Free Lifesong by Erin Lark Page A

me?”
    Emma rolled over under the covers, lying on her back before resting a hand on my scruff. “I love all of you. I don’t care what you are—your eyes are always the same. You are my wolf, just as much as you’re the man I’ve slept with. So long as your eyes are the same that will never change.”
    “You know, you’re very poetic when you get worked up.”
    “Blame that on having nothing better to do than read for the last six years.”
    “You didn’t have television?” I lowered my muzzle onto her chest, breathing in her shampoo and soft skin.
    “We did, but what was the point? They kept the news on all the time. Always the same—always a child missing.” She shook her head, as if to wash the thoughts away. “I hate them. I hate being one of them. ”
    I adjusted my weight so I could rest a forepaw on her. Gods, I wanted to shift right then and take her in my arms, but keeping to my wolf skin felt better, like it was the right thing to do. It was what she needed—for me to be her wolf by still being a wolf.
    “You aren’t one of them, Emma.” I sat back on my haunches. “Your heart is anything but human.”
    Emma’s eyes softened and she reclined on her pillows. “You make a very good wolf,” she mused, brushing a hand through my neck fur.
    I licked her on the cheek. “So would you.”
     
    Emma
     
    Tonight was the first time Tucker hadn’t aroused me with his closeness. Freeing. I’d spent years dreaming about the wolf who’d promised to protect me—his memory more than enough to excite me. Only now, with Tucker lying at my side, all I felt was warmth. I could’ve asked him to shift back to his human form, but it wasn’t something my body craved.
    The sensation, or lack thereof, allowed me to focus on my thoughts rather than my needs, which was a big step up from when we’d first got here. I imagined what it’d be like to be a wolf, to run on four feet instead of two. It was the sensation I wanted to feel most. That and possibly the wind through my fur.
    I hadn’t realised I’d spaced out until Tucker licked at my chin. “You’re awake, but you’ve stopped petting me. Where have your thoughts taken you?”
    I glanced down at him, and he opened his maw in what appeared to be a smile. “You attention whore,” I teased, petting the fur along the bottom of his stomach. His head fell back onto the mattress as his tongue lolled out the other side of his muzzle. “Is this all it takes for a poor, frail human to tame a guardian?”
    Tucker whimpered and closed his eyes, his tail wagging the slightest bit. “I could fight it.”
    “No, you couldn’t.”
    “Could so,” Tucker said, opening one eye. “But I don’t want to. Who’s to say it isn’t the other way around—that I haven’t tamed you and made you my petting slave?”
    I pushed at him with both hands, rolling him onto his side. “Knock it off!” I laughed at him when he gave me the look . “Nope, not falling for it.”
    Tucker’s neck fur bristled in a shrug and he turned onto his stomach to face me. “What were you thinking about?”
    I leaned on one of my arms, brushing my forehead against him. “Oddly enough, how I’m not aroused by you when you’re like this.”
    Tucker lowered his ears. “Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”
    “Both?”
    Tucker sat up when I did, changing forms almost instantly. “Better?”
    “That’s not fair,” I whined, trembling when he kissed me on the lips.
    “Easily aroused, huh?” Tucker cupped his hand around one of my breasts, smirking when I squirmed.
    “See what I mean?” I pressed my hands against his chest, playfully pushing him away. “What do you expect me to do with a naked man in my bed, anyway?”
    “ Your bed?” Tucker tried to look hurt.
    “Dog eyes work better,” I warned, my smile fading when I heard something move downstairs. We both froze. “What was that?”
    Tucker lifted his head, scenting the air. “Wait here.” He crawled across his side