“Good morning,” she said, smiling. It was quick, but I caught her glance at our hands, and I got the feeling she was a little apprehensive at the prospect of us sharing a bed last night. I smiled back.
She said something I didn’t catch. When I looked up at Gearden he told me, “She wants to check your wound.”
“Okay,” I said, turning to go back inside. Gearden moved to follow me, still holding my hand, when his mom stopped him, saying something that I couldn’t quite catch. Whatever it was, had him giving me a reluctant smile as he let me go to walk down the hallway.
I watched him for a second, until Jolleen put her hand on my shoulder to guide me back inside, shutting the door.
Chapter Eighteen
Gearden
After all that had happened to her, it didn’t feel right leaving her side just yet. It was too soon. For once I agreed with my wolf when he growled as I walked to Dad’s office. Mom said he wanted to talk to me.
I assumed it had to do with last night. I did as he told me and made sure Maeleigh rested, which meant I didn’t leave her side and missed whatever progress they’d made on trying to figure out why the Westboro were even on our territory to begin with. We had an understanding. We stayed out of their business as long as they left us alone. It’d been a long time since we’d had to deal with anyone from that pack.
I rapped on the slightly ajar office door and heard him call, “Come in!” I came in and he indicated I should shut the door. For once, he wasn’t on the phone or meeting with someone else.
When he stood up and walked around the desk, I knew that whatever it was he wanted to talk to me about, was personal and not pack business related. If it were, he would have stayed on the other side, businesslike.
“How’s Maeleigh?” He asked me, sitting on the edge of the desk.
I crossed my arms and took a relaxed stance with my legs spread apart. “She’s sore, but I think she’s healing.”
That pleased him, but I could see, that still wasn’t the main reason he’d called me here. “Good, good.”
“What’s up, Dad?”
He rubbed his chin for a contemplative moment, then said, “I know you share her bed, son.”
“I wanted to make sure she didn’t need anything. The bite was— “
“No, son,” Dad said calmly, shaking his head.
“Since she’s been staying with us. Your mother and I know you’ve been staying in her room.”
He might as well have tossed a bucket of cold water over my head from the shock he just threw my way. In the next instant, I realized, he was, after all, Alpha and my father. Any argument that came to mind, was useless. If he said he knew, then he did. There was no assuming or fishing with Dad, he was a pretty straight forward person.
“It’s alright,” Dad said, smiling and putting a hand on my shoulder, rubbing the tension put there by his statement. “Your mom and I understand. And—“ He took a deep breath. I could see this was probably an uncomfortable discussion for him, which made it a little less scary for me, honestly. “It took some time to adjust, but we won’t separate you from your mate.”
The shaky breath that rattled out of my lungs, took some of the tension with it. “But,” he said, voice changing to Alpha suddenly and he wagged a finger in my face. “Be responsible. Of course, as mates, I can’t tell you not to...” he grasped for the right word, “Well, not to. But know that you’re both young and things can happen when you do. So, please…be smart.”
Rather than open my mouth and risk extending this awkward as hell talk, I nodded vigorously.
“Alright,” he said, looking as relieved as I felt at the idea of this whole thing being over with. “Let’s go have some breakfast!” He turned me around and clasped my shoulder, chuckling as we walked out into the hall. I couldn’t help but feel mad respect for how he’d handled that. What I would have done if he’d told me to stay out of Maeleigh’s room, I didn’t know. My wolf wouldn’t have tolerated it either.
When we got to the kitchen, Mom and Maeleigh were already there, sipping coffee together at the table. I could hear Rowen giggling at something on the tv in the smaller living room off the kitchen. It was a school day, but we’d all collectively agreed to take a day, it appeared. No one said anything but it was apparent no one was going to adult today.
“What about your dress? Have you found one?” Mom asked. I frowned at her, wondering how much Maeleigh had missed of that question but then the tablet laying between them caught my attention. In large text, Mom’s words were being typed out automatically for Maeleigh to read.
