by Milly Taiden
Dax made a noncommittal sound. He had to go to Willow right away. He had to fix the damage that had been done. He wasn’t sure what Melanie had said or done, but it couldn’t be good.
“Do something nice for her,” Ella said. “Show her you care. It’ll be okay.”
Dax pounced onto his feet. He knew what he needed to do.
He took a quick shower, washing off dried blood, mud, and sweat. He put on his favorite pair of jeans and a black thermal long-sleeved tee. It seemed that going through those motions took forever. His drive into town was even longer. Not one to be overtly dangerous, he drove over the speed limit all the way to a bakery.
The large display case held different kinds of cupcakes. All were fairly plain. Dax persuaded the baker to add a few details to the icing. A few had an A+ on them, some had gold stars, and others still had a thumbs-up emoji. Dax had limited experience with kids, but he hoped Willow’s tutoring youngsters liked the cupcakes.
He and Willow had been distracted and never finished making the sugary treats for her students. They’d made love all night instead. With everything that had happened to her, Dax doubted Willow had had the time to make some.
He hoped this gesture would be enough to show Willow he was all in.
Chapter Eighteen
Willow’s kitchen counter looked like a fast-food war zone. The empty pizza box was open, and stacks of empty Chinese food cartons topped it in a precarious tower. The amount of food she had consumed with Amy while they binged a whole lot of bad horror movies was intense.
She was paying for it. Her stomach cramped, and acid sloshed around, unused to the amount of fried food she had ingested. The food therapy had helped alleviate some of the heartache she felt. The slasher movies had also been cathartic.
Willow wasn’t too sure how she would survive a day at work. The café wasn’t necessarily harrowing. Still, she would have preferred to stay in her wallowing zone for at least another day.
She was well aware that she was still thinking about Dax way too much. They hadn’t known each other very long. They’d been on one date, if she counted the day spent in his cabin.
Her heart had been so sure she could trust him. That she was safe with him. She had taken a chance, choosing to live life a little bit. Amy, Noelle, and the memory of her mother had spurred her on to take a chance.
It had been a mistake.
Clearly, Willow needed to concentrate on her degree and stay away from men. She was a bad picker. That was that.
“Girl, please tell me you are not going to work right now,” Amy yelled out when Willow was locking up her apartment.
“I’ve got bills to pay,” Willow answered, tucking her keys into her purse.
“You’re telling me Noelle wouldn’t give you one more day off after what you’ve been through?”
Willow just shrugged. “I guess I need to start the moving on process. I’ve been wallowing nearly as long as I’ve known Dax. That doesn’t seem right.”
Amy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Don’t do that. Don’t diminish the pain you feel. You thought you’d found something special. And Dax said a lot of nice things to you. Things you wanted desperately to hear. It’s normal to hurt right now.”
“Yeah, well. I’ll see you later.”
Willow walked away, waving to Amy over her shoulder. She could hear her friend mumbling as she made her way down the hall. Amy truly was a loyal friend. It was nice to have that. She tucked Amy’s words against her heart, remembering what she had said.
Willow was allowed to feel hurt, to feel pain. But she’d be okay. She had survived every other bad day she’d ever had.
That was her mantra as she began her workday in the café. It was all a routine now. Turn on the coffee machine. Load up the display cases with fresh pastries and baked goods.
By the time the first customer walked in, Willow had the café ready. Too bad she didn’t feel the same. At least her mind was occupied as the morning rush hours brought in a tidal wave of costumers. She lost track of how many tall lattes with double shots of espresso she made.
As soon as there was a lull in the morning flow, Willow felt her back pocket for her phone. The damned thing wasn’t there. She realized she had never grabbed it from her bedside table. She’d been so distracted, she had managed to leave it at home.
For the first time in her life, Willow felt naked without her phone. She needed it in case of emergencies. A dry laughed bubbled out of her with the thought. It’s not like the stupid device had been smart enough to help her when she was kidnapped by the deranged wolf Eddie. And really, who the fuck cared? No one would call her anyway.
