Then Laddin shivered. Whereas Bruce was covered in thick fur, Laddin was only wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt.
“Sun’s going down, and I lost the blanket somewhere back there,” Laddin said against his fur. “Let’s get inside before I freeze to death.”
Bruce rumbled agreement, and Laddin pulled back.
“Was that a growl? You want to stay outside?”
Fucking hell. He shook his head no.
“Inside, then?”
He nodded his head. And then for good measure, he licked Laddin’s chin. That was the only way he could think of to express his concern. Laddin laughed. Of course he did. Nothing kept his happiness down for long. But he did wipe his face off.
“Ew!” he teased. Then he straightened up. “Inside it is. We can play catch or something later.”
Catch? Catch! Did he seriously think that Bruce wanted to run around after a stupid ball? He was not a dog! He was a man trapped in this wolf body who couldn’t fucking talk right then. The best he could do was snort his disgust.
“You don’t want to wait? Well, okay.” He leaned down and picked up a stick, which he tossed ahead of them. Then he grinned as he looked down at Bruce. “Go on! Go get it!”
Bruce snorted and looked away. He was so not going to chase that stick. Except some sort of instinct kicked in the moment the stick flew through the air. His body tensed and he nearly leaped after it, even though he was not a fucking dog.
“Don’t be like that,” Laddin said. Then he stopped and squatted down in front of Bruce. “I know you’ve got a human mind in there. I know you’re not a dog. But a part of you is a wolf, and wolves like chasing things. So do it. Let yourself be a wolf right now. You’ll get back to human soon enough, but there’s something really joyous about chasing a stupid stick. It gives the mind a break.” He blew out a breath. “That’s something I think we could both use right now.”
It was the last part that got to him. Not the “be the wolf” mantra shit, but that Laddin needed the simplicity of throwing a stick for Bruce. Laddin thought he was helping Bruce, and that gave Laddin something to focus on—something other than what they’d just been through.
So fine. He could be the wolf for Laddin. And not because his lupine mind latched on to the next stick that Laddin launched into the air. He saw it soar and he took off after it like it was the answer to world peace. Or to fixing things up with his brother. Or to giving Laddin a reason to laugh.
He caught the stick after the first bounce. He snatched that stupid stick up and hauled ass back to Laddin, who was indeed grinning from ear to ear.
“Better?” he asked as Bruce dropped the stick at his feet.
Bruce didn’t answer, not because he couldn’t but because, yeah, maybe it had been fun to run like a rocket and he didn’t want to admit it. Laddin must have known, because he picked up the stick and launched it with a powerful stroke. Damn, he could throw.
Bruce took off, determined to catch the thing before it hit the ground. He didn’t come close, but he got the stick and was back before Laddin’s laughter faded.
They kept going like that, making steady progress back to the house. And as a bonus, the movement seemed to keep Laddin from getting too cold. But pretty soon the guy was shivering. It was time to pick up the pace. So the next time Laddin launched the stick into the air, Bruce didn’t follow it. Instead, he trotted behind Laddin and nipped at the man’s legs.
“Hey! What was that for?”
To get him running. But since he didn’t have words, he nipped at Laddin’s heels again, forcing him to jump forward.
“What are you—?”
Bruce woofed. It was a deep, short sound, echoing with command—the exact tone of voice he used with new firefighters with more strength than smarts. And when Laddin turned and dropped his hands on his hips in annoyance, Bruce woofed again. The man’s lips were blue, and his shoulders were up almost to his ears. He needed to start running now.
Woof, woof! Then he nipped at Laddin’s knees. And he kept nipping until Laddin started jogging backward.
That wasn’t exactly the plan, but at least it got Laddin moving. Bruce trotted beside Laddin, easily keeping pace. And then Laddin finally understood. He groaned, but he flipped around and started jogging steadily forward.
“You’re going to love Yordan,” Laddin muttered. Since Bruce didn’t have a mouth to ask the question, he simply head-butted Laddin’s rear end to make the guy move faster.
They made it to the house soon after that. Though Laddin didn’t seem too concerned, Bruce didn’t see any signs of sweat on the man, even after the run. That told him Laddin had been in dangerously cold territory, and he was grateful they’d finally made it inside. But once there, they had to slow down to take in the situation in front of them.
A woman in tight-fitting black leather was hunched over a man who currently resembled Two-Face. Half his features were stunningly gorgeous. The other looked like hamburger meat. Bruce recognized him as Bing, the one who had made him fall asleep in the van way back when.
A large guy Bruce didn’t know hovered nearby. His hands shook and his body was covered in dark goo as he harassed the woman. The big man didn’t look hurt, per se, but it was hard to tell, given all the crap on him.
“Can you fix his face? He’s an actor, you know. His face is important. I mean, he’s important, but he’s
