Make Him Mine

by Lia Bevans

  “What’s wrong?” She peered closer at her sister’s temple. “Are you sweating?”

  “It’s hot in here.” Terry turned the fan on and pulled her button-up blouse away from her skin. “I didn’t think you’d come in after... everything.”

  “Where else would I be?” She rapped her knuckles against Terry’s desk and then strode to her office. “Did you get a chance to look over the document I sent you? We’ve got to renew our liability insurance. I’m sure no one on our crew would hurt anybody, but it’s not like we can tell the government—”

  “Chantal.”

  She stopped in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder at Terry. Her sister wore a determined expression. “I’ll take care of it.” She jutted her chin down. “Trust me. I’ll take care of everything.”

  “Oh-kay...”

  What on earth had gotten into Terry?

  BLAEZ GOT INTO HIS car and threw his phone into the passenger seat. Caldon wasn’t picking up. Looked like his crew had packed their stuff and moved out of the underground subway he’d stumbled upon last night. He should put a tracker on the kid. Hopefully, he hadn’t crossed state lines this time.

  The ringing of his cell disturbed his tortured thoughts. Blaez scooped the device up with one hand while clicking his seatbelt with the other.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Mr. Blaez?” A wispy voice said. Something about the tone was familiar, but he couldn’t place it. “This is Cecil. We met last night.”

  “Right. Cecil.” His shoulders loosened and he leaned against the headrests. “How can I help you?”

  “I hope you don’t mind, but Ralph’s gone for the day and we have a light bulb over here that needs screwing.” She giggled. “While you’re at it, I might ask you to screw a few other things too. You’ve been warned.”

  He chuckled. Was Cecil being naughty? Somehow her flirting was funnier when he couldn’t see her. When the old woman was in front of him, looking as serious as a heart attack about her interest, it wasn’t as amusing.

  Blaez checked his watch. It was a little after noon. “How about you give me half-an-hour to grab a bite to eat and then I’ll drop by?” He didn’t think Chantal would be home this early. After their encounter that morning, he wanted to avoid her.

  “You haven’t had lunch yet? That’s unacceptable. Come right over. We’re cooking up a storm over here and we have more than enough.”

  “You sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

  “We’ll set an extra place.” She hung up and Blaez pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at the screen.

  We’ll set an extra place. The words affected him more than they should have. He was a rogue wolf by choice. His mother died when he was young and his father hit the road as soon as he was old enough to fend for himself. An invitation to a loud, informal dinner was an anomaly in his world.

  Blaez pushed the speed limit and arrived at Chantal’s farm in less than half-an-hour. Before he’d sprung from his car and approached the porch, the scent of brownies filled the air, teasing his stomach. He opened the door and walked inside, spying Evie and Mae Ling in the kitchen.

  “Good afternoon.” He approached them hesitantly, holding out the bundles he’d purchased at the store back in the city.

  “Blaez?” Evie’s eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”

  He felt a moment of panic. Should have known this was too good to be true. His desire to experience a real life ‘family’ dinner made him accept an invitation that shouldn’t have been extended in the first place.

  “I called him.” Cecil appeared and wound her hand around his elbow.

  Mae Ling broke the quiet first. She smiled lightly. “It’s good to have you, Blaez. I was just telling Evie I needed someone to taste this crab soup. Everyone here has the pallet of children. You like spicy food, don’t you?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Evie bumped Mae Ling with her hip. “Why would you give the poor man crab soup when he could have my jerk chicken?”

  Blaez smiled when the ladies started arguing over which food to feed him first. Cecil tugged his arm and peered into the plastic bags he’d brought. The crinkle of the plastic got Evie and Mae Ling’s attention.

  “What’s in the bag?” Cecil asked, looking up at him with her glassy blue eyes.

  “I bought a few jars of local jam.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he handed the bundle to Cecil. “And I brought dog biscuits for your,” he coughed, “smaller friends.”

  “You can call them dogs, you know,” Cecil said, waltzing to the cupboard with the jams. “They won’t mind. It’s what they are.”

