You Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 3)

Chapter 7: Jeannie

I wake to the feel of warm furriness cuddled up beside me, and it makes me smile. For a moment I almost forget where I am, not to mention when. It’s not until I finally open my eyes to see that it’s a familiar big, black wolf in bed with me and not my beloved childhood pet, Ralphie. Ironically, Ralphie was also big, black, and furry, but he was a dog, not a werewolf.

I should probably be more disturbed about waking up next to a wolf I barely know, but I’m not. It’s actually kind of nice. I’ve missed all the furry cuddles, and I can sense that Simon is enjoying it as much as I am. He may look big and intimidating, but with me, he’s just a big softie. He craves affection and closeness, and I bet that since his counterpart is a grown man who seems kind of self-important, Simon doesn’t get even a fraction of the attention he needs. I’m happy to be the one to give it.

His eyes are still closed, but I know he’s awake. I also know he knows I’m awake and is worried how I’ll react to him being here. Rolling myself over to face him, I start stroking the soft, silky fur along his side. I can feel him relax into my touch, and he rolls over a little bit so that it’s kind of like I’m spooning him.

“Good morning, Simon,” I whisper to him, giggling when he tries to turn his head back around to see me. I don’t think he expected me to talk to him.

Then he rolls himself back around to face me, sticking his snout right in the crook of my neck so he can sniff me. It reminds me of when he did that the day before, though he used Gabe’s body to do it the first time.

“You must really like my scent,” I comment, taking the opportunity to pet his head and scratch behind his ears a bit.

His only answer is to start kissing my neck and face, boosting himself up off the mattress a bit so he’s practically looming over me. When the bed starts shaking, I realize it’s from him vigorously wagging his tail.

“I wish I could stay and give you some more attention, but I really need to get dressed and head out to tend to my chickens,” I tell him apologetically. “Plus, it seems like you’ve been here awhile, and Gabe probably wants his body back.”

I have no idea what Gabe does for a living or how he spends his days, but I’m just guessing that whatever he does, it isn’t usually as a wolf. I haven’t seen that from any of the rest of his family either. Their wolf forms seem to be secondary, only let out occasionally. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d have seen more of their wolves than just Simon by now.

Simon reluctantly backs off and lets me get up and gather up some clothes to take to the bathroom to change. Normally, I’d just do it in my room, but he seems in no rush to leave. Knowing that Gabe is somewhere in his mind, I’m not about to get changed in front of Simon.

After I'm all changed and have moved on to brushing my teeth at the sink, my mind wanders back to my new wolf pal Simon. It’s probably a little odd the way that he’s taken to me so intensely. I’m used to it from animals, pretty much all of them, so I didn’t think much of it at first. But now I’m left wondering why the inner wolves of all the other werewolves I’ve met seem so much more aloof. They keep tight control over them, so why doesn’t Gabe do the same?

Is it because he himself seems to have taken a special liking to me? Even that I’m still not sure about. Maybe he’s just super affectionate and flirty by nature and I’m nothing special to him. Or maybe he’s not even flirting and that’s just him being friendly.

But assuming he does kind of like me, I suppose it could explain why his wolf has become so attached to me so quickly. Then again, I felt that connection to Simon almost immediately, before Gabe even did or said anything to me. Maybe it has nothing at all to do with Gabe, and Simon is just excited that he could sense someone finally noticing him. It seems like most people kind of ignore him. No one even knew his name until I came along because Gabe had been keeping it to himself.

I suppose in the end though, all I’m doing is guessing and making assumptions. I don’t know enough about werewolves to even try to understand what I imagine must be a complicated relationship between man and wolf, and it isn’t my place to be judging anyone about an experience I could never empathize with. I also don’t think it’s hurting anything to let Simon get close to me if he really wants to, assuming Gabe is cool with it. The only truly bothersome part for me is that they share the same body, so there is no having one without the other.

Which is why it shouldn’t surprise me that when I leave the bathroom and go back into my bedroom, it’s no longer a wolf in my bed. It’s a man, and one I’m pretty sure is naked underneath the sheet he has wrapped himself in. He’s got himself propped up on one elbow and turned to the side so he can watch my every move.

