Nickie watched Dave’s guard help him into the rented luxury car. She waited until the sleek vehicle was out of sight before turning to Bud to tell him, “I’ve been waiting for you to offer to let me meet your wolf when all hell isn’t breaking loose around us, but since you haven’t, I’m asking to see him.”

Bud’s face registered shock and then frustration. “I was waiting for you to ask to see him. I thought you didn’t want to.”

Nickie’s heart relaxed and she shook her head. “Communication. You keep saying to talk to you and we’ll be fine. Looks like we both need to remember.”

“Yeah.” He was already shirtless, and Nickie’s pulse sped at the sight of his fingers on his belt. He was naked in less than a minute, his jeans on the deck’s railing and his shoes lined up below them.

“The wolf won’t hurt you. He can understand you, but may or may not acknowledge whatever you say. He can’t do math — doesn’t do well with numbers over three. Also, things like days of the week and the time of day is outside of his comprehension. He knows winter and summer, but not January and July.”

“Can I pet him?”

“Probably, but ask him. Also, leave his ears alone. And his tail. If he growls at you, stop doing whatever ticked him off. He won’t bite you, but he might get a little rough if he can’t get you to understand you need to stop, so respect the growl.”

Nickie nodded and then gasped.

The man slid into the wolf. His face morphed from a flat human face to one with a long nose. Shoulders went from human to canine, as did the hips, knees, feet. Hands turned to paws. One second he was on two feet, three seconds later he was on four. It happened so fast, her stomach was in her throat and her heart beat in the cage of her chest, but she took a series of deep breaths and reminded herself this was Bud. He wouldn’t hurt her.

Unless she played with his tail, apparently.

The wolf shook all over as if he were wet, looked around, sniffed towards the woods, walked off the deck to sniff the other direction, and finally turned to look at her. Nickie followed him off the deck and sat on the bottom step.

He was absurdly beautiful. Russet and brown. His fluffy, coarse hair didn’t hide the obviously muscled body underneath. He was wild and untamed, and his eyes were a golden amber instead of the deep green of Bud’s.

“Can I pet you?”

Nickie thought her heart would melt when the wolf stepped to her and butted his head against her knee. He didn’t stop there, he planted his feet on the first step and rubbed his head and shoulders all over her with so much intensity she had to engage her core muscles to keep from being pushed over.

“Are you marking me, fella? Wanting everyone to know I’m yours?”

She giggled when he pushed a little harder, but said, “Okay, enough. I’m yours. Everyone knows. Let me pet you, please.”

The wolf huffed, but turned in a circle to return to the ground, turned in another circle, and sat between her legs, facing her.

“Thank you.”

Nickie was careful to avoid his ears, but otherwise stroked his head, cheeks, and down his body. She massaged his shoulders, and went back to his head.

“Thank you,” she told him again. “You’re beautiful. Would you like to come inside with me? Or shall we go for a walk?”

The wolf turned and walked towards the woods, and Nickie said, “Wait! I need hiking boots!”

He was sniffing the trees around the cabin when Nickie came out in clothes and boots suitable for hiking.

“We can’t go too far. The cabin’s a good ways from anything, but we should probably only go a half-mile or so, to make sure we don’t run into people.” She sighed. “Do you understand miles?”

He huffed at her again, but she didn’t know if that was a yes or a no. Or, maybe he’d smell humans from far away and could make sure they weren’t seen.

It turned out, he didn’t want to hike, he just wanted to get out of the sight of the cabin and chill out in the woods. Nickie was fine with that, and she sat on the ground beside him. He snuggled up to her, and she let her mind wander as they sat together comfortably in silence.