Chapter Eight

Constance was up with the dawn. She hadn't slept well as worries over what today would bring had plagued her. Would Lily be at school? Would the girl be safe and unharmed? Would Carlton Reeves have made rounds in town carrying on about Constance's dangerous pet who had attacked him. She didn't think anyone would take his side but one never knew for certain.

She was most worried about Lily's safety. She had never seen bruises or marks on the girl before but her father had indeed seemed violent when he'd shown up at Constance's door last night. Would he be violent with the poor girl? She knew no help would come from the town marshal even if the man did get violent with his daughter. Such things were seen as family matters and not something that lazy man would see fit to involve himself in.

And of course, she had no idea what had happened when her wolf/man stranger had followed after Mr. Reeves. Perhaps Lily's father was dead and the girl was going to find herself orphaned and alone.

Shaking her head to clear her jumbled, morbid thoughts, Constance slid into her clothes for the day, fixed her hair up on her head and moved the chair from in front of her door. She hadn't heard him come back last night but that didn't mean the strange man wasn't out in the cottage. He could have come during those few moments she was sleeping or he could have snuck in silently--Constance had a feeling he knew how to remain undetected if he wished.

She wasn't certain why she felt such a nervous trembling in her gut as she reached to open the door. Did she want him to have returned? Did she want that giant of a man to be laying on her sofa? Or that giant black wolf to be curled up near her room keeping watch.

Yes. Yes she did. It was past reason and logic. It was something purely animalistic and primal within her that wanted him near. Constance had a bit too much on her mind lately--the mystery of her feelings toward this dangerous half creature man she seemed to need near her was not something she had the time or the ability to make sense of just now. She was simply going to go along with it.

Constance opened the door and could not stop the smile that curved her lips. There was a fire in the fireplace and the woodstove had also been lit. Like a moth to a flame her gaze was drawn to him. He was standing near the kitchen, once again motionless like a soldier awaiting orders. He had the quilt wrapped around his middle and his dark eyes ran up and down her body before his lips mimicked her and the smallest of smiles pulled them up at the corners.

"You came back," Constance observed as she stepped into the slightly too warm main room.

"Yes. Is that... is that okay?"

She nodded as she stepped into the kitchen, closing most of the distance between them. "I would have worried if you hadn't." She looked him up and down, checking for any visible injuries. The wounds the bear had placed on his arm the day before were healed, nothing left of them but barely visible pale scars.

He followed her gaze. "I heal quickly"

Constance longed to reach out and touch him but instead she turned away and grabbed a pot from the counter, filling it with water from the bucket she kept full and placing it on the stove to boil. She got into the cabinet and pulled out the oat as well as a jar of canned peaches.

"Where did you go last night?" she questioned.

The answer left his mouth with a growl. "I followed Mr. Reeves to his home."

"Carlton. You can call him Carlton." Constance met his dark gaze. "Is he still alive?"

"I did not kill him if that's what you're asking. I should have. And I will, without hesitation, if he ever looks in your direction with anger and threats again. No amount of tail pulling will stop me."

"I was only attempting to stop you from committing cold blooded murder at my doorstep," Constance replied, turning away with color staining her cheeks. Yes, she had pulled his tail. It had seemed the best way to get his attention in that moment. And it had worked so she'd been correct.

"More memories have been coming back. Bits and pieces I'm struggling to connect. One thing from my past is clear. Killing has never bothered me."

Constance froze in her tracks. She'd been preparing to pour oats into the now boiling water but his words had stopped her cold.

She was aware of him taking a step toward her before he spoke. "You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of you," she countered honestly. "I know you would never harm me. If you wanted to you've had countless opportunities to do so."

"I smell fear." he insisted.

Constance sighed and poured the oats into the water. "I suppose I fear what you may do to others. A very large part of me wants you here with me but not if it puts others in danger..."

Constance kept her back to him but felt his eyes on her. He stepped closer. His large, calloused hand fell gently on her shoulder before sliding down her arm and taking her hand gently. "The only ones in danger from me are those that attempt to harm you or cause you pain."

Constance felt her pulse quicken as his thumb brushed the tender flesh of her wrist. "I don't understand this... I don't understand you and I or why or what this is... I'm a woman that values answers and knowledge and knowing exactly what is going on."

