Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1)

by Heather MacKinnon

  The suspicion in his eyes faded the smallest bit. “That’s right. But what did she mean you had to run off?”

  Another easy one. “That was the day you brought Mom to Doc Monroe’s because she had that fever. I was just getting home with Callie when you called, and she must have seen I was upset.”

  There. Simple enough, right? Something any packmate would do for another packmate. No reason for my brother to push this any further, right?

  “So, there’s nothing going on there?”

  Unfortunately, this one I could answer completely honestly. “No. There’s absolutely nothing going on there.” I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and added, “Why would there be?”

  Wes was quiet for a long moment before shrugging. “Just a feeling I had. Guess I was wrong.”

  I bit my tongue as my mouth flooded with questions.

  Where was this feeling of his coming from?

  Was it an impression he got from Callie or from me?

  Was there more to his encounter with her that he wasn’t telling me?

  And most importantly:

  When had I become a thirteen-year-old girl?

  I shook my head to rid myself of the adolescent nonsense and looked around the kitchen instead. It seemed like I’d done all I could do for her before the sun set and I just hoped it’d be enough. And a change of subject was desperately in order.

  “I think I’m going to head to the lodge.”

  My brother slapped my back and walked with me through the house. “Yeah, you better get outta here. You remember the last time you shifted in the house? Mom almost had an aneurism she was so mad.”

  I shook my head with a chuckle. “Yeah, I remember. Took out the whole wall of bookshelves.”

  “That wasn’t funny.” We both turned to find our mom standing behind us with a hand on her hip. The smiles fell from our faces as our heads dipped.

  “We weren’t laughing,” I said.

  She narrowed her eyes at us. “It took me months to get your father to build those shelves and you took them out in seconds.”

  My head dipped lower. “I know, Ma. I’m sorry. I misjudged the sunset.”

  “And what about the time you shifted and uprooted a whole row of my rose bushes?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah. Sorry about that too.”

  “And how about–”

  “All right! Time to go,” I interrupted. If she was going to list everything I’d ever broken or messed up while shifting we’d be there all night. I crossed the distance between us and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “See you in the morning, Ma.”

  She squeezed my arm and gave me one of her Mom smiles. The kind that was like warm chocolate chip cookies, a big hug, and eternal acceptance all rolled into one.

  “Have a good night with your pack. Be safe, please.”

  I shot her a thumbs up over my shoulder and walked out of the house before I actually did shift in there and broke something. It was clear from past experiences that I’d never hear the end of it and Mom didn’t need any more ammo.

  I broke into a jog as the sun dipped below the tree line. The magic that made my body transform into a wolf every month ran rampant through my veins as I got closer to the clearing behind the lodge. But it wasn’t just the moon’s magic that was lighting me up like a live wire.

  I was also going to see Callie.

  My legs pumped harder as I raced toward her.

  I knew I was supposed to be keeping my distance, but this was one circumstance where I really couldn’t. I needed to shift into a wolf and that wolf was going to want to run through the woods with the rest of his pack. It was inevitable I’d see her, so I wasn’t fighting it like I had been for weeks.

  And what a rough couple of weeks it had been.

  I barely knew her, and I’d hardly spent any time with her, but I missed her. I missed seeing the corners of her mouth twitch when she was trying not to smile at me. I missed the way she was funny without really trying. I missed her rants about the environment, and the Panthers, and Taylor Swift, and whatever else she felt strongly about.

  I missed just being in her presence.

  I’d done my best to push those thoughts aside, but now with the full moon on its way and my wolf so close to the surface, I was through denying myself.

  As the clearing came into view, so did my packmates. Most of them were naked already or barely wearing anything and I felt overdressed in my jeans and flannel. I came to a stop near a pine tree on the outskirts of the clearing and started stripping.

  When I was done, I strode into the clearing to greet my pack. I shook hands, bumped fists, and patted a few backs as I walked through the crowd, but my eyes were peeled for one person in particular. I finally found her and her sisters just as the sun dipped below the horizon and the magic burst to life within me.

  The vibration started low in the pit of my stomach but rapidly spread to every finger and toe. My bones cracked and shifted in place as my wolf surged to the surface. Moments later, I was standing on four legs instead of two with only one thing on my mind.

  Callie.

  Even without my sharpened vision, I’d have been able to easily find her. She was the beautiful gray wolf with the pale blue eyes that called to me no matter how far away I was. I stood rooted to that spot as I watched her interact with her family.

  She was magnificent. Beautiful, and graceful, and strong, and wild. I couldn’t look away.

  Finally, she looked up, and our eyes met for the first time since the day we met.

  The Earth tilted on its axis, erasing everything else in that clearing but me and her. Callie’s pale eyes widened slightly as she took a single step toward me. It seemed like she was hesitating for some reason, but my wolf had no such issue.

  I leapt forward and broke into a run, headed straight toward her. I felt every foot that separated us like it was miles instead and knew I needed to eliminate the distance as quickly as possible.

