Heart's Price (MxM)

Chapter 9

"I don't like it," Dane complains for what feels like the twentieth time. "You don't even know this guy."

"It's no different than if I'd found a roommate the usual way," I counter.

"Yes, it is," Dane argues, unwilling to yield the point. "It's fishy as fuck. Some dude lives alone in a giant mansion and wants a 'housemate' to help him look after the place? Give me a break."

"What?" I demand, feeling defensive and angry even though part of me thinks he's right. "What's wrong with the idea? I'm looking for a place, he's got a place, our interests and needs just happen to align. It's a perfectly normal arrangement. Besides, I can take care of myself. I'm a Wolf, remember? He's the one who should be worried."

Dane scowls and glowers but helps me unload the rest of my things from my car and carry them up to my new rooms without another word. Thorne isn't home, and I let us both in with the set of keys he'd given me the day before.

"Shit," Dane says, surveying the place. "You weren't kidding."

"I know. It's like Downton Abbey, or something," I say.

"What's that?"

"A TV show. You wouldn't like it."

I stop to study one of the portraits hanging in the hall. It looks a lot like Thorne but must be at least a couple hundred years old, judging by the style. An ancestor, I guess.

"Huh. Well, it's creepy as fuck, if you ask me. You couldn't pay me to live here."

"Luckily, no one's asking you to," I reply evenly. "Look, Dane—Dr. Thorne's a little strange, I'll give you that, but I think he's a good person. He saved the dog I hit, and then adopted it. Then he saw I needed a place, and he offered. And, as he said, if it doesn't work out, I'll leave. It's a casual arrangement—there's not even a formal lease or anything. And just look at this place!"

I spread my arms wide and take a deep breath of the antique-scented air.

"It's perfect," I say.

It's quiet and empty, isolated and morbidly alone.

Thorne was right. I fit right in.

Dane's mood doesn't lighten, though, and to my surprise he turns and wraps me in a hug before he leaves.

After a moment, he sighs and lets me go.

"Noah, be careful," he says. "Just because you're a Wolf doesn't mean you can't get hurt. Call me if you need me—any time—and don't forget we're meeting to discuss the case tomorrow night."

I nod and assure him I'll be there, and then he leaves.

I shut the door and lock it after him, and then stand in the silence, staring at the keys in my hand.

Dane doesn't have to tell me. Nobody knows better than I do how much I can be hurt. But I'm a quick study, and not about to make the same mistake twice.

I don't trust Thorne any more than Dane does. Given what happened the last time I trusted someone, it's a feeling I have in very short supply.

~ ☾ ~

The memory rises in my mind against my will.

I'm in the university library, hiding behind a stack of books at a corner table, doing my best to be invisible while I finish some final research. The manuscript is done, really, and I'm just double-checking sources now.

This is what has all my attention and energy at the moment—completing my book. The working title—A History of Words in Action—is a bit bland, but it's an academic subject, after all, even if it's aimed at a lay audience.