  “Thank you, Blaez. That was very kind of you.” Evie slanted Cecil a look. “I don’t know how Cecil got your number—”

  Cecil winced. “I may have snooped in the center’s online personnel folder. Terry is surprisingly efficient.”

  Evie glared at her, but her smile was soft when she returned to him. “Why don’t we sit?”

  The ladies chattered incessantly and somehow still found a way to clear their plates. They peppered him with questions and by the time the lunch was over, Blaez had told them about his business, his love for the cold, and his little brother.

  “You should invite him over,” Cecil said, setting a hand on her stomach. “I’d like to meet my future brother-in-law.”

  Blaez laughed aloud, but stopped mid-way when he noticed Cecil blinking at him, not a hint of humor in her expression. He quickly closed his mouth and squirmed. “I’ll bring him... as soon as I find him.”

  “You lost your brother?” Mae Ling leaned over the table. “How?”

  “It’s a long story,” he said, reluctant to dive into the details.

  “Well, go on!” Cecil slapped his back. “We’re not staying quiet to be polite.”

  Like they had all afternoon, they got him talking about the day his father stopped by and told him to take care of Caldon. “That was five years ago. I’ve been looking after him ever since. Obviously, I haven’t done a good job, since he took off as soon as his wolf emerged.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up,” Mae Ling said. “I know a little something about being a rebel since I was one. My parents begged me not to come to the States, but I wanted adventure. I wanted freedom. I made many stupid decisions here. At the end of the day, I realized that my parents were right about things, but it was a lesson I had to learn the hard way.”

  “Your brother will come around.” Evie nodded wisely. “You’ve taken care of him for half a decade. Just give it time. He’ll return to you.”

  “If not, we’ll hunt him down and teach him a lesson, won’t we, girls?” Cecil laughed maniacally. “We’ve got a coyote, a panther and a fox,” she pointed to herself, Evie and Mae Ling. “We just gotta bat him around a little and he’ll wake up.”

  Blaez laughed despite his suspicion that Cecil would really go after Caldon if she had a mind to. His eyes skimmed all the women at the table. They were different and unique, but he sensed that they were genuinely starting to care for him.

  He couldn’t help that he was falling for them too. Even his worries about Caldon were abated after discussing it over dinner.

  Huh... was this what family felt like?

  CHAPTER NINE

  HER SIDES HEAVED, EXPANDING with every breath she drug into her lungs. Grasshoppers and toads came alive, filling the air with songs until she could barely hear herself think. Which was a good thing. Chantal had come to the woods to get away from her thoughts.

  I’m tired... She bowed her head, her snout gently scraping the earth. It had been a while since she’d sprinted at full speed like that. The adrenaline was its own type of drug and as soon as her legs kicked into gear, she hadn’t wanted to stop.

  The moon was a tiny blip in the horizon, obscured by thick clouds. Stars hid from the darkness. It was the type of night horror movies were made of. Chantal grew skittish. Just because she was a supernatural creature didn’t mean she liked scary things.

&nbs
p; She forced herself to move, drawing closer to the farmhouse. The wind picked up, tugging against her grey fur. When she’d first turned, Chantal bemoaned the fact that her fur was the dullest shade in the color wheel. In her mind, her wolf was as average as she was.

  Not the best discovery for an insecure fourteen-year-old with braces and acne.

  As she grew older, however, and learned more about who she was, she began to understand—if not altogether appreciate—the coat that she’d been born with. She even started to like being a werewolf... until Lucien showed up and she realized what they truly were. Monsters.

  As if conjured by her thoughts, Chantal spotted a pair of green eyes glowing eerily in the distance. They were staring right at her. Through her. Her instincts screamed for her to run. Fear pounded through her heart. Her paws tingled, anticipating danger. She forced herself to stay put and look again.

  Upon a second glance, Chantal saw nothing but hanging foliage and twisted tree limbs. No eyes. Not even a hint of a glowing flower. Nothing. Had she imagined it?