I smiled at this. It wasn’t sign, but it was a way for my mom and my mate to communicate and my heart warmed. I knew Mom liked her, but I didn’t know how much of that was tolerance as much as it was genuine feeling.
Maeleigh typed into it, her fingers flying over the keyboard and the automated voice replied, “I haven’t even looked. He hasn’t asked me yet.”
Hearing this, Mom’s eyes darted to glare at me. Following her gaze, Maeleigh turned and spotted me finally. I made note to alert her the moment I enter a room, so she isn’t caught off guard. It wasn’t fair to her, to keep my presence unknown to her. I was pretty sure, from the blush that tinted her cheeks, that what she said to Mom was probably in confidence.
Speaking of which, Mom was still shooting daggers at me with her eyes.
Trying to ignore her, I made myself a cup of coffee. Dad already had his cup, sans cream and sugar, and bent down to kiss Mom. It didn’t bug me as much as it did a couple months ago, their PDA moments. Glancing at Maeleigh again, I saw she tried to give them privacy by taking a long sip. I smiled at her and caught her attention, her eyes meeting mine over the brim.
Yes, another blush.
“You’re mean,” she told me.
“You like it.”
She didn’t respond but it didn’t bother me any. Dad excused himself to go sit with Rowen for a few minutes before he had to take a conference call, leaving me alone with the two of them. Mom tapped the tablet to bring it back from a sleep mode and spoke, “What about your mom? Would she want to take you dress shopping?” We both went still, but not before Maeleigh’s hand jerked, sloshing some coffee on the table.
“Mom,” I said, frowning down at her from where I stood at the counter.
“Don’t, Gearden,” she warned, keeping her eyes locked on Maeleigh.
“You haven’t talked to either of your parents in two weeks, sweetie.” Maeleigh started at the tablet as the words appeared. “Now, your dad, I understand. But your mom,” she waited for the words to catch up. When they did and nothing new appeared, Maeleigh looked up at her, “She was just as hurt as you were in all of this,” she finished.
We were all frozen for a few moments, when, finally, Mom reached across the table to take Maeleigh’s free hand and give it a squeeze.
“Just think about it, alright,” she told her and Maeleigh didn’t need the translator to know what she said.
She nodded.
I hadn’t thought about it, and I kicked myself for not broaching the topic of her parents before now. I was giving her space, but it had been a couple weeks. I know she was working it out, her thoughts at least, about her dad, but I didn’t think about how hard it was on her, not to have her mom around when all of this was happening.
Coffee mug still in hand, I walk over to the table and held my own hand out, beckoning Maeleigh to come with me. She let go of Mom’s and took mine as we took our coffee out of the room. I walked her through the living-room, past a giggling Rowen and Dad, grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch and went out the back door. On the deck was a large rocking loveseat that saw plenty of use during the summer but collected dew and wet leaves this time of year. Which is why I tossed the blanket on the seat before I sat down and urged her to sit on my lap. The blanket was cotton and didn’t protect me from everything, so I felt a dampness creep into my jeans, but I ignored it.
“Do you want to talk about it?
”
She shook her head, but I got the feeling she wasn’t telling me “no.”
“Are you mad at your mom?” I tried to get a feel for what was going on in her head.
“No.”
“Then what is it? Talk to me.” Seeing her this worked up over something I couldn’t help her with, created a sour feeling in the pit of my stomach. I set my coffee down on the little table beside us and did the same with hers. I wrapped my arms around her and felt her shudder as she let out a shaky breath.
“I’m afraid,” she finally admitted.
“Afraid of what?”
“What she might think of me, now that she knows what I am.” The heartbreak in her words tore at me something fierce.
It all made sense finally. “She loves you, Maeleigh.”
“Yes but— “
“In love,” I interrupted, pulling her back to tilt her chin to make her look at me. “There are no ‘buts.’” Giving her a soft smile, I gently brushed away tears that had run down her cheeks. She sniffed and rubbed at her cheeks as well, then scrubbed her eyes vigorously.
