Xavier and the Wolf (Legends of Pinewood 1)

27. If you wake up naked. Again.

"I will admit sleeping in this human sleeping bag is nice," Aquila murmured into my ear.

I laughed, comfortable in Aquila's embrace as we watched the sun rise through the fabric of the tent together. "Us humans don't have the nice fur, so we had to think of something to stay warm. Wait. You're not telling me you prefer a human invention to your cave now, are you?"

Aquila buried his face in the crook of my neck. "Yes, I do because you're here," he replied. "You smell so good."

"Thanks. I stopped drinking coffee entirely."

"No, I mean all of you smells nice." Aquila sighed. "You taste amazing, too."

I blushed hard. Aquila said the most embarrassing things with such sincerity that I couldn't bring myself to protest. Besides, I definitely had enough proof to know he was being genuine with his compliments. He had spent a lot of time between my legs last night. I didn't have much other experiences to compare last night to, but I couldn't imagine many people more enthusiastic about being in that position than Aquila.

"Uh, thanks," I said, laughing awkwardly. "That sounds like you want to eat me, though."

"Maybe I do." Aquila nudged me teasingly with his shoulder. "Does mentioning scents still make you blush? Even after all that?"

"Shut up," I said, lifting my head to grin up at Aquila.

"No," Aquila replied. "I'm going to keep telling you, because I like it when you blush."

I jokingly glared at him. We gazed into each others eyes for a moment, and then he pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "Have you..." Aquila started saying before hesitating. "...Already decided what you want to do?"

I averted my gaze, I had laid awake almost all night thinking about what Boris had offered, but I couldn't say I was absolutely certain about what I wanted to do next year. But Aquila looked so hopeful that I didn't want to say so out loud. He seemed to interpret my silence correctly, however.

"If you do leave, I could go with you and live in the city," he offered tentatively. "I could get a job and try to live as a human."

I frowned. "What about the crowds and all the smells? There are a lot of humans living very close together in the city."

"It would be overwhelming," Aquila admitted. "But I wouldn't be the first nor only werewolf who ever lived in a city."

"Really?"

"It's rare, but not impossible. We can tolerate it if we must. Other canines can live in the city too, right?"

I stared at Aquila, still sceptical about him being in a city considering how he reacted to only a few humans around him in this small town. Maybe other werewolves could, but, like people I could imagine some were more tolerant of crowds than others. Aquila didn't seem like the tolerant type so far. "There will be people drinking coffee everywhere," I said. "On every corner."

Aquila's eyebrow twitched. "I can handle it."

"College students might as well be attached to an IV of coffee," I continued. "And I'd probably have to hang out with them during the day. People will also drink alcohol. Many people wear perfumes."

Aquila's nose wrinkled. "I can handle it if I have to," he still insisted.

I smiled at Aquila and placed my hand on his cheek. "I wouldn't want to put you in an environment where you're only 'handling it' because you have to but feel miserable. Besides, aren't you the future werewolf leader of these woods? You can't just leave Pinewood behind to go to a city with me."