by Belle Aurora
A thrill ran through me. He was the first man I’d been so open with about what I wanted and needed. It surprised me how comfortable I was with Calder though I barely knew him. Somehow, we just seemed to be in sync.
My lips twitched when my thoughts about syncing led to me hearing Bye Bye Bye on a loop in my head. Feeling silly, I wrapped the huge bath sheet around my body, dried my hair, and went back into the bedroom. I felt tired and deliciously sore. I decided to take Calder at his word and sleep in his bed.
I hesitated at the dresser, not wanting to invade his privacy, but also not wanting to sleep naked in case someone came looking for him in the middle of the night. The house was full of vamps, weres, and witches and I really didn’t want to be in my birthday suit if someone showed up.
Deciding that I’d rather be clothed and risk annoying Calder than flashing an unsuspecting stranger, I yanked open a couple of drawers until I found a neatly folded stack of t-shirts. I shook one out and pulled it over my head.
A wave of fatigue hit me hard enough to have me swaying on my feet. A glance at the clock told me it was nearly two a.m., well past my usual bedtime. I flicked on the bedside lamp and switched off the overhead lights. I drank a little water and tried to keep my eyes open while waited for Calder, but it was a lost cause. Within minutes, I drifted off.
Something jarred me from sleep. I lay still for a few minutes, trying to figure out what woke me. Down the hall a door slammed, followed by another. That was probably it. Blinking to clear my vision, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost six a.m.
Rolling over, I reached out, thinking maybe Calder had returned without waking me. The other side of the bed was cold and empty. He’d never come back. Crazy thoughts assaulted my mind, worries that he was hurt or in trouble. Heart pounding, I climbed out of bed and yanked on my snug leather pants. Without the aid of the baby powder I’d used earlier, it was tricky, but I managed it.
Slowly, I opened the door to the hall and peeked out. I wasn’t sure why I was trying to be so quiet. I was an invited guest, a friend of Donna’s. Then again, all that partying the night before might have made some of those vampires hungry. Rolling my eyes at my own wild thoughts, I walked down the hall, my bare feet silent on the carpet. I reached the staircase and took a couple of steps down when I heard the quiet murmur of voices.
Instinctually, I crouched down on the steps, partially hidden by the railing on the stairs. God, I was being silly, acting as though someone was going to chase me down and throw me out if I was seen. I recognized the low rumble of Calder’s voice.
Happy he was back, I smiled and was about to push to my feet when I heard a woman’s low, flirtatious laugh. I froze. What in the hell? Craning my neck, I watched as Calder walked into view, shirtless and barefoot, his back covered in scratches that looked like....were those fingernail marks? The woman appeared a moment later, wearing only a miniscule pair of lace panties and sheer matching bra.
Oh, shit, shit, SHIT. My stomach twisted painfully as she rose on her toes and pressed a light kiss to Calder’s cheek. The ache faded into numbness as I watched his hands curve around her waist to the small of her back.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the roaring in my ears, but their body language said it all. Their attire, the way he was touching her, only a blind fool wouldn’t know what had happened. Considering I’d become adept at reading signals much more subtle than those during my teenage years and, later, when I dated a series of compulsive cheaters, this was like a slap in the face.
When the roaring finally subsided, I heard Calder say, “I need to get upstairs, I have someone waiting for me.”
The woman chuckled. “Lucky girl. Before you go, I do need to give you one more thing.”
Calder didn’t reply verbally, but that wide, wicked grin I’d seen so often last night spread across his face as he followed her out of sight.
Feeling as though I was going to vomit, I crept back up the stairs on my hands and feet. When I reached the top, I stood and swiftly walked back to Calder’s room. Though I just wanted to leave, to get the hell away, I didn’t want him coming after me. I went to the desk in the corner, grabbed a pen and paper and scratched out a quick note. I wanted him to understand that I was gone and I wasn’t coming back.
When I finished, I left the note on the nightstand and grabbed my boots, shirt, and corset. I was back out the door and moving toward the staircase on the opposite end of the house at light speed. I only stopped long enough to snag my purse and keys out of the mudroom off the kitchen where I’d left them. Somehow, I managed not to run until I was out of the house and in the driveway.
My bare feet slapped on the cement as I dashed to my car, unlocking it with shaking hands. As quickly as possible, I shoved my key into the ignition. I didn’t even clasp my seatbelt until the car was rolling toward the front gate. The guards at Conner’s were well-acquainted with me and my sporty little Mustang, so they merely waved at me and opened the gate.
