by Eva Harper
Theo immediately turned his back to Reed and walked towards me. His face was unreadable, a complete mask of stone and indifference. The warrior wolves released me into his hold, and he guided me quickly into the vehicle. The car pulled back as soon as the door was closed. The wolves from Alpha Trissur’s pack shifted into their wolves, and we left the land as quickly as we’d come.
“Theo?” I asked gently. His body was still shaking, eyes clenched, the veins in his fists strained under his skin. “Theo?”
“I’m going to kill him,” his low voice ground out. The sound came from his stomach, and I wondered how much control he had over himself.
“Is everything going to be okay?”
“No.” His body relaxed in one motion, but his eyes stayed closed.
“What did he mean when he called me a fawn?” My voice was smaller than I wanted it to be.
“It’s a dirty name for humans,” he said sadly. His hand wandered until it found mine, and he held it tightly, almost too tightly.
“What does it mean?”
“Wolves like Reed Porter believe humans are only prey to werewolves. They serve no purpose to us other than the thrill of the hunt, much like deer.”
His words sent goosebumps down my neck.
“Oh,” was all that came from my mouth. Theo sighed and tugged my hand until I was close to him.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? Ever. You know that, right?” he asked seriously. His eyes searched for something in mine.
“I know,” I assured him, placing my hand on his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned into my touch.
“He’s going to fight back,” he told me.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’ve known Reed for years, and there’s nothing he hates more than being told no, even humans.”
“He could surprise you,” I tried to say cheerfully, but it came out strangled.
“Sure.” He smiled placatingly. He didn’t believe my words, but we both didn’t want to argue.
“I trust you,” I told him softly. He smiled at me, some light finally reaching his eyes.
“You don’t know how much that means to me, little one.” He grabbed the back of my head and brought my forehead to meet his lips. His hands wove into my curls and held me there, and for just a moment, it was like everything would actually be okay.
Let The Wine Flow
I started to notice the effects of the mate bond slowly, and then it was all at once that I realized how much had changed within me. Through the bond, we could feel each other’s emotions, which was strange for the first few days. It felt like my own emotions, but I knew I wasn’t frustrated or angry or excited. Seeing Theo and touching him immediately made the feelings dissipate.
Along with the emotions, I didn’t fear Theo’s touch anymore; in fact, I craved it, reveled in it. I pined for his fingertips on my skin, his breath on my neck, lips on mine. I always held myself back, though. I wasn’t willing to let go of my human hesitations yet.
“Have any of your brothers met their mates? Or your friends?” I asked curiously. Theo was cooking us lunch, and I sat at the counter, watching his back muscles ripple under his clothing as he moved.
“None of my brothers, no,” he confirmed, sneaking a look back at me. “Cam met his mate a few years back. They have a little girl.” He smiled affectionately at her mention.
“Cam is the blond one, right?”
“Yes,” Theo said, turning back around to his cooking. “His mate is Gemma, and their little girl is Tansy.”
“Can I meet them?” My voice wavered. Theo turned the burner on the stove down and came to lean over the counter with me.
“Yeah, I’ll tell Cam to bring them over for dinner,” he said; his face looked confused. “Why the sudden interest in mates?”
“I just want to meet them,” I said casually, playing with the tips of Theo’s fingers. “I don’t really know what it’s like to be the mate to a wolf…”
“You like me,” Theo teased, smirking. I frowned and pulled my hands away.
“It’s not that, I just-”
“You like me, and you want to see another functioning mated couple so you can ease your stubborn mind into knowing we’re going to be just fine,” he practically sang to me as he turned around to stir his pot.
I spluttered out some unintelligible disagreements until Theo came to me and held me by my elbows that were covered across my chest.
“I like that you’re trying to make this work.” He smiled at me and the dimple in his right cheek appeared. “I think it’s sweet.”
I nodded and rolled my eyes, avoiding his gaze by looking at his hands on my skin. He gave my arms a squeeze and finished his cooking. I sat down at the counter again and watched him work.
