Edith cocked an eyebrow at her. “College? You have a degree?”
“Yes. I have a degree in nursing.”
“And you ended up with our nephew? Poor girl.”
Meg bristled at Edith’s words. Momma chided her sister. “Edith, that’s enough.”
“Your husband was Satan’s instrument, Evelyn. What possessed you to join yourself to him is beyond me. Those boys of yours are evil. And frankly, Caleb is the worst of them all.”
Momma shied from her sister. Edna set her cup and saucer on the coffee table and looked at Meg. “What brought you to these parts, dear?”
Meg stared at her blankly. As uptight as these two were, she couldn’t tell them she moved here so she could party with a friend she was no longer acquainted with. She had to come up with something else. “I moved for a job opportunity that didn’t pan out.”
“Oh. And how did you meet Caleb?”
Meg fought back an eye roll. The questions were getting worse. As much as she wanted to answer that she fucked him to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, she needed to keep things civil, at least for Momma’s sake. “A club. We started talking and found out we have similar interests. He was a perfect gentleman. I felt at ease with him.”
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed before anyone else could speak. Edith set her cup down and stood. “It’s time to go. We don’t want to be late.”
Meg looked at Momma. The woman squiggled to stand to accompany her sisters. Meg caught her hand to keep her still. “Do you mind if we stay and talk?”
Edith snorted. “Absolutely not. No one is missing evening service.”
“Will there be one tomorrow night?” Meg countered.
“Of course.”
“Then give us tonight. I would like to get to know my mother-in-law better.”
“You live in the same place. How do you not know her by now?”
Meg smirked. “I’ve been busy getting intimately acquainted with her son.”
Edith huffed as she scooped up her handbag and stormed from the room. Edna was close on her heels. Momma watched them go and then looked at Meg. Her brow creased as her gaze darted from one to the other.
“Go if you want,” Meg offered. “I don’t want to stop you if you do.”
Momma smiled and settled back on the sofa. “No. We’ll go tomorrow. I want to take this moment away from the boys to get to know you too.”
Meg glanced down at her hands as she wrung them together. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I should have come seen you sooner.”
Momma laughed as she patted Meg’s knee. “I am the last person you need to apologize to. It’s been a while but I remember those first few months.”
Meg frowned at her. “What about them?”
“That raw, undeniable need to mate. It’s all you can think about, being naked with him and feeling that pleasure. I think it happens so that you’re given time to get to know your mate. The match-ups aren’t always the most compatible.”
Meg laughed. “Tell me about it.”
“It’ll happen. If Zane and I could bridge our differences, you and Caleb will too.”
“You were that different?”
“We both came from Maine. My father was the town preacher. His family…well, there were hundreds of them and most of them enjoyed feeding on human flesh. His father came from an ancient line and was considered their leader. The younger of the pack would hop in old trucks and drive along the coastline looking for towns with festivals during the full moon. That’s how we met. Zane was adamantly against attacking humans. His cousins tried to sway him by bringing him along on one of their scouting missions. Everything I was told by my father said sleeping with him was wrong. But the draw to him was too strong. I had sex with him right there in the back of the truck under the stars while his cousins scouted my hometown.”
“And next day the tattoo appeared.”
Momma nodded. “I tried my best to cover it up but my father saw it. He knew enough about the legends of the werewolves in the surrounding area to understand what happened. He threw me out. I was terrified to be on my own but Zane came for me shortly thereafter.”
“To take you to his pack?”
“Oh, heavens no. He wasn’t the first werewolf to be mated to a human. The law was clear. If a werewolf mated to a human, he was to bring her before the pack on a full moon and leave her there.”
Meg’s stomach flipped at the thought. “Those women were left to be attacked and killed.”
“Yes. And the werewolf would live out the rest of his days without his mate. Zane couldn’t do that. He stole his father’s car and this necklace and found me.” Momma pulled on the neck of her dress to display the antique ruby necklace she wore. “He was going to sell it so we had money but I fell in love with it so he gave it to me. We drove through the night until we were far enough away from his pack. I insisted that the first church we came to we get married in. I expected him to fight me but he relented. We kept running until we found the abandoned camp and made it our home. Littlefoot’s family helped us acquire the land and we became friends with him and Sharky. Eventually the boys were born.”
“And your sisters followed you out here?”
Momma lowered her head. “Zane’s pack attacked my home village. My sisters were the only two to survive. When they learned where we were, they moved to be close to us. The blamed Zane for our families’ deaths. I think they’ve transferred that guilt to our sons.”
“I’d have to agree.”
Momma smiled at her. “So, tell me. How much of what you told my sisters was true?”
Meg felt her cheeks heat up. She had to be beet red. “I do have a nursing degree. But I moved here to party. I had only worked in the hospital for a couple of days when we treated the victims of a bus accident. I saw three children die that day. It was too much. I quit my job and moved here with a friend to start over and have a good time. And when I met Caleb, I wanted to sleep with him to make my ex-boyfriend jealous. His opponent for his next fight, Austin Graves? Yeah, he’s my ex.”
“Oh,” Momma commented. “I bet that was a surprise for you.”
“It was. But honestly? Caleb has been the biggest asshole to me, pardon my language. But I’m glad it happened. There’s something about him. I feel like a kindred spirit with him.”
“I’m glad. I think you will be good for him. I apologize for his behavior. He has a tainted past.”