“Okay?” I implored her and she nodded. That said, I gave her one last tight hug before I picked our coffees back up and handed hers to her, then proceeded to drink mine. She eventually settled and drank hers as well, and we just sat there until we grew hungry and we went looking for breakfast.
Chapter Nineteen
Derrek
We walked into the diner just the three of us. AJ in the lead, then Vic and me. I recognized the place and right away went looking for the owner. There, from behind the register by the back counter, the owner, Jerry, was handing change to a customer. Glancing up, the weary expression on his face when his eyes darted our way, screamed how edgy our visit made him. When the hostess started to come our way to seat us, he rushed over. Before the young woman could say anything to AJ, he stepped in front of her to say, “I’ll take care of them, Anna. Why don’t you take your break?”
She smiled and handed him the menus she’s gathered and said, “Sure thing, boss.”
When she was out of earshot, Jerry asked, “Booth or table?” Kudos to him for keeping on a straight face, I thought.
Vic gave him a wicked grin. “Booth. In the back.”
Which didn’t make any sense at all. The diner was brightly lit and accessible to anyone throughout. But I figured he just wanted to mess with Jerry’s head. And, from the looks of it, it was working.
Jerry led us to the back of the diner. When we took our seats, AJ and Vic facing the door and me facing them, he passed out the menus and asked if we wanted anything to drink. Vic, of course, ordered soda, while AJ and I just shook our heads and said, “Water’s fine.”
Jerry disappeared behind the counter to get our drinks, that’s when AJ looked ahead and said, “He’s here.”
Turning I gazed at the doorway. A man looked like any other guy in the place. Jeans, work boots, a tan Carhartt jacket zipped up halfway with a white t-shirt underneath on a thirty-something year old guy with brown hair cut short and maybe a day’s worth of growth still on his chin. He mixed in well with the rest of the workers, tradesmen and truckers that came through this area.
He spotted us and headed our way. I couldn’t help the instant jump in my heart rate but tried to keep it cool. Turning back around I started to climb out of the booth, intent on not sitting next to the guy.
“Stay,” Vic commanded under his breath. Everything in me wanted to argue. My whole body said, no effing way was I sitting next to a hunter, but I knew I couldn’t. If I did, Vic would just make AJ beat me, probably right then and there. Vic had been even meaner since yesterday’s excursion to McIntire territory. I wondered if his encounter with Maeleigh, had something to do with it. Or maybe it was just the prospect of the meeting with the hunter? Who knew how the stick got up the guys butt, I just knew I probably didn’t want to go testing just how tight it was. So, I slid as far over as I possibly could to the wall. Hell, I think half a butt cheek was on the wall, in an effort to make as much distance as I could from the hunter that was already at our table. He stood looking down at us, assessing. Vic and AJ didn’t stand or offer their hands to shake, they just stared right back, giving their own assessment.
“You Vic?” The man asked, his voice gravely, like he’d been smoking for centuries. He certainly smelled like it, at least.
“Yep,” Vic said. The cocky bastard looked like he didn’t give a crap that the newcomer was affiliated with killing our kind. But, then again, that’s exactly why he’d called him, his expertise in taking down lycans.
The hunter slid onto the seat beside me and across from Vic but thank goddess he sat in a way that one leg stuck out into the aisle, my wolf still protested though. I swear I could feel the warmth of the man’s arm next to me, even though we probably had about ten inches between us.
“My boss said you had intel you wanted to share with us,” he said, eyeing Vic like he doubted that information’s credibility.
“That’s right,” was all Vic said. It was obvious that his aloofness irritated the hunter.
The guy breathed slowly through his nose, making a low whistling sound as he blew it out.
“Here you go,” Jerry said, setting our drinks on the table. No one but me looked at him, the rest kept their eyes glued on one another. Jerry picked up on this, looking back and forth between Vic and the Hunter. “How about I give you guys a few minutes to look at the menu.” He hurried off to busy himself behind the counter, filling someone’s coffee cup, wiping up an imaginary mess.