Besides, the only people who called her or treasured her were around her. Noelle would be arriving soon, and she had seen Amy this morning. The coffee shop had a phone in case someone else came to grab her. Willow was shaking her head to rid it of those thoughts when the back door opened.
“You look like hell,” Noelle exclaimed loudly. A few of the coffee shop’s patrons looked up. Willow’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“I’m fine,” she assured her boss.
“I take it the day with the hottie with the body didn’t go so well.”
Understatement of the decade. Of the century.
“I need to grab some more milk,” Willow muttered, going to the back and into the storage room. Not one to be distracted, Noelle followed her.
“You sure you want to be here? Oh, fuck.” Noelle gasped. “Did he hit you? Is that what’s up?” She pointed to the bandage on Willow’s temple.
“No, of course not. I fell. He didn’t lay an untoward hand on me. He’s not like that.”
What he was like was fucking two women at the same time.
“He better not be. So tell me what has you looking all pale.”
“I had a fast-food binge with Amy last night. It’s not sitting well.” Willow wasn’t strictly lying. She wasn’t feeling right. Sure it was more than what she’d eaten, but she wasn’t going to get into the whole story again. Not at work, anyway. “I have to man the counter,” she said. “The second wave will be coming in soon.”
Willow walked back to the front of the café and busied herself by organizing the different flavors of syrup they drizzled onto specialty coffees. It would make her job easier for the lunch crowd. As she poured caramel sauce into a squeeze bottle, she imagined what she would do if she ran into Dax.
She’d yell at him for being such an asshole. Then she would climb him like a tree and cover his face with kisses to erase that horrible Melanie from his brain.
Whoa. Willow hadn’t expected her fantasy to go that way. Moving on to the chocolate syrup, she replayed the scenario in her head. It made her heart feel lighter. It made the acid in her stomach ease on the bubbling. It felt right. Playing it again, imagining herself forgiving Dax made her heart happy. She’d have to deal with that later. When she could make sense of why she was so ready to forgive Dax.
Dreamy, she didn’t hear the bell ringing, warning of a new patron.
“Willow.” Dax’s voice was thick with emotion. His sudden appearance in the café made no sense.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, her cheeks flaming. Had she lost her mind? Was she now hallucinating her fantasy?
Dax’s face fell at her words. He looked so sad, so vulnerable. It made her heart ache. She had to hold on to the indignation she felt to keep herself from jumping over the counter and into his arms.
Fucking hell. She still wanted him.
Chapter Nineteen
“Willow,” Dax said, stamping down the urge to jump over the counter to get to her. He wanted to wrap up her in his arms and hold her close to him. He could see that she was all right, but he desperately wanted to touch her. To make sure her ordeal at Eddie’s hand hadn’t wholly destroyed her lovely spirit. He placed the large white box filled with cupcakes onto the counter.
“Why are you here?” she asked again.
But it was anger and hurt that Dax could smell on
the air. He felt his heart sink. Perhaps she blamed him for what had happened to her. And she wasn’t wrong.
It was his job to protect his people. He had definitely failed her.
“I’m so sorry about what happened with Eddie. He’s been dealt with. He can’t hurt you again.”
“Oh?” She crossed her arms and popped her hip. “And what about you? Are you going to hurt me again?”
Dax was taken aback and confused by her question. Then it dawned on him. In all of the chaos, he had forgotten that Melanie’s scent had been in his cabin.
“Melanie,” he said quietly. “She wanted to be my mate. We used to date… She left me for one of the pack’s enforcers. He dumped her because he found his true mate, and she’s trying to get back together with me.”
“Likely story,” Willow muttered, turning her back to him to pour a cup of coffee.
“It’s the truth, Willow. I wouldn’t lie to you. I don’t know why she was at the cabin.”
