by R. E. Butler
Choosing her outfit carefully, she dressed in a short, dark blue wrap dress that gave her good cleavage. She left off the stockings and put on a navy blue satin bra and feeling daring, she skipped the panties entirely and slid into a pair of wedge heels. The table was set, candles were lit all over the place, and soft music played from the romantic music channel on the television hanging over the gas fireplace which was quietly burning. Her nerves were a jangling mess as she looked over the small place, her eyes falling again and again to the leather bound book that marked her as the last Angel of her family’s line, at least until she had a daughter to carry on the traditions of their people.
When the knock on the door sounded just after 6, her heart leapt into her throat and stayed there. What if he ran away? What if he thought she had lied to him? What if he needed time to come to terms with what she was, what they were together? What if his ex burned him too badly for him to recover?
With trembling hands, she reached for the door.
Chapter 5
He sat in his truck outside her tiny apartment for several minutes after he dropped her off. He wanted to go back up there, tell her to pack and take her back home. He didn’t like this place. He didn’t like that she lived outside Allen. He didn’t like it at all.
Tonight, he told himself as he put the truck in drive and headed to work. "Tonight I’ll tell her that she’s my mate and I want her to move into my house," he said aloud. It sounded right, good, and his wolf growled in agreement. If she bucked at it, he would give her the master and take the spare bedroom himself and promise to stay away from her until she was ready, but he couldn’t help himself from wanting to know she was safe. It wasn’t just the incredible sex; it was the amazing connection he felt to her. Nothing had ever felt so right before. Her scent, her laugh, her eyes. All of it was as if she’d been carved to perfection just for him.
“You’re late.” Jason said from behind the counter. “I’d think you would want to be on my good side, considering.”
He tucked the cooler under his arm and stomped the packed snow from his boots on the rug. He wasn’t that late. “Considering what?”
“Considering you didn’t return my calls all weekend or show up for your plow shift. What was so important that you ignored all your duties?” Jason pushed his blonde hair away from his face and gave him a narrowed, unhappy look.
“I had company, Jason. I didn’t even hear my cell or I would have answered. It wasn’t until Bo and Michael showed up that I even knew that you’d made plans for the pack to help out with the plow trucks.” And, he’d turned off his cell because Brenda had been calling him so often, and clearly he’d not turned it back on after he got the new number.
“Please tell me that you’re not getting back with Brenda, Linus. If you passed on pack business for her, I’ll skin you alive.” The look in his eyes said he meant it, literally.
“No, it wasn’t her, Jason. I, I did meet someone, but it wasn’t Brenda. I cut ties with her this weekend, completely.”
Jason’s eyes narrowed further. “And this someone is human?”
“Yes.”
He scoffed disdainfully. “Do you have something against wolves?”
His wolf sat up and it was all he could do to not growl at his alpha. Jason wouldn’t take that lightly and he’d wind up with a shiner or busted lip and a bruised ego. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Jason. Not today. “I don’t, Jason, but this girl is different. And I’m not really interested in talking about her right now. I didn’t shirk my duties because of her, it was unintentional.”
He moved further away from the counter towards the back and Jason gave him another long look. “Yeah, well, see that it doesn’t happen again.”
He nodded and walked away. He put the cooler down on his work bench. He was dying to see what she’d packed for him, but he was trying to wait until lunchtime so he could be surprised. He was surprised enough as it was. She’d gotten up to make him breakfast and cleaned the kitchen faster and better than he ever could and then she’d managed to make him lunch, too. He was toast. He was absolutely head over heels for his angel and that terrified him on several levels.
“Hey, dick,” Michael gave him a friendly punch in the arm. He looked tired. “Hope she was worth you pulling my tow truck duties for the next two weeks.”
So that’s what Michael thought was worth him taking an extra snowplow shift? Could have been worse. Michael was a complete smart ass. That was about the sum total of his personality.
“Thanks, man.” He said finally.
“So when can I meet her?” He leaned his elbow on the workbench and looked at the cooler. Linus tucked it under the workbench where he could keep an eye on it. He’d rip throats out if anyone touched it. No one touched what was his. Not anymore.
He tried to evade the question, grabbing a few tools and turning to the bike he’d been in the process of tuning up before the storm. “What makes you think there’s anyone?”
“Well, first off your whole place smells like sex. But other than that? You were naked and angry about the interruption. Unless you were just saluting your own sailor, there.” Michael smirked and folded his arms.
Linus sighed. “She’s, well, it’s a long story and I’m not really interested in talking about her right now. When I am, I’ll let you know.”
“Fine, fine.” Michael put his hands up. “Just so you know, Jason is righteously pissed at you for ducking his calls. If all you have to do is tow truck duty, you’ll be lucky. He’s always relied on you to be there when he needs you.” He watched Jason’s back. True. Linus was the most reliable of the top ranked. But he wasn’t some faithful lap dog, and the whole thing made him bristle.
