***
They barely made it out of the shower and into clothes before Rachel knocked at her door. Her best friend took one look between the two of them and grinned.
“What?” she asked warily.
“FINALLY!” Rachel shouted, leaning in to hug her. Then she breezed past Angela and inside, making her way over to Cooper. “Hey little guy. Guess who gets to spend the day with Aunty Rachel!”
Cooper laughed happily as she tickled him and made noises.
“Okay, gimme all the stuff. We’re out of here.”
Angela looked at the door. “How are you getting there?”
“Umm, Madison has agreed to drive us and is going to hang out with me for the day.”
“Oh, that’s nice of her,” Angela said neutrally.
Madison Koche was one of the mates of the shifters who were living in Cloud Lake illegally. Shooting Rachel a look that spoke of caution, she changed the subject. Whether Rachel picked up on the look or not, she went along with it thankfully.
“Well, thanks for looking after him. Noah has something super secret planned out for us, but he won’t actually tell me what we’re up to.” She packed Cooper’s bag as she spoke, putting all the stuff into it he would need for the day. Food, diapers, clothes. Most of it was pre-packed to save trouble, but it always needed restocking.
Rachel grinned. “Ooooh, I love surprises. Have fun, darling.” She snagged the bag, planted Cooper into his carrier, and was out the door. “Text me his feeding schedule and anything else I need to know. Now go have fun you two!”
Angela hadn’t ever really seen Rachel quite like this before, so anxious to push her into Noah’s arms. Rachel wasn’t blind, and she was quite smart as well. She wouldn’t be working so hard to ensure the two of them ended up together unless she saw something in him. Would she? Angela resolved to have a little girl talk with her best friend at the end of the day.
“Well then,” she said as the door closed, leaving her alone with Noah. “I guess I’m all yours.”
He seemed to react on a deeper level to those words than she’d expected. Fire blazed in his eyes and something primitive and feral crossed his face before he could get it under control. The look that he trained on her was powerful enough to leave her weak in the knees. It made her wary, cautious, excited, and ultimately intrigued to find out what it was all about.
Was he possessive, and aroused by the idea of her becoming “his”? Or was it perhaps more akin to hearing that her desire was to be his, that she wanted to give herself to him, as he would give himself to her? Trepidation fluttered through her limbs as he escorted her from the house, but she stuck with it and her original decision to give him a try. There were so many reasons not to, but the looming question was always “what if?”
What if it did work out? What if it was meant to be? She would never know unless she tried, unless she gave it, and him, a chance to win her over.
Noah led her out and into the blustery cold of winter in Cloud Lake, something that she shockingly did not hate. The cold wasn’t necessarily welcomed, but Angela had always found something beautiful about winter, the way it transformed the landscape around her. She said as much to Noah as they walked.
“Personally, I’ve never understood the hatred for winter. You can stay perfectly warm if you dress for the weather, and the serene nature of the way the earth sort of hibernates under the covering of white snow has always struck me as powerful beyond measure, though I would be hard-pressed to tell you how.”
She looked up at him as he spoke, entranced by his words, hearing the genuine love for mother nature that reverberated within him. Here was someone that cared about the earth, about the forests and nature, in a way that Angela knew she would never truly be able to fathom. He was speaking from his animal side, from the beast that lived within him. It was obvious in the way his voice changed timbre and his eyes opened wide, taking in everything as his head swayed back and forth while they walked.
His hand slipped down and found hers, their fingers splaying wide until they could link up with each other, his bare hand versus her gloved one.
“I’m glad you aren’t a winter hater,” he said at last, his head swiveling to glance down at her.
She reached up and brushed her free hand against his unshaven jaw. “You are an interesting man, Noah Landeau. A very interesting man. There’s so much more to you than I would ever have expected.”
He grinned. “So what you’re saying is that you just assumed I was a dumb walking goon covered in muscle and good looks?”
Angela sputtered in protest. “Absolutely not! That’s not the way I meant it, I…” her voice fell off as he broke out into big-bellied laughter, the noise booming up and down the streets. “Rude,” she added, sniffing airily as she turned up her nose on him.
Noah grinned and pulled her tight, planting a kiss right on her forehead. “You are something else,” he rumbled. “I admire your fire; it’s very potent for a little thing like yourself.”
