by Meg Ripley
“Hello?”
The sound of his voice melted over me. The words stuck in my throat. I panicked and hit End. What is wrong with me?
“Okay. I can do this.”
I picked up the phone again, and it rang in my hands. It was Wyatt. I took a deep breath and answered.
“Someone from this number just called and…”
“I’m sorry.”
“Glory!” He sounded as relieved as I felt to hear his voice. “How did you get my number?”
“I just spent a few minutes with your mother.”
“Oh good. She wanted to see you.” He was quiet for a moment. “Have you talked to your aunt?”
“Yes. I’ve been over there all morning helping her.”
“So, you’re not leaving today? Are you staying with her?”
“No, I’m still at the hotel in Marathon. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but at least until the funeral. A few days, probably.”
“Please,” he begged. “Can we get together? I feel like such a fool for not asking you when I saw you the other night; I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t, and I could kick myself for it.”
I chuckled. “It’s not like you to get flustered around women.”
“Well, this one woman in particular, you see, she’s nothing like other women.”
“Oh, no?”
“No. She’s the one who stole my heart years ago and never gave it back.”
My throat grew thick. Tears were coming too easily that day. I swallowed hard, not wanting to break down over the phone with him. “I know the feeling,” I whispered.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Sitting in my hotel room.”
“Are you up for meeting me?”
My heart jumped at the idea. “Yes. When? Where?”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he answered. “How about right there in the hotel restaurant in an hour?”
I couldn’t help but smile, too. “See you soon.”
I dug through my suitcase, trying to decide what to wear. I hung up the black dress I’d worn the night of the bachelorette party. I’d had no idea when I packed it that I’d also need it for a funeral.
I put on one outfit and stood in front of the bathroom mirror, but felt much too dressed up. The hotel restaurant was far from formal. I changed into a blue top and jeans and checked again, but the shirt looked all wrong. I had to look hot. I changed one more time and finally decided to go with a fitted tee shirt, skinny jeans, and heels.
I kept checking the time, but somehow, an hour passed and I was still messing with my hair and makeup. I hurried to finish up, but left the room unhappy with my hair.
I took the elevator down with so much nervous excitement in my stomach that when I reached the lobby, I needed several moments to steady myself.
It’s just Wyatt. You’ve only known him your whole life. So, why was I freaking out? But I already knew the answer: there were too many unknowns. We hadn’t even caught up enough for me to know whether he was single or not, though he hadn’t been wearing a ring. A good sign, but not evidence.
This meeting would help decide my whole future. Would I have my heart broken? Or would my heart finally be whole again? Would I uproot my life and move there? Would I become the Alpha of my clan? Would I even live long enough to make any of these decisions?
With one final deep breath, I stepped into the restaurant to meet my fate.
11
Wyatt
I sat at a table, watching the door. An hour had passed with no sign of her. I knew I’d arrived early—by about a half hour—but it hadn’t kept me from wanting to jump to my feet any time someone entered.
As I downed the rest of my beer, I felt completely off my game and undone; like I had no idea what to say to her or how to act. I felt like the fourteen-year-old version of myself, asking Glory out for the first time ever.
My inner bear perked up, suddenly sensing her presence. My heart sped faster, my eyes fixed on the door, and a few seconds later, she walked in. The moment I saw her, my chest exploded in joy; the piece that had been missing my whole life finally came to its rightful place. She made everything right.
Beaming as she walked toward me, she looked like an angel, even more beautiful than I remembered. I pulled her into a tight hug, taking a deep whiff of her hair, and she gripped me back just as hard. We stood that way for a long while, but I couldn’t bring myself to let her go. When people started to stare, I finally let my arms drop, taking her hand as we sat.
We gazed at each other for a long moment, our hands entwined together, before we both began talking at the same time. We laughed and I nodded for her to go ahead.
“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I came all the way here and didn’t get to have a real conversation with you,” she admitted.
I closed my eyes in relief. “I haven’t stopped kicking myself for not getting your number that night.”
“It was so unexpected.”
“It was.” I nodded in agreement.
“We have so much to talk about. Years’ worth. I bet if we started now, we’d still be talking next week this time.”
I laughed. “Maybe even longer. I’ve missed you so much, Glory.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
I squeezed her hands in mine. “Before we get into all that, can we get some business junk out of the way?”
“Actually, I have something to talk to you about, too.”
“I just wanted to ask if you had information about the murder.”
“All I know is what my cousin and clan mates have said: that Martin is cruel and Brady is working with him. Brady wants to overthrow Martin, and Martin wants to have complete power. In order to do that, he has to remove every member of the gray fox Alpha bloodline from Big Bend.”
So she was in danger. My jaw tightened. “I won’t let that monster come near you.”
She squeezed my hands back. “I know you’ll do all you can. Here’s the thing that you might be able to help the most with. Terri said Martin and Brady are getting the clan involved in illegal activity. I thought that if Martin were arrested, we would be safe.”