Michael went to his own work bench and began to work. A few months ago, Michael would have pestered him until he was blue in the face, and Linus would have either had to spill his guts or punch him in the teeth. Lately, though, ever since Jason and Cadence had hooked up, Michael had started thinking about his lack of a love life. Hell all of them had. Sometimes you see a couple that’s right together and it makes you crazy for what you’re lacking in your own life.
As he toyed with the wrench in his hand, he wondered how he could have ever thought all that misery with Brenda had been love of any sort. He’d been miserable the whole time they were together and then worse afterwards. She’d sucked all the life out of him. His thoughts turned to Karly and his whole body warmed. She was just exactly what he’d wanted his whole life but had been too caught up in trying to force himself to see it in other women. None of the pack females ever did it for him. Maybe it was because they’d all been around the block with every other male in their age group and he didn’t really like sharing. Except of course for Cadence, who he had never slept with, but she hadn’t technically been pack or really a true wolf, and then there was her shadow Callie, but Callie was so weak in the pack she was almost human anyway. And other than friendship with those two females, and theirs was weak to start with, he’d never had serious feelings for anyone. Ever. Karly was like a breath of fresh air on a stifling, humid day. A sunrise after a restless night. The ocean at your feet.
He realized he’d been daydreaming and staring at the wall when someone snapped their fingers in front of his face and it was Bo. “There’s a call for you, man.” He straightened. “Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, well, thanks for having clothes on.” Bo grinned at him and Linus sighed. He would never live that down. At least his cock hadn’t been hard at the time. That was something to be thankful for. As he walked to the front to get the phone he had a thought that it might be Karly and he couldn’t stop the joy that leapt into his heart.
Expertly dashed, his heart deflated instantly at his mother’s voice, “Linus, I need you to stop at your grandmother’s tonight. Her kitchen sink is backed up again.”
“I’ve got plans tonight, Mom. Can’t she call someone?”
“She did call someone. You.”
He groaned inwardly. He
would not get out of this for anything less than a disaster requiring hospitalization, that much he knew. His mother Joyce, all 5 foot of her, was a force to be reckoned with. Feisty, fiercely protective of her family, she was not the sort of woman to take no for an answer. She’d been highly ranked with the females of her day and held that position with pride.
He didn’t want to be late for Karly. As it was, he was going to have to take a short lunch to make up for coming in late and then book it right at 4:30 so he could grab a quick shower and change. He didn’t want to go to her place covered in grease.
“Okay, tell her I’ll come by at lunch today.”
There was a slight pause. “It’s not that horrible woman is it, Linus? I swear, I will give you such a beating if you’re back with her, I’m not joking.”
Hanging his head, he growled internally. Would no one let him forget anything that he’d done? “Mom, it’s not her. I’m done with Brenda. I’ll,” the front door swung open and a customer walked in. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? I need to go.”
As his mother said goodbye and he hung up, Cadence walked out from the back office to greet the customer. Jason had hired her to do the bookkeeping and run the front and she was a natural. Tough enough to deal with the bikers that came in for repairs and mods on their bikes and sweet enough to charm even the crustiest old lady who wanted a discount for being distantly related to someone that worked there. He gave a nod to her and she smiled back.
He figured he could go help his grandmother and then eat. He didn’t dare take more than a half hour break, or he’d have Jason on his ass. Throwing himself into his work, he tried not to daydream about Karly but it was damn hard. She’d just permeated his entire being. He could still smell her on his skin, could still feel the press of her mouth against his when they’d said goodbye this morning, and if any of the guys in the shop could see into his head, they’d get a show that would rival any of the porn he’d seen over the last few months.
Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. He clocked out and grabbed the cooler, not wanting to leave it unattended at the shop. He was thrilled with the prospect of seeing what she’d done for him; he knew it would be perfect.
His grandparents lived in a small neighborhood in the center of town. Their tiny two bedroom house had been a haven for him as a child. He loved his mother a great deal, but his father had been a genuine asshole and had not treated him or his mother very well. As an only child, he’d grown up trying to protect her and gotten knocked around good for it. He hadn’t been sorry when his father took off with a younger female and left them high and dry, even though his mother had been devastated.
He was there in two minutes. He gave his grandmother, Gladys, a hug when she opened the door. She was as small as his mother but no less dangerous if she was pissed. His grandfather Eugene had arthritis in his hands. Medicine didn’t really help wolves and the pain had gotten bad enough that when he shifted on the full moon he could barely walk. It was unusual for wolves to get those sorts of illnesses as they aged, they stayed fairly healthy for the span of their lives, but it did happen occasionally. In his grandfather’s case, he had gotten caught in a hunter’s trap when he was a young man and it had snapped over both his forelegs. As he aged, the damage turned into problems for his mobility.
“Hey pops.” He called to the front room, hearing the sound of the television.
He heard the replying grunt and knew that was as much as he’d get for now. “I can’t stay to chat, grandma, I’ll fix the sink and head back.”
“I was going to make you lunch.” She put her hands on her hips as he pulled the toolbox from the counter to the floor and opened the cabinets under the sink.
He couldn’t stop his smile. “I already have lunch taken care of.”
“Oh?” She smiled, her gray eyes crinkling with the motion.
