Mia.
The name repeated over and over in his mind, until he thought of her with every pounding footstep.
Splash, splash, splash.
Mia. Mia. Mia.
Calum ran faster, but he couldn’t escape the sudden turmoil he felt within his heart. Was it possible that Mia had been wishing for something more than friendship with him this whole time?
Even more frightening, was it possible that he had been wishing for the same thing with her without even realizing it?
Calum tried unsuccessfully to push away the thought. He was being ridiculous. He was only thinking these things because Grant had planted the idea in his head. He vowed right then and there to keep running until he had managed to squash the strange new feeling of desire that was rising within him at the thought of Mia’s name.
It was going to be a long run.
Chapter Six
After a night of restless sleep, Calum forced himself to get up and go into work like nothing was wrong. But everything was wrong.
His alpha was planning to move to Alaska without him, most likely along with all of his friends. His boss wanted him to move to Texas. And his wolf coworker was making it abundantly clear that she was angry with him for leaving the bar last night, even though they hadn’t had any sort of plans together. On top of everything else, he couldn’t get Mia out of his head. He definitely blamed Grant for that. If Grant hadn’t planted this ridiculous notion in his head that Mia was interested in him, Calum would never have even considered the possibility of a relationship with her. Now, he couldn’t get rid of the idea.
Luckily for him, Mia seemed to be avoiding him. She’d been holed up in her office most of the day, not even making an appearance at the building’s cafeteria during the lunch hour. Calum was equal parts disappointed and relieved about that. Part of him felt desperate to see her, but a bigger part of him knew that nothing was ever going to come of this sudden interest he had in her. Better to stay away from her and let these feelings fade away naturally.
Calum couldn’t let his heart get tangled up in anything right now. Everything about the world was too uncertain. Sure, things seemed to be getting better, but there were still a lot of issues to work through. The low population meant there weren’t enough people to fill the necessary medical, transportation, and food supply positions. The world was slowly trudging forward, but it would be a long time before things fully recovered. Calum wasn’t sure he wanted to start a family in the middle of all of this. And he wasn’t just talking about cubs. In his mind, as soon as you found your lifemate and agreed to get married, that was starting a family. He would be responsible for someone other than himself—his lifemate—whether or not they ever had cubs.
The idea of being responsible for someone in such uncertain times did not sound appealing to Calum. He could take care of himself just fine. He didn’t need to be stressing about taking care of a lifemate. Of course, he would do everything in his power to protect his clan members, including Mia. But the general responsibility of taking care of your clan mates was much less than the incredible burden of responsibility that caring for a lifemate would bring.
Calum was happy to be a free man. He knew Grant would be disappointed in him for having an attitude like that—Grant was becoming more and more like their parents, always talking about honor, love, and legacy. Gone was the younger “wild child” Grant who had wanted nothing to do with clan rules. Now, Grant was acting just like a traditional alpha.
Calum furrowed his brow. If that’s what Grant wanted, then fine. Grant and the rest of the clan could move back to Alaska. Calum wasn’t interested in returning to his roots. It would take some time, but he would make new friends in the city. He didn’t need his clan to survive. Now if only he could get Mia out of his head.
As if on cue, a knock sounded on his office door. Calum had left the door open, and Mia was standing there now, rapping her knuckles on the door frame. She was wearing a pair of snug black dress slacks with a button-down dress shirt tucked in neatly. Her hair was pulled back in a no-nonsense bun, and, as far as Calum could tell, she wasn’t wearing any makeup.
She looked ravishing.
“Hey,” she said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, and spending most of her time staring at the ground instead of looking up at him. She definitely wasn’t herself today.
“Hey, stranger,” Calum said brightly, trying to lighten the mood. “I haven’t seen you around all day.”
“Yeah…I’ve been busy,” Mia said.
Calum frowned. “We’re all busy all the time,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, I know,” Mia said, but didn’t attempt to explain things further. “Listen, I don’t want to bother you but I don’t want you to hear the news from someone else.” Her tone sounded ominous, and Calum narrowed his eyes.
“What news?” he asked.
“I’m going to Texas,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I put in for a transfer and they approved it. I’ll be one of the three employees moving to Central Texas at the end of next week.”
“Next week?” Calum said, his heart dropping. “You’re moving next week? And why the hell are you going to Texas? You don’t know anyone there.”
Mia shrugged. “I just feel like I need a fresh start somewhere. D.C. reminds me too much of all the pain and struggle we’ve been through in the last year, trying to survive the war on shifters and then trying to get the flu cure out there. I want to go somewhere new.”
Calum struggled to keep his voice even. He didn’t want to sound like a desperate lover afraid of losing her, but his heart was pounding at the realization that this was actually happening. He wasn’t going to be seeing her every day anymore. The reality of it hit him hard. Somehow, the idea of her possibly going off to Alaska with the clan had seemed less final. Until Grant actually moved and until the other clan members actually agreed to go with him, Calum hadn’t been forced to face the truth: the thought of living far away from Mia made his heart hurt. In the space of a few minutes, Calum had gone from telling himself that things would be easier if Mia was gone, to realizing that he couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving.
