Come Moonrise by Lucy Monroe

must have
told Dad and he would have told Mom, no question .
    "Are they angry?"
    I don’t know. I can’t talk
with my parents in wolf form .
    "But Duke can?"
    Only with
Dad .
    "This is all pretty confusing."
    I’ll explain it all to
you .
    A large silver wolf’s head appeared in the
window, his forepaws on the sill.
    She moved closer to Ty, fear a metallic
taste in her mouth.
    Duke told me to tell you
to relax. He’s already hunted and he’s not hungry
anymore .
    "Thanks a lot. That’s not all that
funny."
    The wolf in the window growled at her and
she turned her face into Ty’s fur.
    He’s just cranky. The
growl meant nothing .
    She lifted her head and glared at her future
brother-in-law. "Stop trying to scare me, or I’m going to shoot you
with a tranquilizer gun on the next full moon and dose you for
worms."
    That strange rumbling sound vibrated in Ty’s
throat again and Duke barked in obvious censure before disappearing
out of the window.
    "He’s so surly."
    He has
reason .
    "What did Marigold do?"
    I’ll tell you later. First, tell me how
you’re feeling.
    "Nice and snuggly with you beside me."
    I meant from our
lovemaking. You were sore .
    She blushed at the reminder and hid her face
against his fur. She liked the feeling of the soft pelt against her
skin and she nuzzled him. "I’m better."
    An almost purring sound
rumbled in his chest. Good. Moonset is in
less than four hours .
    "Is that when you return to your human
form?"
    Yes .
    "And you want to make love?" She wasn't sure
how she felt about that, but she wasn't as averse to the idea as
she'd been right after their talk anyway.
    Very much. I missed out on
the kill in our hunt because I kept thinking about it...about you.
I wanted...needed to be with you .
    He talked about making a kill like it was so
natural and for him it would be, she supposed. But was that so
different from the men she'd known growing up who went hunting
every season and weren't happy unless they came home with a deer or
elk for their trouble?
    Her own uncle had gone
camping with his friends every year and brought home more than
one trophy . But
for wolves, hunting was also a way of establishing a wolf's role
amidst his peers. It was more than sport, it was necessity...and Ty
had missed out on the most important part...for her.
    "Funny, that doesn’t sound like it’s just
sex for you. Not unless you’re no more controlled than a horny
adolescent."
    He growled, the sound rumbling through his
huge wolf's body and she grinned, but he couldn’t see it because
she was still nuzzling him with her face.
    She yawned, the adrenalin rush draining from
her body, leaving her exhausted. Now that Ty was back, she felt
safe and her sleep up to now had been fitful.
    Sleep. I will stay with
you .
    "Will you be here when I wake up?"
    Yes. Duke is taking care
of the truck and they’ll come for us later today .
    "Will you wake me up so I can watch you
change?"
    You want to see it?
    "Of course." She leaned back so she could
look in his animal-human eyes. "You can’t seriously think I would
want to miss it."
    It’s not anything special
to watch. It just happens .
    She shook her head. "Your view of
interesting and mine don’t match obviously."
    Okay. I’ll wake
you .
    "Promise?"
    Yes .
    She snuggled down beside him. "Is it
gross?"
    No .
    "Good."
    You’d want to watch just the same, though
wouldn’t you?
    "What do you think? I’m a vet, just like
you...gross is part of our job."
    He nuzzled her and it felt really nice.
    "You came back just to be with me?"
    Yes .
    "That’s nice."
    You are my mate. It is my
duty to protect you .
    She yawned again, cuddling in closer. "Stop
trying to be such a hard ass. I don’t understand all that’s going
on here, but you could have watched over me from outside the cabin
and you made love to me like you meant it. Those facts say
something about your feelings for me even if you’re too stupid or
obstinate to see it. Or both."
    He made a sound of frustration