Wolf Fur Hire(37)
“For us,” he amended quietly. “Wolf needs this.”
“Oh. Well, why didn’t you just say that? Wolf needs to hunt?”
Link dipped his chin to his chest in answer. “He isn’t fighting the meds, Nicole, because he wants to stay here, too. You know what he said when we first saw you?”
“Oh gosh, I literally have no guess.”
“He wanted to fuck you and put a baby in you before Ian killed us. That’s where we were at—the desperate procreation part of our little crazy-party.”
“Jesus.” She bit her lip and studied his troubled eyes. “What does he say now?”#p#分页标题#e#
“That he wants to fuck you and put a baby in you so we can hold it and take care of the two of you. So he can raise his pup.”
Chills blasted across her forearms as she imagined Link holding their child, smiling down at the little bundle in his arms. She suddenly wanted that more than anything in the world, and it was the new goal. Save Link and build a family with him. Nicole hugged him tighter to absorb his warmth. “Wolf has hope.”
Link’s lips lingered on top of her hair. “We both do. This makes Wolf sick, though, so when I have a good day off the meds, I need to make him happy. Hunting makes him happy.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Thata girl.”
“Waffles!” Vera yelled from the kitchen.
Link laughed and rolled out of bed. “We’re coming.”
“That’s what she said,” Vera called.
Nicole snorted and shook her head as she made her way into the bathroom. By the time she was scrubbed, brushed, and dressed for the day, Vera, Tobias, and Link were already cracking up in the kitchen.
For a minute, Nicole leaned her back against the hallway wall and closed her eyes, just listening to the sound of Link’s deep laughter. God, she loved him.
When she strode around the corner, Link lifted his head immediately. His greeting smile was breathtaking in the soft glow of the single light above him. They sat around the kitchen island, digging into a pile of waffles stacked so high they teetered dangerously and bowls of whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, several flavors of syrup, and assorted jams. Link wore a pair of jeans but no shirt, and Tobias was dressed much the same. So many muscles in one room.
Vera swatted her ass as she sidled up to the table and grabbed an empty plate. “Mornin’ sunshine. Heard ya got boned last night.”
“Vera,” Tobias groaned.
Link just shook his head and ate another bite, like he was used to Vera’s antics, but Nicole laughed and apologized through her blazing blush. “I tried to be quiet.”
Vera pointed to her ears. “Fox hearing. So, if you need any extra warm clothes, I have some you can borrow. It’s cold as a witch’s puckered teat out there, and you’ll be on a snow machine most of today.”
“Are you not going? I thought Tobias has been scouting.”
“Nope.” Vera shoved a wedding magazine toward her. “Today, I feel like wedding planning, and Tobias has offered to help.”
“Yeah, offered,” her behemoth mate muttered, then grinned and dodged Vera’s swat. “She’s covering everything in glitter. Do you know they can make glittery icing for wedding cakes?”
“And it’ll be pink to match my dress,” Vera said dreamily.
Around an enormous bite of waffle, Tobias said, “We’ll all have the glitter-shits for a week.”
“It’ll be wonderful,” Vera whispered through a faraway smile. Blinking hard, she said, “After Link is all better, of course. You have one day off the meds, and then you need to stop by here after the hunt.”
“Can he give the injections to himself?” Nicole asked, taking a seat on the stool next to Link.
“He can, but each one is different, so he has to get them from me.”
“How does it work?”
“Oh God, run,” Tobias said with a wink.
Vera offered her mate a glare and then canted her head. “I’ll give you the simple explanation.”
“I’d appreciate it. Chemistry wasn’t my favorite subject in school.”
“It’s more like molecular biology and genetics. I’m basically giving Link some pretty brutal viruses that repair his damaged McCall DNA. The viruses are why he gets so sick. No human would survive this process, but Link has werewolf healing, which gives him a chance. I just need time. Each virus he survives gets him that much closer to keeping his sanity.”#p#分页标题#e#
That sounded horrible. Swallowing a bite of fruity waffle that had suddenly turned to cement in her mouth, Nicole asked, “Will he be on the medicine forever?”