In spite of the fact he’d barely escaped serious injury, Stephen managed to grin at his hard-assed friend’s confession. It was the reason he and Jace had immediately taken a liking to the solemn, ill-tempered wolf shifter when he’d first arrived in Los Lobos five years before when Magnum still ruled. Beneath Wes Stevenson’s hardened exterior lay a heart of gold.
Desperate to lighten the mood, Stephen clutched his still-racing heart and batted his eyes at the other Wolf. “Aw, I had no idea you cared so much, sweetheart.”
The glower back in full effect, Wes stalked forward and slapped the back of Stephen’s head. “Shut the fuck up, or I’ll throw a piece of lumber at you, smartass.”
Jace burst into laughter and Stephen chuckled as their perpetually scowling friend prowled away, throwing them the bird over his shoulder. Once their humor subsided, Jace cast a sideways glance at him.
“All jokes aside, what’s the deal, man? You’ve been miles away all morning.”
The last thing he needed right now was to tell his best friend—his mate’s older brother—how much of a dick he’d been to Kate. Shit, he couldn’t lie to Jace any better than he could to his mate, which was the precise reason he lashed out at her in the first place—fucking guilt. Apparently, his conscience was a fickle bitch.
He moved to the fallen pallet of lumber and plopped down on the stack. Unable to look at his friend, his gaze skipped over the ground. “Kate caught me on the phone with Emily this morning.”
“So she knows now?” Jace sank down beside him.
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think she overheard too much.” At least he didn’t believe so. Truthfully, he had no idea how much of the conversation she’d heard.
“Well, what did she say?”
“What do you think? She wanted to know who the hell was on the phone.”
“So?” his friend prodded.
“So, I told her it was Wes.” He rolled his eyes. “She knew I was lying. Of course, it didn’t help I broke a stupid-ass cup and yelled at her.”
Jace grunted. “Damn.”
“I know. God, man. The worst was her expression….” Stephen mentally kicked himself in the ass all over again. “She was so upset when I left.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell her what’s going on then?”
That was the thing. He couldn’t. Not yet. Not before everything was finished. Everything he’d done, he’d done for her, and it had to be perfect before he could tell her. Again, Kate’s anguished face circled in his mind and he questioned his decision.
Wes strode toward them with bottles of water in his hands. He tossed one at Stephen then another at Jace. “Are you two ladies planning to chitchat all day, or are we actually going to get some damn work done?”
“Thanks, bro.” Stephen twisted off the cap, gulping down half the bottle in one swig.
Wes speared him with his frosty green stare. “So spill it. What’s the fucking deal?”
He snorted. No one could confuse Wes with having an empathetic nature. The man cut straight to the point every damn time.
“Kate overheard him on the phone with Emily,” Jace volunteered for him.
“That woman…the human over in Collins?” The dour Wolf clenched his water bottle, crunching the plastic in his grasp. He glanced at Jace. “Your mate’s friend, right?”
“Yep, precisely the one,” he agreed.
“What the hell?” Stephen gaped at the other Wolf in disbelief. “You were in her store last week.”
“Whatever.” Wes shrugged away his words. “So Kate knows now?”
Jesus, here we go again.
“No, I don’t think she heard enough to know what’s going on.” He stuffed his balled hands in his jacket pockets. “I blew up at her and left afterward.”
Wes had the nerve to look appalled. “Why?”
Leave it to the asshole in their bunch to make him feel like a bigger dick. “I don’t fucking know. I panicked.”
“Then apologize and tell Kate what the hell’s going on.”
Why the crap did Wes have to be so damn logical all the time?
“I can’t,” Stephen argued. “Not until I’m done and everything’s perfect.”
“Well hurry the hell up and get shit done so you can focus on work again.” Wes tossed back the last of his water. “I’d hate to have to inform your mate you were crushed to death because you were preoccupied with bullshit.”
He snorted and issued a mock salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
Jace clapped him on the back and stood up. “Right, let’s get this lumber loaded and into town before lunch, guys.”
“Great idea,” Stephen agreed. “Hey, can we head over to Collins for lunch? I have something I need to take care of over there.”
Wes’s lip curled in a snarl. “With that human woman, no doubt.”
He threw his hands up in annoyance. “What the hell is your problem with Emily?”
“I don’t like her.”
“You don’t even know her,” Stephen countered.
“I don’t need to.”
“Oh, come on.” Jace wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Cut Wes some slack. You know he hates women.”
“I don’t hate women. I just don’t like prissy ones, and she’s definitely prissy. Probably needy, too.” Wes shuddered. “Nah, definitely not my style.”
Stephen scoffed. “You don’t have a style, jackass. You don’t date or socialize. You live alone in the woods like a hermit.”
“That’s the fucking way I like it.” Wes nodded to the rest of the lumber they needed to load. “Now, let’s get this shit done so we can get the hell out of here. I’m starving.”
Chapter Three
“Stephen’s cheating on me.” Spoken aloud for the first time, the words left a sour taste in Kate’s mouth.
