FOUR YEARS LATER...
"Yes, Dolly. No one is home. I checked the entire property with Muffin. No, Sam isn't home and neither is Ian. Yes, the pack is still at the other sanctuary. I called them to make sure they were okay. Yes, you can call them. Carter's being an ass, as usual, Levi and Damien are being nice with the other wolves, and Hayden and Heston are napping. I don't see why you're so distraught about me staying alone here. Everything is locked, I left a message for Sam, and texted Ian who's probably asleep anyway. Stop worrying, Dolly, I'm fine on my own. It's getting chilly, so I'm going to set the fireplace up, take a nice hot shower, wear my unicorn robe, and watch Netflix. No...no...Dolly, you can't Netflix and chill by yourself. Who even taught you that term? Ugh. Don't worry about it. The sanctuaries are more important than beach time. Alright. See you in a few days. Love you too. Bye."
With a sigh, I hung up the phone and lifted my hand to run my fingers through my long brown hair. "Unbelievable. She makes it seem like she's never left me home alone before. Sucks that it's Christmas Eve and we can't finish our lovely girl trip, but it's fine. I was getting way too dark for my complexion."
"Meow?"
I looked down at Muffin who had an adorable look on her face as she stared up at me. "Yes, it's just you and me for the remainder of the year. Dolly won't be back until after New Year’s. Guess we got the place to ourselves. Are you sticking around?"
Muffin blinked her mismatched eyes a few times and, in a flash, she was gone.
"Savage."
Where did you even learn that from? I know I don't say that.
"It was on the show you fell asleep watching."
So you listen to dramas while I sleep?
"Don't got a choice when you leave them on."
Oh.
"Ya."
I crossed my arms over my chest and looked around the empty living room.
Guess I'll start with that firewood.
"That would be nice. It's chilly."
Agreed. I went to the back of the porch to grab some wood and picked up Ian's Nikes that O'Neil had bought him from the outdoor mat.
"Every single time he leaves his shoes here, they get wet and smelly and he complains he needs new shoes," I grumbled, shaking my head.
Ian and I had been dating for four years now. When we kissed in the treehouse, he asked me not to see anyone. I'd been stubborn and tried to play cool, asking him why he didn't want me seeing anyone else, and that was when he confessed to me.
It was possibly one of the best days of my life, pretty close to when I got adopted and had my Birthday Adoption party.
We hadn't told Dolly and Sam about it. I didn't even mention it when I'd talk to the pack as they relaxed around me during some downtime.
It was like our secrets kept growing and it didn't bother us that we were hiding it. I guess we didn't want to deal with the issues that could come with both of us being open about us dating; one being the fact Ian and I still slept in the same bed.
I'd become so accustomed to it that when I was on vacation, it was hard to go to sleep without cuddling something. Ian and Wolfie were getting a tad big in their wolf form and took a good 2/3 of the Queen-sized bed, but they were so warm to snuggle, especially on the colder nights.
Regardless, if we told Dolly or Sam about our relationship, that would be cut off. I did have a hunch O'Neil was catching on. He always asked about us whenever I went to town for kickboxing classes.
He recommended I did some type of physical activity aside from running to help with my endurance and stamina. Running was easy for me but fighting and self-defense I had no clue about when I was younger, and O'Neil wasn't going to have any of that.
His motto was that everyone should know how to protect themselves, especially when houses were further apart and we had so many remote areas around. The crime rate wasn't too high, but that was in regard to the human rate. I had no clue what the crime rate was for wolf shifters or if they even had one, but I knew Ian supported the idea when O'Neil mentioned it.
I guess the other reason Ian was protective was how "attractive" I'd become, according to others. Puberty hit me in the face at 14, and I went from 4'11 to 5'6 with the perfect sets of breasts, hips, abs, and a "snatched" waist. That was the new term for it anyways.
I kept my brown hair nice and long, and it seemed to have the perfect shine that always caught the attention of the girls in town as to what shampoo, conditioner, and hair food I used on it daily.
My clothing style was simple: jeans, white shirt, and a jean or leather jacket. I didn't dress up often unless I had to because it drew way too much attention when I wore "girly" clothes and did my makeup. I was into fashion I just avoided it.