  Still trembling with fright, Chantal forced herself to check the bush. Her nose scouted the area, searching for the scent of a shifter or even a regular animal. Something that could explain the vision she’d seen.

  Nothing.

  I must be losing my mind.

  Unnerved, Chantal ran home and stopped in the garage. Her nails clicked against the tile as she stepped behind Mae Ling’s changing screen. Gold and red symbols swirled along the bamboo walls. Chantal closed her eyes, imagining her limbs returning to human form. When she opened them, her body was back.

  She dressed quickly and stormed into the living room where Evie, Mae Ling, and Ralph were gathered. The dogs barked their welcome and she gave each a scratch on the head before taking a seat beside Evie.

  “How was your run?” Mae asked.

  “You just missed Blaez,” Evie said with a little chuckle.

  “Blaez?” The sound of his name knocked everything else from her head. She swallowed as her heart thudded. Her wolf fought for prominence. Again. Even after that exhausting run and freakish encounter with the glowing eyes, she was still affected by the mere mention of him.

  Come on. One problem at a time. Relax...

  “Cecil called him over and had him doing all the handy work around here. I can finally sleep tonight without hearing that leaky faucet thundering in my ears.” Evie slid a glance at Ralph. “I’m glad we have someone to help out at the house.”

  “I said I would fix it eventually,” Ralph grumbled, glaring Evie’s way. “It’s not my fault your ears are hypersensitive.”

  “At least they’re not completely useless like yours,” Evie fired back, her expression as calm as ever.

  “Guys,” Chantal interrupted them before they could jump into a fight, “you haven’t noticed anything weird going on around here, have you?”

  “Weird?” Mae Ling tilted her head and put her feet down to stop her rocking chair.

  “Define ‘weird’,” Ralph said, staring straight at Evie. “Because we sure do have a lot of that around here.”

  “I mean...” Chantal talked loudly to keep their attention, “you haven’t seen anything strange in the woods or near the house?”

  Ralph laughed nervously. “What’s going on, Chantal. Are you trying to scare us?”

  “Looks like it’s working,” Mae Ling said with a smirk, and then she straightened and regarded her seriously. “Chantal, can you be more specific? Maybe we could be of help if you offered some details.”

  She shook her head, second-guessing herself. In the warmth of the living room with her friends around her, the moment in the woods didn’t feel as important. “Forget it. I think I may have run my wolf so hard I started hallucinating.”

  “Are you sure you’re alright?” Evie asked, leaning forward. “Is your energy off? Maybe Mae Ling could give you some of her oriental medicine. It works wonders for us.”

  “How do you think my fox stays in shape?” Mae Ling arched a thin eyebrow and ran a hand down her wide hip.

  “Come to think of it, my wolf has been acting strange lately. It’s harder to control.” She winced, recalling the way she’d touched Blaez in the stairwell that morning. “I can talk it down for now, but one day I’m afraid its just gonna take over.”

  “You better hope it’s not reacting to a man.” Mae Ling laughed. Ralph joined in and even Evie chuckled along.

  Chantal blinked, her heart rising to her throat. She scooted to the edge of her seat. “Why?”

  Evie brushed her arms over her stomach. “A shifter learns to control and respect her inner creature the moment her powers manifest—”

  “In your case, it would be your wolf,” Ralph explained.

  “And normally, the wolf will remain subservient to your human half in every situation,” Mae said.

  “Except one.”

  “Why are you guys dragging this out?” Chantal groaned. “Just give it to me straight.”

  Evie shrugged. “Your wolf will only fight you when it has found its desired mate.”

  Her jaw dropped. “What?”

  “Basically, you’re going to want to jump that man until your wolf is satisfied and you’re pregnant,” Cecil said from the stairs. She whirled into the living room, white hair limp from her shower, and sat close to Chantal. “So... who’s the lucky guy?”

  IF AN AWARD FOR ‘UNLUCKIEST Guy In the World’ existed, Blaez would probably win it. Instead of waking up to sunshine and blue skies, he met the promise of rain. Instead of padding downstairs to greet his brother who should be safe and sound in his house, he met only emptiness.

