Wolf: To Your Bones (Wolf series Book 2), page 6
“Shall I transform?” His voice was only a soft whisper as his lips touched my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck.
I knew what he was getting at. Since he no longer had a car, he often carried me home on the back of the hybrid instead of taking me by bus. It was faster and far more exciting. There was little I loved more than riding the beautiful wolf through the forest. He ran faster than any human being could ever run and cleared every obstacle. Today, however, I had decided on something else.
“No. Let’s take the bus. Just like a normal couple.”
I wanted to hold his hand and hear his voice while we rode home.
Josh seemed to catch this thought as a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “Okay.”
The next day it was time again to give the horses a little exercise time. Mom and I usually took the horses out on the weekend. Riding together had been our ritual since I was able to ride, and we stuck to the tradition as often as possible. The horses were happy, Charlie and Jamie were usually allowed to come along, and we could chat about everything that had happened during the week. Dad, meanwhile, rarely sat on Snow White and Romeo. He always said he was too heavy and didn’t want to burden them.
I had invited Josh to accompany me on the ride this time because he had never ridden before. It was hard to believe that a werewolf, of all people, would be afraid to sit on a horse, but I could see how insecurely Josh held on to the saddle horn. He was really uncomfortable on such a big animal.
“Not so stiff.” I laughed and stroked Snow White’s neck. She would probably have thrown Josh off on the spot, so today it was up to me to tame the little diva. She was already snorting impatiently. I had to wait for Josh to stabilize, though.
“Am I too tall?” he asked. His right hand clawed at the horn, the left hand at the saddle. With the Stetson hat my dad had loaned him, he looked like a cowboy at a rodeo, even though he was sitting wrong and Romeo wasn’t moving at all. The dark stallion just stood there, chewing on a blade of grass he had found. It seemed like nothing could make him get upset. Romeo was the ideal horse for beginners.
I looked at the unequal team for a moment and shook my head. “No. It’s all right, I guess.”
Now Josh straightened up, a simple movement that made me catch my breath. Josh looked so good. Even on the sluggish Romeo he seemed sporty. I grinned before I lifted myself into Snow White’s saddle. The white horse trampled restlessly on the spot and tossed her head because I was not Mom. Snow White was a lady who knew what she wanted, but today she would have to make do with me.
“Go,” I said, gently pressing the heels against her body. She knew the order. Nevertheless, she neighed reluctantly before setting herself in motion. Josh had observed my gesture and imitated it well enough for Romeo to start following us.
The country road in front of our farm was the perfect place for a ride. The trees were far enough away that we could ride side by side, and Charlie and Jamie still had enough greenery to sniff around. They ran ahead to show us the way. The two of them had known horses since they were little and were very gentle around them. Since there were almost no cars driving here, the dogs were allowed to move about freely.
“You’re right,” Josh said with astonishment. “It’s actually quite easy.”
I took my eyes off Jamie to watch Josh. He was learning really fast and already looked more relaxed in the saddle. It was amazing how quickly he had understood the system. One of his hands had come off the saddle and was resting comfortably on Romeo, who seemed to be in excellent harmony with his new rider.
“You’re doing really well,” I said.
Now I was the one who seemed like a complete beginner next to Josh. Snow White was just too stubborn. She stopped every few meters to go left instead of straight ahead, and when the reins were too tight, she bucked. How did Mom do it? With her, Snow White behaved mostly impeccably. I stroked the horse’s neck with my hand to calm her down a bit. That seemed to reach her, because she trotted on in a more well-behaved way—at least for now.
“Do I feel like this?” Josh suddenly asked. He watched my face and sounded pretty focused, so I raised my brows.
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated briefly.
“When you sit on me,” he said. “On the hybrid.”
Apparently, Josh was wondering what it was like riding a wolf. Actually, the question was obvious, but I hadn’t seen it coming, so I had to think about it for a while.
“No.” I watched Snow White’s shoulders to compare her running rhythm with Josh’s. “Riding the hybrid is harder and I have to be careful not to slip. You lean back and forth more when you run, a bit like a rocking horse.”
That was a good analogy. The hybrid’s back was not as well-padded as a horse’s. I could sit comfortably on Romeo or Snow White, especially thanks to the saddle. With Josh, I not only felt his vertebrae, but I also had to be careful not to fall off due to the jerkiness of his muscles. His shoulder blades also sat closer to me than a horse’s when I rode him. It caused his limbs to become much more jerky, and I had to compensate for the wild movements by moving a lot as well.
“But I got used to it,” I added. “You’re much faster, too.”
Neither Snow White nor Romeo liked to gallop. Besides, doing so was pretty dangerous in the forest. Not only could a horse get fatally injured, but I could as well. With Josh, I wasn’t afraid of that. As a hybrid, he might be almost as tall as Romeo, but his movements were smoother and more aerodynamic. He cut through the air like an arrow and never got stuck anywhere or in anything. Maybe it was just because I trusted Josh so much. I still remembered how we had run into the woods together for the first time. It had been the day I had found the photo of his father and Josh had kissed me. I would never forget any of it.
Josh smiled, probably happy about my compliment.