“But then who would be Alpha?”
She pressed her lips together and took a moment to answer. “Maybe me? Or whomever the clan wants.”
“Maybe you?” I hated to let myself hope at that level, but little could stop the bear in me from grabbing Glory and breaking into the Texas two-step.
She rubbed the top of my left ring finger and looked at me. “Are you seeing anyone?”
I guffawed. “Are you kidding me? No.”
She laughed, too. “I just had to get that out of the way.”
Panic shot through me. “Are you? Seeing anyone?”
She shook her head and the tension released.
“Anyway,” she said, “I didn’t know if you could look into Martin and find something to arrest him for…”
“It’s a possibility. We hear about most things that go on around Big Bend, so I’m sure someone can dig up something. But that could take time. And I’m not willing to just let him walk around if he’s after you. Has anything strange happened?”
“Not besides my uncle’s murder.”
“Do you think your clan would call for an execution?” I asked. “I don’t know if we have any evidence at all, other than Eric identifying his scent at the scene. It’s not much to go on for something as serious as an execution.”
“I’ve thought about that. Terri said no one wants to go that route, but they don’t want Martin in power. They’re convinced that I’m the only one who can protect them.”
“Are you convinced?” I wondered.
I thought about all Sawyer did as our Alpha; his duties and sacrifices. With her strength, boldness and compassion, she would lead well. They would love her. And it would mean she’d stay.
“I think I could handle it,” she admitted. “But I don’t know that it’s the only way. It’d be
a big change for me. I never once considered that I would be Alpha of anything. Now to come back and to be begged to take my ‘rightful place’? It’s unsettling.”
I nodded. “I don’t blame you for being confused. I don’t think about it much, but if something ever happened to Sawyer, I would be Alpha. I don’t reckon I’d do all that good of a job, and if it were to happen out of nowhere, it’d freak me out.”
She laughed, brushing a tear from her eye. “Exactly.”
“Well, I’m here and I’ll do everything I can for you. I’ll protect you every way possible.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I wish my parents could be here.”
“How are they?”
“My dad’s not doing so great. That’s why he’s not here for my uncle’s funeral. He can’t travel.”
“Oh no. Is it that heart problem still?”
“It’s gotten worse.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” I thought about the conversation I’d had over supper with my folks. “Do you think your dad’s still mad? Would they be upset that you’re talking to me? Your aunt seemed…”
“I think Aunt Emily has held onto things longer because she’s here and sees you all. My parents…” She shook her head. “It still bothers my dad, but I don’t think it’s anger. I think it’s more pride and regret than anything.”
“Pride?”
She pulled her hand back and picked at the edge of the placemat. “There’s something I found out much later about that whole thing. The whole feud.”
“Yeah. Me, too. Like the fact that my dad stole that sheep from your family when he told us you gave it to us.”
She raised her eyebrows. “He said that? Well, my dad should have paid for the goat, if nothing else. Poor Lucy. But that’s what I found out. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay for the barn or the goat. He couldn’t.”
I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. The Thomas ranch had always seemed to do well. Plenty of livestock to butcher. “What do you mean?”
“My parents filed bankruptcy. We didn’t sell the ranch, we lost it. The bank took it back. And that’s why we had to move. We were able to rent a house cheap from one of my dad’s cousins. If we hadn’t moved there, I don’t know what we would have done. We might have ended up living with family or in a shelter.”
I sucked in a long breath as her words sank in. “Well…this changes everything.”
“I don’t know why they didn’t just tell your parents what was going on. And they’re still too proud to admit what really happened.”
“Man. If I told my parents, I bet they’d see it all differently now.”
“I know I did. I was so mad at my dad before. I couldn’t understand why he was being like that. And the sheep. That had something to do with the assets. A bunch of stuff was sold off to pay the debts. He needed every one of those sheep, and the only way he could get out of having to come up with the money to cover the loss from the sheep was to sell the one treasured possession he’d managed to hang onto: that old gun that was his grandpa’s.”
“But if it was stolen and he had the police report to back it up, then he wouldn’t have to pay for it?”
“You got it. That’s the only reason he pressed charges. And, he felt so bad that he ended up dropping the whole thing and selling his gun to pay for the sheep anyway.”
My heart sank. If my dad had any hint of this, he would have helped them. He wouldn’t have cared about the barn. He wouldn’t have stolen the sheep. “Can I tell my parents? Or would that upset your dad?”
“I think he’s enjoyed his pride long enough.” She grabbed my hands again and squeezed them together. “If I come back, I don’t want there to be anything between our families—or us.”
Hope surged in my chest again. “I don’t either. If I tell them what you just told me, they’ll feel like asses. I bet they’ll even apologize. Unless they shouldn’t say anything. I don’t want to upset your dad all over again.”
She thought for a moment. “No, don’t tell them. I will. If my parents are pissed at me over it, so be it.”