“What?” Michelle squawked. The book in her hand slipped and plopped on the floor at her feet. “Oh my God. Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Kate muttered. What else was she supposed to think? Why would her mate tell another woman he wanted to kiss her and didn’t know what he’d do without her? If he wasn’t cheating, then what the hell else was he doing?
She slid the book she’d cataloged onto the bookcase and leaned her forehead against the edge of the shelf. Behind her, she heard the quick shuffle and clack of Michelle’s shoes, and then her friend’s arms surrounded her in a tight embrace. The sympathetic gesture broke Kate in two.
The tears she’d staved off all morning poured from her eyes in a blinding flood. She spun around and clung to her friend as though she were her final lifeline.
Michelle guided her over to one of the sets of tables and chairs in the back of the bookstore and helped Kate into a seat. “Sit here. I’ll be right back.”
The noisy clatter of heels barely drowned out Kate’s hiccupped sobs. Her head was a minefield of chaos, scattering her erratic emotions all over the place. A vise clenched inside her chest, wringing the life out of her. The last few hours she’d alternated between total despair and sheer rage. One moment she wanted nothing more than to curl into a fetal position and weep until the world around her disappeared. The next, she wanted to punch Stephen in the nuts. The thought of him with another woman tore at her aching heart.
God, she felt drained. Utterly drained. And her Wolf wasn’t helping her in the least. The beast was as absent as her self-control.
Kate propped her elbows on the table and lowered her throbbing head in her hands. What was she going to do? Especially since she was pregnant. How could she tell him about the baby after this?
Hurried click-clacks signaled her friend’s return, and Kate raised her head as the pretty blonde shoved a box of tissues under her nose. After Michelle plunked a bottle of water on the table in front of her, she dragged a chair closer and joined her at the table.
Kate grabbed a handful of tissues, dried her puffy eyes, and blew her nose. There was no doubt in her mind she lo
oked a wretched mess. Of course, she hardly cared at the moment. She lifted her hand to rub her pounding temples. “My head is killing me.”
Michelle nudged the bottled water toward her. “Drink some. It’ll help.”
A new wash of tears pooled in Kate’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“Oh no, don’t start again.” Michelle reached over and patted her hand. “You’re going to make me cry if you do.”
Blinking back her tears, Kate accepted her friend’s offering and swallowed down several sips of the cool liquid. “I’m so glad to have you as a friend. You’re one in a million, Michelle.”
And she honestly meant those words. Since her brother mated with the blonde months ago, she and Michelle had grown close. In fact, she considered the sweet, prim human her closest friend and part of her family, which was the reason Kate immediately regretted dumping her problems with Stephen on her.
“I’m sorry.” She glanced at Michelle. “I don’t mean to be a pain in the ass. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Are you serious?” Michelle waved away her apology. “This is what friends are for, Kate. If you can’t count on your friends, who can you count on?”
Apparently not your mate. The thought twisted with bitterness in her gut.
“What the crap is Stephen thinking?” Michelle balled her small hand into a fist. “What an asshole.”
When Kate wasn’t wading in a sea of heartache, she thought precisely the same. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. Honestly, I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, what happened?” She grabbed Kate’s forearm. “Wait…you don’t have to tell me. Not unless you want to.”
“There’s not much to tell.” She slumped in her chair. “I caught him on the phone talking to her this morning.”
“Her?” Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “You mean, the woman he’s seeing?”
“No, his Nana from the grave,” Kate snapped. “Yes, the woman he’s seeing.”
Michelle snatched her hand away in surprise.
“Crap, I’m sorry.” Contrite, Kate pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. “I didn’t mean to be a bitch.”
“It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize. I probably would’ve destroyed every book in this store by now if it had been Jace. Anyway, what did he say?”
Kate stared at the bookshelf across from the table as she recited the words burned in her head. Unfortunately, she had a sneaking suspicion those words would linger in her mind and torment her for a long time to come.
“Em?” Michelle repeated the name.
“Yeah, it was the only name he said.”
“Are you sure?”
Kate darted a glance at her. The woman had grown pale and stared at her with wide eyes. “Yes, why?”
“No reason.” Michelle shook her head, her gaze darting away.
Kate might’ve been a fool where Stephen was concerned, but she wasn’t too much of one she couldn’t recognize a nervous gesture when it smacked her in the face. Suspicious, she narrowed her eyes. “Do you know her?”
“What? No.” Michelle frowned at her. “If I had any idea Stephen were cheating, do you really think I’d keep it from you?”
“As my best friend, I would hope you wouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t,” Michelle stated empathically. “Jesus. Stop being so paranoid.”
Shit, was she?
Never in a million years would she have guessed Stephen would cheat on her, but look how that turned out. God, what was the matter with her? She couldn’t help but doubt everyone and everything around her.
She dropped her head back against the chair with a hard thump and closed her eyes. Her brain was a complete jumble. Nothing made sense anymore. The urge to scream in frustration built in her throat, but she somehow managed to remain silent.
“Hey, we’ve been messing with books for four hours now. Let’s take a break and grab something to eat at the diner. We can talk about the Solstice celebration. I’ve been helping some of the women in the pack with the decorations.”
Michelle’s chair scraped over the wood floorboards, and Kate opened her eyes to see the blonde standing over her, her tortoise-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. “Come on. My treat.”