“It’s strange to see you on a horse, you know?” he said. We had already turned around to ride back to the farm. In a few hundred meters a real road began, and we didn’t want Jamie and Charlie getting too close.
He chuckled. “It makes me want to transform.”
Even though it was just a joke, it showed me how much Josh had changed over the last year. Many months ago, I had met a man who hated the hybrid even though it was a considerably large part of his existence. He had been ashamed of not being either a full werewolf or a full human. Today, Josh not only had the ability to transform into a real werewolf, but he had also learned to accept his hybrid animal form. The hybrid wasn’t bad just because it was different, and now he understood that.
“I never thought back when I met you that I would ever ride a wolf,” I replied with a laugh. Snow White had finally calmed down and was walking comfortably beside Romeo.
Josh’s head tilted in interest. “What did you think when you first saw the hybrid?”
I raised my shoulders in amusement.
“I was scared stiff,” I confessed. “And I thought I was crazy because I’d seen you as a werewolf before.”
It was a rather unpleasant memory that we both preferred to forget: the night I had learned of Josh’s secret.
“I see,” he murmured. “Which is why the hybrid was less frightening to you. You had the werewolf as a comparison.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of us would have ever denied that there was nothing more horrifying than a werewolf. Its eyes, its teeth, its voice. Every detail about it made my blood run cold—over and over again. Even two weeks ago behind Harrison Sports.
“What time do you have to get up tomorrow?” Josh finally asked when we took the horses back to the paddock. Jamie had immediately rushed into the house to empty his water bowl, while Charlie intensively followed the tracks of my parents from this morning. Mom was already here, but Dad wouldn’t be home for an hour.
I winked in confusion. “The usual time. Why?”
Josh didn’t answer me. Only his mysterious smile revealed that he was thinking about something. “Just because.”
Chapter 5
I learned about his plan that night. The clock had just struck eleven when there was a muffled sound on the roof, followed by the rattling of claws on wood. I rushed to the window.
The hybrid stood there, his ochre eyes fixed on my figure, and didn’t move. At first, I thought that Josh wanted to spend the night at my place again, but he didn’t turn human. He didn’t come any closer to entering my room, either. Instead, he waited on the roof like a mystical silver statue.
“What is it?” I whispered. My voice carried to him on the wind. The weather had become a little cooler lately. Summer would be over soon.
The hybrid raised his head to give a challenging grin. It revealed a row of pale white teeth that gleamed in the light of the crescent moon. I realized that I was supposed to come to him. What had gotten into him? I had no idea. Nevertheless, I decided to grant his request. I went to the closet to swap my nightgown for a shirt and pants before I climbed out of the window to step carefully onto the roof. The breath of the hybrid came out of huge lungs and blew my hair back.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Josh’s muzzle was very close. He nudged me with his nose before he bent over. He crouched down in front of me like he wanted me to get on his back. The gesture made it clear what was going on, letting me understand his words from earlier.
It makes me want to transform.
Inspired by our horse ride, Josh probably wanted to take a trip into the woods with me. There were many reasons to turn down this invitation, though—the late hour, and the strange werewolf who could still be nearby. At that moment, however, everything seemed less important. As reckless as Josh’s idea was, it thrilled me.
I buried my hands in his fur to mount up. No sooner had I found a foothold than Josh pushed himself off the roof and into the trees.
He ran as if there were no tomorrow and no destination. His paws flew across the ground and split the undergrowth wherever it stood in our way. The narrow branches of the trees were no obstacle to Josh’s stately body. He smashed them by simply rushing through. He pushed himself off the stones and chased up the slopes only to gallop down them again.
I lay on his back, my chest pressed against his shoulder blades, and clung to him. The wind was strong. I couldn’t let it come between me and the coat of the hybrid or I would fall off. I felt like I was flying. The forest turned into a dark tunnel whose details blurred to indistinct shadows in the moonlight. I could smell them—the flowers, the trees, the moss, and the earth. It was the scent Josh brought to my room night after night. For me, it smelled like freedom.
I had no idea where Josh was taking me until the moon suddenly reflected before us. Josh had stopped next to the crystalline surface of a lake. It was a picturesque sight. The darkness gave the small lake boundless depth. The reeds towered before us like the gnarled fingers of an old man. Only the crickets and Josh’s heavy breaths filled the silence.
“Josh.”
He raised his head to look at me. Then he turned it to the right. I followed his gaze and recognized a footbridge a few meters away from us. At the same time, I also saw the hut next to it. We were at the boat rental that Chase had used to work at. I didn’t get to ask Josh about his reasons for being here before he suddenly started moving again, crossing the bridge with long, elegant steps. The wood creaked under his paws while he stepped to the edge with me on his back.
I could hardly believe my eyes. I had never before had the idea of photographing myself together with the hybrid—if only because someone could end up finding the photo. Now, the reflection of us in the lake, of me next to him, made my breath hitch. He was big, but only in direct comparison did it become clear how huge he was. His head was bigger than Romeo’s. Josh was a massive wolf with dense fur, whose eyes appeared as clear as those of a human. I could see how he was following my expression. He was waiting for my reaction, so I put my hands on his neck to lower my chin onto his forehead. We were so close to each other that our mirrored selves melted together in the semidarkness.