“You’re going to fall in love with me, Margo Anderson,” he said playfully. “Just you wait!”
Theo invited Cam’s family to dinner at the end of the week. All-day, I had been rushing around Theo’s house tidying things, setting the dining table, and then resetting it when Theo made fun of the centerpiece I had chosen.
“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he told me, half-joking, half annoyed that I hadn’t stopped moving since I had woken up.
I glared but continued to fix the knives and wine glasses.
“The table looks beautiful, Margo,” Theo complimented loudly. I rolled my eyes at his flattery. “They’ll be here any moment. Why don’t you come and sit before you wear yourself out?”
“Theo,” I exhaled, running my hand over my sticky forehead. “I just want everything to be perfect.”
“Margo, everything is perfect. They’re going to adore you, no matter what the table looks like.”
“Why? Does the table not look good? I knew I should’ve stayed with the other setting,” I rattled out frantically. Theo groaned and walked away from me, not knowing how to deal with my high anxiety.
The doorbell rang, and I froze. Theo walked back into the main room and looked at me, smiled reassuringly, and then went to answer the door.
“Theo!” Cam’s boisterous voice filled the house. Theo chuckled and greeted him. I adjusted my top and joined Theo in the foyer.
“There she is,” Cam smiled at me and pulled me into a bear hug I was not expecting, lifting my feet slightly off the ground. My face was in shock, and Theo laughed at me but made no move to save me.
“Nice to see you again, Cam,” I greeted him softly. He chuckled and began to take his coat off. Theo was greeting a woman, Gemma, with a small brunette girl stuck to his leg.
“Gemma, this is my beautiful mate, Margo. Margo, this is Cam’s mate, Gemma.”
Gemma grinned cautiously, her full lips happy, but her eyes were weary.
“Hello, it’s great to meet you,” I told her, reaching out to grasp her forearm.
“Hell-lo,” her voice stuttered. “Th-th-thank you for having us.”
“It’s our pleasure.” I tried not to let my face show concern, but I glanced at Theo sadly.
“Once you get-t used t-to th-the st-t-tut-tt-ter, I’m actually quite funny. Funnier th-than th-th-at ass over th-there,” she joked. I looked back at her in surprise and giggled politely.
“This is their daughter, Tansy,” Theo told me, placing his hand on her small head while she stayed latched to his leg.
“Hi, Tansy.”
“Hi,” her twinkling voice called, muffled from Theo’s pant leg. We began walking towards the table, Theo carrying Tansy in tow on his leg. Cam was already sitting down, pouring what looked to be his second glass of wine.
Gemma glared angrily at her mate.
“What?” he asked cheerfully. “It was just sitting there.”
“Well-ll, you could-d’ve at-t l-least poured me a g-glass,” she told him sassily. He chuckled at her, pouring her a glass of wine, and tugging on her hand to sit next to him.
Theo brought the food around, and we started eating, making small talk.
“So, when did you both meet?” I cleared my throat and set my fork down momentarily.
“We met seven years ago,” Cam began telling me, before stuffing his mouth full of steak. Gemma nudged him.
“He caught me tr-trying t-to cross the bound-dary line.”
“Were you a spy or something?” My voice was full of surprise.
“No,” Gemma giggled, looking down.
“Just a cute little rogue,” Cam smiled happily, lifting his chin.
“Cute l-little rogue who you could-dn’t catch,” she said snidely.
“She’s really fast,” Cam grumbled, slightly annoyed. He reached over and took her fork from her hand and kept eating his meal. Gemma smacked his arm lightly and reached for her fork, which Cam held just out of reach.
I extended my arm, handing her the fork from Tansy’s place. Gemma smiled victoriously at me and stuck her tongue out at Cam. Tansy refused to sit in her chair, even though her parents brought her a booster seat as well. She insisted on sitting in Theo’s lap while he ate, climbing all over him and sneaking pieces of his food away.
“Can you hear me when I do this?” she called out right before sticking her fingers in Theo’s ears.