“Morning,” he greets me, already smirking at the way he’s making me blush. “I’m sorry about Simon, but he kind of ambushed my body and charged over here in the middle of the night."

His smirk widens into a grin before he adds, "If it was up to me, I’d have at least asked permission before dropping in for a sleepover.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, wondering if that last part was as flirty as it seemed.

I still can’t tell if he’s maybe just overly friendly and not flirting with me at all. Maybe it’s all in my head, which would be embarrassing. I should probably just ignore when he makes comments like that.

“Good to know. I’ll be back tonight then,” he teases, even going so far as to wink at me.

I’m almost certain he’s flirting there, but now I’m confused about which part he thinks I’m agreeing to. All I meant was I don’t mind that Simon came to see me.

“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing,” he tells me gently, more seriously, probably noticing that my reaction to what he said was confusion rather than amusement. “I appreciate how good you are with Simon though, and I can’t promise that he won’t end up right back here tonight. He really likes you.”

“It’s okay,” I assure him again, but I also decide to elaborate this time. “I don’t mind him being here. In a way, it reminds me of home. I used to have a dog who would share my bed with me, and I’ve been missing that.”

I could swear he growls at me, but it’s low and quiet enough that I’m not completely certain. Maybe I offended him.

“Not that I’m comparing Simon to a dog or anything,” I add hurriedly. “I just mean I’m used to having a warm, furry body to cuddle up to, and it was kind of nice.”

He gives me a warm smile, and for the first time I’m not left questioning whether he’s trying to flirt. That one was just genuine and friendly.

“I hope you understand that he’s taking that as an invitation, and now I can assure you that he will definitely be back,” he warns me, though his smile never falters.

“Okay, that’s not a problem.”

Well, other than the part where the wolf turns into a naked man who seems content to just lounge in my bed indefinitely.

“I’m only okaying the wolf, to be clear. I’m not comfortable with this,” I gesture to where he’s lying in my bed, deciding it’s better to speak my mind and set that boundary now instead of letting it get out of hand later. I don’t want to unexpectedly wake up lying next to a naked man I’m not even comfortable with when he has clothes on.

An expression of hurt flashes across his face, and I feel a little bad about being so blunt about it. It’s not that I don’t like him, and maybe it makes no actual sense because he and Simon are the same being, but they’re also not, not in my mind at least. One is an innocent wolf only following his instincts and seeking affection he’s been severely lacking, and the other is a charming man whose intentions I can’t quite decipher and who probably gets plenty of attention without me.

“It’s not you, it’s the fact that you’re not wearing any clothes,” I decide to specify, still feeling guilty for hurting his feelings, flirt or not.

“Oh,” he exclaims, sounding almost happy about it, and looking over himself as if he’s just now realizing his nakedness. “Well, that’s fixable. Simon left my pants in the hallway right outside the door if you want to go grab them for me.”

“I can do that, but understand that what I mean is I don’t particularly want to wake up to a naked man in my bed when I’m expecting a wolf.”

“Yeah, that’s no problem,” he agrees, his smile firmly back in place. “I really appreciate that you’re being so kind and understanding about Simon. He’s obsessed with you, and he’s never been like that with anyone, so I don’t quite know how to control him.”

“I like him too,” I say dismissively, already in motion to go and retrieve his pants from the hallway.

The sooner he has clothes, the sooner he can get out of my bed. Though I suppose I could also just leave him there and come back to take care of my bedding later, after I’ve tended to the chickens. My grandparents taught me that making the bed should never be put off because it’s a crucial first step to starting the day off right, but I bet they’d make an exception when it comes to avoiding naked men.

I don’t know how to take what Gabe just said though. It fits what I’ve been sensing from Simon, but I also still find the apparent relationship between man and wolf to be concerning. Does Gabe really ignore his wolf so much that Simon can’t help but attach himself to the first person to pay him any mind? And is he so used to Simon just laying down and taking the neglect that he doesn’t know what to do now that he’s finally fighting back?

