“What happened?” I croaked.
Doc turned to head back to his house and motioned for us to follow. “She had a fall and broke her leg, but luckily it’s a clean break. She’ll be in a cast for a few weeks, but she’ll be just fine.”
A fall.
She’d fallen.
She’d gotten hurt while I was in the woods, fucking Callie.
I’d never felt so disgusted with myself in my entire life.
I ran ahead of the doc and into his house, not caring about my manners at that moment. Following Mom’s scent, I raced down the hall and barreled into one of the rooms.
Mom was lying on an exam table, her leg propped up and covered in a bright blue cast. I hurried to her side and picked up one of her thin hands. “Ma. What happened?”
She yanked her hand out of my hold and waved it in the air. “Oh, I was just a clumsy fool. I tripped over one of the chair legs out back. Good thing Doc was outside because he heard me hollering and came over to help.”
I nodded slowly, my hands still shaking as I clenched them at my sides. “I’m so sorry, Ma. I should have been there.”
“Oh, be quiet. You can’t be with me all the time.”
I shook my head. “But I should have been there this time. I shouldn’t have been… out,” I finished lamely, not willing to divulge exactly where I’d been and what I’d been doing.
She leveled me with a glare, and I felt all of ten years old again. “Wyatt, I’m not doin’ this with you. It was an accident. It could happen to anyone at any time. Hell, it could have happened with you sitting right there next to me. Just stop your nonsense.”
I swallowed the rest of the things I wanted to say as I felt that tug in my stomach and knew Callie was nearby. When I turned, I caught her peeking her head in the room, a tentative smile on her face.
“Hey, Nora. Are you okay?”
Mom’s whole face lit up with a brilliant smile. “Callie! I haven’t seen you in ages! Come in here and give me a hug!”
Callie did as she was asked, her smile just as wide. “I’m sorry I haven’t been by lately,” she said softly.
Mom waved her apology away. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I’m just glad you’re here now.” She turned her bright smile my way, but as soon as she looked at me, it fell a fraction of an inch. “Wyatt, what are you doin’ walking around half-dressed? Didn’t I raise you better than that?”
I looked down at my bare chest, remembering for the first time that I was naked from the waist up. I glanced at Callie, who was tugging at her borrowed shirt, her face the prettiest shade of pink.
She cleared her throat. “Um. He leant it to me, Nora. Don’t blame him.”
Mom’s eyes darted from Callie to me a few times as a sly smile slid across her face. “Well, well, well. I see you two finally got your heads on straight. Good to hear.”
Now my face was heating up, and from the looks of it, Callie’s was quickly changing from pink to red.
Mom sighed and leaned back on the exam table, a satisfied smile on her face. “Hell, now I might actually get some grandbabies. You know your tomcat brother won’t give me any anytime soon.”
Callie turned wide eyes to me, but I just shook my head and smiled. Today, we weren’t going to worry about grandbabies. Today we were just going to be thankful that Callie was by my side. We were going to be thankful Ma was okay. We were going to be thankful that things were looking better than they had in a while. The rest could wait for later.
***
“Don’t be mad.”
I’d just opened my front door to find Callie with a wary look on her face. Without a word, I grabbed her hand and led her to the couch. I sat down, pulled her onto my lap, and wrapped my hands around her waist.
“Okay, what is it?”
She bit her lip and eyed me warily. “You promise not to get mad?”
My fingers crept under her shirt so I could feel her smooth skin. “I can’t be mad about anything with you sitting on my lap like this. Hit me.”
She shot me a small smile before sighing and looking down. “I can’t tell my family about us right now.”
My heart squeezed a little in my chest, but I took a deep breath and asked, “How come?”
She looked back up, opened her mouth and let it all tumble out. “Well, since Nana’s up for a visit, I thought this would be the perfect time to tell everyone, and I was going to do it at breakfast, but then Ellie and Abey came down and said they had something to talk to us about and wanted us to meet them in the conference room so I figured I’d wait and find out what they had to say, right?”
She took a deep breath and started right back up, “So, we all file into the conference room and Ellie drops the bomb that she’s pregnant and she and Abey are having their mating ceremony in only six weeks. How was I supposed to tell them after that?! I didn’t want to steal their thunder and I didn’t want to make it about us when it’s supposed to be about them right now. They’ve been through so much and they really deserve to be happy and I didn’t want to take any of that away from them. But I know I promised you that I’d tell them about us, and I don’t want you to think I’m going back on my word because I’m not. Now I’m conflicted about what to do and I’m worried you’re going to be mad at me.”
Honestly, I was out of breath just listening to her.
I tucked a wild curl behind her ear. “I’m not mad, love.”
“You’re not?”
I shook my head and dragged her a little closer. “How can I be mad when I have you and you love me?”
Her shoulders slumped and she smiled before leaning forward and kissing my lips. “I really do.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist and sighed. “We’ll just tell them after the ceremony.”
She pulled back and eyed me cautiously. “That won’t upset you?”
