My Ungrateful Shifter Auctioned Me Away—Now He’s Begging for My Return Chapter 04

My Ungrateful Shifter Auctioned Me Away—Now He’s Begging for My Return Chapter 04

Rowan: [Silas, don’t think I’m some ungrateful little bastard, okay? Evelyn will have a new shifter too. We’re parting on good terms.]

[And I’ll keep an eye on things. If that new shifter is a dud or treats her like crap, I’ll help her deal with him.]

Silas replied: [You don’t need to go. I’ll deal with him for you.]

This lion was weird sometimes, but he was loyal.

For once, Rowan felt a little guilty for leaning so hard on his friend’s patience.

Rowan: [Forget it. I can handle it myself, actually.]

Silas replied: [We’re friends. I’m happy to help you with this.]

On the day the new shifter was supposed to arrive, I went to the lab.

Because Rowan had hated the bitter scent of pharmaceutical compounds, the home lab had been abandoned for a long time.

The outside research facility was in the suburbs, nearly an hour away, and going back and forth was never convenient.

Now that he was gone, it was the perfect time to reclaim my space.

I forgot all about the new shifter.

So when I came home carrying a cardboard box, my clothes dusty and the hem of my shirt smeared with dirt, I found Silas leaning against the door, waiting.

I had no idea how long he had been there.

I paused.

Silas’s nose twitched slightly as if he were identifying my scent.

Then he immediately lifted his head, and a pair of golden eyes locked onto me.

He stood and strode toward me. A rich, familiar scent of mint clung to him.

“Evelyn,” he said, “his voice a low, resonant purr. “I’m Silas. Your new contract..”

Silas was tall and strong.

In just a few trips, he helped me carry everything inside.

Some dust fell onto the floor, but he did not even pause.

He rolled up his sleeves as if preparing to scrub the place top to bottom.

Only then did I snap back to myself.

“You don’t need to do that. There’s a housekeeping bot.”

“Oh.”

When Silas realized there was truly nothing left for him to do, he came to stand in front of me.

His heavy-lidded gaze was intense, unblinking, and his chest rose and fell slightly.

He seemed excited.

A little nervous too.

In any case, he looked pleased.

There was no resistance in him at all.

Seeing him like this gave me a headache.

The handsome shifter in front of me had never been bonded to a human guardian before.

Maybe he had just been bored, or perhaps Rowan’s ad had triggered a momentary lapse in judgment.

I did not believe he seriously wanted me as his guardian.

After all, Rowan had slandered me as a cold, incompetent warden. Most males would have run for the hills.

And after raising Rowan, whatever enthusiasm I once had for keeping a shifter had been thoroughly extinguished.

I did not want to get involved with another one.

A low growl came from his stomach.

I blinked.

My gaze moved from Silas’s face down to his abdomen.

Without even blinking, and without the slightest embarrassment, Silas asked, “I came early and got a little hungry waiting. What would you like to eat? I can cook.”

What he did not say was that he had been camping on my doorstep since dawn.

And he had stayed there until afternoon.