CHAPTER EIGHT:SHIFT
1389 Words
NEVAEH’S POV;
Friday evening always felt like a slow exhale. By the time I finished sorting the last of the documents for Monday’s meeting, the building had gone nearly silent.
I wrapped my scarf around my neck and slung my bag over my shoulder, trying not to think too hard about last night.
About him.
I stepped out of the elevator and began to walk towards the lobby while texting Kiera on my phone when I felt this warm sensation at the side of my face.
I didn’t need to look up to know it was him.
But I looked up anyway.
Carter stood near the hallway, leaning slightly against the wall like he owned the air around him and watching me with that unreadable expression.
He was in all black this time, soft black sweater, dark jeans, and a jacket that made him look casually lethal. The way he always did.
The black outfit made his white hair pop and everyone around the lobby was visibly staring. It didn’t seem like he cared though.
“You okay?” he asked gently, taking a step forward.
“I’ve been better,” I answered honestly.
“You done for the day?”
“Yup.” I said dryly.
He gestured toward the door. “Ride with me?”
I nodded.
My car was acting up anyways.
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The car was warm, quiet, and smelled like him. Cinnamon, something faintly smoky and wild. Carter drove without music, like he wanted to hear everything I wasn’t saying yet.
We drove past the city limits, through winding tree-lined roads, until the town lights blurred behind us. My pulse evened out the farther we got. It was ridiculous how calm I felt around him.
Finally, I asked, “Are you going to tell me why you were sitting outside my house as a six-foot arctic wolf last night?”
He exhaled a soft chuckle. “I was hoping we’d ease into that.”
“Oh well.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “Okay,” he said, voice quieter now. “First of all, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I think you screamed.”
“I didn’t scream scream.”
He grinned, before getting serious again. “I didn’t see you in the office on Thursday. I wasn’t sure if you were okay. So when I shifted… I followed your scent.”
I blinked. “You followed my scent?”
He winced. “Yeah. That sounds worse than it is.”
“No, go ahead. I just love creepy shit.”
“Language.” He said sternly and then grinned. “I didn’t stalk you, Nevaeh. I didn’t wander the neighborhood sniffing out your mailbox. I just… waited. I knew you’d come home eventually. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
I swallowed.
He looked over at me quickly before returning his gaze to the road. “But I know showing up as a wolf wasn’t exactly… normal. I should’ve found a better way.”
“You left though” I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. “This morning, why’s that?”
He went quiet for a few seconds, then said, “Because I wanted to talk to you. But to do that, I’d have to shift back. Mind linking was out of the question, and shifting back into a human means I’d be naked”
“Wow.” I bit back a sound somewhere between a laugh and a gasp.
He gave a sheepish shrug. “We’ve made so much progress, I didn’t want to throw it all away by doing something stupid. Plus, I figured you’d prefer I didn’t traumatize your porch.”
“You’re so considerate.” I giggle.
“I try.”
I studied him. “You mentioned something. About mindlinking. What’s that?”
Carter’s lips curved. “Linking is kind of like telepathy, but specific. Werewolves can connect their minds to their mate’s or to their pack. It’s not something I can do with you yet. Not unless…”
He trailed off.
“Unless what?”
He cleared his throat. “Unless we’re bonded. But it’s too early for that, I’d never force that on you”
“Bonded how?”. My heart thundered. Is this like a s****l thing?
His voice was soft. “Claimed. Marked”
Something shifted between us.
The air in the car suddenly felt heavier. Warmer.
I tugged at the hem of my dress and looked away. “Can you shift anytime you want?”
“Yes. But not just anywhere. The human realm complicates it. I try to do it at night when no one’s around. Less chance of someone calling animal control.”
I smiled faintly. “The human realm.” I hum. “You’ve mentioned it before”
“To cross over from the human realm to my realm, you’ll need werewolf DNA with you.”
I turned to him. “What does that even mean?”
“It means if you’re not one of us, you need to be touching one of us. Holding our hand, wearing a mark, carrying something from us. Otherwise, the portal won’t open. It’ll reject you.”
I stared at him. “Have you been there… recently?”
He laughed. A short musical sound. “I live there, Nevaeh. I haven’t crossed into my realm with a human before though.”
He glanced at me then, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. “I’d like to show it to you one day. If you let me.”
He pulled into a clearing just off the edge of a hiking path, moonlight spilling over the hood of the car. The silence between us was thick, but not uncomfortable. Just… charged.
He turned the car off. The night pressed around us.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“You don’t have to know.” His voice was rougher now. “I just want to be near you. However you’ll let me.”
The silence between us pulsed with something heavy. Something loud.
“Nevaeh.”
His voice sounded closer now. Deeper. Rougher.
I turned toward him slowly.
His hand brushed mine. His body angled toward me in that way that made my stomach dance.
I didn’t move.
He didn’t move.
But the space between us crackled.
“I wanted to kiss you last night,” he said quietly.
My breath hitched.
“Why didn’t you?”
We stare at each other and chuckled quietly.
Of course he didn’t kiss me for obvious reasons.
His fingers brushed mine again.
My breath hitched.
He was staring at me like I was already his.
And before I could stop myself, I leaned in.
So did he.
My heart was a drumline in my chest.
His breath kissed my cheek.
Our lips hovered.
And then—
My phone buzzed in my coat pocket.
We both froze.
Reality crashed in like cold water. I pulled back too fast. He blinked, jaw tightening.
“Sorry,” I breathed.
“Don’t be,” he said quietly.
We stared at each other, still too close. Knowing what we just almost did.
He didn’t kiss me.
And yet I felt more kissed than I had in months.
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The ride back was quiet. But not awkward.
Just thick with all the things left unsaid.
When we got to the front of my house, he got out and opened the door for me. His hands brushed my arm as I stepped out.
“Goodnight, Nevaeh,” he said.
I met his gaze. “Goodnight.”
A pause.
Neither of us moved.
Then I turned and walked up to my porch.
He waited until I unlocked the door before getting back into the car and driving off.
I closed the door softly behind me, my heart still hammering in my chest.
No more pretending.
No more confusion.
Just certainty.
I like Carter.
I felt seen by him. I felt safe with him.
I picked up my phone.
And then I did the only thing that felt honest anymore.
I called Harold.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hey babe, what’s up?”
I inhaled once.
And then I said clearly, “We need to talk.”
- Writer
