Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
I just stare at him blankly and his lips curl into a grin when he realizes it.
“You found your mate.”
I shake my head, still not wanting to believe it. “Nope. You don’t know that for sure. It could be something else.”
“Like what?”
I think about it for a second, but nothing comes. “Oh! Maybe my bear has a brain tumor and he’s acting all funny because it’s pressing on the idiot part of our brain.”
Blake’s grin widens as he watches me. “You can’t get a brain tumor. Your shifter healing would take care of it before it would even start growing.”
I drop my head and close my eyes. My bear is still pacing around, wondering why our mark isn’t on Miss Olson’s neck.
“He went to her?”
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“Who is she?”
“The kindergarten teacher.”
“Nathalie?!? I thought she was married and pregnant! God, your bear is making this really hard on you.”
“No, she’s on maternity leave. It’s her replacement. Aubrey Olson.”
Just saying her name makes my whole body start to heat up. I can’t stop thinking about her. I’m already obsessing about her like a creepy stalker psycho.
“I don’t know what to do, Blake. This is exactly what I didn’t want. Look at me. We’ve only said five words to each other and I’m already all twisted inside out. My bear is acting like a rabid lunatic. I can’t go on like this.”
But I don’t see any other choice. I have to be near her. My bear has to be near her.
“I followed her home. Her smell…. Fuck. I couldn’t get enough of it. I climbed a tree to see inside her window… I feel like my mind is melting. I can’t think straight.”
“You climbed a tree to see in her window?” he says as he stares at me in disbelief. “Mr. I’d-rather-set-myself-on-fire-than-have-a-mate? Did she see you?”
“No, but her dog knew I was there. The fucker wouldn’t stop barking so I ran out of there. I hung around until she went to bed and then I came back here.”
“And that’s when… your bear came out?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about snapping at you, Chief.”
He shakes his head. “It’s already forgotten.”
“This is the exact thing I was worried about happening and it’s happened. She’s only been in my life for a few hours and look at what’s become of me. I’m broken. My bear won’t stop snarling in my ears. He won’t calm down until I claim her.”
Blake takes a deep breath and sighs as he watches me.
“I need to go back to normal,” I tell him. “I need to try and forget she ever existed.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. The genie is out of the bottle, my friend. There’s no stuffing it back in.”
I take another long sip of coffee and stare at the table, wondering what I’m going to do.
“What’s she like?” he asks.
My lips curl up into a smile when I remember her gorgeous dark brown hair and stunning honey-colored eyes. She had old baggy clothes on, but I knew there were some spectacular curves hiding under there. I could sense it. My hands tingled as I imagined what it would feel like to touch her soft skin.
“You’re smiling,” Blake says with a grin. “Maybe it won’t be so bad once you get a good night’s sleep.”
“A good night’s sleep?” I say with a tired laugh. “It’s morning time. I have to work today.”
He shakes his head. “You have the day off.”
I look up at him in shock and he shrugs. “We haven’t had a fire since this summer. I think you can go lay down.”
“That’s the thing, though. I don’t think I can. My bear is all amped up. He won’t let me rest until I mark the girl.”
“So…” Blake says. “Mark her.”
I shake my head and sigh. “Then my whole life is going to change.”
He puts his hand on mine in a rare show of affection. “Dude, I think it already has.”
I drop my head and sigh. I think he’s right.
A few hours later, I’m walking into the school with a brand new globe under my arm. It’s the least I can do after I shattered her other one.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” the terrifying secretary snaps at me when she sees me at her counter.
I pull a large Toblerone from the inside pocket of my jacket and drop it on her desk. Her eyes widen when she sees it.
“What’s that?” she asks in a low voice.
“I don’t see anything,” I say as I slowly reach for the visitor’s form. “How about I leave whatever you’re seeing and I’ll just sign this and go?”
She looks at me for a long moment and then takes the Toblerone off the desk and turns around.
Jackpot! Now, I know the troll’s weakness: a sweet tooth.
I quickly scribble my name on the form and then hurry out of the office and down the hall to room number seven.