“Yeah, I met this girl over the weekend,” He pulled the wrench out and put it on the pipe after securing a bowl to catch the water. “She made me lunch.”
“That’s sweet.”
Sweet wasn’t quite a strong enough word for it but he didn’t elaborate. He worked quietly and quickly. In the mess that came out of the pipe as he poked the back end of the wrench into it, he heard a clinking noise and fished out her wedding ring. He handed it to her, put the pipes back together and dumped the black water out onto the snow in the backyard.
“I wondered where that went.” She laughed and washed it off and he cringed, worried she was going to drop it again. Already 10 minutes had passed. He needed to get going.
“I need to take off, grandma.”
“Wait, I have something for you.” She hurried out of the kitchen and he growled to himself but sat down dutifully at the table. The daily crossword in the paper that she did faithfully was laid out and he picked up the pen and began to doodle in the margin, staring out the back window into the woods that lined the development.
“Here,” she handed him a pair of dress slacks. He’d completely forgotten about them. Before Christmas he had been invited to Jason and Cadence’s reception and they were his only pair. When he went to put them on, there was a gaping hole in the pocket so he’d dropped them off and worn his nicest pair of jeans instead and had not bothered to get them.
“Thanks, grandma.” Perfect. He could wear them tonight. He stood and kissed her cheek.
“Who do you know that’s an Angel?” She asked, fingering the design he’d absently drawn in the corner of the newspaper.
“What?” He wasn’t sure he hadn’t heard wrong.
She pointed to the three symbols he’d sketched from memory, the tattoo on Karly’s right shoulder. He’d noticed it when he had made love to her while she was on her hands and knees. He’d grabbed hold of her hair and pulled her up and she’d screamed his name in pleasure and he had kissed that mark, bitten it, licked it, while he’d pounded into her.
“That mark is the symbol of the Angel Mates.”
He blinked. Angel Mates? Why did that sound familiar? She slapped the back of his head, “Didn't you ever listen to the stories I used to tell you about our heritage, our people?”
“I’m not sure I follow.” He rubbed his head. Time hadn’t made her strength lapse at all.
“The angel mates are half breeds, but not like Cadence. They are as supernatural as we are…the product of their angel mother and their wolf father.” He must have looked as confused as he felt because she gestured to the chair and he sat down mutely. She joined him across the small table and folded her hands together. “The story goes that when the first werewolf was created that he was more beast than man. So the creator made a woman for him, his perfect mate. She was made for him alone, could calm his beast, brought out both his nurturing side and his protective nature. Their children were both. The females were mates for wolves and the males were full blooded wolves. Each generation of angels is the same. They always have the middle name of Angel to remember their heritage, and this tattoo is marked on their skin around the age of 12. They grow up in their home pack, learning the ways of our people, their future mate, and when they come of age they begin to search for their mate. Sometimes the mate is within their home pack, but often, their journey is long and they move from pack to pack, searching. The connection is supposed to be primal, instant. Like love at first sight but stronger.”
“So the females are angels, like real angels?” He could feel the color draining from his face as he tried to reconcile what his grandmother was telling him. Karly’s middle name was Angel. She had the tattoo. She called herself his angel when she was nearly asleep. She’d been traveling for over a year, moving from place to place because she hadn’t found a reason to settle down.
She clucked her tongue at him. “No, not like a heavenly angel. It’s supposed to be the term that the first wolf used. You don’t remember the story?”
“I don’t know.” He frowned.
“He was in pain, miserable from shifting and unable to control his beast. She appeared to him and c
almed him. He called her his angel, his salvation.”
“I thought that a human-wolf child would always be human. How could the male children be wolves?”
“Because the angels aren’t human, not anymore than we are. What makes them what they are makes that possible. So, tell me, Linus, where did you see this symbol.”
“On the right shoulder of the woman that I’m sure is my mate.” He swallowed hard. He stood up and the chair clattered backwards. He righted it, his hands shaking, and said, “I need to get back.”
She followed him to the front door. “Linus, if you feel like she’s your mate, then she is. Did she not tell you what she is?”
He shook his head. His mouth felt like he’d swallowed sand. She hummed in her throat but said nothing. He kissed her cheek, called out a goodbye to his grandfather and beat feet back to his truck. He shot through town as fast as he dared on the slightly icy streets, and carried the cooler back to his workbench. He just barely made it back in his thirty minutes. Just barely.
Resting his hands on the workbench, he stared at the cooler. Was it possible? He thought the angels were a myth. The legends about their kind were often exaggerated from generation to generation, and in their current pack no one talked about the legends at all. The curse of the modern packs that were streamlined into human society and not hiding what they were like they used to have to do meant that a lot of the traditions and history wasn’t passed down like it should be.
He opened the cooler slowly. A folded piece of paper was laying on top and he opened it. In delicate script, she’d written:
“I can promise I miss you already. K.”
A part of him wanted to be angry. He’d been feeling all weekend that she was his mate and he was afraid to scare her off with the strength of his feelings. But she clearly already knew they were mates, so why hadn’t she said something to him?