  She was still frozen in place when I reached her, stopping just inches away. I breathed in her rose scent, letting it fill my lungs and cloud my brain in a way only she could. We were silent for a long time, our eyes locked. I didn’t know what was going through her head, but mine was completely wrapped around her. Completely drunk on her.

  Finally, she spoke inside my head.

  “You’re here.”

  I nodded. “I’m here.”

  Her wild blue eyes narrowed. “Where have you been?”

  It seemed like all pretenses were out the window. Which was a problem for me with the secret I kept hoisted on my shoulders.

  I didn’t know how to answer and knew saying something stupid like, ‘I’ve been around’ wouldn’t cut it. This was Callie we were talking about. I hadn’t known her long, but I knew enough to know that kind of half-assed answer wouldn’t fly with her.

  Finally, I took a deep breath and said, “Keeping my distance.”

  It was the most honest truth I could give her, but the second the words were out, I regretted them. Callie winced and leaned back, like my words had been a physical blow and not just a whisper in her mind.

  “Why?”

  I swallowed past the dry lump in my throat and looked away. I couldn’t stare into her fathomless eyes and think straight, and it was clear what we had hinged on what I said next. I also knew I’d said I needed to keep my distance, but that all changed the moment the sun set.

  “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  More truth, despite how pathetic it might sound.

  “I… don’t understand…” she said slowly.

  I wanted to respond, but before I could, she continued.

  “I usually understand everything and it’s ticking me off that I don’t understand you.”

  A loud bark erupted from my mouth as I laughed loudly. Damn. She was the funniest when she wasn’t trying to be funny.

  When I regained my composure, I found her eyes fixed on me, an inscrutable look in their depths.
I knew this was a conversation we should have, just as well as I knew it was one I couldn’t have. That meant I needed to deflect.

  “Come on. Let’s run.”

  Callie’s ears perked up as her tail began to twitch. “I’ll race you to the river.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No. You’ll eat my dust as I beat you to the river.” With that, I spun around and leapt into a sprint. I heard Callie hollering behind me, but I ignored her and raced forward.

  My insides warred as I ran with Callie and away from my problems. They’d still be there in the morning, but for tonight, I’d be with her like I didn’t have any secrets. Like I was just an average wolf, spending the night with the one woman in the world he couldn’t stay away from. I’d deal with everything else when the sun rose.

  Chapter 12

  Wyatt

  “Cheater!”

  The word was screamed into my head moments before the stinging bite of werewolf teeth in my flank knocked me off my feet. I spun around and locked my jaw gently around the nape of Callie’s neck before we went tumbling down the embankment.

  We fell into the frigid water with a splash, Callie thrashing the whole time.

  “Let me go, you meat head!”

  “Not until you admit you cheated back there.”

  “I CHEATED?! Have your tight shirts cut off the oxygen flow to your brain?” she said as she tried to swat me with her giant paw.

  “Are you trying to compliment my muscles again, Callista?”

  “It’s Callie, and no. I was insinuating you might have brain damage.”

  “Sounded like you were complimenting my muscles. You can’t seem to stop talking about them.”

  “I wasn’t talking about your stupid big muscles!”

  “So, you admit they’re big.”

  “Wyatt Carter, if you don’t let me go, I swear I’ll make you regret it.”

  Despite the clear size advantage I had, there was no doubt in my mind she’d hold true to her word, and honestly, she frightened me a little. I walked us out of the river and onto the bank before letting go of Callie’s neck and dancing out of reach.

  She sat there, shoulders hunched, licking her paw quietly as my stomach plummeted.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  She just sniffed and continued to lick her paw as my whole world shrunk to a single point around her. I thought I’d been careful, but something could have easily happened as we rolled down that hill. I crept closer, hoping I could identify what was wrong and whether or not I needed to get help for her.

  When I was just inches away, in a flurry of fur and claws, Callie leapt at me, knocking me off my feet and back into the river. I laughed loudly as I rolled her underneath me again and pinned her to the rocks.

  “Nice try, Callie.”

  She wiggled underneath me as I easily held her down. I opened my mouth to bark out another laugh when she wrapped her teeth around my front leg and bit down hard enough to make me yelp. In that instant, I lost the upper hand and found myself beneath her instead. She was much smaller than me, but with her sitting her whole body on my chest, I was basically beat.

  “You underestimated me.”

  “Clearly,” I huffed.

  She tipped her head back, barking loudly, and I did myself a favor and stopped struggling. Honestly, being underneath Callie like that wasn’t the worst way to spend my night.

  “You keep forgetting I grew up with four siblings. I can still pin Abey on a good day, and he’s the biggest and baddest out of all of us.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

  She tipped her chin and hopped off me, knocking the wind from my lungs. “If there’s a next time.”

  With that, she took off running upstream, splashing cold water in my face before I even had the chance to sit up.

  “That’s it!” I called as I jumped to my feet and took off after her.

  She laughed loudly as I chased her for miles, nipping her back legs when I got close enough, but mostly just enjoying the full moon like I never had before.