“Calum?” Mia asked. Calum realized he had let his jaw drop in astonishment, and he clamped his mouth shut abruptly.
“Everyone’s leaving, anway. You know that right?” Mia asked. “Grant and Storm are moving back to Alaska, and Grant is trying to convince everyone to go with him. So far he’s convinced everyone he’s talked to that it’s a good idea.”
“Not everyone,” Calum said. “He talked to me last night, and I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not going anywhere. And I don’t think Texas is a good idea, either.”
Calum crossed his arms and stared defiantly at Mia, but Mia just shrugged in response.
“Well, I wasn’t really asking for your opinion on whether I should go. I’ve already made up my mind that I want to leave D.C. This transfer is a perfect opportunity for me to do that without losing my job. I just wanted to tell you before you heard it from someone else. So now I’ve told you. I’m going to get going.”
Mia let out a long sigh and then turned to leave. Everything in Calum screamed at him to call her back or chase after her, but his pride wouldn’t let him. If she wanted to go, let her go. And if Grant wanted to move to Alaska, let him. Calum was perfectly happy right here in D.C. he didn’t need anyone else.
Calum turned his attention back to his computer screen, but he couldn’t focus. The forms he was supposed to be processing were right there on his screen, but he had to read the words a dozen time before they registered in his mind. He was a mess, and considered going home under the guise of taking a sick day. But he figured he might as well stick it out here and save his sick days for when he really needed them.
Twenty minutes later, when Angela showed up at his office door with a scowl on her face, Calum wished that he had gone home.
“What?” he asked, not even bothering to conceal the annoyance in his voice.
&nbs
p; “I’ll tell you what,” she said, crossing her arms. “I don’t like being ignored.”
Calum resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m not ignoring you, Angela. I’m working. That’s what you do at work.”
“You left the bar last night as soon as I arrived,” she said, her lips turning down into that signature pout of hers that was starting to annoy the heck out of Calum.
“I didn’t know there was a rule that I couldn’t leave whenever I wanted,” Calum said, crossing his own arms. “What’s this all about, really?”
To his horrified surprise, he saw tears starting to form in Angela’s eyes. Was she really about to cry? How was it that he had problems with a girl and he didn’t even have a girlfriend? That seemed ridiculously unfair.
“You’re playing with my heart!” Angela said. Her lip started quivering, and she wiped at her eyes.
Calum let out a long, frustrated sigh. What the hell was she talking about? As far as he knew, he had never said or done anything to give her the impression that there was something between them.
“Look, Angela, I’m sorry if I’ve misled you somehow. I’m happy to have you as a coworker, and it’s fun to have a beer now and then after work when you happen to show up at the bar. But we’re just friends. I’m not interested in a relationship with you, or with anyone right now. I’m just here to work and help rebuild everything. Please don’t read into anything I say or do.”
Angela’s face fell and her lip quivered even more violently. Calum thought she was about to start full-on crying, but then, she suddenly stood up straighter and shook her head no.
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” she said, her voice rising. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, and I know there could be something special between us. You know it, too. Admit it.”
“Angela…” Calum said, letting his voice trail off as his exasperation grew. He wasn’t interested in arguing with Angela over whether they should be a couple, especially not in the middle of the office. Didn’t she have any sense of professionalism?
Just when Calum thought things couldn’t get any more awkward, Angela suddenly stepped into his office and crossed the few feet between them. Without warning, she put her hands on his face and put her lips on his. Calum’s eyes flew open in shock, and he tried to wriggle away, but Angela had a tight grip on his face. Her lips were soft, but she tasted like garlic, and there was no chemistry between them at all.
Calum tried to wriggle away again, using more force this time so that he could free himself from Angela’s hawk-like grip.
“Angela!” he said, his tone sharp. She was smiling at him with a look of satisfaction, as though she had just proven to him that they were meant for each other. But the only thing she had actually proven to him was that she was desperate and manipulative.
Calum started to stand, wanting to stretch to his full height to emphasize his point even more. Angela needed to know that her actions were completely unacceptable. But as he stood, his peripheral vision caught someone standing in his doorway.
It was Mia. She was holding a stack of tablets, and had a shocked, hurt expression on her face. She seemed to be frozen in place, but when his eyes met hers she was spurred to action.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I didn’t realize you two were, well…um…anyway. Sorry.”
With that Mia turned and started running away down the hall. Calum felt a sickening drop in his stomach, and he pushed past Angela.
“Mia! Wait!” he called after her. But she didn’t slow down. She kept running at full speed until she reached the elevator, quickly pushing the button for the door, which opened immediately.
“Mia! Hold on! It’s not what you think!” Calum called after her. He picked up his pace, desperate to reach the elevator before the doors closed. But modern elevators were too quick, and the doors had already halfway closed by the time Mia turned around in the elevator to look at him.
Her eyes were still wide and shocked, and the last thing Calum saw before the doors closed completely was a distinct trail of tears spilling over onto Mia’s cheeks.
