Chasing Tail [Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ x Sʜɪꜰᴛᴇʀs Rᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ]

Part 2

Y/N POV

The next morning, you wake up to find the dog still sprawled out on your bed. His dirty paws have left stains on your sheets. "Seriously?!"

You huff and wake him up, then coax him into your bathroom for a bath.

He wags his tail while you scrub his paws, totally unfazed by the water. You grimace as you watch the dirty brown water flow down the drain.

"You're in a good mood this morning. Aren't dogs supposed to hate baths?"

He barks happily in response and licks your face. As you dry the dog off with an old towel, you consider that you don't even know his name.

"I've been calling you 'the dog' in my head, but that won't do, will it? I'm Y/N. What's your name?"

He tilts his head at you and barks softly. You chuckle.

"Right, it's not like you can answer me... so why don't I pick one for you? How about... Goldilocks?"

The dog thumps his butt down and paws at the ground, whining.

"No? You don't like that one? Okay, then how about... Cody?"

He settles and you swear that he actually nods his head at you. "All right, Cody it is."

You've got class in the morning, so you need to get dressed and head out. Cody sticks his head in the door and tries to come with you, but you gently push him back into the living room. Somehow you feel odd about having a stranger in your room while you're changing, even if he is just a dog.

Once you're ready, you check the kitchen to see if you can scrape together a breakfast for you and Cody. There's very little left in the fridge, but you do your best to throw something together for yourself and you feed Cody some eggs and baby carrots. Google says those are okay for dogs.

Cody whines at the door when you leave. "I'm sorry, you can't come with me. No dogs in the campus buildings," you tell him. "But I'll keep an eye out for lost dog posters. Maybe I can figure out where your real owner is so you can go home."

Cody growls, then presses his face into your belly. You pat his head soothingly. "Don't worry, you can stay here for now. I'll be back later, okay?"

With that, you head to class, leaving the golden retriever watching you from the window.

Cody POV

As soon as the door closes, I shift to my human form and stretch out my limbs. Out of my three shifter forms—human, direwolf, and dog—the dog form is the smallest one. Sometimes I start to feel cramped if I stay in that form for too long.

It's been three weeks since my pack abandoned me, so I've been living on the streets in my golden retriever form because I've got no money to rent a place as a human. And sadly, in my experience, people treat a cute stray dog better than a homeless guy, no matter how good I look in my human form.

I was totally lost when my pack kicked me out. I had to avoid all the parts of town the pack rules and get by slinking in the dark corners of the city. The cat shifter pride in town is powerful too, so I've had to avoid their territory as well. I didn't know what would become of me.

And then I met Y/N. I saw her walking one night and something about her had me following her to make sure she was safe. I've been following her for weeks now, though I only managed to approach her finally last night.

Cody, she named me. It's not what I would have picked for myself, but I like it because she chose it for me. My old name belonged to my pack self, but I'm a new dog now. A new wolf. A new man.

I step into Y/N's bathroom and flex my muscles. It's been way too long since I last took on this human form. I was starting to worry that I might accidentally shift in my sleep.

This apartment is small, but I'm going to make it my home. Plus, the owner is pretty and kind and she smells good. Really, really good. I like her, and I'm going to keep her and make her mine. Now that I've found her and this home, I'm staying. Nothing and no one can kick me out this time.

I need to go out and find some more food. Poor Y/N has nothing in her kitchen; I wonder how she gets by. She needs someone to take care of her.

That someone is going to be me. I'll steal for her if I have to.

Since I shifted, I'm naked as a human, so I go in search of some clothes that will fit me. I rifle through Y/N's closet and find a box of men's clothes in the back. They smell like some other human man.

My hackles rise, and I growl possessively. Has another man been in Y/N's house? Has he touched her? I'll rip him apart.

I throw the clothes in the trash. Fuck that. I'll shift back into dog form and steal some new clothes. I'm not wearing anything that stinks of that bastard's scent.

But the thought of Y/N with some guy still sticks in my mind. Maybe she has a boyfriend at her college? I can't be sure. I have to go see for myself. And if she does, well... I'll just have to make sure he never touches her again.

---------------------------------------------------------

oooh we hear from the shifter!! 

What do y'all think so far? Leave a comment and let me know! 

xxxx