As I drove home, Donna’s words about staying away from the werewolves echoed in my mind. I had barely given them a thought last night while I’d been naked against the library wall or in his bed, but now, they were all I could focus on. She tried to warn me, but, as usual, I acted impulsively. I’d actually thought that Calder wanted more than a one-night stand. He seemed interested in me and not just for the sex. I enjoyed our verbal sparring and his smart-ass remarks. His request that I wait in his room for him, sleep in his bed, it seemed so sincere. Just like all the things my father said to my mother and my lying, cheating exes had said to me.
It seemed that, even after years of experience with men like Calder, I still hadn’t learned my goddamn lesson.
I held it together until I reached my townhouse. Incredibly grateful I lived in a unit with a single car garage, I pulled inside. I shut off the car and then closed the overhead door before I climbed out. Though it was fairly early on a Saturday, people were already out of their homes, jogging or doing yard work.
Still barefoot, I went inside my townhouse and straight upstairs to my bedroom. As soon as I passed the open doorway, I began shucking my clothes, leaving them in a haphazard trail behind me. Though I’d bathed a few hours before, I felt an uncontrollable urge to take a long, steaming hot shower. Since I’d spent the night in his shirt and his bed, I could still smell the warm tang of Calder’s scent on my skin and in my hair. I needed to eradicate all traces of him from my body and mind.
I turned on the shower, making the water as hot as I could stand, when my naked reflection in the mirror caught my eye. Suddenly, all the marks I’d been cataloging earlier seemed to mock me.
Stepping under the scalding water, I finally allowed myself to cry.
Chapter Twelve- Calder
“I appreciate your help, Chloe.”
She glanced over her shoulder, smiling. “No problem. If I had known that Shane was going to bait your pack members like that, I would have kicked his ass and left him at home.”
Chloe MacArthur was the enforcer for the pack from Austin. They had come in for the weekend to meet with Conner and the Council, as well as my pack’s alpha, Lachlan. At first glance, I’d rolled my eyes at the idea of a female enforcer, because, well, she was a girl. I know, I know, completely sexist and narrow-minded. I guess I’d forgotten how vicious and bloodthirsty a she-wolf could be. Most of the females in our pack were fairly laidback.
By laidback, I mean they would only maim a male for misbehaving rather than outright killing him.
Chloe was not that sort. I’d seen her take on male wolves twice her size and make it look easy when she won. In order to reach beta in my pack, I’d had to fight my way through the ranks and I hoped to God Chloe never asked to join our pack because, as good as I was, she was better. I wasn’t too prideful to think that I wouldn’t get my ass kicked into next year if I ever went toe-to-toe with her.
In fact, after seeing the way she handled her wayward pack member, Shane, this morning, I knew I w
ould get my ass kicked. The confrontation had begun between Shane and one of my pack members, Kyle, while they were at the party. As was often the case among wolves, the disagreement was taken outside and punches were thrown. Chloe and I had tried to break it up, but Shane shifted and almost ripped Kyle’s throat out.
In order to hunt the dumbass down, Chloe and I had shifted as well. I didn’t know what she had planned for him and I really didn’t care. We chased him to ground and she incapacitated him.
With all the fists and claws flying, my shirt had been ripped to shreds as well as parts of my back. The deep scratches burned and throbbed. I knew they would heal in a day or so, faster if I slept for a few hours.
Since she still had a few streaks of blood on her skin, Chloe hadn’t bothered to dress again. She’d muttered something about not wanting to ruin her designer dress with bloodstains. Then she’d kicked Shane in the ribs. Apparently, her fancy clothes meant a lot to her.
As shifters, we were accustomed to nudity. Modesty was an unfamiliar concept to most werewolves. Considering we often stripped, shifted, and hunted together, most wolves weren’t shy, so no one batted an eye when Chloe walked around in her underwear. Even if it had been a big deal, I doubt any of the wolves in either pack would have had the guts to risk pissing her off.
“Here,” she said as she handed me a card. “This is my number. As things progress with the packs and the Council, we’ll need to keep in touch.”
She leaned forward, highlighting all the gorgeous curves and firm muscle on her body. Just a few days ago, faced with that barely there lingerie, I would have been all over her. In fact, in the past, we had blown off steam together. Now, she was just a beautiful woman that inspired my admiration rather than lust.
When she noticed my lack of response, her brows raised. “That lucky girl waiting on you must be pretty special.”
Ricki was. She was mine and I was hers. My mind stuttered at the thought. Awareness snapped through my brain. Fuck me, she was my mate. How had I not recognized it? My attraction to her scent, my possessiveness bordering on obsession, and the driving, uncontrollable urge to mark her as mine. These were the classic signs of a male who’d found his mate.
