Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase (Spooky Boys #3)

After texting Avery that I couldn’t come in after all, I invited my new pet into bed, and with his large furry bulk crowded behind—and on top of me—I was finally able to rest. No nightmares awaited me. I felt safe.

The vet in Elmwood was a witch, like Avery, my boss. She was soft spoken and wore glasses that made her eyes look three sizes smaller than they were, and she smelled like pineapple.

Because I was worried he’d have a bad reaction to the other sights and smells, I’d left my dog in the running car while I got all his information down. Not that there was much I actually knew. I wasn’t sure what breed of dog he was, and there was no “wolf” option, so I’d just written “big” there instead.

“If he’s not chipped I can run some more tests if you want me to? Blood tests, stuff like that,” she offered. I’d gotten lucky as she was out front when I arrived, so the process had been easier. Surreptitiously, I glanced through the large front window, checking that the truck was secure. When I could see the dog’s silhouette in the front passenger seat, I relaxed.

“Do you think we need to?” I didn’t like the idea of poking him.

“It’s a good idea, yeah,” she agreed, writing something down on her notepad with a soft smile. “I recommend it for all strays that come in.”

“Okay.” I didn’t know shit about owning a pet—Lydia had abhorred animals—so I decided to just defer to her.

“Go grab him, sweetheart. I got you taken care of,” she hummed softly, grabbing the clipboard I’d filled out and reading through it while her receptionist clacked away at the computer.

He’s going to hate you if you do this, I fretted as I headed outside and crossed over to the passenger side of my truck.

You’re just being a responsible pet owner.

But needles, Jeffrey.

Needles.

“Okay, buddy,” I hummed, smiling and projecting calm-calm-calm as the dog’s giant head pressed to the glass, watching me. In the light of day he looked even more like the wolf I’d hooked up with the night before. It was kinda hard to ignore the similarities. “We’re just gonna pop in for a minute, okay? It’ll be fine.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince, him or me. Either way, I pulled the handle to the door open, leash in hand.

I’d bought him a collar right before this—and a few essentials in case I got to keep him. A dog bed. Some matching sweaters for us. Food. Like fifty toys.

I had a hard time thinking a dog this well-behaved and beautiful didn’t already have a family though, so I wasn’t getting my hopes up. But…he had followed me here, hadn’t he? And that meant something.

It had to.

Maybe it was fate.

I was fully prepared to clip the dog to the lead, and carefully lead him inside?—

Only.

That didn’t happen.

Because the second the door opened, the beast barreled through it. My jaw fell open as I reached for him immediately, fingers barely skimming his soft fur. He’d been so calm and slow last night and this morning, always careful not to be rough with me. But now, all that flew out the window as his shoulder clipped my side and I stumbled a little, shocked, as he bolted away from me.

“Hey!” I jolted, already moving to chase—but he was too fast.

Too fucking fast.

His brown furry body disappeared around the corner and a little part of me died the second he was out of sight, because I got the feeling this was the end.

I still chased him, because of course I did.

I spent an hour searching the area for signs of the dog that should’ve been mine. Because—fuck me—he was nowhere to be found. Eventually, I somewhat convinced myself I was better off this way. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I returned to my truck and let his leash drop to the front seat.

“Right,” I said simply, hands shaking. “Of course he left the second he could.” A sick, devastating weight crushed my heart as I leaned my forehead against the shell of my truck and tried to breathe.

“Why would he stay?” My heart hurt.

It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.

“You didn’t want a dog anyway,” I reminded myself—but even I knew it was a lie. Somewhere between the bath and our night together—and our trip to the pet store this morning, I’d grown attached.