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5. Neanderthal Man

Xander

What were the odds that I’d bump into my mysterious neighbor on the dark, empty roads of Prescott at nine p.m.? I would have said zero until I came across Maeve, tiredly dragging her feet back home.

Doesn’t she have a car, at least?

The second my wolf picked up her scent, my senses alerted. A protective instinct spiked, and all I wanted to do was provide her with safety at the moment. Fates! I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about a human.

The only time the wolf in us awakes and becomes restless when we find our mate. And I have been deprived of a chance for so long, the feelings seemed utterly alien to me. But right now, all I did around Maeve was act out in the spur of the moment.

“You really don’t understand boundaries now, do you?” She pursed her lips and glared.

It was a miracle that I was still talking, rather than throwing her over my shoulders and putting her in the car myself. Taking a deep breath, I pushed back the annoyance. “I understand them perfectly well. But you don’t understand the difference between bravery and stupidity, which is why you are walking back home in the dark.”

Her chin thwarted out. “I am an adult and perfectly capable of handling myself.”

“Maeve,” I sighed. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way—what wouldyou prefer?”

“Getting into a stranger’s car isn’t exactly a courageous thing, you know?” she retorted, being the sassy little kitten that she was.

“You know my name, and you know where I live,” I reasoned, against all my better judgments. “And let’s face it, if I really wanted to cause you harm, I wouldn’t have waited for this long.”

Prudent thoughts finally seemed to have saturated inside her head as her expression smoothed out, and I took the final chance. “Are you going to get inside the car now?”

Maeve nodded. “Only because you are asking nicely.” With that, she sashayed towards the car and filed into the passenger’s seat.

Oh, kitten, keep that up and let’s see how far we can go.

I sat behind the wheel and floored the gas. For a few, long minutes, we rode in silence as the car zoomed past the blurry roads and twinkling lights from elsewhere.

“It’s not very safe,” I commented.

Maeve gave me a side-glance before sighing ahead of her gaze. “I know. I generally take a cab, but nothing was available at this hour today, so I thought I’d walk back.”

“Don’t you have a car?”

“I am a terrible driver, so I don’t keep one.”

What if there’s an emergency? What would she do then? Then all of a sudden, it hit me that I might have been invading into her space too much. But the urge to keep her close and well-protected only seemed to burrow deeper.

When I turned to look at her, she was shivering a little. Grabbing the jacket from the back seat, I dropped in her lap. “Here, put this on.”

“Thank you.”

I was expecting a comeback or some sort of glare, but she quickly accepted it and gracefully wrapped her lithe frame into my jacket that seemed oversized yet oddly lovely on her. Forcing my gaze ahead, I smiled discreetly. But then something happened—something truly cute and funny, and the chuckle simply popped out.

A growl emitted from her stomach, and thanks to my heightened capabilities, I heard it quite distinctly.

“Oh shit!” Maeve’s hand flew to her mouth and blushed in embarrassment. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“When did you last eat?” I cut her in. Her sense of safety was as bad as her healthcare habits.

Maeve scrunches her face guiltily. “Umm…breakfast?

“Terrific.” My mood soured in sarcasm. “You are very good at adulting, you know. Your sense of responsibility regarding health and safety measures is …fascinating.”

“Today is just exceptional, okay?” she snapped. “You don’t get to criticize my life after knowing me for like…one day.”

Fair enough, but even for an exceptional day, she was acting recklessly. “Woman, you are impossible,” I muttered, more like to myself. “And if I have known you for more than one day, I would have probably warmed up your ass.”

Shit. The words flew out of my mouth before I could put them back. Wolves like us, or shapeshifters you could say, we’re unabashedly passionate about our mates. The human proforma of relationships don’t typically apply to us. And the fact that my wolf crawled towards her every time she was around made me both thrilled and worried.

“What?” Her pretty eyes were as wide as saucers. But even in the substantial darkness, I saw the crimson of her cheeks deepened. “You…you didn’t just say that!”

“I did, and you heard me just fine. Now get over it, kitten. You are flushing red.”

It took her a full ten seconds to recover, gape, and grasp with parted mouth before she loaded a retort. And before she could, I took a sharp left and detoured.

“Hey, why did you take that turn?” Her heartbeat went momentarily frantic. “That’s not the way to the…”

“We are going to a diner first,” I announced authoritatively. “You need to eat.”

“That’s none of—”

“Stop,” I growled, my wolf getting impatient. “If you complete that sentence, I’ll pull over and take you across my knee.” This time, I meant it.

Maeve

I couldn’t believe that he was so blatantly old-school, threatening to spank me not once but twice within ten minutes of a car ride that he practically coerced me in. What was even more astounding was the fact that I blushed instead of being offended.

Great, I was not only a weirdo but a wacko too.

Xander pulled the car in front of a place called “Skyline Diner” and I recalled this place when one of the nurses was gushing about their Italian platter the other day.

“Let’s go.”

I followed him inside as Xander, very chivalrously, held the door open for me. A waiter came forward with a brilliant smile and known ‘hellos’, pulling him in for a manly one-sided hug before leading us to a rather quiet corner.