“She was there to change the sheets on your bed. Yours, as in the one you share with her.”
“It’s not true. It’s a sad woman’s fabrication. You’re my mate. You’re the one I’m meant to be with. I…” Dax bit down hard, stopping the words from coming out.
He refused to tell Willow he loved her while they were fighting. The first time he told her those words, they would be special. He would have a romantic declaration all prepared for her.
“Look,” he said, walking around the counter to stand in front of her. “My sister texted me to tell me Eddie was on our lands. I met up with her and a few others at the big house. We needed to deal with him, once and for all. I had every intention of coming back to you. Only you. I meant it when I told you that you’re it for me.”
Dax reached out and cupped her face in his hands.
“Every time we’re together, I wake up alone,” Willow whispered. He could see tears swimming on the edge of her eyes.
“And that will never happen again, my sweet Willow. I promise. From now on, every time you open your eyes in the morning, I will be by your side.”
“And if pack business calls you away again?”
“Then I’ll kiss you awake and tell you that I love you before I go.”
Damn. The words had just popped out there. He hadn’t meant to say them. But he felt them, deeply. Willow was etched onto his heart and soul. She was his one true mate.
She gasped at the three little words and stepped out of Dax’s embrace.
“What? Did you? You just said…”
“That I love you. Because I do. I know it’s not fair to say those words to you when you’re so angry with me. But I couldn’t help it, because I do, Willow. I love you with all of my heart. When I thought I lost you, I couldn’t breathe. There’s only one future for me now, and it’s you.”
Willow sighed and closed her eyes. She began shaking her head, and then a laugh bubbled out of her. It confused Dax, but her body was being shaken by giggles.
“Lord help me, Dax Birch. I love you, too.” She held out her hand, keeping him at bay. “But I’m still mad at you for letting me wake up alone. Not warning me that there was a bad guy on your lands. And for not telling me you had a crazy ex roaming around. If this is going to work between us, you need to tell me things.”
“That’s fair,” Dax said, bouncing on his toes. He wanted to lunge forward and kiss her. She made no move, nor did she say anything else. Silence stretched between them. “Fuck, Willow. Are we okay? Can I kiss you?”
“If I say we’re not, what are you going to do?”
Without missing a beat, Dax took one of her hands in his. “Then I’ll work on making it right. Whatever you need me to do. If you need time…” He swallowed hard, just the thought of being without her for a short amount of time was painful. But if it was what Willow needed, he would give it to her. He would do anything for his Willow.
“Then I’ll understand. But you’ve got to know how I feel. You have to know that you’ve been it for me from that very first moment in the maze. I didn’t even have my shifter senses then, and I knew you were special.”
Dax watched as Willow chewed on her lower lip. He wanted to kiss her, to stop her from hurting, but he waited. Her silence stretched on for too long. “Please, Willow. Baby, tell me what I can do to make this better.”
“What’s in the box?” she asked, looking away from him.
“Oh,” Dax had forgotten entirely he had brought her something, “it’s cupcakes. To replace the ones we never finished making.”
Willow opened the box and gasped when she saw the contents.
“You did this?” she whispered.
“I went to a bakery and had them add details that would match with academic success.” Dax watched as Willow’s eyes went from the cupcakes to him multiple times.
He heard her heartbeat pick up. He hoped against hope that it was a good sign.
“I can’t believe you did this,” her voice was low, filled with wonder. “This is so sweet. The kids are going to love these. Thank you,” she added, closing the box. “With everything, I had completely forgotten about them.”
“I knew it was important to you.” Dax shrugged.
“It was. It is. Thanks,” she repeated.
Dax took a deep breath and nodded, playing for time. He wasn’t ready to leave. Not without knowing where they stood.
“Okay, well…” he began.
He didn’t have time to finish his thought. Willow had jumped into his arms and was covering his face with kisses.