Chapter Seven
The universe has a funny way of giving you what you want, Mia thought, as she stared into her bathroom mirror. The computer screen across the top of the mirror was scrolling the weather forecast, but Mia barely noticed it. She was too busy looking at her own haggard reflection. Her face was pale, and her eyes were nearly swollen shut.
Last night, she’d debated whether she would call in sick today. She didn’t want to appear uncommitted to her job and somehow lose the chance to transfer to Texas. But she didn’t want to see Calum again. Not when he was smooching on that weasel of a wolf.
Mia felt her forehead, which was burning hot. It looked like her decision had been made for her. She was too sick to go to work, whether she wanted to or not. She quickly called in to let her boss know she wouldn’t be showing up today, and then collapsed back into bed. She slipped into a series of fitful dreams, involving everything from being chased by a Texas longhorn to watching Calum and Angela get married. Hours later, when she finally woke up in a cold sweat, her room was dark. A quick glance at the time told her it was early evening. She had slept all day.
Unsurprisingly, she felt weak and dehydrated. The room was spinning a bit, but she forced herself to sit up in bed and then stand. She hobbled toward the kitchen, hoping she had tea and possibly even some soup. Her fever felt like it had gone down slightly, but her eyes still felt swollen.
She made it to her kitchen only to find that she had almost nothing in the way of food. With a defeated sigh, she sat down at her kitchen table and put her head in her hands. She’d been so busy with work and trying to fill out the transfer request that she hadn’t made the time to go grocery shopping. Going shopping was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but she didn’t have much of a choice, unless she wanted to order takeout. Mia frowned. She wasn’t sure that there was a good takeout option for chicken noodle soup, and that’s all she really wanted right now.
Mia rubbed her forehead as she tried to muster up the willpower to make a decision. It was hard to think right now. She wanted to crawl back into bed and hide from the world, but she had to eat something. Mustering up her last bit of strength, she stood back up and got a glass of water. At least she could hydrate.
Mia leaned back against the wall and took small sips from her water glass, trying to make sense of the jumble of thoughts in her feverish head. She hated how upset she felt over the fact that Calum and Angela were apparently a thing. She was angry with him, even though she had no reason to be. She’d known for a long time that Angela was chasing after him, so she should have made her own move on Calum if she really wanted to be with him. Now, it was too late. Angela had won him over fair and square, and Mia had no right to be upset about it. She had no claim to Calum.
Mine, her bear insisted, trying to rise up within her. Mia bit her lip so hard that it bled, and she pushed back the beast within her. But her bear insisted.
Mine, mine, mine.
Mia rubbed her forehead vigorously, as though she could somehow rub away the thoughts of Calum flooding her mind. Was it possible that he was her lifemate? Her bear seemed to think so. But it didn’t matter, did it? It was too late. She was moving to Texas, and Calum was dating Angela. Mia had missed her chance for true happiness with her lifemate. Destiny can only take you so far. At some point, if you want to be with your one true love, you have to take some action yourself. Mia hadn’t taken action, and now she would have to live with the consequences. No matter how much she disliked Angela, or how badly she wanted Calum to love her, Mia wasn’t the kind of girl to try to sabotage someone else’s relationship. Calum had made his choice, and Mia would have to live with it.
This thought sobered Mia, and the little bit of appetite she had disappeared. With a sigh, Mia limped into her living room and collapsed onto the couch.
“TV, on,” she ordered. The wall across from the couch instantly lit up
as the television embedded in it came to life. Mia mindlessly ordered the computer to flip through the channels until she found one playing an old slapstick comedy. She snuggled deeper into the couch and did her best to pay attention to the movie. Maybe some over the top, old-school humor was just what she needed to feel better.
After ten minutes of comedy, Mia was starting to feel marginally better. The movie was helpful for getting her mind off her current situation. But she was snapped out of her brief reverie by her computer announcing that there was someone at the door.
“Calum Pearsons is here. Grant building access?” the computer asked cheerily.
Despite her aching body, Mia sat up straight at lightning speed. Calum was here? What in the world. Why would he show up at her apartment unannounced? She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to have to look at his gorgeous face and be reminded that she wasn’t the one he loved.
“Calum Pearsons is here. Grant building access?” the computer asked again.
Mia was frozen in place. What should she say? She looked like a hot mess, and she didn’t want to hear him talk about Angela. But Calum was her clan mate and one of her best friends. It would be weird if she denied him access.
“Uh…grant access,” she said.
“Access granted,” the computer said, followed by a series of short beeps.
Mia flopped backward onto the couch and covered her face with her hands. It’s not like Calum hadn’t seen her looking sick or less than perfect before. It’s just that she didn’t want him to see her that way right after he started a relationship with the beautiful, perfect Angela.
A few moments later, the computer buzzed again as Calum rang the doorbell. “Calum Pearsons, requesting access,” the computer said. Mia raised an eyebrow. Calum’s fingerprints were programmed into her front door’s security system, so he could easily let himself in—and usually he did. Was he already feeling less comfortable around her now that he had another woman in his life?
Homecoming in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 6) Page 4