“Look how beautiful you are,” I whispered.
His ear stood upright to listen to me. After I had spoken, a whimper left his lips. It was muffled, but the sound still filled the silence of the lake. Meanwhile, I watched him in the reflection. I thought I could see mischief in his eyes, and then Josh suddenly jumped into the water with me.
He changed back while we were breaking through the surface. All of a sudden, I lost my grip and touched skin instead of fur. Hands found my hips and pulled me back to the air. The water was so cold that I clenched my teeth and hit Josh’s shoulder. He was swimming right beside me, naked and soaked to the bone. His arm was still holding me.
“You’re crazy!” My voice was drowned out by my laughter. My clothes stuck to me like a second skin.
“I know,” Josh replied and sealed my lips with a kiss. It was wild, greedy, and excited. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck, but that was what he had been waiting for. Our kiss lasted less than a second before Josh dragged me under the water again.
We swam in the freezing lake until the moon had moved a good distance. I kept trying to catch Josh and shove him under. When it was evident that I couldn’t catch him, I splashed as much water in his direction as I could. Nobody interrupted us—we were all alone. Even the birds and the other animals had retreated to leave this night to us. It was only when I began to tremble that Josh led me back to the shore. He hurried to the hut to pull out a key that had been hidden under one of the benches.
“I borrowed it,” Josh noted with a grin as he opened the door. The small cabin was dimly lit by moonlight and completely empty. The masks, the carvings, and the lamps were gone. Chase had dismantled everything before he left, even the sofa and the counter.
While I was looking around, Josh locked the door behind us. The promising click send a pleasant shiver down my spine.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
“I wanted to surprise you.” He had come closer to me to gently embrace my waste. His hands felt like fire on my icy skin. “To have an adventure with you.”
“You succeeded,” I replied. I felt like I was in a dream. The forest, the moon, the water—and him. “Thank you.”
The blue of his eyes lit up at my happiness.
“You should take off your wet clothes.” The smile on his lips was expectant. “You’ll catch cold.”
He drove me back until my feet touched fabric. I looked over my shoulder and recognized a sea of blankets on the floor. Josh must have brought them here so we could spend the night. His idea made me laugh. He was absolutely crazy. I wondered when he had come up with this.
I turned around and looked at him again.
“Okay.” I was acting skeptical, like I had to think about his offer. “But it might be a little cold.”
On my apprehension, Josh chuckled and bent down to steal a kiss. It tasted of water and unbearable impatience. His lips moved across the corner of my mouth to my cheek and made a path down to my throat. My heartbeat began to flutter as Josh grabbed my hips and pushed me even further back. The moonlight cast deep, fascinating shadows over his face.
“I’ll know how to prevent that,” he whispered, every fiber of his body electrified. “I promise.”
That night I didn’t think about the strange werewolf or about the pack. There was just Josh, me, and the blistering heat of his bare skin. I could sink into it like into an insatiable fire. It drove the cold from my limbs and burned strong enough to make me forget everything around us.
Josh’s birthday was the last hot day of the year.
It was as if Shatterlake’s weather wanted to congratulate him. As I was leaving Mr. Harrison’s shop, I was greeted by a beautiful summer sun accompanied by a picturesque blue sky. Actually, today would’ve been a good day to go to the local swimming pool or the ice cream parlor, but I had other plans. Due to the fight with the pack, the broken Jetta, and Josh’s overtime work, we’d hardly had the chance to celebrate his birthday properly last year. We had only had dinner together after he had left work in the evening. I wanted to celebrate his twenty-third birthday properly. I planned to spend the day alone with him—without company and without passersby, because we didn’t want to have to watch what we said around people.
The small party I was planning was an idea that Mom and Dad had given me. Since I was little, I’d always invited my friends to a real party for my birthday. Only ten years ago the celebration was cancelled because of my bronchitis. At that time, I had been terribly sad about it, but now I remembered that birthday best of all. I had spent it lying in bed with my parents, eating cake and watching cartoons. Mom and Dad had decorated the bedroom with streamers and, at the end of the day, had let a bouquet of balloons rise in front of the bed. It might have been a very quiet birthday, but I liked to think back on it. It had shown me what was really important in my life.
I smiled and threw a searching glance into my shopping bag. Josh’s fridge was usually somewhat empty, so I’d made sure to get all the needed ingredients. My freshly baked cake was still at Mr. Harrison’s store waiting for me to pick it up after I finished shopping. I would probably save a piece of it for him, because the older man had been sneaking around it wistfully all day. However, before I could set off for the shop, I had one last important task to complete—texting a message to Josh.
No need to pick me up. Come home as soon as you’re done.
I added a smiley face because my tone sounded a little serious. Then I put the phone in my pocket and left. Project Birthday could begin.
An hour later everything was ready on the table. My cake had suffered a little inside of the box because of the warm weather, but Josh would forgive me. While waiting for him, I cooked mac ’n’ cheese and peered through the kitchen window into the street.