His voice had deepened once more, taking on a very bear-like tone she thought, rumbling out of him like snow as it poured down the mountain, gathering speed as it went. He spoke formally and there was a rigidity to his words. It suddenly made Angela feel very small, as if she was truly witnessing his power for the first time, a glimpse into his true being that he rarely displayed.
She took it all in, noting the way his shoulders seemed to strain at the seams of his shirt as he spoke, his eyes wide and full of glittering blue gemstones, thousands of them all pushed together into little circles that looked at her, through her, and around her all at once. Angela swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as Noah fixed his stare on her.
“Th-Thank you?” she stammered, unsure of how to respond.
Noah smiled and she was almost knocked from her feet by the feeling of joy that seemed to flow out of him from such a simple thing as a facial expression. It must have shown on her face, because he shook his head violently and reached out to catch her as she wobbled, strength leaving her legs.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice almost a growl, filled with anger. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. Are you okay?”
Angela trembled in his arms, but they never moved, holding her perfectly still while she recovered.
“Wow,” she said breathlessly at last, finally shaking off the last of the effects of…of…of whatever that had been. “What happened?”
“That was my bear,” he told her, very obviously trying to rein in his temper. “It decided to come out and play, to try and pull you into itself.”
“It was…powerful. Big. Strong.”
“And very, very bad,” he said, clenching his jaw. “It’s not listening to me right now, and I’m having a hard time keeping it contained.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice suddenly small. “What, um, what happens if you can’t keep it contained?”
Azure fires erupted in his eyes once more as they trained on her. “Then I take you, right here, right now, and kill anyone who looks at you funny,” he said in that same oddly deep and old-sounding voice.
Desire swept through her at his words, at the idea of being taken where everyone could see, of having him mount her and broadcast to the world that she was his. It was like a living, breathing thing. She felt her nipples harden at the idea that Noah would fight anyone who tried to take her away from him, that he would protect her and do whatever was necessary to ensure no one else could have her. It spoke of devotion and caring on a level so basic it could be understood without saying anything. Actions were greater than words after all.
Noah slammed his hand into a nearby light pole, the metal screeching and caving inward under the blow. He fell to one knee, and a rumbling noise that couldn’t have come from any human throat filled the air around them. Throughout it all she never once felt scared or nervous. Unsure, yes, but she always felt safe and secure, knowing that no matter what happened, he wouldn’t hurt her.
She reached out and rested one hand on his shoulder, like a royal to a bowing servant. Noah shuddered under her touch, his opposite hand coming up to engulf hers in a warm grip, his massive fingers completely folding over her, making her feel dainty and small. He took in one painful-sounding breath, his shoulders lifting and falling with tremors that were noticeable through her touch.
Then he took another. And another. Each one seeming more smooth than the one before. Eventually he even looked up, and she saw Noah looking back at her, the human half, not his counterpart. After a moment of basking in his presence once more she smiled at him. He smiled back, but there was a hint of something else in his face.
“What is it?” she asked, tugging him to his feet.
He was still holding her hand, and he looked at it now. “I don’t know. Your touch it…helped. It calmed me. My beast I mean. It quieted it right down, allowing me to get back into the driver’s seat.”
Angela smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”
Anguish appeared in his eyes. “I am very sorry for that,” he told her, looking at the light post that was still somehow upright. “I’m going to have to fix this.”
“Probably,” she agreed. “But what happened there, Noah?”
He looked around, his eyes searching the dreary streets of Cloud Lake. Looking for something. Searching. But they never found it. She turned to sweep the streets and nearby buildings as well, trying to figure out what it was he was after.
“I’m not sure,” he lied.
It was easy to tell he was lying. Noah knew what it was, or at least, he had an idea.
“I think I know,” he corrected under her glare. “But until I’m positive, I don’t want to say more. I promise, I will share it with you when I do know.”
That was a much better answer, and she let him know it. “Can we still do whatever it was you had planned for us?”
“Oh yes. Absolutely,” he said, taking her arm and linking it through his once more. “In fact, we were almost there.”
She smiled. “But where is it you’re taking me?”
He pointed at a building, and she grinned. “Oh goodie. I love the movies!”