Hunt Me! (I Crave The Chase) - Page 178

He had no idea what little time we had left. That I’d run our clock down to zero. But I couldn’t deny him this. I couldn’t. Not when he looked at me like that. Even though the wolf inside me screamed that it was wrong, wrong, wrong to agree.

“Fine.”

Jeffrey sagged, eyes pinched shut for a moment as he sucked in a breath. “Okay. Okay. Thank you—” His eyes opened, brown as summer dirt, warm the way it felt when it squished between the pads of my paws. “Thank you.”

“It may not work,” I warned him, knowing fully that it wouldn’t.

“I have to try,” his voice shook. “Just let me please?” He glared up at me and he was so fierce and beautiful I could not help but grin, despite everything else.

“I am glad we met,” I said softly, because I was. Even if our meeting had meant I would choose this fate. “If I had not met you I would have died having never lived,” I told him softly.

Jeffrey’s expression pinched, his shoulders drawing up tight, his breath leaving him in a ragged little sob. “No,” he said, shaking. “Fuck no. Fuck. That’s so fucking awful. I hate it. I don’t want that. Stop acting like you’re dying. I’m not going to let it happen.”

I grunted, my eyes burning. He was blurry. Just a creamy smear as I blinked away the tears. “I know.” This was more painful than anticipated, but I deserved it. Because if he was going to be in pain, I should be too.

Jeffrey shook his head rapidly. His sweet little bare ears stuck out, the fluffy hair on his head glinting in the light. “This is…” He was shaking. “This is so fucked.”

“I know.”

“How long?” Jeffrey asked, voice hoarse. “How long do I have? To find you someone.”

“Two moons,” I lied, even though it hurt.

Even though it hurt more than anything.

“And you’re sure?”

“This last moon I…” Now it was my turn to tremble. “I almost didn’t come back.” The words were hoarse and brittle. They hurt. They hurt so much. I hadn’t admitted this to my brothers. Hadn’t admitted that the first thing I’d done after waking up in my humanskin, still shackled to the wall, was head upstairs and make sure that the number on the fridge was in my phone.

The number that would lead to my death.

The number we were only supposed to call in case of emergencies.

“It’s not fair,” Jeffrey’s voice shattered. The dam broke. Like it had been cracked for years and years, and the pressure had finally grown too much. And then he started crying. Hot, salty tears smeared against my throat as Jeffrey collapsed into me like he trusted me to hold his weight. “It’s not fair.”

“It is not,” I agreed, rocking him gently, my own heart hurting. “But I am so glad to have gotten to know you, however short our time has been.” My own voice was hoarse, quaking with emotion. “Knowing you has been my greatest honor. You make me so happy. The other half of my heart’s duet. The most wonderful person in the entire world. My prince, my happy ending.”

“I’ll fix this,” Jeffrey promised, a hiccuping little sob escaping him. “I’ll fix it. I know I don’t have a great track record with fixing things, but I will. A month is enough. Just push through this moon and by the next I’ll have figured it out, I swear.”

We were caught in a negative spiral. A spiral that wouldn’t end unless I put a stop to it.

So I did.

“Do you know what I want?” I said, peeling him out of my neck, the grip I had on his nape still tight enough to soothe him. His eyes were bleary with tears, his cheeks splotchy red, his lashes spiked together.

He’d never been more beautiful than he was right then.

There were no barriers between us.

Just honest heartache.

“W-what?” A tear dashed down his cheek and I leaned forward, lapping at it, before pulling back to meet his gaze again.

“I want to spend as much time with you as possible,” I said honestly, heart thumping. “I want to make memories. I want to laugh with you. I want to play. To hear you sing. To see you smile. To keep you safe. To make you happy—for as long as I’m able.”

“Mutt—”

“I want to be a happy memory,” I told him, and I meant it with every fiber of my being. “That is what I want.”