Shoving aside her paranoid delusions, she gave in and rose from her seat. “Fine. Let me grab my coat.”
Bundled against the frosty December weather, they stepped out onto Main Street. At once, cold air stung Kate’s face and she burrowed deeper into the warmth of her jacket as Michelle locked the store entrance. The overcast wintry day perfectly reflected Kate’s current mood. Another time, she might’ve enjoyed the sight of holiday decorations in each storefront shop but at the moment, she was hardly in the mood for Christmas.
Side by side, they hurried down the sidewalk through the frigid wind. Once they paused at the corner for a red light, the hair at Kate’s nape stood on end. Some odd, intuitive instinct compelled her to look at the third window of the diner across the street. Then she saw him—Stephen—as clear as day, with a woman.
The sight of her mate’s head pressed close to another woman’s unleashed a swarm of fury in Kate. How dare he do this crap to her? In broad daylight, for everyone to see? While she was pregnant, alone, and scared shitless?
Fuck. This.
Anger breathed movement into her limbs. Locked on her target, she charged across Main Street, oblivious to the blare of a car horn and screech of brakes.
“Oh my God. Kate,” Michelle yelled after her.
The noise drew the customers’ attention inside the diner, and all gazes turned her way. Stephen craned his neck and his shocked blue eyes met hers through the safety of a pane of glass.
Nothing in that single, defining moment mattered more than confronting her mate. She didn’t care who saw her. Didn’t care who heard. She wanted him to hurt as much as he’d hurt her.
She stepped onto the sidewalk as Stephen rushed out of the diner with her brother and his friend Wes trailing him. Following close behind was the woman—the bitch who’d destroyed her life.
With fury burning in her veins, Kate stormed straight up to Stephen and slapped him across the cheek. “Fuck you, you son of a bitch!”
He grabbed his jaw and glared at her. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
“You’re what’s the matter!” Kate screamed. She jabbed an accusing finger at the pale human woman frozen beside Jace. “You and your whore.”
Chapter Four
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Stephen ground out.
Fury poured from his mate in waves, smacking him in the face all over again. His beast awakened in a temper, equal parts confused and pissed.
Visibly shaking from head to toe, Kate glared daggers at him. “If you’d wanted to cheat on me, then you should’ve said so instead of making me look like a damn fool.”
Digesting the words, Stephen cocked his head to the side, sure he’d heard wrong. “Cheat on you?”
The words pummeled his brain like a broken record.
“Yes,” she bellowed in outrage. She flapped her arm at Emily. “With this bitch. I heard you on the phone this morning. I knew there was something wrong. With all this extra time you’ve been spending at work. Jesus, why didn’t I see it sooner?”
As his mate railed on and on about his supposed infidelity, Stephen simply stood rooted to the cold pavement, he and his Wolf suspended in disbelief, while the strained muscles in his arms and shoulders burned from his rigid stance. Around them, friends and complete strangers stood as silent witness to her tirade, but he scarcely paid them attention. Instead, his entire focus was centered on Kate and the accusations she hurled at him.
How in the hell could his mate—the woman he loved and would die for—believe he’d betrayed her?
Icy wind eased the sting in his cheek, but the cold temperature did little to cool the anger simmering below the surface. The years of patience he�
��d given her had depleted him, leaving him with zero tolerance. Each new insult and allegation she slung gouged at his self-control until the final strands of his composure snapped. He allowed fury to consume him and seep into the fractures of his worn-out heart.
“Have you lost your goddamn mind?” Stephen snarled. “I’m not fucking cheating on you.”
Kate lifted her chin, her hazel eyes issuing a challenge. “Then who the hell is she?”
“My decorator.” He managed to extract the words from between clenched teeth.
“Decorator?” Kate gawked at him as if he’d lost his senses. “You expect me to believe this bullshit?”
“Yes.” Emily’s weak voice intervened. She hesitantly moved closer to his side and held the thick catalog they’d browsed over lunch toward Kate. “He picked out a beautiful claw-foot tub for your new bathroom.”
Kate frowned at the book in Emily’s hand. “What bathroom?”
By no means was this the way he’d imagined revealing his secret. But if this was how she wanted it, then so be it.
“The bathroom I’m installing for you in our new home.”
“New home?” she breathed out in a rush of air.
Confusion dimmed her skeptical gaze when she searched his, but Stephen didn’t let it faze him. He’d worked his ass off, building a home and future for them and the family they might have one day, and this was the thanks he’d gotten. A mate who had absolutely no fucking trust in him and thought he was a lying, faithless sack of shit.
Numb to her startled features, he continued, “For weeks I’ve devoted all my extra time renovating the house I inherited from my grandfather, trying to get it ready for us to move into by the new year.” He waved at the small human beside him. “Emily’s a furniture maker here in Collins and owns an interior design store up the street. She’s been kind enough to make a few pieces for me and order several others at a great price. Such as the perfect bathtub she searched high and low to find.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “Your brother, Wes, and a few more of our friends have helped with the major repairs I couldn’t do alone. Even Michelle has pitched in, helping out where she could.”
Winter Secrets Page 2