Chapter 16: Midnight

CLARA

I finished my stew and sat back, content and full for the first time in nearly a week. Frozen things smuggled out of work were only so satisfying, after all.

“So you mentioned wearing hiking clothes for our ‘appointment’ today. What did you have planned?”

Elias’s lips pursed, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d been wrong to ask. But he just shook his head.

“I was going to take you to see a new cave I found. However, I’m going to fix your car tonight instead. We can go hiking another day.”

I could sense the disappointment in his voice, and I have to admit I was a little disappointed as well.

“I am free pretty much all weekend if you want to go tomorrow or Sunday,” I offered. “It’s a bit of a drive to get out here, but I’d do it.” ~For you,~ I left out, but the way the corners of his eyes crinkled, I knew he caught it.

“Driving home and back is a waste of time. Stay in a spare bedroom again, and I can take you there in the morning.”

~Well, I don’t mind if I do. Another night in a bed that I didn’t have to call Goodwill guy for? Score.~

“If you insist,” I replied. “That saves money on gas too.”

Elias nodded, finished his dinner, and rose just as there was a knock on the door. “Perfect timing. Let’s go get your car fixed.”

We returned to the yard, and I lingered behind Elias as he started putting the new belt in my car, but he must have been annoyed by it. He turned around and stared at me.

“You’re distracting,” he said and lifted me like a naughty puppy.

I let out a little squeak as he set me on the roof of the Jeep. Satisfied, he nodded and returned to his task.

I have to admit, it ~was~ much easier to see from up here.

I tried to calm my hormones—~screeching~ at Elias’s brute strength—by watching his deft hands make quick work of the belt installation. The sun was going down and the air was taking on its winter evening chill, but I was warmed by my heart reacting to Elias’s rippling muscles.

He then slid an old piece of carpet and a tray under the car. As disappointing as it was for his bare torso to disappear for a few minutes, it also meant he couldn’t catch me staring at his jeans and imagining what they held.

The oil change only took fifteen minutes tops, half of which was spent waiting for the—apparently ~very~ nasty—oil to dribble out.

“I don’t know how your engine hadn’t seized yet,” he grunted while unscrewing the oil filter as easily as uncapping a milk jug. “This needed to be changed months ago.”

I crossed my arms, irritation flaring. “Well, I’ve only owned it for two weeks! So blame the previous owner, not me. It was the only car I could afford, and even that didn’t leave mechanic money.”

Elias’s stone face softened slightly. He wiped his blackened hands on a rag, closed the hood of my car, and gave a little nod.

“Well, you’re good to go now. I won’t have to worry about you getting stranded on the side of the road and being too stubborn to call me to rescue you.”

“Why would I do that, anyway? I still barely know you! Though…I suppose I don’t have many other options here yet…”

I pouted, and Elias smirked.

That cocky bastard! The first time I see his facial expression fully change, and it’s a ~smirk~!

“That’s one reason why. You’ll figure out the others soon enough.”

He began gathering up his tools and extended a hand to help me down from the hood of the Jeep. I thought I had to jump, but he slid his arm beneath me and slid me onto one shoulder like I was a parrot.

He didn’t seem burdened by my weight at all as he walked to the garage, tossed his tool bag inside, and headed for the cabin.

I debated insisting that my feet ~did~ work even if my car didn’t, but to be honest? I was enjoying the novelty of riding around on his shoulder like this.

So I stayed put until he reached the porch and dropped to one knee to let me down.

“We don’t fit through the door that way,” he said, his voice carrying a soft rumble I hadn’t noticed before.

At this point, I was starting to consider that Elias was as interested in me as I was in him.

Which was frankly terrifying.

Having a crush was one thing—harmless. But having it reciprocated?

Let’s just say that after Grant, I had zero plans to be the “get under to get over” kind of woman. I’d rather be alone forever than risk another relationship like that.

Then again, Elias didn’t seem to be anything like Grant.

Once we were inside, Elias ushered me into the living room and gestured for me to join him on the couch.

I admit, I hesitated for a moment. But then he turned those golden eyes on me—and that was the end. I sat at the other end, but his massive frame didn’t leave much space between us.