“Look, I haven’t got all day.” The man shifted, looking as if he might stand and walk away.
“Kid here,” Vic said, stopping him. “Has it.” And suddenly all eyes were on me.
Say what? I panicked for a brief second. I knew though, that if I clam up, Vic would rip me a new one. So, I opened my pie hole and said, “Your last group of guys that were here.”
“Uh huh. The ones that mysteriously disappeared?” He might have looked like he cared, but I didn’t really get that vibe from him. Dang, maybe these bastards really were heartless.
“Yeah. Um. Well—“ I cleared my throat. “They told me they were looking for this prophesied wolf.”
The scowl he shot my way had me inching back a little before I caught myself.
“Well,” he said. “It appears my colleagues were a little too trusting.”
Putting some renewed steel in my spine, I went on. “Anyways, we found them. The uh, person they were looking for.”
The dude stilled and peered down at me, not saying anything.
“I’m going to assume your boys weren’t able to report in about their findings before they met their makers.” Vic sounded a little too haughty, but I guess he knew something I didn’t.
Giving me one last intense glare, the hunter turned to Vic. “What do you want?”
All business, Vic told him, “You leave my pack alone.”
“And, just so we’re clear in this arrangement, what do we get?”
Vic grinned. “You get the individual you’ve been looking for. And, while you’re at it, you get to kill a couple of other wolves.”
The man seemed to think on it for a moment, but finally, he jerked his head in a taut nod. “Fine.”
Vic stuck his hand out over the table, a wide smile on his face. “It’s a deal, then.”
Though, when the hunter just eyed it with obvious disdain, Vic only smiled more as he shrugged, dropped his hand and started to tap a straw Jerry had placed on the table.
Wait, that’s it? I thought, watching as the hunter unfolded himself from the booth and stood up to adjust his jacket. “We’ll be in contact soon.”
“Looking forward to it,” Vic said, sticking the straw in his soda and stirred the ice.
The man walked off.
Jerry came by then. “Have you decided what you all want?”
Vic kept stirring his drink lazily, but he looked up at him. “How is your family, Jer?”
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I remembered then that Jerry used to be a part of the Westboro pack. He defected his family pack with his wife and four kids, establishing his business and home in neutral territory between the McIntire’s and Westboros. Vic didn’t appreciate it and, word had it, that he tried to “persuade” Jerry to join his pack. After the trauma he and his family had experienced in the past, Jerry would always refuse. It surprised me, because, from the looks of Jerry, he was weak, and Vic didn’t tolerate much weakness in his pack. Even I could smell the anxiousness wafting from the lycan the moment we entered the diner.
“We have an agreement,” was all Jerry said. Which was news to me. I frowned at Vic, waiting to see what he’d say.
Vic stopped the damned straw and looked up to study the rogue lycan. After a few strained minutes Vic stood up. Taking that to mean we were leaving, AJ and I both stood as well. Jerry stepped back and glared at Vic and AJ as we walked out.
“What was that about?” I asked as we made our way to the SUV.
“He’s a rogue wolf,” AJ told me, opening Vic’s door.
“I gathered that.”
AJ shut the door after Vic climbed in and glared at me. I don’t think the guy had any other way to look at a person. He had constant B face, not just resting. “If you needed to know, you would.” He turned away and rounded the car to climb in the driver’s seat. I quickly climbed in the back before he drove off without me, and I had no doubt he would have, too.
Chapter Twenty
Maeleigh
After breakfast, Bri came over and the three of us worked on our project. It was due next week, and we just had to type it all up. We squeezed together around the computer, and I did the typing while we debated what it should read. The Witch Carman was an innocent victim in a time when superstition ruled, and it was written in black and white. In all our research, nowhere did it specify who had found this supposed “evidence” that she was the one responsible for townspeople disappearing and random wildlife being butchered. But it was noted that when she died at that fiery oak tree, it ceased. Not a lick of regret in the town of people who believed they’d conquered the demon terrorizing their home.
The Chase: Book 2 in The Hunt Series Page 10