Now that I was sweet sixteen, I'd gained another four inches in height, and stood at 6'0. I doubted I'd get any taller at this point, but I definitely didn't look sixteen to most people anymore. I was actually thankful Ian was taller than me, having hit a huge growth spurt not once but twice!
His height was a sexy 6'5 which was tall for a guy in these parts. He hadn't cut his hair in a while and now it was long and pretty badass. He'd dyed the ends slightly, so it went from the dark teal green to lighter teal, and his ends were the same tint of silver as those alluring eyes of his. His angular, clean-shaven face appeared as if the angels came down and sculpted him into their image and left him behind to torment women everywhere with his looks--and those lips of his!
Sure, they were pink, plump, and smooth, but damn. They could kiss. I guess we'd had lots of time to practice, but with Ian's growth spurts came a boost of confidence that kind of shocked everyone. It could have been a phase, but he was one of the cool kids people wished to be in TV shows and movies.
He was fashionable, too, and always made sure he was on point with his combination, which was rather nice. He especially loved when we dressed up and headed into town. Since Ian started working part-time with O'Neil at the station, assisting with report keeping and other technology-based duties, we'd normally go to town together.
He worked evenings three times a week, and Dolly gave me the same days off so that I could do training with O'Neil or take my classes if he was on duty.
It was the perfect arrangement, and Ian spoiled me with clothing that was similar to his. We'd essentially caused a new "trend" in town; young couples left and right tried to wear matching outfits and look lovey-dovey.
Neither Ian nor I cared about it. We just did our thing and kept to ourselves. I never liked the younger generation in town; the same little kids who'd bullied me were now teenagers, and their bullying ways hadn't stopped.
The rumors of Ian and me dating spread like hotcakes being served after Sunday church, but we played it cool and ignored it for the sake of Dolly and Sam not finding out. We still held hands, something we'd done since the day Ian had saved me, and that wasn't anything shocking to anyone.
The point was, Ian was the smoking hot boy who worked at the police station, had a sculpted body blessed by the heavens, which included a very defined six pack that stopped traffic during summer time at the beach, and he was all mine.
Reika and I were nice on the surface, but we were a jealous duo and would not tolerate anyone trying to steal our man. Protective much?
Thankfully, I, too, had good looks that turned heads and stopped traffic when I wore the perfect bikini, and that triggered Ian's jealousy and protectiveness.
We balanced each other out and I loved it. I wouldn't deny that I was still worried about not being able to shift. Even with spending our spare time researching more about wolf shifters and the possibility of a delayed growth, we couldn't find much, especially on female shifters.
It only bothered me because I really wanted to be Ian's mate. My heart would be crushed if a girl who knew nothing about him came out of nowhere and tried to take him away from me. He knew damn well I wouldn't allow it, and he reassured me it would never happen, but there was always that dark thought in the back of my mind.
We'd found a more detailed book about bonding and the different methods. We just needed some spare time to review it. Maybe we'd get that done once he returned from his time with Sam.
I finished setting up the fireplace, and I waited for the room to begin to warm up before I went upstairs. A nice hot shower and some sauna time would be nice.
Dolly had the biggest washroom ever. I bet ten people could lay down with enough space to roll at least once and there would still be extra space to spare. Long baths and time in the sauna were her favorite obsessions. That and hairspray.
I was happy to have it to myself, and I was going to take a long relaxing shower. Maybe I'd step it up and take a nice bath with one of my unicorn collection of bath bombs.
Yes, my unicorn obsession never left me. I honestly didn't know why I loved them so much. When I continued to take psych sessions, the psychiatrist said it could have been a coping mechanism of a sort. Something I'd always associate as a good, magical, and happy symbol that brought some form of closure.
Or I could really just have an obsession with unicorns.
I still tried to hide it around other people, but Ian and the pack of wolves knew all about it. Damien was always sneaky and would steal the oversized unicorn I'd had for years and hide it somewhere in this house, which was annoying.
I stripped out of my old clothes, throwing them into the hamper and grabbing a towel to wrap around my body. I grabbed an extra towel for my hair and my mini basket that had my shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and a few skin products. Seeing as I already had my once in a three-month period, I could leave the tampons behind.
After taking off my necklace and grabbing my phone to spam text Ian while I enjoyed my bath, I headed for the bathroom.