"I want you happy. I want to give you answers. I don't remember much yet but more is coming each day. The memories are not pleasant ones. I was a killer. And a prisoner. A weapon for someone... I can almost make out his face in my mind. No matter what I was before now I am yours."

Constance slowly pulled her hand away from his and grabbed a wooden spoon to stir the cooking oats. "Mine?" She tried her best to ignore the hot little tremor that raced down her body as his words echoed in her ear. Constance was an old maid and had resigned herself to that life years ago. She'd never been a woman who felt any real desire for a man--until this man had shown up at her doorstep and awoken something within her.

"Yes. But if me being here makes you unhappy... I would leave."

Constance kept her gaze on the oats in the pot. Did she want him to leave? It would make life simpler, for certain, but was simple what she wanted this time?

"No. No, I don't want you to leave."

She pulled the cooked oats off the heat and grabbed two bowls. "But you need a name," she glanced in his direction. "And clothes. You definitely need clothes."

"A name?" He moved toward the table and pulled out her chair. Constance sat and watched as he grabbed the jar of peaches and brought them to the table before taking a seat as well. She realized the plate she had laid out for him the night before was gone. Constance felt her heart lighten upon realizing he had eaten. After years alone, it felt good to care for someone.

"Yes." Constance scooped some peaches into her oats before doing the same for him. "Do you have one you can remember?"

That familiar frown with furrowed brow expression told Constance he was thinking hard. "Monster." His eyes closed. "And a number... I was given a number..."

Constance liked this less and less. Somone had kept this man a prisoner, forced him to kill for them, and hadn't even had the decency to give him a name. "What about before the cage? You must have had a family."

He opened his dark eyes and took a bite of his breakfast. "I want to please you but I don't have answers yet. I'm trying...."

Constance reached across the table and laid her hand over his. "Don't. You don't owe me answers. Whatever you can remember is good enough."

His eyes were on their hands. Such a contrast between hard and soft. Tanned and pale. "I want to make you happy," he insisted.

Constance pointed at his bowl. "Then eat your food."

They finished their meal in silence. Constance packed a lunch in her basket and began donning her coat and gloves. "I suppose you'll have to stay here while I'm at work..."

"No. You'll not make that walk alone."

Constance both bristled and trembled in the same instant. Bristling because she was a grown woman who had been keeping herself safe for years. And trembling because his deep voice sounded so good as he became protective. Constance felt her cheeks redden once again. What was it about this man that had her feeling so tied in knots.. so very feminine.

"I have made the walk alone many times and been just fine," she reminded him.

"That was before me. I am here now. You won't walk alone. I won't risk anything happening to you."

"A naked man can't walk me to the schoolhouse," she reminded him, cursing her body for loving the possessive growl in his voice. "I will pick up some fabric to make you an outfit so you can go on into town."

He tilted his head to the side and frowned. "I don't think I've ever had clothes."

Constance frowned. "What? Never?"

"Not in the cages." He got a faraway look in his dark eyes. "Never in the cages. And the monster doesn't need them. The monster is all that man wanted. All he needed."

Constance would have cursed aloud if she was a person who used profanity. If whoever had kept him prisoner were standing before her, she would very likely simply shoot him. That wasn't an option. Instead she stepped to him and took one of his hands in both her gloved ones. "You're not a monster. You're a man worthy of the dignity of both clothes and a name."

Those dark eyes gazed so deep into hers--seeming to see down into the depths of her soul. His hand closed around one of hers Constance found herself pulled forward. Her body was flush with his as he released her hand and wrapped his arms tight around her, burying his face in her neck.

"Thank you," his gruff voice came from near her ear. Constance gave in to the temptation and relaxed into his touch, laying her head over his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart. She felt a moment of complete peace--complete contentment. This man had said he had been drawn here to her because her scent was that of home--the feel of his arms around her and the steady beat of his heart against her ear gave her that same feeling. Home.

Slowly, loathfully, Constance pulled away from him. "I have to be going. I will be just fine. I have my gun in my basket."

He let out a growl and took a step back. "You'll have more than just a gun."

Before Constance could argue, his body began to change and in seconds she found herself once again with a giant wolf in her home. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. But try not to scare anyone. If Carlton has told anyone about the wolf that attacked him last night they may not be happy to see you around town."

