Part 21
I asked, “If you want me to be your mate so
badly, why did you tell me you already had a
wolf you liked and that I shouldn’t have any
designs on you?”
Ethan coughed and set his fork down, then
started recounting past grievances. “That day,
a man walked you home, and you hugged him.
In werewolf culture, hugs are reserved for
mates. Baby, you hugged me so many times,
then you hugged him. That’s betrayal.” His
handsome face was filled with hurt. “I watched
you hug him from my apartment. I was so
angry, and you didn’t even comfort me when you got back… And then my brother told me to go home, and I was so upset that I said those things and ran away. I regretted it later. I know I shouldn’t expect humans to be like werewolves,
but I couldn’t help it. The thought of someone else hugging my sweet, fragrant baby… it drove
me crazy.”
A man? Hugging? I thought for a moment
before I remembered. It was a foreign business
partner. The hug was just a normal social greeting in his country, twisted into something
intimate by this jealous wolf.
“If you thought I betrayed you, why did you
come back?”
“My brother yelled at me,” he mumbled. “He
said humans aren’t like us, and that narrow-
minded wolves like me will never win their
mate’s love. If you betrayed me, it just means
I’m not good enough. I need to be more
generous, treat you better, to win you back.”
Me:
What kind of crazy lovesick nonsense
was this? Were all werewolves this weird?
<
“Okay, last question.” I took a deep breath. “Do
you eat people?”
His eyes went wide. “Baby, why would you think
that? Werewolves are human too! We don’t eat
our own kind…” He seemed to realize
something. “Is that why… is that why you won’t accept me as your mate? Because you’re afraid
of that?”
“Partly,” I admitted. “But not anymore… you
werewolves… you’re not what I expected.” I
beckoned him closer. “Can you shift into your
wolf form? I want to sleep in your fur tonight.
The Labrador isn’t as big as you. It’s not as
comfortable.”
“Of course!” His eyes lit up, bright as the stars
in the night sky.
