Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 217(@200wpm)___ 173(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“You’re worried about what is going to happen to me.”
Rose didn’t look at him, it felt easier not to.
“You’re scared?”
“It’s not that I’m scared, but I have seen this play out one too many times.”
Graham didn’t say anything and she finally looked up to find him nodding. “Yeah, Milton was a piece of work, wasn’t he?”
“Personally, I never met him. I believe he was some kind of vet or something. Again, I don’t know, but he’d gone crazy, and we don’t know the level of experimentation he was delving into. We knew he was into one thing, but now it seems it was another. How did you not know?”
Graham shrugged. “I just didn’t, but then again, I was hoping we were finding a cure.”
“What’s it like having a dog as a pet?”
“You’ve never had a dog?” he asked.
She shook her head.
Graham sighed. “It’s the strangest feeling, because for me, I loved Buster more than anything else in the world. I got him from a pup, even before he should have been away from his mom, but I think he was left behind, like the runt of the litter or something.” He shrugged. “I found him all alone, abandoned in a box, and I took him home, fed him, and fell in love with him. Yes, he was a small German shepherd, but he grew to be a good size, and he was so easy to train. It was like he wanted to be with me all the time so I kept him with me. In the office, even on dates, I took him with me. He was my best friend, and no matter what, he’d listen and I didn’t have to constantly tell him my feelings. He was a great guy.”
“Sounds like an amazing one,” Rose said, smiling.
“Losing him was like losing a part of myself. That grief didn’t go away. Everywhere I went, he was there, because I’d created these memories with him, and they were not fading. That’s why when I stumbled onto Milton’s ad, I had to take it, because that grief had stolen part of me, and I had to do something for others. Don’t get me wrong, not everyone loves their dog or cat in that way. For me, if anyone hurt Buster, I’d fucking kill them.”
Rose looked at him and she felt incredibly sad. “I’m sorry for your loss. I don’t know if it will compare, but I lost my parents some time ago, and it never quite heals.”
“You lost your parents? Don’t you guys live forever? Isn’t that what all the books say?”
“It does say that in the good books, but people get old, wolves get old, and they get tired. My parents had me when they were very old, and they stayed with me for quite some time.”
“We’re going down too morbid a route, and all this talk of losing someone we love is too much for me. Tell me about your mate?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes.
“You see, that right there, it doesn’t bode well for your mate,” Graham said.
“I don’t know what to tell you about my mate, other than the fact the only person who knows he is my mate, is you.”
Graham frowned. “How is that even possible?”
“Well, I guess all the good books say when you find your mate, the world becomes bright and happy and you cannot think of anyone else.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Yeah, not me, nor my mate. I didn’t get any of that,” Rose said. “Actually, I did feel good for a short time, and then he opened his mouth and ruined everything.” She pushed some hair that had fallen across her brow out of the way. “It doesn’t matter.”
“What did you hope would happen?” he asked.
“I don’t know, he’d see me and be so happy that he’d just come to me, pull me in his arms, and kiss me.” She chuckled. “Does that sound girly and lame or what?”
“Sounds like a woman who knows what she wants.”
Rose couldn’t believe she was opening up to this man, this stranger. “It was, and I think part of me still hopes for it, but I also know it’s not going to happen.” She tried not to pout. “It’s kind of hard to believe anything when your mate tells you he considers it disastrous that you’re his.” She tried not to cry. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no, go ahead, cry, I just … it sucks that I am in here and can’t come out and comfort you.”
Rose swiped at the tears she had allowed to fall. She knew this was wrong and she shouldn’t keep crying over what she could no longer have.
“It’s fine.”
“Did you cry after he rejected you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve tried not to cry since. It’s not going to solve anything.”
“But it might make you feel a little better.”