Author's note: Hello and thanks for reading my werewolf romance. A new chapter will be released every Sunday night. BUT, you can read each chapter two days early by subscribing to my Ko-fi. For further updates on my writing, feel free to join my Discord. The next chapter will be released on October 27.

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We rode back to the farm together in awkward silence. Mars and I had cleaned the library basement and changed clothes, but we still very clearly smelled like sex.

The old truck rattled as we came around a corner on the shittily-paved two-lane highway that led out of Pine Springs.

Buckie, I learned, was Mars’ stablehand and partner on the farm. He sat to my left wearing a denim vest and rocking shortcut ginger hair with a braided beard. His jeans had holes in them at the knees, and Buckie’s work boots looked old enough that the leather must have come from a cow in the Viking Era.

His eyes, though, weren’t human. They were brownish-black, the color of mud pooling between two trees. And I could feel something stirring within me, an egg that wasn’t quite ready to hatch yet. That something told me he was both like Mars and unlike her.

Buckie smelled of pipe tobacco and corn. The stablehand wore his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing olive skin and a few freckles on his right arm.

I widened my legs as he reached over delicately to upshift into third gear.

“I’m sorry, Lilith. I know it’s uncomfortable to ride in the middle,” he said. He spoke to me but kept his eyes on the winding road lit by a half moon and a sky full of stars you could only see outside of town. Large oak trees lined the highway we drove on.

“Bench seats and old trucks will do that. It’s no trouble,” I said, leaning my head on Mars’ shoulder. “So, how long have you worked with Mars?”

Buckie scratched his head.

“Well, quite a while, bub. I’ll tell ya that. Ever since she moved out of her Uncle Pierre’s house on the coast and decided she wanted to live right in the middle of her family’s territory.”

Mars chuckled and scratched me lightly under the chin, which left me a bit dizzy with pleasure. The touch of your mate was a hell of a drug.

“That feels like so long ago,” Mars said.

“Ahhhhhh, it wasn’t that long ago you found me in the woods,” Buckie said, clearing his throat.

We came around a curve, and I spotted a possum carrying her babies along the side of the road before she was swept into darkness again.

“How did you two meet?” I asked.

Buckie lifted up the side of his shirt, revealing a jagged scar that ran alongside his ribs.

“Mars! You did that to him?!” I gasped, bolting upright.

They both just laughed, and I felt my cheeks heat.

“Goodness no, Little Cottontail. If I’d done that to him, he’d be dead. As it happened, Buckie was just NEARLY dead when I found him.”

My eyes widened, thirsty for a story to fill the rest of the time before we arrived at the farm.

Buckie wiped his forehead and put the high beams on for a second before muttering something and switching them back off.

Then, he turned to Mars and flashed her a smile that carried years of familiarity. Because, somehow, these two were family, even if Buckie wasn’t quite the same as my mate.

What is he? I thought. A fifty-year-old. . . what?

My Understanding was taking its sweet time to hatch, but it kept a slight buzzing in my noggin to let me know it was booting up.

Let’s just hope it boots up like Windows 10 instead of Windows ME, I thought.

Without warning, my girlfriend picked up my wrist and began to nibble on it. Her teeth ran lightly over my skin, and even this touch sent goosebumps down my arms. I couldn’t get enough of her wanting my body, my broken flesh.

Flesh that I’ll reshape I thought. She deserves a mate that she doesn’t have to handle like a goddamn explosive.

But how long would it take? How much studying of the Mágissa Biblia would be required before I learned the spell necessary to reshape my flesh?

The buzzing in my head grew in response to my questions, but I didn’t feel a solid answer.

Buckie interrupted my thoughts by saying, “Must have been right around this spot. I’d been shot by a hunter in the woods. He was getting ready to put me down for good when Mars showed up. I remember seeing her on four legs first and knowing immediately that a werewolf from the Dubois Pack had returned to their territory after years of canine silence.”

My eyes drifted back over to Buckie, enthralled with his story. He told it like a grandfather entertaining a kid sick in bed with a book of adventure and romance. Part of me expected him to ask, “Now where was I? Ah yes. . . in the Pit of Despair.”

“The hunter had his shotgun pointed down at my head, and she just sort of appeared from behind a tree. She snapped a twig to get his attention. And in the time it took the hunter to look behind him, Mars shifted from four legs to two.”

I looked back over at my mate, trying to imagine how fast of a shift that had to be. My brain couldn’t picture it.

“Once the hunter was dealt with, I found myself staring up into her golden eyes and wondering if I’d become dinner. I asked her, ‘Have I been spared the gun only to meet a pair of fangs?’”

Headlights lit the cabin of Buckie’s truck as a red van drove past us.

I found myself asking the werewolf sitting next to me, “So what did you do?” As if it wasn’t obvious. She spared him, or we wouldn’t be riding in his truck right now.

Mars’ inhuman eyes stared at me as she picked up the story.

“He didn’t have long. If I didn’t make a choice soon, nature would make it for me. I told Buckie, ‘If we didn’t kill it, we don’t eat it.’ Pack law. You don’t take kills from other hunters for yourself.”

