Wind howls throughout the structure from the many missing stones and broken windows as we ascend. I do my best to keep it all neat and tidy, but I lack the means to repair any of these things. Still, I suppose I should be grateful for its current state. If it were pristine like the rest of the main house, my stepmother would surely have relegated me to the stables instead of allowing me to keep my room here.
As soon as we reach my room, I note the stunned look on Cash’s face as he takes it all in. “This… is your room?”
“Yes.”
When his gaze meets mine, sadness and pity are easily read in his expression, but he says nothing further.
I motion for him to lay Finn down on my bed. It’s little more than a straw pallet covered with fabric, but at least it’s clean and somewhat softer than the hard wooden floor. Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of furniture. Only a small table and chairs in one corner and a torn sofa that my stepmother was going to throw out, but I salvaged before she got rid of it.
I quickly move to the water basin and grab a clean towel from beside it, bringing it over to him. I kneel next to Finn, and my jaw drops. He’s completely naked.
I blink up at Cash. “What happened to his clothes?”
He gives me an apologetic look. “It is hard to maintain the appearance of clothing when we are injured.”
I frown in confusion. “The... what?”
He opens his mouth to reply, but Finn groans low in his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “Finn?” I speak his name, but he doesn’t answer.
Blood seeps steadily from the five jagged marks across his torso from the wolf’s claws. The cuts on his arms aren’t nearly as deep, but they’re still worrisome. I dip the clean cloth in the water and drag it over his skin to cleanse the wounds, trying but failing to keep my eyes from drifting lower. I’ve never seen a man naked before, and I’m shocked by how big he is. Not just his muscles and body, but his manhood.
I’ve heard women in the town refer to this part of a man as his “length,” but they failed to mention the girth as well.
Averting my gaze, I lift the tattered blanket that I use as a comforter and drape it over his lower half to keep my eyes from wandering where they shouldn’t. After all, it’s not proper to view a man without clothing unless he is one’s husband.
Cash kneels beside me, and I’m glad, at least, that he is still wearing pants.
I force myself to focus on cleaning Finn’s wounds. My mouth drifts open as I notice the torn tissue beginning to knit back together before my eyes. “How is that possible?”
“We heal very quickly.”
I scan Cash’s body and notice that his wounds are now slowly healing as well. “What exactly... are you?”
His warm, green eyes meet mine as he takes my hand gently in his own. “I know this is a bit of a shock to you, Ella, but we are shifters.”
“Shifters.” I breathe the word out as my mind struggles to wrap around the concept I believed only this morning to be no more than a myth. “And the wolf in the woods?”
He dips his chin in a subtle nod. “The same, just a different animal.”
My brow furrows. “Why chipmunks?” I ask, the thought suddenly striking me as odd.
“The smaller one is, the better one can observe the world and everyone around them unnoticed. Don’t you agree?” Cash’s lips curve up in a sly grin. “Besides, I was born into it. Our parents were the same. If our parents had been wolf shifters, Finn and I would be as well.”
I nod because as impossible as this all sounds, that makes sense. “And there are... more of you?”
“Yes.” He chuckles, amusement dancing behind his eyes. “We are many.”
Finn makes another noise, and I reach down to gently stroke his cheek. “Are you awake? How do you feel?”
Finn gently places his hand over mine as his eyelids flutter open. His green eyes stare up at me, and he gives me a weak smile. “I am feeling much better. Thank you, Ella. You are very kind.”
For all I’ve heard tales of shifters being dangerous, these two don’t instill any sense of fear in me. I don’t know why, but I feel that I can trust them.
I don’t, however, know how others would receive them. I suspect it would be with much fear and suspicion. People tend to be afraid of things they don’t understand, and this would certainly qualify as such.
I smile back at Finn. “Thank you for saving me.” I look between the two of them. “Both of you. And don’t worry, I will speak to no one of your... abilities.”
Finn gives me a faint grin. “Thank you, Ella.”
I run the cloth over his skin again, glad when I notice his wound is now completely closed over. Only slight pink marks remain where the deep cuts and gashes had been mere moments ago. A thought suddenly occurs to me. “I’ll go find you some clothing.”
He shakes his head. “There is no need.”
I frown. “You cannot walk around naked.”
Finn pulls back the tattered comforter and is now magically wearing pants. They don’t do much to conceal what I saw earlier. In fact, if anything, the outline of his pants only makes his manhood more noticeable.
He sits up, his face mere inches from me. A warm flush creeps up my neck, to my cheeks. A grin tugs at his lips, curving into a devastatingly handsome smile as his intense green gaze holds mine. He’s the most attractive man I’ve ever met before. Him and his brother.
They are masculine perfection made manifest before me, and