“Holler me when you guys are ready to order,” he said, serving the menu and trotting away with the same brilliant smile he welcomed us in.

“You seem to be a regular here,” I observed.

“Not exactly. But I have known Chad for quite some time now,” he said, referring to the waiter and slid me the menu. “Now order.”

“I could have gone home and had my dinner anyway,” I muttered, skimming through the options.

“It would take us about twenty minutes or so to reach the apartment. Another half an hour or so to cook your dinner or order takeout. And the way your stomach is growling, I don’t want to take any risk.”

It was impossible to argue with this man, especially when I was really hungry and he was talking logic. Frowning, I flipped the menu close and slid it back to him. “Italian platter.”

A triumphant smile spread all over his face, and by far, it was the most beautiful thing. I might have had a crappy day, hungry beyond measure and entirely all over the place with my quirks, but now my heartfelt sublime. It was an oddly calming feeling. Even more so with the thick oversized jacket of his, I was wearing.

Xander placed our orders, deciding on an American skillet for himself, and instructed us to have it delivered as quickly as possible.

My gaze fixed on him, almost wistfully. Never have I met a man so terribly bossy yet considerate and chivalrous when he wanted to be. Xander was like a split personality of Neanderthal man and caring guy.

“Thank you,” I said, once the waiter left.

He lifted a brow with his quintessential smirk. “Someone finally remembered her manners.”

My eyes almost rolled heavenward. “I always do. I just don’t appreciate being coerced.”

“I call it deliberate manipulation,” he quipped.

A bubble of laughter fluttered around my stomach. “Is that even a thing or you just made that up?” Xander shrugged nonchalantly with a smile—a smile so boyish over his manly features it almost made me sigh. “So you do this with everyone? Playing Good Samaritan with your neighbors—dropping home, diner, and all?”

He threw in a wink.

“No, just with the naughty kittens.”

‘Plop’. Something dipped in my stomach, and it had nothing to do with the growling hunger. I quickly schooled my features and pretended to be annoyed.

“I already told you my name. You need to stop calling me that.”

“Why? You like it already.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but when Chad appeared with his dainty smile and the steaming food, the rest of my words died down my throat.

“Thank you,” I curtsied as he placed them down.

“Enjoy the food!”

I didn’t realize the extent of my hunger until the delicious smell hit my nose, and another roar reverberated in my stomach. And just like that, he heard it and smirked without looking up from his plate.

Seriously, did he have any superpower hearing or something? It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine, given I had my own set of weird talents. Surprisingly so, none of my visions ever worked around Xander. It has never happened, except for the migraine, and I was glad about that.

“Wow. This is really good,” I moaned with a mouthful of food.

“Told you.”

The next half an hour or so was probably the best’ normal’ moment of my life. We busied ourselves in small talks and food, how he hated ketchup, and preferred mustard sauce over everything while he laughed his ass off over the fact that I was picky over the variety of cheese and could literally live on pizza for a lifetime. Xander and I talked like there was no tomorrow, and for two people who got on the wrong foot since the minute we met, we successfully turned the tide around.

I finally placed down the cutlery while he wiped his lips. “Why did you say that today was exceptional?”

“Well, we had a busy day at the hospital,” I replied. “I ate a heavy breakfast so I could have lunch late, but there was an accident nearby.”

He quickly nodded. “I know. Cross heart school bus.” I gave him a quizzical look when he explained. “It’s a small town.”

“Right. So, the patients were rushed…all of them were kids, and I chose to stay beyond my shift to help the other nurses.”

“You are a doctor?”

“Nurse practitioner.”

I waited for that look—that look of disappointment whenever I clarified people that I was an NP and not a doctor, but he only seemed…impressed. Unpretentiously impressed.

“Wow. That’s good. But you shouldn’t take safety so loosely. Prescott might be a small town, but that doesn’t mean it is not dangerous.”

He should go inside my head and see all the dark things lurking around.

“You sound like you have been here a long time,” I pushed, fishing to know more about him.

“You can say that. And where are you from?”

“Manhattan.”

He gasped and chuckled like I just said Mars. “And what’s a big city girl doing here when she can have the best of opportunities out there?”

I simply shrugged, looking away from him. “I don’t like big cities…the crowd. I know it sounds weird, but small towns are my thing.” When I lifted my eyes, Xander’s intense gaze zeroed in on me with utmost fervor, as if he was staring deep into my soul. I shifted nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “What?”

“Nothing,” he murmured with his eyes still hovering over me. He was uncannily reading me.

“You are judging me again—silently,” I accused.

“Why does it matter to you so much?” he asked. “I mean, why are you so conscious?”

Damn this man and his inquisitive questions.

“Nothing.” I squirmed in my seat, looking anywhere else to avoid him. “I just don’t like to be the weird person in the room.”

“Did anyone tell you that you are weird?” He queried in his endless quest of discovery.

“No.”

His eyes narrowed slightly—not suspicious but oddly concerned. But to my great luck, he actually let the topic slide for now and accepted my bald-faced lie with a “hmm”. I knew he knew, and for that small grace, I was thankful.

“C’mon,” he rose from his seat and offered a hand. “Let’s get you back home, kitten.”


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