He merely grunted and walked over to the door. Constance sighed, pulled her hat on over her head, wrapped a scarf around her neck and face and placed her basket over her arm.

"While we're in town today, I want you to think of names you might like. We need to find one for you if you're going to stay around here and want to be seen with me in town as more than just a wolf." He looked up at her and nodded.

Constance opened the door and started toward town with her bodyguard close at her side.

***

It didn't long after she had the fire burning in the woodstove at the schoolhouse before her students began arriving. Constance felt the tension building greater within her when Lily didn't seem to be among them.

The children were both excited about and fearful of the giant black wolf curled up on the floor beside the stove. She turned down their many inquiries of whether or not they could pet her 'dog'. Constance wasn't certain he'd be comfortable with that and she wasn't going to force him into anything he did not consent to. Something told Constance, based on what few memories he had, that he had been forced into a lot of things in his life.

Just as Constance was beginning the lessons for the day, the schoolhouse door opened and Lily came bursting in, her dark pigtails swinging. "Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Masters! My pa was feeling bad this morning so I had extra chores."

A low growl sounded from beside the stove. Constance wondered momentarily how he seemed to know that Lily was Carlton's daughter, then it dawned on her that he could probably pick up the scent.

Lily's blue eyes widened as they fell on him ."Mrs. Masters! Is that your pet? Did you bring him for show and tell?"

Constance was barely focused on the girls words as she nodded in agreeance. She was too busy looking her up and down for any signs of injuries as the girl shed her winter coat. Constance noticed she was missing the scarf that she had leant the child yesterday. Constance wouldn't be surprised if she learned that her father had burned the offered bit of warmth or perhaps even tossed it in the river. Stupid man.

"Can I pet him?" Lily asked, making her way toward the target of her affection without waiting for an answer.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Constance countered, grabbing the girls shoulder gently to stop him. "He's for protection. I'm not certain how friendly he'll be if you all start crowding him."

Lily nodded her understanding. "He looks like he'd probably be pretty good at his job!"

Several children voiced agreement.

"Take your seat now, Lily, so we can start todays class."

Lily bounced to her seat and flopped down. "Show and tell first, Mrs. Masters! Tell us about your dog!"

As if on cue, he stood slowly, stretching out his legs before coming to stand beside her at the front of the class. "What's his name?" A student named Phillip asked.

"He looks like a monster from a storybook!" a little girl named Alice admitted, shying back in her seat. "He's got scars and everything."

Constance tsked. "We can't judge all creatures by their appearance alone," she reminded her class. "His name is Monster." She buried her hand in the fur on his head caressed gently. "And he is mine. Just yesterday he saved me from a bear attack."

Telling the story of the harrowing attack kept the class busy for a long while. She hoped he wasn't upset by her naming him Monster when in his wolf form. Honestly, she'd been unable to come up with anything else on the spot. Fido hadn't seemed appropriate. Judging by the way he kept nuzzling against her and begging for her touch, she didn't think he'd minded the name overly much.

"Can we pet him, please!" Lily asked. "Daddy won't let me bring Rufus in the house and he's saying now he doesn't want me petting on him and making a house dog of him. He wants to use him for hunting. I want to pet your dog and then I can let daddy know dogs came have two jobs. If Monster can be a school dog and a protector, then Rufus can be a house dog and a hunter!"

Constance felt her heart break for the girl. Leave it to her bastard of a father to give her something that brought her such joy and then snatch it away in nearly the same instant. Constance glanced down at Monster and he nodded before going around the room, making stops at the desk and allowing each child who wanted to, ooh and aah over him.

Finally, Constance called him back to her and asked him nicely to go lay back down, which he did. She nearly laughed. She had a big strong protector, that was true, but she also had pet eager to do anything she asked.

Her heart felt lighter as she began her lessons for the day. Carlton clearly hadn't said anything around town about the night before--at least not yet. And now all the children had met her new pet and knew he wasn't dangerous. Lily seemed as okay as she ever was. Still somehow a bright light despite the dark cloud that was her father.

Constance would finish the day teaching, stop by the fabric shop to get some material to make an outfit for Monster's human form, and then go home and hear what kind of names he'd thought up for himself. She hoped he'd come up with something. He most certainly deserved a name.