“Mr. Rook, nice to see you again.” Koira stared in the direction of a stunned Rook.

“How did you know it was me?” Rook gave Thumper a shocked look.

“I can smell Thumper and I remember your scent as well.”

“Are you sure you aren’t a shifter?”

“Not that I know of but my sense of smell drastically improved when I lost my sight. I will admit it seems to have gotten even better the last week but I’m not sure why that would be.”

Rook and Thumper shared a look, could it be because of him? Human mates did tend to take on a lot of the traits of their partners. Even Sheriff West was a wolf shifter now that he was with Rook.

Caeden was suddenly even more anxious to complete the mating ritual and claim her to see what else may develop with her. He would love it if she became a shifter, too. They could spend their nights running the land then making love till dawn.

“Caeden called me a bit ago and said I’m going to sing tonight at the club, will you and West be there?”

“I’m not sure West is ready to go near a bar again this soon but I’ll talk him into it.” Rook laughed at his own joke while both Koira and Thumper looked at him questioningly. “Anyways, I’ve got to get to work so I’ll leave you in Thumper’s capable paws.”

Koira grabbed her cane and kneeled down, waiting for Thumper to come closer. She chuckled quietly as he licked her neck and ear. “I missed you, too, boy. How about we go back to the park for some fresh air.” She shut and locked the door.

Caeden leaned against her leg and walked next to her. Not having another human put him on higher alert. “Okay, buddy, let me know when it’s safe to cross.”

Caeden watched the street, waiting for the light to change. When it was clear he yipped, and took a step. Koira stayed in step with him as he led her to the same bench they sat at the day before.

“It sounds busy today, I love that people spend so much time outside here. I think Mama is going to love it here if I can just convince her to come.” Koira scratched Thumper’s ear as he laid his head on her knee. He listened as she hummed a song without the smile ever leaving her face. He was envious of the contented happiness she exuded, he wasn’t sure he would be such a well-functioning person if he had lost his sight.

Caeden perked up as a group of teens walked nearby and pointed at her. One ballsy idiot approached her, “Hey, are you blind?”

Koira smiled sweetly in his direction, “Only on the days that end in y.”

They all stood confused for a moment before his friends laughed at him. “Whatever.” He stomped back to his friends. Caeden made sure to memorize his face, next time he was on duty he would make sure to hassle the brat a little and give him a taste of his own medicine.

Koira returned to humming and stroking his back. He perked up as she went silent and her fingers gripped his hair. He could feel the tension rolling off of her. He whined to get her attention. “Come on, Thumper, let’s get home.” She stood shakily and took off with quick strides, heading the wrong direction. He jumped to catch up and nudged her legs till she was turned around and heading the right direction. Something was wrong but he wasn’t sure what happened.

They made it home in record time. As the apartment door closed behind them she leaned against it, panting. Caeden paced nervously, hoping she would talk and tell him what happened.

With wobbly legs, she pushed off the door and went to the living room. He laid across her feet and watched anxiously as she took out her cell phone.

“Hey, it’s Koira.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, “I’m okay but I’m scared. I was in the park and I swear I smelled him.” Caeden sat up, instantly alert, “It can’t be, though, right? How could he find me here? I need to call Mama and make sure she’s okay then I need to call Caeden and let him know.” She rambled without awareness of her aunt calling her name through the phone. “What? Yes, Thumper is here. Okay, I’ll stay inside, I promise.” She hung up the phone and dialed another number. Caeden’s skin crawled with desire to run back to the park and track every scent he could find. It was frustrating not knowing what smell was his.

“Hi, Mama, I’m good. I just wanted to check in and see how you were.” Caeden was surprised how quickly she had calmed herself and pretended everything was normal for her mother. She did say how hard it was when she first moved out, she must have adapted to not worrying her mom.

“He’s good, we’re going out tonight. I’m going to sing at his friend’s club.” She laughed at something her mother said. “I can’t believe she said that! She must be telling the truth, though. I asked some others about him, men and women, and it was unanimous that he was drop dead gorgeous and sexy. You know I trust my senses and he feels so good in all the right places.”

Caeden smiled proudly, he knew they were speaking of him and he was happy to hear she liked what she felt even though she was bragging to her mama about him. It did surprise him to know a guy had praised him, he never thought about how other men judged him. It was kinda nice knowing others thought you were attractive.

“I’ll let you get back to work, I just wanted to check in. I’ll call tomorrow and tell you how my performance was. Love you.” Koira tossed her phone onto the couch and laid back with a deep sigh.

She patted the couch and called him; he jumped up and laid across her legs, laying his head against her breasts. She stroked his back gently, “If he is here, he didn’t hurt Mama finding me. I actually hope it is him, that means he isn’t back home and she isn’t in danger. If only she had told her boss to fuck himself she could be here with me now.”

Caeden listened to her rambling while he considered his future mother-in-law and how he could help get her here. First things first, he needed to find a job for her so she didn’t have an excuse.

“That’s enough worrying for one day, I’m going to take a bath and get ready for tonight.” She sat forward and waited for him to move off her.

As she walked toward her room, he considered whether he should give her privacy or not. Technically she had exposed herself quite willingly to him this morning so this wasn’t any different, right?

He laid on the bed and watched as she undressed, turned on the water to fill the tub and rifled through her closet, deciding what to wear. He intended to stay there while she soaked but then he remembered what she did with the shower head and decided he didn’t want to miss another show.

He laid on the bath mat, content to keep guard as she relaxed in the water. The underlying edge of neediness threatened to overrun him a few times but he kept it in check. If he didn’t sink himself in her soon, he was going to lose his mind. It really wasn’t fair that she wasn’t as frustrated as he was. Then again, he was the perv watching her 24/7.