“T-Tansy!” Gemma called in mortification. Tansy’s small buns on either side of her head bobbled as Theo grabbed her around the waist and flipped her upside down.
“Yes, I can hear you, Tansy,” Theo teased, tickling her stomach. He froze for a moment, staring at a spot on the wall while holding Tansy securely.
“Theo?” I called. He stared for a few more seconds, getting a mind link from someone in the pack. He snapped away and turned to look at me. I couldn’t read his face, but he didn’t look happy. He flipped Tansy upright and sat her on his lap, stroking her hair softly. “Is everything alright?” I said quietly, leaning over towards him. Cam and Gemma were looking down at their plates, busying themselves with eating.
Before he could answer me, the doorbell rang. I jumped in my seat, looking pointedly at Theo, who was fixated on Tansy’s hands playing patty-cake.
“You should get that,” he told me, not looking at me.
“What?” I asked, confused, and slightly irritated.
“Go,” he said louder, more firmly. I pushed my seat back loudly; the loud scratch it created almost made me cringe. I shoved my seat back in, not as angrily as I wanted, and walked to the front door. I paused in front of it, not knowing why Theo was ordering me to open the door when he had never allowed me to before.
After a moment, a familiar feeling called to me from the other side of the door, and I threw it open quickly.
“Caddy?”
Succession
He looked up at me through his thick eyelashes. His face was red, blotchy,and tear-stained.
“What happened?” I asked frantically, pulling on his arms and shirt to bring him inside the door. He stumbled in and rested his back on the door as it closed.
“He’s dead,” his low voice whispered.
“Who?”
“My uncle, Dorian,” he whimpered. I dove into his arms, hugging his midframe to me because that’s all I could reach. “He’s dead.”
“I’m so sorry, Caddy,” I soothed, an anxious wave tumbling down my body as I did so. “What happened?”
“We don’t know for sure, but we know it was someone from another pack. We tracked the scent.”
“Come in,” I told him, grabbing his hand and leading him into the room where Theo and Cam sat, almost waiting. Gemma had led Tansy away.
“Theo,” I began to tell him.
“We heard,” he told me sadly. I pushed Caddy’s swaying body into the chair where I once sat.
“Are you okay?” I asked, running my hand down his back as he hunched over.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head and rolled his shoulders. His eyes looked far away. “They started talking about me and that I’m supposed to take over as Alpha now. I’m not ready for that, how could I be ready for that?” Caddy rambled, running his hands over his face three times.
“Everything’s going to be okay.” My words weren’t convincing.
“No, it’s not, Margo,” Caddy wailed.
“We will find whoever did this,” Theo promised.
“What does it even matter, you know how many enemies Dorian had,” Caddy chuckled without humor. “Someone probably just got tired of dealing with his shit.”
Theo looked at me sadly, pointedly, like he was waiting for me to realize something.
“Caddy, what pack did you say did this?”
“I didn’t.” He looked down at his shaking hands. “One of the trackers said it was someone from the Forte Pack.”
“Theo,” I said hesitantly, wavering. “That’s Porter’s pack, isn’t it?” I took his silence as confirmation.
“Reed Porter?” Caddy perked up. I nodded. “I don’t know that we’ve ever had contact with his pack. I mean, even Dorian knew that guy is batshit crazy. He wouldn’t stick his nose in that.”
“Theo, please tell me this isn’t my fault,” I whispered. Theo stood up and maneuvered around Caddy to hold me.
“Margo, how could this be your fault,” Caddy said, grabbing my hand that was wound tightly around Theo’s waist.
“Reed Porter has been creating trouble around here lately,” Theo informed him. “He wanted me to approve his demand to take over a portion of Duncan Trissur’s land. I told him no. He seemed to take a special interest in the fact that Margo is human.”
“I mean, I know Porter hates humans, that common knowledge. What does that have to do with Dorian?”
