lot to me.” The dog is still letting out pathetic sounds as she winds through the park toward the exit.

“I understand,” I say, even though I’ve never had a pet myself. Dee tilts her head at me as we walk, and she squints.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” she asks. “Your voice sounds familiar.”

I try not to show how this makes me feel: giddy and pleased. So she remembers me that well, does she?

But I shake my head. “I don’t think so,” I say, fishing for something that might throw her off the scent. “Though I’ve been told there’s a radio DJ who sounds like me.”

“That must be it.” Dee shrugs then resumes leading me to her car. I already know which one it is, and head towards it to open the door. She stops cold.

“How did you know that one was mine?” she asks, pointedly peering down the row of other cars parallel parked there.

“Well, uh,” I search for something to say that won’t give me away. “You were headed right to this one. I thought I’d try to help.”

She inspects me for a moment, then nods and allows me to open the back door of her sedan. As she helps Boomer up into the seat, I go around to the passenger side, even though my own car is quite close by and I could easily drive myself to the hospital.

Not that I need a hospital. It isn’t as serious as it looks, but if I get to spend even a few moments with Dee, breathing in her smell, I’ll die happy.

I awkwardly wedge myself into the little human-made car, and Dee gawps at me. “Oh, gosh, sorry. I forgot that you’re huge. And you might not fit.”

I curl my shoulders and lower my head so I don’t bump the roof, then smile at her. “It’s fine. Thanks for taking me. ”

“Sure. I’m sorry again about what happened.” She starts up the old car and it coughs.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I want nothing more than to reach out and touch her, to assure her that I’m fine and I would do anything to take care of her and my cub, but I keep my hand pressed down in my lap. “I saw a woman in need, and so I stepped in. That’s all.”

She gives me a wan smile. “I’m glad you did. I think Boomer would be a lot more injured right now if you hadn’t.”

This is probably true. My heart is still racing at how close she and my cub came to danger, and I’m immensely grateful I was there.

Then we’re off. We wind through town, Dee remaining quiet. Suddenly, though, she turns to me and asks, “Wait, what’s your name? I never got your name.”

I chuckle. “Russ.”

“What were you doing at the park? Going on a walk?”

“Yeah,” I lie. “Enjoying the sunshine before I have to go to work. I live close by.”

She hums thoughtfully as she makes her way into the parking lot of a strip mall. “Well, I’m glad you were there. Russ.”

Holy shit, my name sounds good on her tongue. A shiver crawls along every inch of my body, rippling my fur.

Dee blinks. “You okay?”

“Oh, yeah, fine.” As she gets out of the car, I push my own door open to follow her. “Here, I should come with you. In case they ask questions.”

Dee tilts her head, then nods and opens the back door to let out Boomer. The sweet dog is still whimpering as she leads him inside the vet’s office, and I think he might be hamming it up for her. Dee eats it up, crooning, “My poor baby,” and petting his head as they walk.

I stand next to her as we wait behind someone at the counter, and my nostrils are full with the delicious scent of her. I could just eat her up right here, push her against a wall and fuck her like?—

I cut myself off and shake my head to clear it. I’m only here to support her right now, that’s all. Her best friend in the world was just mauled. As we step up to the counter and Dee starts talking to the receptionist, though, an idea strikes me.

Maybe that’s the answer to all this. Be like Boomer. I can’t tell her what she means to me, how desperately I need her and her cub under my care. She already has someone, and I’d risk her shutting me out completely.

No, instead of announcing to her that I’m Bill... I’ll be there for her. I’ll become her friend, and get her to trust me.

And then I’ll convince her to fall in love with me.