  Sure, I’d run with my packmates and wrestled here and there, but it was different with Callie. Like it was all brand new since I was experiencing it with her. It made the blood zip through my veins like lighting, energizing and electrocuting me all at once. It was the most beautiful kind of torture. Especially when my mind wandered too far ahead.

  When the sun rose in a few hours, all of this would be over. I’d go back to slinking around the shadows to avoid Callie and she’d go back to her ivory tower. Just as far away, just as unreachable as before. My gut churned at the thought of avoiding her again, but what choice did I have?

  I couldn’t let the ball drop with my mom again. Her life hung in the balance. If I wasn’t constantly on top of things, who knew what could happen? Wes helped, but he wasn’t as diligent as I was. Not as careful. It was up to me to make sure she was okay, and I took that job very seriously.

  Besides, what would the alpha’s sister want with a half-breed with no future like me? My entire identity was wrapped up in my family and being an enforcer for my pack. Callie, on the other hand, was smart enough and determined enough to save the world. I had no doubt about that.

  I’d be nothing but a distraction. An anchor around her neck, dragging her down when she was born to soar. I wouldn’t do that to her, which meant this was it for us.

  And if that was the case, I was going to wring every second from the night and memorize every inch of her while I still could. I’d bask in her rose scent and revel in her presence until the sun rose and the magic of the moon was gone.

  Sick of seeing only the backside of her, I pumped all four of my legs harder, and with a burst of energy, leapt through the air, catching her off guard and rolling us into the cold water again. Callie laughed as we tumbled, nipping and clawing at each other the whole time.

  We finally came to a stop on a small, sandy embankment. Our chests heaved with our labored breaths, and our tails wagged with the excitement still coursing through us. As I looked down at Callie, her eyes as big and bright as the full moon above us, I wondered how I’d let her go again.

  Without thinking, I leaned down and nuzzled her neck, pulling her scent deep into my lungs. She froze beneath me and I slowly pulled away, wondering if I’d finally taken a step too far. Her eyes were wide with what looked like fear and my stomach dropped.

  “Callie. I’m sorry. I–”

  “Ssh! Do you smell that?”

  I lifted my muzzle into the air and took a deep breath. Now that I wasn’t drowning in her scent, another infiltrated my nose. It was harsh, and stark, and wrong somehow.

  “Get off me!”

  Looking back down at her, I realized I was still pinning her to the ground. I pulled away and stood at attention, my hackles rising on their own.

  “What is that?” Callie asked from next to me.

  Without thinking, I stepped in front of her, shielding her from the awful smell and the worse feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “I don’t know, but I need to get you out of here.”

  Unsurprisingly, she began to protest, but I tuned her out as I mentally reached out to Abraham.

  “Alpha. Something’s wrong. I think you and as many enforcers as you can gather need to get here asap.”

  He answered almost immediately. “What is it?”

  I took another big sniff, my nose wrinkling in disgust. The scent was familiar in a strange way, even though I knew I’d never smelled anything like it before. It was putrid and awful. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was bad.

  “There’s something in the woods out here. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not good.”

  Abraham cursed quietly in my head. “Send up a signal. We’ll be right there.”

  I tipped my head back and let loose a long, loud howl so they’d know where we were.

  “What’s going on?”

  I turned to find Callie next to me, so I stepped in fr
ont of her again. “Abraham’s on the way. You should get out of here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I growled softly under my breath. “How did I know you were going to say that?”

  “Because you’re a smart man.” She stepped around me and started climbing up the embankment.

  “Where the hell are you going?” I called as I scrambled after her.

  “I want to find out what that smell is.”

  I raced ahead and cut her off, positioning my much bigger body in front of hers. “No. You’re not. You’re going to turn your little ass around and head back to the lodge where it’s safe.”

  She snorted and rolled her eyes before trying to walk around me again.

  “I’m serious, Callista. I don’t know what that is and I’m not willing to find out with you out here unprotected.”

  “I’m not defenseless, Wyatt. I can handle myself.”

  “I’m sure you can, but until I know what’s going on out here, I’m not willing to risk it. I’m not willing to risk you.”

  Her pale eyes softened the tiniest bit.

  “Besides. If I let something happen to you, the alpha would never forgive me.”

  Just like that, her once open and expressive eyes closed down like cell block D.

  “So, what you’re really worried about is impressing Abey.” She scoffed and shouldered past me, bumping me hard as she went. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he knows how hard you tried to stop me,” she spat with a scathing look over her shoulder.

  “Callie, that’s not what I meant.”

  “I think you’ve made yourself perfectly clear.”

  “No. I haven’t. Stop walking away from me,” I yelled at her back.

  “I’ll do what I want!” she hollered as she disappeared into the dense foliage.

  I cursed under my breath and hurried to catch up with her. I wasn’t just irritated at her, I was also furious with myself. I’d made it seem like the impression I made with Abraham was more important than her and that was the furthest thing from the truth.

  But maybe this was a good thing.

  Maybe having Callie mad at me would make it easier to leave her when the sun rose. Maybe I should have been pushing her away instead of trying to get closer. The thought made my stomach churn with dread even though my head knew it was for the best.