Luc laughed and then wrapped himself around her as he shifted. “Soft One sleep good,” wolf thought. “Soft One smells sweet,” he thought as he drifted off to sleep.
Meg went to roll over, but Luc’s paw was across her hip, pinning her to the bed. Light was streaming in the window and she struggled to see the time. Finally, she got free enough to see the clock on the dresser. 9:05am. “Damn!!! Ginny would be here in half an hour!” she thought.
“Luc, I have to get up. We have to get up!” she said shaking the wolf wrapped around her. Even after all this time, she didn’t have a good way of waking Luc up when he was in wolf form. She grabbed his ruff and shook him again. “Luc, wake up!”
Wolf opened one eye and looked at Soft One. Too noisy. He tried to put his paw across her to make her go back to sleep. Soft One grabbed his ruff again and squirmed out from under his paw. “Soft One anxious,” he thought. He sniffed her as she got out of the bed. He inhaled her scent that was so good. He put his head back down on the bed while his mate went and got all wet.
*
Meg got showered and dressed in record time. She had just started the coffee when Ginny, Patrick and Ysabel walked in the front door.
“Meg, you up yet?” Ginny called.
“Just! My lovely wolf didn’t want to let me up this morning,” said Meg.
Ginny and the other two followed her voice to the kitchen. They set down various packages and then Patrick went back out for more.
“Is he still asleep?” asked Ginny.
“Yeah, and still in wolf form,” answered Meg. “He was being very protective this morning. In fact, he’s been really protective for the last week or so,” she finished.
“Hmm, maybe it’s just the whole thing of the dinner,” suggested Ginny. She grabbed cups for coffee and was closing the cupboard when she heard Patrick calling quietly from the hall. Ginny and Meg looked out to see Patrick standing very still while Luc still in wolf form regarded him warily from a doorway.
“Ginny, Meg, someone, please come get the bags,” Patrick said softly.
Meg went to his rescue and handed the bags to Ginny while she stayed beside Patrick. Luc wasn’t growling, but he wasn’t letting Patrick pass either. Meg put her hand out to Luc and placed it on his shoulder. That seemed to settle things a bit and Patrick slid past Meg and into the kitchen.
“Luc, go shift back and quit hassling Ginny’s mate,” Meg said. Looking towards the kitchen, she saw Ysabel hold out a rolled up newspaper to her. She shook her head. However, Luc looked towards Ysabel too and she shook the paper at him. Luc turned and headed back to the bedroom.
“Sorry about that Patrick. Like I said, I’m not sure what’s come over him lately, but when he’s in wolf form he is so protective,” said Meg.
“It’s okay Meg. I’m new to the area, and sort of a double threat I guess. New male and new mate to someone dear to him,” Patrick said.
“Shoulda hit him with the newspaper,” Ysabel said as she grabbed a cup of coffee and a pastry from the bag Patrick had brought in. That made them all laugh.
“Let’s go get the rest of the stuff,” said Ginny and the four of them headed out to the car. Each of them grabbed a couple of bags and headed back into the house. Meg went first, just in case Luc was still prowling. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised to see Luc sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a pastry.
“About time you decided to join us,” Meg teased.
“Sorry about that. Sorry Patrick,” he added as Patrick came into the kitchen. “I’m not sure what set him off, but damn he’s been possessive lately.”
“Not a problem Luc. Like I told Meg, I’m new and the two wolves haven’t really had a chance to meet nose to tail. Face to face is fine in this form, but you know that our other halves don’t always agree with us,” Patrick said.
“You got that right,” said Ysabel.
Ginny laughed and nodded as she stuffed perishables in the fridge and freezer.
*
Soon the house was buzzing with activity. Patrick and Luc set up the tables and chairs in the living room. They moved furniture and cleaned up anything that had been missed the day before. Meg, Ginny and Ysabel worked on the food. The menu was protein heavy with a beef rib eye roast going in the oven to slow cook. Ginny had coated it with a mixture of horseradish, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Ysabel had filled a crock pot with a veggie mix to steam slowly. That would be turned it on around 2pm. She also set up the rice cooker but didn’t add the water. That would be done closer to dinner time. Then it was time to set up the relish trays. Ginny and Meg helped with those. Pickles, fresh veggies, dips and sauces went onto trays and into small bowls. It was orderly chaos.
“Hey Meg, where do you want this flower arrangement?” asked Patrick. He was standing in the kitchen door holding flowers that had just arrived.
“I, um… I don’t know,” she said and walked out to decide a place. It took a few minutes, but they finally decided to clear the fireplace mantle and set it there. Meg looked at the clock as she went past. Noon. Her stomach was growling.
“Hey Luc, how about you and Patrick go grab us some lunch?” Meg asked. “I’m starving, and I’m sure the rest of you are hungry.”
“Sounds good. Pizza okay?” he asked.
“Sure!” replied Meg. She headed back to the kitchen as Luc and Patrick headed out the door.
*
The women worked on salads until the pizza arrived. Stuffing the last of the cling film covered bowls in the fridge, they all sat down to eat. Soon the only thing left were three empty pizza boxes and a few crusts.
“That hit the spot,” said Ginny.