“If you ever leave me alone in the morning again, if I ever get kidnapped again… If I ever have to see that Melanie chick again… There will be hell to pay. Do you understand me?” Her tone was authoritarian, but her kisses were soft. Dax’s heart could just about burst out of his chest.
“You’re my mate, Willow,” he managed to say. “Your needs, your wants, your happiness, those are my main concerns now.”
“Good. Now take me home.”
Dax held her close in his arms as he took her to the truck. He drove her to his cabin because he knew that was their home now.
Chapter Twenty
“Do you want some tea?” Ella asked her.
Willow shook her head and cuddled into her sweater. “It got really cold so fast, didn’t it?”
“Yeah.” She turned to her mother and father. “Tea?”
“No, darling, we are good as we are. Dad and I are going to be off. We have dinner with some of the elders tonight and want to make sure we arrive in time.”
“Your mother’s right, honey. We have to get going.” He stood and offered his wife his hand. “Let’s go, love.”
Willow smiled at Dax and Ella’s parents. They’d been so nice to her from the moment they met her. She felt right at home with them.
“Willow, so good to see you again,” Dina told her as she pulled her in for a hug. “You’re not alone, sweetheart. We’re your family now. You’re our son’s mate. Our daughter.” She pulled back and stared deep into Ella’s eyes with her bright blue ones. “You’ll never need to feel alone again. Our family always comes first.”
She gulped at the emotion clogging her throat and hugged the woman. She’d never felt so loved since her mother had been alive. “Thank you.”
Next, Dax’s father, James, hugged her. “We can’t begin to explain how wonderful it is to have a new daughter and to see our son happy.” He met her gaze. “Thank you.”
God. These people were too nice. She loved them all. They’d taken her in as one of their own from the first moment Dax introduced her as his mate.
After Dax’s parents left, she sat out on the back porch overlooking the river with Ella.
“I can’t believe I’m almost graduating,” she mumbled to herself.
“I bet that’s exciting. I remember graduating. But I’m sure it means more to you than most people.”
She leaned back into the rocking chair and sighed. “I wanted to be a teacher and then when my mother g
ot sick, she was my life, so it went without saying school was going to take a back seat.”
“You’re a good daughter, Willow.” Ella smiled and squeezed her hand. “Did you tell Dax this story?”
“Yeah. We’ve spoken about everything. I told him my mom meant the world to me. She was a single mom and it was hard enough to make a living working two jobs. When she got sick, I had to be the one to take care of her the same way she did with me.”
“You don’t sound resentful at all that you had to put your plans on the back burner for her. Most people would be bitter about that.”
She frowned. “How could I be resentful or bitter? My mother made me her priority from my birth. That would be selfish. I loved her and she loved me. Teaching will always bond us. She knew I loved kids and wanted to help shape their minds.”
“And just wait until you guys have babies!” Ella squealed. “I can’t wait! Dax with a baby,” she giggled. “It’s gonna be awesome.”
She laughed. “Um, it’s not happening yet. We’re taking it one day at a time. He knows I’ve had my life on hold for too long. I want to enjoy teaching and possibly travel a bit. We’ve made some plans.”
Ella waggled her brows. “I know, but I’m not allowed to say anything else.” She sat up with wide eyes. “I forgot to tell you. I finally found out how you got invited to the Hunt! We had some younger pack members deliver the invites and one of the kids was supposed to deliver an invitation to the dance studio above your café. He thought it was all part of the same place, so that’s why you thought it was for you.”
“Oh! That makes so much sense. I did wonder how I ended up with that invitation.”
“And I had the best idea for next year’s Hunt! A New Year’s Masquarade. I think it’s gonna be awesome. But I think it won’t be a mating event only. I want everyone to attend. What do you think? Willow?”
She frowned out at the distance and noticed a figure marching up to the house. Melanie.
“That’s Melanie, Dax’s ex. Her mate left her. He told her he’d met his real mate and that he couldn’t stay with her. It’s the first time that’s ever happened in our pack so everyone’s confused.”