The Late Bloomer

Chapter 5- Nosiness & Nicknames

The door swung wide open to reveal the one and only Jeff, followed close behind by my mother, Danny, and Brielle.

"The kids wanted to meet your new. . .friend." Jeff smirked deviously and winked at me as the two children rushed forward fearlessly. I watched them park their bodies at the end of Walter's bed.

Someone needs to teach those children about stranger danger. . . I turned to apologize to Walter for the intrusion and did a double take.

The open, lighthearted expression he wore moments ago had disappeared, replaced by tightly pursed lips and guarded eyes. He had donned a mask of severity and I didn't like it one bit. A smile suited him much better.

I resisted the sudden urge to hold his hand and beckoned to my family. "Mom, I thought you guys were gonna wait till tomorrow to come over?"

Mother smiled sheepishly. " We all wanted to see your new. . ." She paused, eyes flicking toward Walter, "-pet. I told them they have five minutes, then we're out of your hair. But you can take your time here, Darling, and. . . explain things when you get home." She was obviously amused by the situation. I could see it in her large, twinkling brown eyes.

In other words, she wore the Match-Making-Mama look.

Groaning internally, I recalled the conversation we'd had as soon as I stumbled through my front door. I'd told her I'd found an injured wolf in the woods and planned on convincing the alpha I was in need of companionship. She was supportive of the idea, but she obviously hadn't expected THIS kind of wolf, or THIS kind of companion. . .

I cleared my throat and looked at Walter. He was watching our interaction silently. I caught his eye and offered a small smile, gesturing to each family member in turn. "This is my mother, Marie Banks, and my siblings- Daniel and Brielle. Guys, this is Walter."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Walter," my mother said politely, smiling at him. Brielle and Danny, on the other hand, immediately pulled the stopper from their stream of curiosity.

"You were bleeding," Danny said suspiciously. "For a long time. Eric said you got shot. But if you're a werewolf, why didn't you heal? Were the bullets silver? Were they-"

I tried to shush his impertinent questions with a scathing look (though I had been curious about that myself), but Bri decided to interrupt with a few of her own.

"Me and Danny were running in the trees when Piper found you, but WE only found you because Danny could smell HER."

"Brielle. . ." Mother sent her a warning glance, but she continued to ramble. My stomach dropped with the words that fell from her mouth.

"He told me he couldn't smell you and I want to know why. And how did Piper find you, anyway? SHE doesn't even have a w-"

"OOOkay, kiddos! Your five minutes are over and it's time to go." She looked worriedly in my direction and I gave her a reassuring nod. She accepted it (at least for the moment) and herded the children out the door. "Let's go home and have a nice long chat about manners. . ."

No wolf. I had no wolf. So if Danny couldn't smell him, there could only be one reason why every fiber of my being was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. . .right?

Was it even possible to have no wolf and still have a mate?

I turned to look again at Walter, meeting his warm blue gaze. He still pursed his lips and sat rigidly on the bed, but his eyes no longer looked so guarded. When he looked at me like that, I could see honesty and. . .and. . . I wasn't sure what that other emotion was. I'd never seen it before.

Someone cleared their throat and I jumped, letting out a short, high pitched squeal at the same time.

Jeff snickered and turned to Walter. "Allow me to introduce myself- I'm Jeffery Colt. Nice to meet you, Walter. Good to see you and my girl are getting to know each other."

I choked on my spit.

The room almost seemed to grow colder as Walter's eyes turned to ice. His fingers curled into tight fists before he opened his mouth. "It's. . .a pleasure to meet you, Jeffery. " Voice strained, he gave his full attention to the man before him, sizing him up discreetly. "You and Piper are close?"

Jeff ignored my glare and smirked at Walter. I couldn't for the life of me understand why he was trying to rile up the poor guy, but I knew he was enjoying it. "Oh, yeah. She just can't resist these flowing golden locks and green eyes. You shoulda seen the way she was chasing after me this morning-"

The room grew colder still. Like, it legitimately got colder. The temperature was dropping.

I looked between the men nervously- Jeff's teasing eyes and Walter's hard blues. A muscle ticked under the pale skin of his jaw and (terrible timing, I know, but-) I swooned.

What is it about an angry man's jaw that I find so irresistible?

Following my instincts, I reached over the edge of the bed and worked my fingers into Walter's fist, teasing his fingers apart. It was warm there, in the palm of his hand.

"Jeff, will you give us a minute?" I begged him to leave peaceably with my eyes, adding a bit of pout for good measure. He got the hint and nodded, turning to leave.

. . .but NOT without shooting us an obnoxious wink and grin before the door clicked shut behind him.

"I'm sorry about all that. . ." I whispered, still staring at the brass doorknob across the room. I knew what it was like for people to pry into your life and dig through all your secrets without permission and it wasn't pleasant. Ever. "If I knew they were coming, I would've warned you."

The muscles in his hand relaxed and Walter weaved his fingers through mine. "No problem, Pip."

I was surprised by the nickname and glanced up to see a tired smile and the unguarded eyes I had missed. "Pip?" I said simply.

He chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. I think it suits you. Do you mind?"

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. You can call me whatever the heck you want.

"No, I don't mind," I responded with a shrug. "As long as I get to come up with a nickname for you."

He laughed and what a beautiful sound it was. Light, careless, warm, and clear- like a cool breeze brushing your face while you sit by a campfire. . .

You need to get better at describing what you feel, Piper. Everyone's probably getting tired of everything being related to campfires.

Fine.

"You have a deal," he chuckled.

A moment of sweet silence passed as we both sat there comfortably. My eyes had settled on his hand in mine, his thumb gently brushing over my knuckles. The skin he touched tingled and I smiled.

Now I could get used to this. Sweet, comfortable sile-

A knock sounded at the door before it cracked open, revealing Eric and his apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Piper, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. There are some things I need to discuss with Mr. Danvarough."

I stood up abruptly, spell broken and confusion returning. Walter looked at me, surprised by my sudden mood swing.

I had just met this guy and now I was holding hands with him, smiling and joking around?! I had no wolf to tell me whether or not we were actually mates! Things would be so much easier if he followed the example of all the Wattpad werewolves, growled "mine" or "mate" right off the bat so I knew where I stood. But NO, he was just. . .nice. And hot. And adorable, and-

No! Piper, you have to get answers before you fall this time! No painful repeats of the past.

Tugging my fingers from Walter's tightened grasp, I looked at him and said quickly- "It was nice to meet you, bye now," before scurrying out of the room.

Answers first, Piper. No painful repeats of the past.

Answers first.