Page 6 of Unknowingly Adopting the Alpha
Maybe Dad should’ve picked Milo after all…
“Wow,” Cassian exclaimed, then moaned around another bite. “This is seriously good! No wonder you wolfed it down so fast!” He snickered a little to himself over his pun.
I felt like blushing, but luckily, I couldn’t while in wolf form. Instead, I ducked my head and felt silly for acting like such an animal, but I sort of had to, at least until I was ready to tell him the truth about me.
We watched some kind of action movie and even though I couldn’t seem to focus on it, too busy looking at Cassian, I still found it entertaining. This would forever be the first movie we saw together.
He yawned and stretched his arms, showing off a bit of belly. I suddenly felt a hunger take over and unashamedly checked him out.
“Time for bed,” he declared, turning off the TV and grabbing the plates. I followed like the lost puppy I was, making sure no one had approached the house, sniffing at every surface I could find. The carpet was fucking disgusting. The fact I could smell just how much dirt and literal crap had been dumped on it didn’t help one bit. Cassian didn’t deserve to inhale all of that, maybe if I ripped it out… But he’d muttered about renovating, so I could only hope the carpet would be one of the first things to go, along with that horrific bathroom.
It wasn’t as if he would stay here. I had a perfect house waiting for him on the edge of town, where most of us lived. I’d had my own house for five years, slowly making it exactly how I wanted it. Cassian would love it there. I had no chubby babies on the tiles for one, and the only carpets I had felt cozy on your bare feet. Plus, the floor heating, which was amazing for nighttime peeing trips. Cassian would make my house a home, I had no doubt about that.
I followed him into the bathroom, and found all the eyes watching us, judging me, no doubt. I sat next to Cassian whilehe brushed his teeth and washed his face. His towels were soft looking and helped hide a few of the chubby figures on the tiles.
“I doubt you’ll fit on the bed,” he said, smiling down at me. “But we’ll make it work. The heating will take a while to warm through the whole house. I’d love your body heat so I don’t end up sick. I really can’t afford to be bedridden right now, not with everything that needs doing before winter hits.”
Even with his worry for lack of warmth, he still chose to sleep in his underwear, a pair of deliciously tightfitting black ones. The waistband was white and somehow made them even sexier on him. I couldn’t believe I would be cuddled up to all of that skin for the entire night.
As soon as he was under the covers, I jumped up on the bed, being careful that it could hold my weight. He patted the side next to him, smiling at me as I approached. I lay down next to him, my head resting on his hips, protecting him with my body without the risk of crushing him.
He let out a sigh filled with contentment, which made me happy. If my presence could ease just some of his worries and fears, then I was doing a fine job. He seemed so out of his element here, and I selfishly loved being the one helping him.
He fell asleep before I did, my instincts not ready to let go until I knew he was dreaming happily under me. Eventually, with his calm breaths and addictive scent, I too, fell asleep, content and ready for whatever tomorrow would bring.
Chapter Six
Cassian
Waking up to an empty bed was pretty devastating. I’d shaken it off to Red likely being downstairs or something, but after searching the whole house, and still not finding Red, I’d checked outside. He was nowhere to be found.
Had I imagined him?
I let my tears fall freely as I sipped whatever cheap and definitely out of date coffee I could find in the cupboard. Red had been the one thing holding me together, and I swore he was real. I could still remember how safe I’d felt going to sleep, but how could such a big wolf escape in the middle of the night? The door was still locked, the windows shut, not counting the one that was missing, but the door was still firmly shut to that room.
Maybe I’d failed Red and that’s why he’d left? Should I have put a bandage on his leg? He seemed fine enough as we went to bed, and I’d even seen him put weight on the leg when he got up on the bed, no whimper or anything.
I had to have been imagining him, however devastating that realization was. He was simply too good to be true.
With some caffeine in my system, I faced my worst fears, the shower. It helped closing my eyes, until I accidentally turned the knob the wrong way and got myself a cold shower instead. I pathetically imagined Red being there keeping me safe while I rinsed the soap out of my hair. Some adult I was.
With my body now washed, I got dressed and made myself a list. Ilovedlists. With my mind always running a mile a minute, it helped to break down the things that needed to be done. The priority was the roof. I’d found a roofing company who did both repairs and laid brand new roofs. Since I had no clue how bad the roof’s condition was, I decided to give them a call.
The man who answered was already on the road to check up on a new house. Then he would be over to inspect mine. I added a check mark to the list and started running through what I needed to do next.
A new washer and drier were essential, as was a new bed, and even if it wasn’t a necessity, I also added paint for the bathroom. I could easily find some paint that could go on tiles and hide the horror that lay behind, and as soon as I’d gotten myself a job, I could renovate the whole thing.
The third thing was the carpet. Considering that I’d sneezed twice this morning, I had to blame the dust filled horror for that.
Eying my coffee cup, I sighed and grabbed my keys. Grocery shopping would have to happen now or I would end up hangry in about an hour. It would also help with my mood if I knew I had good coffee waiting for me instead of whatever crap I’d just had.
Driving back into town felt good. The chill in the air was to be expected on a fall morning, but the scent had such an amazing effect on my mood. The realization that Red had been a figment of my imagination still hurt, and I couldn’t help wishing he was real. Logically, he couldn’t be. He’d been way too wise for a wild wolf, and the fact he hadn’t bitten or eaten me was just more proof that he wasn’t real.
I refused to use the GPS once in town. Instead I drove around until I found the local general store and a parking lot. It was such a cute and cozy looking town, with colorful shops, full of personality. No franchises, just family-owned businesses. Trees lined the streets, too, which I absolutely adored.
Once inside the store, I found some coffee I knew I liked, then added some bread and meat so I could make myself some sandwiches for lunch. The fridge needed a deep clean, but seemed to work fine. I figured stocking it would help me save money on take out.
Once at the cashier, I smiled warmly at the elderly man who was scanning my groceries. “Hello,” he greeted with a wide smile. “You must be new in town, or are you just visiting?”