I cleared my throat, which had all but closed up at my epiphany. “She’s my mate,” I choked out. Feeling weaker than a newborn pup, I staggered back and collapsed on the sofa in Conner’s office. “Holy shit, she’s my mate.” I rubbed my aching chest, realizing that it hurt because I was holding my breath. I sucked in air and released it so quickly, I thought I was going to pass out. I glared at Chloe as she giggled and clapped her hands.
“Oh my God!” she squealed. “I never thought I’d see the day. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!”
With her wide smile and high-pitched giggles, she looked nothing like the deadly she-bitch I knew her to be. Knowing it would wipe that smug look off her face, I replied, “You know, you’re acting like a girlie girl.”
Sure enough, she scowled at me. “Shut up.”
I shrugged. “Call’em like I see’em.”
Chloe studied me with narrowed eyes for a moment before she smirked. “You’re just pissy because you know your days of sniffing after any bitch in heat are over.”
Actually, I hadn’t given that a second thought. Sex with Ricki was better than anything I’d ever experienced. I didn’t want anyone else if I could have her. The only obstacle was her humanity. It would be almost impossible for her to gain respect within the pack unless I turned her. After our short conversations earlier, I doubted that would be an easy task. Ricki had a mind of her own and she was stubborn. Also, turning a human was difficult and painful and my heart constricted at the idea of causing Ricki any pain. There had to be another solution.
Groaning, I buried my head in my hands. “I can’t wait until you find your mate,” I grumbled. “I’m going to rub this moment in your face.”
“Oh hell no. I have yet to meet a wolf who could take me on and win.”
I lifted my head. “Maybe your mate isn’t a wolf.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Never gonna happen.”
I rose to my feet. “As fun as this has been, I need to get back to my....mate.” I rolled that word over my tongue and discovered I enjoyed not only the sound of it but also the thought.
She swayed over to me and kissed my cheek. “Seriously, Calder. Congratulations. You deserve to be happy.”
I only nodded in response and left Conner’s office. My body had suddenly realized that it was well past dawn and it hadn’t rested for over twenty-four hours. Knowing that Ricki had promised to wait for me gave me the energy to bound up the stairs.
My room was almost completely dark when I entered. Thinking Ricki was still sleeping, I didn’t bother with the light. I stripped off my jeans and boots, wincing as the motion pulled at the fresh scratches on my back.
It wasn’t until I pulled back the blankets that I realized the bed was empty. Frowning, I went into the bathroom, hoping to find her there. Empty. Fighting my rising panic, I sniffed the air and realized that Ricki’s scent was fading. Considering how strong it had been when I entered the room, she must have just left.
When I went back to the bed to pull my jeans on and go in search of her, I noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand. Snatching it up, I switched on the lamp and read the words scrawled on the page.
I can’t do this. Last night was a mistake.
-R-
I crumpled the note in my hand, anger, and what felt suspiciously like hurt, warring within me. She’d left me. I finally found my mate and she thought it was a mistake. The wolf within me howled in rage. I didn’t know what to do. She was human and didn’t understand how shifter society worked. Should I let her go? Try to explain? When a male marked a female the way I’d marked her, when he asked her to stay with him, it was the same as proposing marriage in the Pack.
MINE!
The growl escaped my throat before I could swallow it. Letting her go was no longer an option. She belonged to me. I would let her run, for now. After all, I’d warned her last night, never run from a wolf unless you want to be chased. I intended to chase her until she no longer had the will to flee.
Ricki belonged to me. It was only a matter of time before she knew it too.
The End
About C.C.
A native Texan, C.C. grew up either reading or playing the piano. Years later, she’s still not grown up and doing the same things. Since the voices in her head never shut up, C.C. decided to try and profit from their crazy stories and started writing books.
Now that she has a baby girl at home, C.C.’s non-writing time is usually spent cleaning up poopy diapers or feeding the poop machine. Sometimes she teaches piano, cooks, or spends time bugging her hubby and two beagles.
Contact C.C.
C.C. loves to hear from her readers!
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorccwood
Twitter: @cc_wood
Website: www.ccwood.net
Titles by C.C. Wood
Novellas:
Girl Next Door Series:
Friends with Benefits
Frenemies
Drive Me Crazy
Girl Next Door-The Complete Series
Kiss Series:
A Kiss for Christmas
Kiss Me
Novels:
Seasons of Sorrow
NSFW Series:
In Love With Lucy
Earning Yancy
Paranormal Romance:
Bitten Series
Bite Me
Once Bitten, Twice Shy
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