Captured by the wolf mate

CHAPTER 3

“Welcome home. It’s not as fancy as yours, but it’s mine. Sort of.” I brushed some hair behind my ear. It still had dirt in it, so I’d be rocking a ponytail again.

That was fine though. Not like anyone looked at me anyway.

I dropped into the ugly (but comfortable) green chair and set the envelope of cash on the table. I may have exaggerated the need I’d already eaten my last can of pasta. Or half of it, I supposed, since I’d left the can on my bed while I was getting dressed.

I was supposed to be getting paid tomorrow, though, so I’d survive until the next day.

Iris coughed in the other room.

Shit.

She was probably hungry.

What was Axel going to think when I let her drink my blood?

Guess we were about to find out… after I counted the cash in the envelope.

I started pulling out bills.

My eyes widened when I realized they were all fifties or hundreds.

“Holy hell,” I whispered to myself, staring down at the thousand-dollar piles I’d made.

There are ten of them.

Ten.

I had never noticed that much money in my life. Never. Not one f*****g time.

That would be sufficient to pay a rune witch to fireproof Axel’s house if I wanted to leave.

Enough to pay for power for way more than a decade.

Enough to eat real pasta for years.

“No more canned spaghetti,” I whispered to myself.

Tears were stinging my eyes, but I was 100% okay with the fact that I was crying over pasta.

The pasta was worth crying about.

“I take back every negative thought I had about being mates with a werewolf,” I whispered to Axel, rubbing his head with both of my hands. “Everyone. If you were a person, I’d kiss you right now. Pasta is the path to my heart. Certainly.”

He licked me across the complexion, and I sighed. “What a ham.”

He licked me again.

“Remember how greatly you like me at this point before I go down to work, okay?” I asked. “Because I’m presumably going to be pushing things a little with that, but there’s no way around it.” He nodded, and I lowered my forehead to press against his furry one. “Thank you.”

The wolf nuzzled my neck, and I hugged him tightly.

This wasn’t how I’d expected the day to go, but I was okay with it. Completely okay with it.

Iris coughed again, and Axel shot a suspicious glare in the direction of her room.

“That’s my roommate. She’s my best friend and the closest thing I have to family. She’s a Wolf, and when a Wolf’s mating process starts, it begins with an illness called the mating fever. Or just the fever. I’ve been bringing every Wolf I meet—and every other myst I can convince—up to her, but haven’t found a compatible mate yet,” I explained quickly, feeling my cheeks redden.

The wolf frowned at me.

“She can’t go out and find her meals, so I feed her. She drinks my blood, about once a day. It doesn’t affect me, other than making me hungrier.”

His eyes narrowed, and he growled.

It didn’t take much imagination to see that his answer was a “no”.

“She doesn’t have a family either, and I can’t afford to pay someone else to feed her. It’s not a big deal; you’ll see.”

He snarled.

I took that as an, “I will not see.”

“She’s my pack,” I told him, fiercely. “If your pack was hungry, you’d do whatever it took to feed them, right?”

He didn’t growl at me, but his glare remained.

“If you don’t let me feed her, I’m going to lock you in here while I go to work,” I warned him.

He snapped his teeth, and I jerked away. “Back off, Beta.”

He growled, and I pushed his head off of my lap. “If you’re going to try to scare me into submission, this thing between us isn’t going to work. In Mist Valley, mated couples only choose each other about half the time. Our relationship isn’t a requirement.”

He snarled again at that.

I jerked to my feet. “Don’t touch me if you’re going to lose your s**t. I’m feeding my friend, and that’s final.”

When I strode across the apartment, his fur didn’t touch me.

But he did follow right at my heels.

“Iris,” I called out quietly, as I opened the door to her bedroom.

She groaned in response. It sounded like she tried to say, “I’m fine,” but it came out as a mangled sound that resembled “miffin”.

“I brought dinner.” I held my forearm out and wiggled it in her direction.

She groaned again.

Demon blood didn’t taste great to sirens, but we healed rapidly, so I could feed her as often as she needed.

Axel growled beside me, and I fought a groan.

She propped herself up in bed as much as she could, her exhausted eyes widening when they landed on the wolf. Iris was ultra pale, her natural orange hair a few shades brighter than any human’s.

The dark circles under her eyes were massive, and thanks to the fever, she resembled the humans’ TV depictions of wolves.

“Surprise, my fated mate is a werewolf.” I forced a grin, so she wouldn’t panic.

“f**k,” she managed.

I understood that one completely.

“Yep. The council will probably be at the door tomorrow.” I brushed a hand through my tangled hair. “We’ve got to do this quick because I have work in a few.”

“With the wolf?” Her words were rasped, and her expression told me she didn’t think that was a great idea.

I didn’t think it was a tremendous idea either… but losing my job wasn’t an option, and that was precisely what would transpire if I didn’t show up to work.

“Yup.” I traversed the room, halting just in front of her and handing her my wrist. “Order’s up.”

She moved her eyes at me. “He’s going to kill someone.”

“It’s a possibility,” I said cheerfully. “Now hurry up. I have to go.”

She heaved a sigh, eyeing Axel as she lifted my wrist to her lips.

“I already threatened to castrate him if he attacks you,” I offered when she hesitated.

I hadn’t threatened that exactly, but I was pretty sure that the threat of locking him up would impact him more because he likely wouldn’t believe I was willing to castrate him.

And since I wasn’t, he would’ve been right not to believe it.