Pack law? Right. I kept forgetting she’s part of a werewolf pack. Or — at least, she used to be. I still wasn’t clear on where they were or what happened to them. Mars told me I’d find out later, and I didn’t want to push it.

“Your mate picked me up off the forest floor and said, ‘No use leaving you for some useless coyotes to come along and devour.’ See, bub, she was acting grumpy about it all like I’d inconvenienced her in the worst possible way. But she hauled me back to her car and patched me up anyway,” Buckie said, chuckling.

Looking between the two of them, I kept eagerly waiting for the next part of the story.

“And then what?” I finally blurted out, impatient.

Buckie laughed all the louder and ruffled my hair.

“You’re a good match for this here alpha, all right,” the driver said, shaking his head. “Then again, mates chosen by fate are never wrong, are they?”

Mars lowered her voice before speaking.

“No. They aren’t.”

With a loud cough, Buckie cleared his throat again and rolled down the crank window. It squeaked something awful, causing Mars and me to cover our ears. The driver hawked a loogie out into the darkness. I felt sorry for whatever patch of asphalt the giant ball of phlegm landed on.

Stolen story; please report.

After rolling the window back up, Buckie said, “I asked Mars what she was doing here. She was younger then than you are now, little sorceress,” The driver looked at me as he said that.

My mind itched after Buckie spoke those words. The driver downshifted as we came up to the gravel driveway.

“Mars told you?” I asked.

“She didn’t have to. I smell it on you, the fruit of Yggdrasil. You sorceresses all smell the same, like acorns and tree sap.”

I shook my head as the truck bounced up the driveway.

“What ARE you?” I asked, flabbergasted and at my wit’s end trying to figure it out. When was my Understanding supposed to kick on? Was it like the water bill? Did I need to pay a deposit first?

The driver snorted.

“One answer at a time. I haven’t finished telling you about how we met,” Buckie said. “Anyway, Mars told me she was looking for land to buy, and said she was thinking about starting a farm. That would tie her to the territory for a long time. I asked her what kind of farm she wanted to run, and she had no clue. I asked her how she intended to pay for it, and she again had no clue.”

I snickered.

“Not having a clue about the finer details? That sounds like Mars.”

Mars snatched me close without warning and whispered hot and heavy in my ear.

“Funny. And yet. . . I seem to vividly recall the finer details of ravishing you, my mate,” she said before licking the side of my neck and biting my ear for good measure.

I melted in her touch.

“Touché,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be a brat, Little Cottontail. You’re not very good at it,” Mars whispered before smelling my hair for the 50th time. “How many times did you come before we left the library?”

I shivered. How was I hot and cold at the same time? Goddamn werewolf mates defying the laws of physics.

“Thrice,” I mumbled again.

“And I don’t intend to let you forget it,” Mars said.

“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

We reached the end of the driveway, and Buckie continued his story when we were finished flirting.

“As thanks for saving my life, I offered to help Mars find a place and get her started. We found this property a few months later. And by that time, I’d convinced Mars to try out deer farming.”

The truck’s headlights washed over several deer. I caught a few reflective eyes staring back at us.

“What do you get when you farm deer?” I asked, feeling stupid for not knowing. But in my defense, when I was learning “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” in kindergarten, we didn’t exactly get a verse about him having deer. E-I-E-I-O.

Mars put a hand in my lap as Buckie killed the engine, and the lights shut off.

“Meat and antlers for velvet,” my mate said.

“Oh. . . I feel like that should have been more obvious,” I said.

Buckie got out of the truck and closed his door. In the background, I could hear crickets and bullfrogs.

Looking over the farm for the first time in great detail, I spotted several pens with high fences and a few trees. Livestock were separated based on herds, Mars later explained.

On the back side of the property against the tree line, a second house stood. And where Mars’ house was mostly brick, the one tucked away in the back was mostly log siding.

“After we purchased the farm, Buckie taught me everything he knew about deer. We bought our first stock, and he got the animals used to being raised and protected by a wolf. None of them bat an eye at me anymore, regardless of what form I’m in. After a few months, I offered Buckie a house here, and decided to keep the farm split 50/50 with him ever since.”

I leaned against the hood of the truck.

“Because we’re partners, right?” Mars asked, holding out her first.

Buckie chuckled and bumped his knuckles into my mates’.

“Yeah, she-wolf. We’re partners,” he chuckled.

I scratched my head while watching Mars saunter toward her single-story house. It was covered with an old brown roof dotted with antique shingles and patches of ivy.

“Hey. . . how did you learn so much about deer?” I asked without looking over at Buckie as he walked toward his house.

Our driver didn’t answer, and I felt a wave of magic shimmer through the air akin to Mars’ when she shifted behind me. I slowly turned my head toward the old man.

Standing in his place was a massive albino stag with thin white fur and antlers that looked strong enough to take out one of King Kong’s knees.

“Oh, damn,” I said, standing there with my jaw agape. “Wait. . . Buckie? As in — oh, that’s some funny shit.”

While I giggled, Mars rolled her eyes and said, “Come on. Let’s get a fire going out behind the house so I can cook supper. Actually — belay that. Let’s find your new bodyguard.”