  And to top it all off, Blaez received a summons from both Hazel and Terry—two of the three women he really didn’t want to meet. To be fair, things could be worse. At least Chantal seemed content to keep her distance. He hadn’t heard from her since the hospital visit three days ago.

  “Alright, here we go.” Blaez stepped into the coffee shop to make his first appointment. He was late, but then... he didn’t really want to be there. The scent of coffee nearly overwhelmed him as he dragged himself to the table where a woman sat with her back to the door.

  He didn’t need to see her face to know who she was. The scent—of not just her wolf but many others—lingered all over her. Blaez stopped behind her booth and composed himself. He was in a bad mood, but he couldn’t let it show. After all, she was the woman who held his and Caldon’s future in her hands.

  “What are you doing?” Hazel turned her head so he could see her profile. Her blonde hair was swirled up in a bun and her sharp gaze pinned on him. He admired her ability to give such a focused side-eye as he walked forward and took the seat across from her.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Her thin lips curved up. “You’re lying.”

  He frowned at the table. “For a moment there, I forgot you were a human lie-detector.”

  “I’d accept that compliment, but it’s not my human side that can smell a lie.” She snapped her fingers and a waitress appeared with two coffees. “I hope you don’t mind. I took the liberty of ordering for you.”

  “I do mind.” He gave his cup back to the waitress and smiled. The human girl melted visibly and dipped her head low when he gestured for her to draw closer. “I’ll have the coldest drink on your menu,” he whispered and then winked. “Surprise me.”

  She jerked her chin up and down and then scampered to the counter. Stopping to throw a glance at him over her shoulder, she nearly knocked into an old man on a cane. Blaez smiled at her fumbling retreat, but when he glanced back to Hazel, he caught her glaring.

  “What?”

  “Classy.” She stirred her coffee. “How are things going at the center?”

  “You’ve been handing out my file left and right. I’m sure you can access that information on your own.” Blaez realized he was snapping and relaxed his stance. “Sorry. I know you did me a favor letting me take Caldon’s place.”

  She set her spoon do
wn. “It wasn’t a favor. It was a trade.”

  “Chantal is....” He pictured the woman in his mind. “She’s tough. And stubborn. That first day, she was all fired up and ready to kick me out of the center. I can see why you had to be a little underhanded to get her to cooperate with your pack.”

  His order arrived then. Blaez made a point to look his server in the eye when she set his drink before him. Her shy smile spoke volumes. The napkin she tucked under his glass had her phone number on it. Blaez set his cup on top of the pen scribbles. The lines blurred.

  Hazel waited until the girl had gone to continue. “It was worth it. I only want to see her succeed. Chantal would have floundered on her own if I didn’t get her to accept our help. Thank you for that. It looks like she’s taken a step in the right direction. For now.”

  “What’s it to you?” he asked. The look in Hazel’s eyes reminded him of himself when he spoke about his brother. “Why is Chantal Sommers so important?”

  “She’s my sister.”

  Blaez choked on his drink. “What?”

  Hazel took a sip of coffee and calmly said, “Many years ago, our pack was being hunted. It wasn’t prudent for us to stay together, so our parents split us up and sent us somewhere safe. The Sommers adopted Chantal when she was two. My sister grew up with them, having no memory of our family. We’ve only recently reconnected.”

  It all made sense. In the most ridiculous way. The three women capable of driving him nuts were all related. He should have guessed when Hazel went easy on him for lying to the Council. A leader like her would never bend the rules unless it was for the sake of her loved ones.

  “When you and your brother stumbled along,” Hazel nodded, “things clicked into place. I needed someone confident enough to take on my sister and get her to see reason and you needed to protect Caldon. It was a win-win.”

  His eyes darkened. “You could have been upfront and told me I was going to work for your sister instead of blindsiding me after the fact.”

  “Chantal’s relation to me changes nothing.” Hazel clasped her hands together. “In the eyes of the Council, you are still a criminal and she is overseeing your community service. We had a deal. I kept my end. I owe you nothing more.”