Chapter Sixteen Flynn

I rolled my eyes. "Sure you are." I grabbed my underwear and pulled them back up. Wheeling over to him I patted him on the shoulder. "Your secret is safe with me. Now, since you're never going to take this seriously, you might as well leave. I don't want anything to do with guys that lie to me. That's not my vibe."

"I'm not lying!" he cried. "I swear!"

"Right." I glared up at him. "And I'm the Easter Bunny. There. Now we both know each other's secrets." I started to wheel away but stopped to glance back at him. "Oh, and don't tell anyone about my secret. Bunnies will come down your chimney and fucking choke you out in the night, okay?"

"This isn't a joke!"

I shook my head. "Whatever."

"Do I have to prove it to you?"

I stopped. "No. You don't have to prove it and you know why? Because I'm over whatever this is already. Have a good life, Thor."

His hand was suddenly on my shoulder. "No. You can't leave."

I wanted to kick myself for the tingle of excitement that rippled down my spine. This guy was clearly off his fucking rocker and yet there I was, pining for him like a lovesick pup. Not to mention just a simple touch and the earthy scent of him washing over me made my cock thicken in my underwear. God, I was pathetic.

"Which is it?" I snapped, turning on him in an instant. "Do you want me to go, or do you want me to stay?" I got right up in his face. "Make up your fucking mind, will you?"

And then he smiled at me.

"You're a tough little thing, you know that? You might even give Loki a run for his money."

"Don't fucking patronize me! Just because I'm smaller than you doesn't mean I can't fight! Besides, I'm not afraid of some overstuffed asshole like you. Your tattoos and your PA don't scare me."

I tried to pull away, but he held me tight.

"I can't let you go. I know I should, but I can't." He took a deep breath. "So let me prove to you that I'm telling the truth."

"Sure," I laughed in his face. "Turn into a big scary monster right now. Then I can fucking leave."

He let go of my arm. "Fine," he sighed. "I guess I have no other choice." He paused, reaching up and caressing my cheek. "But I want you to make me a deal."

"Sure," I sighed. "What?"

"If I prove to you I'm a werewolf, you have to spend the night with me. I won't touch you if you don't want me to, but I want one last night together before you go home forever."

"Fine," I said, waving a hand in dismissal. It wasn't like he was going to change, anyway. "Whatever you say."

"Alright."

Thor pulled his hand away and took a few steps back. He reached down and peeled off his shirt, tossing it to the side. Then, without hesitation, he dropped his shorts to the ground, his heavy cock flopping free. The thick metal ring through the head reflected the floor lamp in the corner. He took a deep breath, kept his eyes focused on me, and began to lean forward.

At first nothing happened, and I was just about to laugh it off when his eyes suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, they went from their normal baby blue to gold, the color bringing me back to that night I'd fallen in the gorge all over again. Then, with a growing fear in the pit of my stomach, I watched his body snap and crack. Fur sprouted from his pores and his face elongated, fangs dropping down from the roof of his mouth. In a matter of seconds, I found myself not in the room with a hulking tattooed man, but with a massive white wolf, his tail wagging happily behind him.

And I was fucking horrified because I recognized him. It was the wolf from the night I'd gotten hurt. The one that I was convinced was going to eat me. I thought I'd only made him up in my dreams, but it seemed it had been Thor all along.

I had no idea what to say.

The wolf let out a low whine and took a step toward me, his tail low but still wagging softly. I was absolutely frozen with fear and no matter how much I wanted to run, I couldn't force my feet off the floor. The white wolf inched closer, his golden eyes still staring up at me. The fucking thing's shoulders were higher than my waist. It was huge . And I knew with just a quick glance at those jaws that he could easily kill me in a single bite if he wanted to.

Instead, he nudged his forehead against my hand, a low whine echoing from his throat again. When I didn't react, a pink tongue lapped at my hand, and he looked up at me again. The warmth seemed to snap me out of it for a moment and I was suddenly overtaken with the urge to pet him even though I knew I shouldn't. But there was something there, that same bond that I felt before urging me on. I wasn't sure how I knew it, but I was starting to be convinced that he wasn't going to hurt me.

"Th-Thor?" I asked, my hand shaking as I lifted it.

He nodded, tilting his head down.

My hand landed between his large fluffy ears, the fur threading between my fingers as I stroked him. He was so soft and warm. A sudden urge took over me and I leaned down, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

Suddenly I was ten years old again and my old dog was sitting in front of me in the backyard. She always liked to be hugged like this and the memories made me feel safe. I'd always wanted another after she passed on, but Mom wouldn't hear of it.

But this was different. The connection I felt with Thor was deeper. If I closed my eyes, I could almost feel his relief that I hadn't gone running for the hills the moment he changed. There was a sense of joy emanating through his skin as I buried my face in his fur.