I shook my head, making sure I kept eye contact with her, so she’d know I meant it. “Nah, I don’t care. A few more weeks of sneaking around isn’t gonna kill me.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her tits against my chest, and I was instantly hard. “It is kinda hot sneaking around, isn’t it?”
My lips curled with a smile as I pressed them against the pulse in her neck. “Everything is hot with you.”
She giggled as I stood up with her in my arms and stalked across the living room.
“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.
“My room.”
“But it’s not soundproofed,” she hissed.
I shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to learn to be quiet, Ms. McCoy.”
She smirked at me as I stepped into my bedroom and kicked the door shut. “No promises.”
Chapter 37
Callie
“Think you could save the next dance for your boyfriend?” a deep voice whispered in my ear.
I smiled into my glass of moonshine, my eyes darting toward him. Honestly, I’d barely been able to peel them away since I spotted him in the crowd earlier.
It was the night of Abey and Ellie’s mating ceremony, and most of us were more than a little tipsy beneath the white tent and twinkle lights. Wyatt was dressed simply in a pair of light tan slacks and a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up his thick forearms. I’d never seen him look more handsome, and I’d seen him with his clothes off.
I set my drink down and took his hand, letting him lead me onto the dancefloor where he pulled me close and breathed me in. “Is that what you are? My boyfriend?”
He leaned back far enough to meet my eyes. “Why?” he asked cautiously. “What would you call me?”
It sent a small shot of pain through my heart that he still wasn’t as confident in our relationship as I was. That he still questioned things like this. That he had to wonder how I felt. It just meant I needed to work harder to erase those doubts of his.
I smiled wide at him and shrugged. “I just think of you as mine. I don’t need a title.”
His answering smile too
k up half his face and he looked so handsome in that moment, I had to refrain from kissing him right there in the middle of Ellie and Abey’s wedding.
It had been a long six weeks, but we were finally at the end of it. My brother was now happily mated, and as soon as they got back from their honeymoon on Sunday, Wyatt and I were going to break the news to them.
Honestly, at this point, it might not even be that surprising to anyone. We hadn’t been doing that great of a job hiding our relationship, the both of us too in love to care what anyone thought. Still, it would be nice to not have that hanging over our heads anymore. We just had to wait two more days.
“How about mate?” he suggested, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I raised a brow at him, and his cheeks darkened the tiniest bit with a blush. “What are you saying, Carter?”
He shrugged, his cheeks still rosy and so cute, I had to remind myself not to kiss him in public.
Just two more days.
“I’m just wondering if we’re next is all,” he said, his eyes not able to hold mine for more than a few seconds at a time. “You ever think about us having a mating ceremony?”
I watched him for a moment, hating the fact that he was nervous. That I’d made him like this. That I’d been so worried about my family’s reaction and dealing with their crap that I’d made Wyatt this insecure about us.
So, I told him the honest, no-holds-barred truth. “All the time.”
His eyes widened along with his smile. He spun me away from him before tugging me back into his chest as I giggled breathlessly.
“I’ve just been waiting for you to ask,” I finished.
He shook his head and dipped it closer so he could whisper in my ear. “I’d do it tomorrow, Callie girl. You just say the word.”
My stomach flipped with this nervous excitement that only Wyatt could create. “I wouldn’t have time to find a dress,” I said softly, my smile still stretched across my face.
He shrugged and pulled me close again. “You could go naked. I wouldn’t complain.”
I laughed and slapped his shoulder. “Well aware of your preference, but I’m not sure the other guests would appreciate me in my birthday suit.”
His face fell instantly. “You’re right. I don’t want anyone else seeing what’s mine.” He shook his head and spun me around again. “I guess we’ll just have to wait a little longer then.”
“Not too long,” I said with a grin.
His smile got soft as he tucked a curl behind my ear. “No. Not too long.”
He pulled me in close again, our hips swaying in time to the music. I closed my eyes and got lost in the feeling of his arms around me. Of the cool autumn air breezing through the tent. Of knowing I was with the person I was meant to be with for the rest of my life.
That thought brought me up short for a moment as guilt darkened my thoughts. Because even after all this time and all we’d been through, I still hadn’t told Wyatt we were fated. I could barely admit it to myself, let alone say it out loud.
I’d been conditioned from the age of sixteen to fear that term and everything that came along with it. To hate the very idea of two people being so inexplicably linked that one couldn’t survive without the other.
Now, though, things were different.
Now, I knew I wouldn’t want to live if anything were to happen to Wyatt. I wouldn’t want to go on without him. Now, I realized being fated wasn’t the curse I’d believed it to be, but the blessing that it really was.
I just hadn’t found the right time to tell him.
“Since we’re on the subject,” Wyatt said, his voice low and gritty in my ear. “What do you think about taking this a step further?”
I pulled back to look him in the eye, setting my thoughts aside for the moment. Something I was getting really good at but needed to stop one of these days. “Further? Further than a mating ceremony?”
He shrugged a single shoulder. “Yeah, further. Like making our duet a quartet instead.”
His light brown eyes were laser-focused on me, so serious and so hopeful, I felt my heart lurch in my chest. “Are you talking about having babies, Wyatt Carter?”
