They were walking back to the Inn when they passed the Foundlings thrift store and Lola spotted a dress in the window. It was a hot pink number with a snug, strapless bodice, a tulle skirt shaped like a bell, and silver sequins at the waist and bodice. It looked to be close to her size and with a few easy alterations, she could see wearing it for the grown-ups Homecoming dance. Given the lack of clothing choices in Perdition for someone of her size, it was a rare find.
“Phelan, let’s stop,” Lola said, placing a hand on the crook of his arm.
Coming to stand next to Lola and Phelan, Bridget smiled warmly.
“Dear, that would look amazing on you!” Bridget said. Phelan gave Lola one of his smirking smiles, his eyes warm and fond.
Lola tugged on Phelan’s sleeve, and he went inside with her. Johan and Bridget followed.
When Lola inquired about the dress, she was told it had just been donated.
“You’re in luck,” said the shopkeeper, carefully removing the garment from the mannequin. “This came in last night. Someone left it at our donation center, and I just put it up in the window not forty-five minutes ago. It’s homecoming season, so I knew it wouldn’t last long.”
Lola couldn’t help but think some supernatural force was at work, bringing her and the dress together. She was elated, grinning like a jack-o-lantern, and didn’t even fuss when Phelan insisted on paying for it. That still left the matter of shoes, but that was a small detail. If she needed to, she could figure out a way to dress up her sneakers.
As they turned to leave, she froze at the sight of Bridget standing in line behind them, an armful of what appeared to be gently used baby sleepwear. Bridget offered a sheepish smile, while Lola blanched, barely able to contain her anger at the other woman. She opened her mouth to speak, with no clue what she would say. She began to babble and sputter, and Phelan, sensing an eruption in the making, took Lola by the elbow and steered her out of the store and onto the sidewalk.
He pulled her into his arms, stroked her back, and whispered in her ear.
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to her, and we’ll go back to the cabin,” he told her before ducking back inside the shop. Lola saw him pacing back and forth in front of mother, waving his hands as he spoke to her. His mother’s eyes were downcast and she appeared chastened. Lola watched to see what would happen next. He turned to address his father, who gave his wife a shoulder hug. Finally, Phelan turned away from his parents and left the store. On the sidewalk, he grabbed her hand, offered a wan smile, and together they walked to the truck in the parking lot of the Inn.
And so were Jane, the proprietor, and Eric, the...whatever he was. She was priming one of the plain composite wood pillars holding up the roof of the porch, while Eric sat on the porch steps watching Jane’s movements with predatory intensity.
What was going on between those two?
Phelan and Lola got in the truck. Then he waved at Eric, who returned the gesture.
“See you tonight,” Eric yelled out.
They turned away from the Inn and headed out of town.
“Is he going to the run tonight?” she asked.
“Yep,” Phelan replied, eyes on the road.
“Are the two of them dating?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
“Something like that,” he said, letting out a harsh breath. She sensed his frustration, his irritation with his mother.
They drove on for a few more minutes until the farm-to-market road turned into the gravel road leading to the cabin.
“Your mother–” she started, only to be interrupted.
“I talked to her,” he bit out. His nostrils flared and he rolled his shoulders. His hands flexed on the steering wheel.
“I saw what happened. Listen, I’m not blaming you–” she started again, and was interrupted again.
“I told her that you—we—don’t feel our future family plans are anyone’s business but ours.”
They pulled up to the cabin. Phelan turned off the truck, then turned to look at Lola. He took her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers for a tender, lingering kiss that coaxed a soft moan from her throat. She let her eyes drift open, and his brilliant turquoise eyes filled her vision.
“My mother won’t be quizzing you about babies anymore, okay?”
She inhaled his scent and relaxed the tension in her shoulders she didn’t know she was carrying. She moved to press her breasts into his chest and inhaled his fresh, masculine scent. He leaned in to kiss her neck. Light, teasing brushes that made her skin sizzle. She tilted her head to one side, offering him more of her neck. She closed her eyes and floated into the sensation.
“But you know, as long as she brought up it up, we should probably talk about that.”
Her brain was fogged with lust, and she thought now would be a good time to move the discussion inside. Where they could stretch out and fool around...without a diner on the other side of the wall, listening in.
“What do we need to talk about?” Her brain was fuzzy. Thinking took too much work at the moment, and they only had so much time to fool around again before their separate evening activities.
“Kids, of course,” he said, his breath whispering over her skin.
“Hmm…what about kids?” she asked, thinking this was not exactly scintillating pillow talk.
“How many kids do you want? And when do you want to get started?”
She pulled away from him, looking into his eyes, examining him closely for signs of telling a joke. His lips followed hers as she moved away.
“You’re serious?” she asked.
He sat back from her then, jaw set, confusion written on his face and coming at her in waves through their empathic link. She saw confirmation in his narrowed eyes, and she realized the truth then.
He was serious. Dead serious.
Her flight instinct crashed over her and she recoiled from his touch, shaking her head in denial at the longing in his eyes.
No. No. No.