“Do you like board games?” he asked, and I couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that stung my nostrils.

“Board games and tea? Have any puzzles to complete the stereotype, Grandpa?” I teased, and Elias’s eyes began glittering.

He leaned forward and pressed a hidden button on the underside of the coffee table. The whole thing lifted to reveal a secret compartment beneath. And inside? A variety of puzzles and board games.

I laughed even harder—tears of mirth starting to run down my cheeks.

“What else am I going to do out here?” Elias asked, pulling out the top puzzle, which featured, surprise surprise, a wolf. He pulled the tabletop back down and opened the box. “It’s nice to just relax with a puzzle and a cup of tea sometimes.”

I wiped my eyes and took a couple of breaths to calm the giggles.

“Okay, you’re probably right. You just didn’t strike me as the kind to enjoy quiet activities like that. I thought you’d be more like…a ‘tinker with the truck in the garage or watch football in the evenings’ kind of guy.”

We both began sorting the puzzle pieces in search of edges, and I heard a rumble deep in Elias’s chest, like he was chuckling.

“I do tinker, but I have no interest in sports. If that’s the kind of man you prefer, then you’re going to be disappointed.”

“No way. Been there, done that with the sports guys. Never freaking again.”

The amount of venom in my voice surprised even me. I shrank instinctively, memories of sitting next to Grant and seeing that muscle movement flickering in my memory.

Elias turned at my movement, and I felt waves of concern coming from him.

“I would never hurt you, Clara,” he said.

I didn’t even think about how well he was able to read me.

I straightened my spine and leaned forward to continue working on the puzzle, dead set on not allowing my past to continue to haunt me.

~I am strong. I am powerful.~

We sat quietly side by side, creating the image of a wolf together one piece at a time.

Only halfway through, however, I couldn’t hold back the yawns. Despite it only being eight p.m., the exhaustion of another week of terrible sleep was catching up to me.

Elias sat back and wrapped an arm around my waist.

“Bedtime,” he said, and I didn’t fight him.

Carrying me must have brought him joy, because for the second time today, he scooped me up.

This time he carried me in his arms to the spare bedroom, where the covers had already been turned down and the space heater in the corner made the room toasty. He set me on the bed and gestured to a dresser in the corner.

“You can wear one of my shirts to bed again if you want.”

I felt my face flush, but I definitely intended to take him up on that offer. Why wear my pajamas when his shirts were far more appealing?

“Thanks,” I replied, another yawn slipping out despite my best efforts.

He closed the door, and I heard his feet padding away, leaving me lazing on a warm cloud.

It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

***

When I woke again, it was to the sound of the front door closing.

I blinked hard, groggy, and glanced at the clock—12:02, glowing red in the darkness.

I frowned. Why would the door close at midnight?

I shifted and winced at the damp spot on the pillow. Fantastic. Open-mouth snoring, complete with drool. Real cute.

I got up and looked out the window, just in time to see Elias walking across the yard into the woods.

I don’t know what came over me. I was an idiot, but I decided to follow him.

I put my jeans and socks back on, not bothering to switch back to my shirt, and crept to the door to put my shoes back on.

By the time I was dressed and outside, Elias was disappearing into the edge of the trees. I quickened my pace to avoid losing sight of him, which was easy to do in the dark.

He followed the same trail he’d shown me before, and this time I was able to pick up signs of which way the trail led.

My ears tuned to the sound of Elias’s breathing—I shouldn’t have been able to hear him, not at that distance. But I could. Just the soft pull of his breath, steady and sure, was enough to keep me on his tail.

The full moon made seeing a little easier but also cast a creepy aura over the forest.

I tried not to shiver as my brain started running through the myriad of things that could be lurking just out of sight.

We finally arrived at the clearing with the large stone, and I lingered in the trees, curious why Elias would be coming out here in the middle of the night.

I didn’t have to wonder for long.

Right before my eyes, Elias fell to all fours and began sprouting fur. His arms lengthened and thinned, along with his legs.

In moments, the giant silver wolf from my dreams stood in the moonlight.