“Your uncle took care of Margo, allowed her to stay in your pack. By killing Dorian, he not only sent every other Alpha a message that Alpha’s who protect humans are at risk for attack, but he also made a threat to Margo directly,” Theo said softly while pressing my head to his chest.
“Margo,” Caddy said lowly.
“Caddy, I am so sorry.” I fought my way out of Theo’s arms and flung myself on Caddy.
“Margo, this is not your fault.” Caddy ruffled my hair like he used to. “Reed Porter was looking for a target, it's not like you gave him the idea.”
“But Dorian never would have been killed if it weren’t for me.”
Caddy snorted and sucked his lips into his mouth, shaking his head. “Sooner or later,” he said spitefully. “He was cruel; he didn’t care about anyone else and he never listened to anyone but himself. I don’t even know why I’m so upset. He hated me. He only used me when he needed something.”
“He was still your uncle.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, blowing air out of his mouth. I squeezed him tightly and released him.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked Theo. We sat down at the table, now joined by Gemma and a sleeping Tansy on her shoulder.
“Reed Porter just made a declaration of war,” Cam stated. “Against Duncan, Caddy’s pack, us.”
“My pack,” Caddy said strangely and shook his head. “I guess it is my pack now.”
“Dorian trained you well.” I touched his forearm. “You’ll be a great Alpha.”
“I’m only twenty-four.”
“You’re not the youngest ever,” Theo said kindly, reminiscing. “You’ll have the support. This is probably the best time to learn.”
“Right in the middle of a war,” he snorted.
“You’re going t-to war?” Gemma asked Cam.
“Gem, there’s no need to worry yet,” Cam murmured, taking her hand in his.
“Yes, th-there is.” Gemma’s voice was loud, and it woke Tansy.
“Momma?” her tired voice asked.
“I’m right-t here, b-b-baby.” Gemma kissed her head and rocked her softly against her body.
“We should reconvene tomorrow, get the council together,” Theo suggested. Cam nodded in agreement and stood up. Gemma stood with him and passed Tansy to her father.
“Margo.” Gemma came and took my hands in her cold ones. “It-t was wond-derful meet-tin
g you. I’m sure we will b-be seeing a lot-t of each oth-ther.”
“Probably,” I sighed, giving her a small smile. “It was nice meeting you as well. Your daughter is beautiful.”
“Yeah, well, she t-takes aft-ter me.” Gemma laughed at Cam’s distraught face and kissed his cheek. They left quietly, sending their condolences to Caddy before exiting the house.
“Caddy’s more than welcome to stay,” Theo offered, tucking his hands in his front pockets.
“Thanks,” Caddy noted.
“I’ll make the guest room up for you,” I promised, quickly running down the hallway to find extra sheets and blankets and pillows. I found some in a closet, carrying the large pile in my arms, unable to see around them. I heard Theo and Caddy talking as I set up the room down the hall.
“She’s a really good friend,” Caddy said affectionately. “She’s always been there for me, especially when my dad died. You’re treating her right?”
I almost laughed at the protective tone in Caddy’s voice.
“She could ask me for my heart, and I’d carve it out of my own chest for her,” Theo told him, chuckling slightly.
“Good,” Caddy boasted. I blushed and tucked myself behind a corner, listening to the rest of their conversation. “You know she’s been through a lot?”
“She doesn’t talk about it,” Theo sighed, grabbing two beers from the fridge.
“She won’t,” Caddy warned. “She lost her parents young. My grandpa was a cruel son-ova-bitch. Killed them right in front of her.”
“How old was she?”
“Four.”
Theo cursed under his breath.
“That’s why she acts so,” Caddy struggled for the word.
“Guarded?” Theo offered. Caddy nodded, taking a sip of his drink.
“It’s not because she doesn’t like you, I can tell she does. She normally doesn’t touch anyone, let alone hug them, except for me. It’s self-preservation. She’s always had to look out for herself; she didn’t have anyone other than me to protect her, and I couldn’t always be there.”
“And the human thing?” Theo grimaced.