Lola could not make any sort of commitment to him. Not marriage. Not mating. And certainly not bearing children. They were on borrowed time, and soon she would be back to her own life, far away from Perdition, pursuing her own life goals.
She pushed at him, her small hands no match for the solid wall of his chest. He continued to stare into her eyes and placed a hand on her wrist to halt her struggles. A lump formed in her throat and she hardened her heart against the pleading expression in his eyes.
“Let me go,” she hissed through clenched teeth. She tugged against his hold, and suddenly, he seemed to remember himself and let go. She fell against the passenger side door and yanked it open.
The door opened so quickly that she tumbled out and hit the ground. She was getting to her feet when Phelan was at her side in a flash, helping her up. Cursing, she snatched away from him, clutched her hobo bag, and stomped toward the front door of the cabin. Her furious exit was ruined as she had to wait for him to make it to the door to open it.
He said nothing as he pressed his thumb to the biometric lock and let her in.
Chapter 35
Phelan had to admit he could have handled the situation with his mother better. And for sure, he should not have pushed Lola on the subject of children, especially when he knew “mating” was a concept foreign to humans.
But after the dizzying events of the past two days—making love the night before, putting Dennis in his place after the chief accosted Lola in the diner, then claiming her in the back room for all to witness—his beast had become more and more demanding. He wasn’t at all sure how to curtail the mating hormones pounding through his blood.
His beast wanted to finish claiming her by biting her lovely neck and fucking her until his seed planted and grew in her womb. The need to impregnate her with his young was surprising in its intensity. Like all youths raised in the pack culture, Phelan knew the basic foundation of how mates came together. However, the lessons he’d been taught all those many years ago di
d not adequately capture the aching need he had for Lola.
In hindsight, it may have been a bad idea to dive body and mind into her depths because the mating drive was now so strong it threatened to overwhelm all other considerations. He found himself pacing outside the cabin’s front door, trying to calm his frazzled nerves.
He wanted to go in and talk with her, but he was worried about how she would receive him. Would she push him away again?
He then realized it didn’t matter. She was his mate. He would have to convince her they belonged together.
Phelan was all set to enter the cabin again when his smartphone signaled an incoming call. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was Bubba.
“I heard from Aunt Bridget that you got a mate?” Bubba started speaking without any preamble. “Apparently, your mate’s name is Lola?”
“Bubba–” Phelan began, but his cousin cut him off.
“But that couldn’t be right, could it?” Bubba’s voice sounded light and casual, but Phelan wasn’t fooled. Bubba was pissed.
Very pissed.
“Let me explain,” Phelan said, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He turned away from the cabin and climbed behind the steering wheel of his truck. He was going to need some privacy for this conversation. The truck still faced the cabin. From his vantage point, Phelan could see Lola moving around inside. He couldn’t tell what she was doing, but she was doing it in a hurried fashion.
“I knew it couldn’t be right,” Bubba said, his voice deep and tight with irritation. “Because if you did find your fated mate, and she was also our witness, you wouldn’t hesitate to tell me, would you?”
“Bubba, I was going to tell you. But you have to remember, I hadn’t even told her yet.”
“Really? So, you took her to Perdition, and I can only guess made up some excuse as to why she needed to stay there. You know, this is not going to be a great way to start a relationship.” Bubba’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.
Phelan wrinkled his brows at this last statement. Bubba had always been a ladies’ man, rarely returning to the same woman more than once. As far as Phelan knew, Bubba had not actually ever been in a relationship, and therefore was not a good source of relationship advice. He should never have asked his advice in the first place, but since he’d opened that door, it seemed Bubba planned to drive his truck through it.
“I needed some uninterrupted time with her. She’s human. I needed to show her what it would mean to be mated to a wolf.”
“I see,” said Bubba. “So, you thought a great way to start off your relationship with her was to kidnap her and hold her under false pretenses?”
Phelan opened his mouth to hotly disagree, but stopped. He thought about it for a minute, watching the cabin as his mind rewound the events of the past couple of days. When he considered the alternate actions he might have taken, none of them seemed to result in him and Lola being together. He hadn’t harmed her, and he was introducing her to his way of life. The kind of life he had always imagined sharing with his mate. Not to mention the fact that Perdition was probably the best place to be to protect her. They were mates, he was part of the pack, and therefore, she was part of the pack. Pack members would do anything to protect each other. He honestly couldn’t think of a better way to handle the situation.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to handle the situation,” Phelan told Bubba.
Plus, all’s fair in love and war…
“You need to come clean with this woman,” Bubba said, his voice stern.
In the background, he heard a car door slam.
“Bubba, where are you?”
“I’m going to a volleyball game,” he said simply.
“A volleyball game,” said Phelan, trying to figure out why his cousin would be at a volleyball game. In all the many years Phelan had known his cousin, he had never once heard him say he was interested in volleyball. Phelan wanted to know more.
“Why are you at a volleyball game?” Phelan asked.
His smartphone was set to audio only, since trying to peer at a tiny screen was headache inducing. As a result, he had to interpret the sounds in the background. He heard the murmuring voices of the crowd, the squeak of sneakers on hardwood floors, and lastly, young female voices.