The wolf in my arms seemed to shift for a moment and I heard the familiar cracking once more. Before I could look up, I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me and realized my face was no longer buried in wolf fur, but in Thor's chest hair. His heart thumped wildly below his skin, his elation almost palpable.

"Believe me now?" he asked softly.

I nodded.

"Will you still spend the night with me?"

I nodded again. "Yeah." I glanced up at him, his eyes blue again instead of gold. "I… I have a couple questions."

"Just two?" he laughed.

I couldn't help grinning. "Well… maybe at least three."

◆◆◆

We'd both been sitting in bed for over two hours, just going back and forth. I'd ask a question and Thor would answer. So far, I'd grilled him about every piece of werewolf trivia I could think of. There was a surprising amount to go through.

"So silver is bad, werewolf hunters might still exist, and there's lots more packs out there like you living in secrecy all over the world. Is that about right?"

"Yeah," he nodded, still running his fingers through my hair as I rested my head in his lap. "That pretty much sums it up."

"And there's a pack on the eastern mountain, isn't there?"

Thor sighed. "Yeah. They're leader is… not nice."

"What did he do?"

"He killed my father."

"Oh…" I paused for a long moment. "Are… Are you going to kill him?"

"Loki really wants me to. But Baldr seems against it."

"But you're the Alpha, right? So whatever you say, goes."

"Well, you're right in a way. I can do whatever I think is right, but if I piss off enough of the pack, I could be challenged for my title and replaced. Then I'd have to find a new place to live."

"Oh." That didn't sound like fun. "And that's why you can't be with me. Because it would upset the pack."

He nodded. "It's one of our oldest laws. Humans can't know our secret. That also forbids me from taking one as my mate."

"What's this mate thing all about? Is that like marriage?"

"It's deeper than that. It's a bond between two people that cannot be broken unless one of them dies."

"Is it possible to have more than one mate?"

"It's rare, but it's happened before."

"So… do we have this bond already?"

"The beginning phases," he replied. "I know you're the person for me, the mate chosen for me by the moon goddess. But I'd have to… well… I'd have to breed you to complete the bond. Usually when that bond is formed between wolves, they can sense one another's emotions over short distances. Kind of like telepathy or something."

"Wow… that's kind of cool!" Being telepathic sounded awesome. However, having to commit to a lifetime with one person that I'd just met seemed like a bit of a steep price. "What about with humans?"

"No idea," he replied, shaking his head. "As far as I know, nobody's ever done it. And if they have, they didn't tell anyone."

I let out a deep sigh, everything finally starting to make sense. "So, this bond is why I can't get you off my mind? Why I crave your smell and touch so much?"

"Yeah. It's not logical. It's not even love . It's just a simple thread of destiny binding us together. However, if we don't nurture it, I think it might fade away someday. At least we'll be able to go on living without inextricably winding up together again."

"I… I don't know if I want to," I said honestly. "I mean… now that I actually know you, I feel a lot more attracted to you. You were hot to begin with, but the butterflies are getting a little more intense now." I laughed nervously. "That's probably not a good sign, huh?"

"I feel it too." Thor glanced down at his fingers twirling through my red hair. "Even if I wanted to stop touching you, I'm not sure I could force myself to do it." He took a deep breath. "But I can't ask you to stay with me forever. The Skoll pack Alpha wants me dead, and my entire pack will shun us if they find out about all this. I… I can't put you in danger like that. You're like a pup. There's nothing you could do to defend yourself against my kind. And I couldn't live with myself if one of them hurt you or worse…"

I knew he was right. And there was no sense arguing with him. In the past two hours my eyes had been opened up to a world that I knew I didn't belong in. Even a single step into it could cost me my life. As much as I felt this aching need toward Thor, I also didn't want to put myself in incredible danger. Besides, if they found out about me, they could find out about Nana's claims.

She'd been right all along of course. There really were wolves on the mountain.

"So, what do we do?" I said with a heavy sigh. "Just pretend we don't feel anything and move on?"

Thor's blue eyes took on a melancholy look I knew all too well because I felt it too. I didn't want to leave, but neither of us had a choice.

"You promised to spend the night with me," he said slowly. "Are you still okay with that?"

I nodded. "Of course I am. This is all a little crazy, but I don't think I can leave just yet. I feel like I have to stay."

"Then stay here in my arms for the night," he smiled, pulling me close. "And tomorrow we can go our separate ways." He nuzzled his face down into my neck, his beard tickling my skin. "I'll never forget you, Flynn. I'll see your beautiful face in my dreams for the rest of my life."

"Thor?" I asked, looking up.

"Yeah?"

"Will you make love to me?"