Forty-five minutes passed by and I'd yet to hear back from Ian. It was pretty late at night, so my only two conclusions were his phone either died, or he was in wolf form. My text messages had a specific ringtone, and he never ignored it unless he was in a deep sleep or Wolfie was doing his thing.
I decided to give up after I gave him a general description of what happened and how Dolly was called to another sanctuary for an emergency. I'd overheard the conversation, and from the bits and pieces I'd picked up, Hunters were involved in injuring a few wolves.
It really pissed me off that Hunters were still trying to kill the low number of wolves left in this country, and it worried me as well. It wasn't like people could tell if they were shooting a normal wolf or a wolf shifter, and I couldn't imagine what it felt like to lose one in their pack.
Reading about it and getting some info from Ian, I learned that it was a very painful experience. When one of their own died, they could feel it, but the Alpha had it the hardest. I couldn't imagine what it felt like.
Even after all these years, I still had nightmares about how my parents and brother were killed. I didn't remember everything; my memories never came back which I guess was a part of the whole PTSD, but if I had to physically feel their deaths, I don't know if I could function.
I closed my eyes and relaxed, enjoying the warmth of the water after watching the remainder of the bath bomb dissolve. It was hard to be alone. I wasn't really used to it and just thinking about Ian made my lower region clench.
We hadn't gone to 3rd base, or whatever base meant sex. I guess we never had the chance because we were hiding our relationship and since the treehouse was rather open, we couldn't enjoy a quiet round of lovemaking.
I knew my first time wouldn't be a pretty one either, and I don't think either of us wanted to deal with cleaning up the mess of popping my cherry. I was happy Dolly and Sam didn't teach us sex ed. That would have been extremely awkward.
They basically told us to read books and that was it. Something along the lines of "we'd figure it out" when we were older. I'd decided to do my own research on the topic on the days I finished working with the pack and Dolly wasn't home.
Incognito web browser and some quick google searches, and you'd find every porn site possible to help you "figure it out." Sucks that I hadn't put it into practice, but I didn't want to have my first time with anyone but Ian.
I doubted it was the same for guys. I just felt in my mind that I wanted my first time to be memorable. Even if it essentially sucked, I didn't want any regrets with the guy who took my virginity. I knew I'd never regret it with Ian, but again, my shyness would kick in. I mean, a girl doesn't pin a guy down and say fuck me hard, right? That only happened in porn videos.
I didn't get horny often. It honestly depended on if Ian walked half naked around the house or worked out without a shirt...or just anything with that well-sculpted chest of his and heavenly abs was enough to make my pussy clench and beg for him to be right in front of me so I could get a simple touch. Ya, it was pretty bad.
I'd learned how to please myself thanks to the same methods of research, but I really wished I could get a bigger room and more privacy to maybe buy a vibrator. Seeing as I couldn't pin down Ian and get the real thing.
I took a deep breath and shook my head to try and get rid of my very dirty thoughts. What would be more depressing is masturbating in the middle of a snowstorm in an empty house with my fingers. Perfect opportunity, but I just couldn't own up to it.
I finished my bath and relaxed in the sauna for a long time before I decided to get out. Walking out and into the large bathroom, I took my towel off and hung it up while I did a quick check of my naked body.
My eyes lingered on my booty that was really beginning to perk up thanks to the self-defense training I'd been doing. O'Neil was hardcore with squats and all those 100-day booty challenges were worth it.
"I should get a tattoo," I mumbled. I always wanted one, but particularly on my upper thigh or in a place where it would speak out when I wore a bikini. A small tattoo in a nice sexy spot, but I didn't know what yet. With a shrug, I pulled the towel out of my hair, letting the damp strands fall before I reached for my bottle of lotion.
I reached halfway when the door opened slightly. "Muffin, you really have to stop coming into the washroom when I'm here," I grumbled as I worked on putting lotion on my right leg that I hoisted onto a marble stool.
When I didn't hear the little meow in response, I lifted my head and looked to my right, my eyes locking onto a pair of silver ones.
Hungry silver ones that looked at me with such passion I literally froze.
The bottle that was in my left hand slipped, and the sound of it dripping to the floor wasn't enough to knock me out of my frozen stance.
Ian?