“Uncle Bubba!”
“Who is ‘Uncle Bubba’?” Phelan wanted to know. This had to somehow be related to Bubba’s own purported mating.
“None of your business,” was Bubba’s curt reply.
Phelan recoiled at Bubba’s tone. Like most wolves, Bubba had an easy way about him. He was gregarious and did not take himself too seriously. This snappish behavior was totally out of character.
“Did you tell Mom about your mating?” Phelan wanted to know.
“Of course not,” Bubba said. “Your mother would have shown up on my doorstep with a bag full of baby clothes. I’m going through enough kinds of trouble with Vanessa as it is.”
Vanessa. Must be Bubba’s mate’s name. Seems like Phelan had heard the name before…
“What kind of trouble?” Phelan probed.
“Also, none of your business.” Bubba’s tone was firm and curt. “When do you think you’ll be coming back to Dallas?”
“I thought you needed me back by Monday?” asked Phelan.
“That was before I knew about your situation with your mate,” said Bubba. Phelan heard Bubba shush whoever was with him, which Phelan assumed was the same two little girls he heard with Bubba a few days ago.
“Do you need me back in the office soon?” Phelan asked.
“Look, I’m not some asshole,” said Bubba.
Phelan heard a woman’s voice in the background say, “Language!” And he wondered if that was Vanessa.
“Convincing your mate to be with you isn’t always easy. Just take the time you need, and let me know when you think you can be back.”
Phelan pondered this pronouncement with astonishment. It was the last thing he expected Bubba to say to him.
“There’s nothing new on the case,” Bubba added, letting out an impatient sigh. “Now, I have to go.”
With that, Bubba abruptly hung up. Phelan looked at the smartphone as if studying an artifact. Never in a million years would he have expected Bubba to let him off the hook for a deception having to do with work. He wondered at the parallels between his situation with Lola and Bubba’s situation with Vanessa.
Bubba’s understanding gave Phelan a renewed sense of purpose. Bubba had faith enough in Phelan to give him time off to pursue his mate. Phelan resolved to make the most of it. He stashed the smartphone his back pocket, stepped out of the truck, and strode with purpose to the front door of the cabin. He took a deep breath, let it out, then yanked open the front door.
He scanned the great room and saw Lola at the sewing machine with the new dress on her lap. She looked up at Phelan with a startled expression, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. She blinked at him with a stern, annoyed expression, one eyebrow cocked.
“The place was a mess when your parents got here,” she said, turning her eyes back to the dress. “And most of the mess was mine.”
Phelan had entered the cabin with all sorts of good intentions, but without any idea of what to say to her. So, he stood there like a dummy, waiting for her to say something else. It was damned awkward, too, when his natural inclination was to charm his way back into her good graces, and persuade her through the force of his magnetic personality to forgive him. But she seemed to have made a decision about their situation, a private one she would keep to herself for the time being.
“I’m just taking out the seams of this dress, so I can reshape it to fit me,” she went on. “After I’m done with this, I’ll tidy up.”
He cleared his throat. It felt like someone had jammed a sandbag down his esophagus, and his mouth was bone dry.
“It’s okay,” he said, swallowing hard. “I’m sure my parents didn’t care. Had you grown up with their housekeeping, you would agr
ee.”
This was meant to elicit at least a small smile. It didn’t. She kept working on the dress, her nimble brown fingers fiddling deftly with the garment. She did not look up at him.
He stood in the doorway watching her work, feeling despair as the bond they had formed over the past couple of days began to dissolve like sugar in a rainstorm. Her matter-of-fact demeanor telegraphed her quiet decision that this relationship was not for her. He closed the front door, sat on one of the breakfast bar stools, and watched her, feeling helpless.
She would dump him the moment she had the opportunity. He just knew it. He didn’t know how to stop her. He would come clean...eventually. But he couldn’t do it when their relationship was on the bubble.
Is there anything I can do to keep her from leaving?
“What time is the pack run?” asked Lola, startling him out of his reverie.
His heart jolted when she spoke. He came to attention quickly, and trained his eyes on her. If he could keep her talking, he could at least get a sense of where her head was.
At least she’s trying to engage me.
“Usually a little after sundown,” he said. “We meet outside of St. Ailbe’s, then run for a couple of hours. We’ve been doing it since before the Prometheus Incident, we just had to be more low-key about it.”
“What do the humans do while this is going on?” she asked, her eyes locked on the fabric.
He watched her face carefully as she spoke. She seemed genuinely curious.
“Whatever they want, I guess,” Phelan said, watching her face become pinched for a moment. He’d never given it much thought. His mother had taken the family to the run, collected their clothing, and waited for them back at the cabin. What she did in the interim was anyone’s guess. From Lola’s perspective, from any non-shifter’s point of view, it might feel like being left out.
An awkward silence grew between them.
“I don’t have to go–” Phelan started to say, but Lola cut him off.
The Wolf's Concubine Page 21