My stomach growled, almost as if in response to the “delay in food” announcement.

“It won’t take long,” Mars laughed, peering across the farm’s darkness. “They’re always quick to come when I call.”

Without warning, Mars threw back her head and howled. A beautiful, melodious note shot up into the night sky. It said, “I’m here! Where are you?”

Seconds later, two other howls climbed up toward the stars from somewhere out in the woods. I heard the snapping of twigs and grass before I saw silvery eyes reflecting light from the windows of Mars’ house.

A rush of furry bodies rocketed from the darkness and spilled into view of the porch light. Massive shaggy dogs barked and leaped towards Mars.

Wolves! I thought, shaking my head. My mate keeps wolves on her farm!

“Hey there! Hi. Yes, I’m home. Calm down,” Mars laughed. “Down!”

The wolves immediately lowered themselves to the ground.

“Good boys. Now listen. I’m here to introduce you to my mate. See that hot piece of ass over there? Smells like the world’s most tasty tree? Go get her!”

“Wait — what?” I gasped.

Before I could react, the pair of wolves darted my way, one covered in shaggy brown fur and the other covered in dense black fur.

The brown wolf was faster and leaner, tackling me to the grass and sniffing my face while I laughed uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the black wolf was sniffing my jeans and starting to lick one of my knees for some reason.

“Okay! Hahaha, you win. You win! I’m down,” I giggled as the brown wolf started to sniff my hair and neck. His sniffing in my ear was about all I could hear.

This continued for a few minutes before Mars knelt down next to me and started to pat the black wolf on the back.

BAP BAP BAP. Nice loud pats.

“That black one sniffing your shoes is Chocolate. And the brown dog that currently has you pinned to the ground is Chip. He’ll actually be your bodyguard from this day forward.”

“Glorious,” I said, scratching him behind the ears. “I’m actually too high on pupdorphins to be upset right now. Where did you get two wolves for your farm? Do they sell them as pups down at the feed store?”

Mars pulled the beasts off me and helped me stand. But the moment I was up, I immediately kneeled to play with Chocolate, who quickly showed me his belly. As I scratched his tummy, I chortled in glee. They were so big and fluffy! Holy shit.

“Well, they’re not pure wolves. They’re technically wolf dogs. Each of them is about five percent German Shepherd,” my mate said. “I found them when I was camping in New Brunswick a few years back. They’d been abandoned on a logging road and were malnourished. So, of course, I took ‘em home.”

I stood up, now covered in dog hair.

“Well, they’re perfect,” I said.

Mars patted Chip on the head and smiled. Then, when I frowned and cleared my throat loudly, Mars rolled her eyes and patted me on the head as well.

“Good girl,” she sighed, smirking.

“THANK you,” I snapped. “I AM a good girl.”

The werewolf scratched my hair ferociously while I shut my eyes and let my thoughts go fuzzy.

“Okay, Chip. Listen up. Your job from here on out is to watch my mate at all hours of the day. Make sure she doesn’t make any bargains or do anything stupid when I’m not around. Got it?”

Chip barked and then turned a razor-sharp stare on me.

“Don’t I get to give him orders as your mate?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope!” Mars beamed. “Now come on. Let’s wrestle up some grub. I’m starving.”

We walked through the house, Chip practically glued to my side, and Chocolate panting behind us excitedly.

Half an hour later, Mars had a campfire going in the pit on her back deck. Small embers would fly up now and again while we cuddled on a wooden bench with a nest of blue outdoor pillows.

The smell of smoke and cooking meat filled the air. I looked down at the pile of metal skewers with sausages on the end, roasting over the fire at our feet.

I sat in the middle of the bench while Mars perched on my right. Chip was curled up in a ball of fur on the bench with his head in my lap. I just shook my head and scratched his ears now and again.

Chocolate sat at Mars’ feat. My mate was snacking on a package of pepperonis while we waited for the sausages to cook. Once in a while, she’d “drop” one for Chocolate or give one to me for Chip.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to an annoyed text from Alan.

“Do you still live here?? You haven’t been home in two days,” his text read with a scowling emoji.

I sighed and put the phone away. If Alan was getting snippy again, it was probably because his girlfriend broke up with him.

Fuck, I don’t want to deal with that bullshit again, I thought.

“Hey, Little Cottontail, what’s the matter?”

“Just my roommate being stupid. It’s nothing.”

I muted my phone and turned my attention back to the goddess sitting beside me on the bench.

Mars raised an eyebrow.

“He’s harmless. Just being a manchild. Nothing new,” I said.

My stomach growled again.

“I think they’re ready,” Mars said, turning back toward the fire. “And just in time.”

I picked up a skewer and tried waiting for it to cool before taking a bite. I failed, of course.

Did I burn the hell out of my tongue? Yes. Was it delicious and worth it in every way? Also yes.

While waiting for the feeling to return to my tongue, I watched Mars toss a couple of cooked sausages to Chocolate and Chip.

At last, I asked, “What did you mean when you said ‘just in time’?”

Mars flashed me a wicked grin as I took another bite of my food.

“Oh, nothing much. I was just worried that I might not get to eat ANY sausage today,” she said as I hacked and choked on my dinner.