His smile was small and tentative. “Yeah, Callie McCoy. I am.”
I pressed my lips together and looked away from him, my eyes landing on my new sister-in-law and her growing belly.
Did I want to have kids with Wyatt?
Absolutely.
Was I ready for that right now?
I wasn’t so sure of that.
And at the same time, I wasn’t sure I was going to get a choice in the matter.
I looked back up at him. “You think we’d only have two?”
His smile grew as he squeezed my waist. “Well, who knows with your bloodline? It could be five for all we know.”
I laughed and shook my head. “It better not be.”
“So, what do you think?” he asked again, his voice hesitant and full of uncertainty.
I ran my fingers through his short hair. “Yeah. One day.” And that day might be sooner than either of us thought, but I wasn’t going there right now. Not thinking about that yet.
His eyes sparkled as he looked down at me, and I knew in that instant that we’d handle whatever came our way. Our love was strong enough to carry us through anything. I knew that down to my bones.
The song ended and Wyatt released me, albeit reluctantly. His fingers trailed along my forearms, sending a shiver down my spine before he let them fall to his sides. “You think I might get another dance later, or would that be pushing my luck?”
“I think you better dance with me later if you know what’s good for you.”
He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“In the meantime, you better go dance with your Mama before she gets swept off her feet by Jimmy.”
His eyes widened before he turned around to see our packmate chatting up his mom. Nora’s head fell back with a loud laugh and Wyatt growled before taking off in their direction. I shook my head and started scanning the crowds, looking for my own family.
When I found my older sister in someone’s arms, swaying to the music being played by the live band up front, my jaw almost fell open. Bea rarely danced with anyone. Said it made her look too weak to the other guys. I wondered for a moment who could have persuaded my thorny sister to let down her guard when the couple turned, and I spotted Will with his arms around my sister.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but when I really thought about it, I wasn’t that surprised. Nothing less than the original werewolf could have gotten through to someone like Bea.
The night dwindled down, and somewhere along the way, Ellie and Abey must have escaped the crowds because I couldn’t find them anywhere. I didn’t know exactly where they were heading, but he’d assured us it wasn’t far and that a few of his enforcers knew how to reach him if need be.
We’d all been preparing for an attack from the Charlotte pack any day now, and this ceremony had only been a short reprieve from that constant worry. The lodge had swelled with wolves from all over North Carolina who’d pledged to stand with us against him, but that didn’t make me feel much better.
Our Uncle Conrad’s pack was much larger than ours and he had way more enforcers than we did. If he chose to attack us, we’d be in trouble. And my mate would be on the frontlines.
As an enforcer, Wyatt and his brother and so many other wolves I called friends and family would be expected to defend the rest of the pack. They’d be putting their lives on the line to protect us.
None of them seemed put out by the notion, though. They all knew what they’d signed up for when they’d agreed to be an enforcer. They’d all vowed to protect this pack at whatever cost, no matter what. I just worried the cost would be too high.
That pull in my belly got stronger and I searched the space for Wyatt, knowing he had to be nearby. When I found him stalking across the dancefloor toward me, I gave him a soft smile that I knew didn’t reach my eyes.
/>
He pulled out the chair next to me and sat down a respectable distance away. “What’s goin’ on, Callie girl? You’ve got that look in your eye.”
I sighed. “Just worrying again.”
“About what, love?”
I met his eyes and told him the truth. “I’m worried about this mess with the Charlotte pack. I’m worried we won’t all make it through to the other side. Wyatt, if something happened to you–”
He scooted his chair closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Leaning down, he dug his nose into my styled hair and breathed deeply. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me.”
“You can’t promise that,” I whispered.
He leaned back and reached up to cup my chin in his big hand. “You’re right. I can’t. But I can promise you I’ll do anything it takes to make it home to you. Anything, Callie. You hear me?”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I hear you.”
He rubbed my cheek with his thumb before releasing my face and sitting back in his chair. “Besides, we don’t even know if they will attack. They’ve been quiet for weeks. Maybe nothing will happen and you’re worrying for no reason.”
I nodded along, but deep down, I knew he was wrong. I knew it was only a matter of time and somehow, I knew it would be bad. I just didn’t know how bad.
***
“I’ve gotta go, love,” Wyatt said softly as he kissed my lips.
“No,” I mumbled, still half-asleep. “Stay.”
He chuckled and kissed me again. “I’ve got to go patrol. I’ll be back later.” He brushed some hair off my face, and I nuzzled his hand. He sighed. “Don’t forget, tonight we get to tell your family about us.”
“You scared?” I asked, cracking one eyelid open to look at him.
He snorted. “Of what?”
“My family. They’re a lot to handle.”
He shook his head and leaned down to kiss me again. “I don’t care who I have to impress or what I have to do. If I get you in the end, then it’s worth it.”
“You keep talkin’ sweet like that, Carter, and I’m not gonna let you leave,” I mumbled.
Chasing Callie (Southern Werewolf Sisters Book 1) Page 31