“If you’re sure.”
She let out a low growl from deep in her throat. “The whole thing still makes me so mad. Everything they put us through? And for what, to save face? Our fathers were friends forever. There was no reason for them to keep secrets. I don’t think they really know how badly it affected us. That time was so hard. Being right here in town and not being able to see you, then being taken away from everything? The pain of that has never quite left me.”
“It felt like you were just ripped out of my life. Like you’d died, only worse because I knew you were out there, far away from me. The longing…”
“It affected my whole life,” she said.
“Glory, I have to tell you… I’m not proud of it, but I’ve been with a lot of women. I hate to have to admit that, but the thing is, none of them meant a thing to me. I wanted them to. I wanted to find what I had with you. Something needed to fill that hole where you belonged, and I gave damn near every woman I came across a chance to be half of what you were to me. But not one of them came close.”
Her mouth pulled into a half smile. “Well, I’ve been on exactly 23 first dates. And guess how many second dates? Two. Zero third dates. I did sleep with one guy when I got a little buzzed one night, but other than that, I’ve barely done more than kiss another man since I was with you. No one made me feel like you did. Like you still do.”
“You want to hear something funny?”
She raised an eyebrow at me.
“In my clan, Sawyer and Elijah have found their mates. But they’re the kind where fate draws them together and they never part.”
“You think we’re fated?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but Sawyer and Elijah say that what I feel for you is what a fated mate bond feels like. It explains why we’ve never found anyone else.”
“It explains why I still have such strong feelings for you after all this time.”
Her words flooded my heart with intense warmth. Tears filled my eyes. “I love you,” I whispered.
She slid out of her side of the booth and scooted in beside me, wrapping her arms tight around my shoulders, confessing her love back. I kissed her neck and moved to her jawline, then once my lips touched hers, I knew she was the one for me, without a doubt. No kiss had ever compared to hers. This was what I’d been missing all those years.
I kissed her hungrily, only vaguely aware we were still in public. “Can we get out of here?” I whispered.
12
Wyatt
I left a ten on the table since we hadn’t ordered anything other than the beer I drank before she got there. Taking her hand, we hurried out of the restaurant, and just outside the door, I clutched her close to me again. “Your place or mine?” I asked.
“Well,” she breathed, “my place is only a short elevator ride away.”
“Lead the way.”
She twisted her fingers through mine and we hurried to the elevator. Several other people joined us, so I was forced to restrain myself. We stepped out of the elevator and found her room. The door barely closed behind us before I pressed her back against it, kissing her hard.
She wrapped a leg around me and I lifted her easily. I was already rock hard, and pressing against her like that made me want to burst. If I didn’t slow things down, it would all be over too soon.
I stepped back and held her close as I carried her to the bed. She wiggled out of her clothes so fast it made me chuckle, but after just one look at her naked body, all humor left me. I undressed more slowly than she had and lay beside her, a few feet between us, just looking. She propped herself up on one elbow to face me.
“How did you end up way over there?” she asked.
“Just wanted to enjoy the view for a moment.”
She rolled onto top of me and pinned me to the bed. My inner bear roared, clawing at my insides, preparing to once again claim what is his. As she kissed my nec
k and gently nibbled my earlobe, I let my hands explore her soft skin, moving around her ribcage to cup her breasts and rub my thumb over her nipples. As they stiffened at my touch, she let out a soft moan.
I reached my hand between her legs and sank a finger between her slick folds, getting even harder as she bucked her hips against my hand, and I couldn’t stand the wait any longer. Teasing her entrance with my member at first, I slid into her slow and deep and paused for a moment, relishing the intensity of our union for the first time in years.
As she began to ride me, I watched her eyes alight with pleasure. I wanted to stare into her eyes forever. I wanted my children to have her face. When I pictured it, it felt so real, so perfect. I swallowed hard, and tears lay low in my eyes.
Glory went still and watched me. “Everything okay?”
I reached up, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Everything is perfect.”
She grinned seductively as she began to rock her hips again, leaning back slightly, giving me full view of her gorgeous body. My hands found her breasts again, and I sat up to draw one of her firm peaks into my mouth.
Glory wrapped her arms around me and I carefully cradled her, rolling so I was on top. Lifting one of her legs to get a deeper thrust, I entered her again, her moaning growing more and more urgent as I tipped my hips. I could still remember just how she liked it, and when I found the spot, she let out a soft cry.
“Oh, god,” she gasped.
Feeling her walls tighten around me was all it took. The muscles of my thighs clenched as my orgasm rocketed through my entire body, forcing me to still from the intensity of it all. Remaining deep inside her, I began to rock my hips, torturously slow. She grabbed my ass and tried to pull me in, but I took my time.
“Please,” she begged.
I kept a steady pace, moving in a way that my cock could massage the little spot that set her off. She pushed her hips up and cried out, digging her nails into my back as she crushed herself against me.