There I go making assumptions again. My grandpa would always accuse me of jumping to conclusions whenever I was trying to justify wanting to adopt a new pet for myself. I always tend to see the situation as more dire than it is because it makes me look like some sort of hero, like my desired pet has to come home with me because he needs me, and Grandpa would always remind me that there’s no reason for it. If I wanted to adopt a stray, he’d let me have it as long as I took care of it.

And with Simon, there’s no reason for it. If he wants to come cuddle with me, he can. It can be as simple as we enjoy each other’s company, and Gabe is being incredibly good-natured about it. I don’t have to make it into more than that.

“Are these yours?” I ask him, holding out the gray pants I found in the hallway.

“Yep, those are the ones,” he confirms, his natural smirk back in place. I really hope he’s not about to rip that sheet away without warning or something.

But as he’s reaching for them, his expression turns more serious, and he looks up at me with an openness in his eyes that I haven’t seen before. I might even go as far as to call it vulnerability.

“Do you think you’d be interested in meeting up with me later?” he asks uncertainly.

The difference between him asking to hang out with me as a man and how he asked on Simon’s behalf a little bit ago is not lost on me. I can’t help feeling suspicious that this vulnerable bit might be an act, but I suppose it’s also possible that his cockiness from before was actually the act.

“I’d kind of like to show you around a bit, and my parents told me they haven’t told you a lot about werewolves yet,” he explains. “I was thinking maybe you’d appreciate a chance to ask any questions you might have, plus my brother Garrett is kind of an unofficial human ambassador. He’s pretty good at explaining things.”

“He seems kind of shy,” I comment before I’ve fully processed what he’s asking.

I got stuck on the bit about Garrett. I met him yesterday, and I don’t think he said even one word to me after his initial greeting. It’s hard for me to picture him being anything like what Gabe is describing.

“He’s more quiet and reserved than shy,” he clarifies. “But once you get him talking about something that interests him, it’s hard to get him to shut up.”

“Oh, I see.”

I get quiet for a moment myself considering the rest of what he said, but it doesn’t take me long to realize that this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I don’t like feeling like a bother, and the Bentleys all seem really important and busy, so I haven't wanted to waste their time answering my silly questions. But Gabe is offering me the chance to get together specifically so I can bother him with my questions. There’s really no reason to say no.

“I think I would like to meet with you later,” I tell him finally. “And Garrett, if that’s what you’re offering.”

The addition of his brother is comforting until I think it through a bit further. I’m not sure which is worse, being alone with Gabe or being stuck with two huge men I barely know. But I suppose that I’ll still take the chance with them, trusting that since they were raised by Mr. Bentley, they might turn out to be a lot like him and Tyler. It doesn’t make me feel less nervous though.

“Great, thank you,” he gushes, and I have to say he seems genuinely pleased and relieved. Maybe he really was feeling nervous and vulnerable. Could that mean he does kind of like me?

“Sure. You should probably put your pants on though,” I suggest, turning to gather my keys and belongings from my dresser and shove them in my jeans as quickly as I can manage.

I can feel how restless my chickens are getting. I’m late, and they’ve come to expect me to be punctual and predictable. They’re getting worried, and soon they’ll be getting worked up about it, so I need to get going.

“Meet you in my office after lunch?” he wonders, which I understand is as much invitation as question.

“Sure,” I say again, not bothering to ask where his office even is.

I want to book it out of here and give him space to do his thing, plus I really do need to get downstairs to my chickens.

“I’ll see you later,” I tell him hurriedly as I rush out the door.

I suppose I should have taken a second to try to explain my urgency and make sure he doesn’t take it personally, but I don’t even know how to do that without admitting that I can feel what my chickens are feeling even when they’re not nearby. It’s because I made the mistake of letting myself bond with the food again, which my grandpa was always getting on me about, but even he didn’t fully understand it. And if he couldn’t make sense of it, then there’s no chance that Gabe will.

“Third floor,” he calls after me. “Across from my mom’s office.”

I guess that answers that question. Now I’m only left wondering what he even does that requires an office in the first place, and whether he’s going to be late because his wolf spent the night in my bed.