Fiachra could still remember the day she left him like it had happened only a moment ago. Bleu paused just inside the front door and kissed him. Her body was warm against his and her mouth tasted of the strawberries they had eaten after dinner.
"Promise you won't worry about me," she said.
"I can't," he said.
She nipped him. Her teeth grazed his jaw, which made him blink and he felt a few drops of blood stain his shirt. He'd been shocked the first time she bit him, but now he knew it was just another way for her to show how much she cared about him.
"No attachments, remember? No 'I love you'. I told you who and what I am from the start, and that hasn't changed," she said.
"You're my friend," he said.
"Damn it all, Fiachra, don't get sentimental on me now. I've got a job to do and I can't think about anything else. Be strong for me," she said.
“Just watch yourself out there. I want you back in one wolf-shaped piece,” he said.
She kissed him again, and as she did she reached up to tie her green bandana around his forehead.
"For luck," she said.
She left then, before he could answer her. She didn't look back at him and he stood on the porch and watched until she was out of sight.
He kept his promise to her as best he could. He thought about her a lot over the months that followed, and he wondered if he could really fall in love with her, and how he might tell her if he did. He didn't worry about her, though. Bleu was a wolf and a trained soldier, and he had no doubt she could take care of herself.
Only, she'd been gone for six months now. That was four months longer than her job was supposed to take, and even wolves weren't indestructible. He was determined to stay true to his promise to not worry about her, but he couldn't help but wonder where she was.
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