Meg sat up straight and stared at her. “What kind of tainted past? What isn’t he telling me?”
Momma sighed and then took Meg’s hands in hers. “Did he tell you that he joined the Army?”
“How? It’d be difficult to hide what he was during a full moon.”
Momma shrugged. “The boys can prevent the change. The pain is excruciating if they do though. Every full moon he contained himself until he went on leave. When he was on leave he just let it go. He left shortly after Zane died. He was promoted to Special Ops. We hardly ever talked to him. He only came home once and it was during the full moon. Then one day we heard that a girl died in Germany. Her body was at the bottom of a ravine and it was mangled. The only tracks visible were the girl’s and an animal’s. They looked like a wolf’s but were much larger. The Army didn’t suspect Caleb but they also couldn’t provide a cause of death. He came home for good shortly thereafter. We tried to talk to him about it. We needed to know what he did. With Zane’s family lineage, we could only suspect that there was some kind of genetic link that gave him the thirst for blood. But he wouldn’t talk to us. He shut us down and started fighting instead.”
“Wow,” was all the Meg could say.
“But he’s opened up a little since he met you.” Momma patted Meg’s knee again. “I think, over time, I’ll have my old Caleb back.”
Meg forced a smile on her face. “I hope so.”
Momma grinned as she struggled to her feet. “Come on. Those old biddies can’t complain too much about us skipping service if there’s a hot meal on the table. L
et’s go make supper.”
“Sure.” Meg stood and watched as Momma scuttled to the kitchen. She looked out the living room window at the setting sun glowing pumpkin orange in the horizon. According to Momma’s story, she had been sexting a murderer earlier. It was hard to believe Caleb would do something like that. Or was it? He was cold, distant, and enjoyed violence. The whole thing was confusing.
She needed to talk to her mate. A week was too long. She needed answers now. She snapped out of her thoughts when Momma called. “Meg?”
“Coming, Momma.” Meg heaved a heavy sigh before following her into the kitchen. Without Caleb, without answers, the next week was going to be hell.
Chapter Eight
Meg stepped into the cabin, dropping her backpack on the floor. “Caleb!”
There was nothing for a long, silent moment. Meg’s gaze shot around the living area. There were boxes piled up in the corner of the living room. Her futon peeked from the second bedroom. There were boxes in there, too.
She couldn’t wait to get home. The anxiety of knowing the truth, combined with church services night and day with prayers and chanting in between, drove her insane. But coming home to an empty house unnerved her. Maybe he was gone? Where did he go? Town? Was he working? Training? Was he still in the forest? Was he human yet?
Her head snapped back as she heard the pat of footsteps on the wood floor. Caleb appeared from the hallway in just a pair of sweatpants. His damp skin shimmered in the light. “Oh, look. The princess is back.”
“We need to talk,” she demanded.
“No. I have to train. I lost too much time having to sleep during the day. I don’t give a fuck what you do. I have to train.” Caleb strode past her and picked up his duffle.
His hand was on the outer screen door to push it open when she spoke. “Did you kill her?”
He turned to her and froze in place, his eyes wide. His hand was still against the door. Meg continued. “That girl in Germany. Did you attack and kill her?”
His hand dropped to his side as his shoulders slumped. His bag fell to the floor. Meg kept talking. “This is what you meant when you said if you cared about me that I would die. You are afraid you’re going to attack and kill me too. Am I right? Am I wrong? Talk to me, please.”
“Who told you this?” he asked, his voice so soft she could barely hear him.
“Your mother. I asked questions, she answered them.”
“Why can’t you leave things the fuck alone?”
“Because you are my mate. I’ll get over the fact that you will never be my husband. But we are joined until we die. I’d like to know what I’m dealing with.”
“It’s complicated.”
“It can’t be that complicated. It’s a yes or no question.”
“Fine. Yes, I killed her. And no, I didn’t.”
Meg felt her patience break. She spit out each word. “Tell me what happened.”
Caleb sighed as he rubbed his face with his hand. He stepped away from the door, closing it behind him. “I joined the Army when I was nineteen. Momma and Papa hated the idea. Papa died just before I joined. I couldn’t handle the fact we couldn’t save him. They guessed it was cancer but it wasn’t like we could get it checked. And yes, it posed a problem every full moon. I kept my change in check for the most part. It was hell. I tried getting drunk a couple times. The agony was still too intense and it made keeping things in check more difficult. I only lost control once or twice but I was alone on a mission. Believe it or not, my superiors liked me. And I was selected for a Special Ops team for how quick and accurately I could accomplish my tasks.”
“When you were a werewolf?”
“I worked through the pain.”
“What about the girl?”
“I met her in Germany. I was stationed there to investigate supposed terrorists operating near the base. They figured that with my skill set that I could get information quick and neutralize them.”
“Neutralize? As in attack them?”
“Not usually. I only lost control once during a mission. It happened at the most opportune time. I changed back to human before anyone on my team figured it out.”
“Did you?”
“When I change, it isn’t like I can handle a gun. I’m out of options other than my teeth. I didn’t leave much behind to examine. So it is true. I am the only Hallow brother to taste human blood. I didn’t care for it.”
Meg shook her head. “The girl?”
“Her name was Anna. She had blonde hair and blue eyes just like you. I fell for her. She fell for me too. I was certain she was my mate but hadn’t gone through the appropriate measures to find out.”
“What you’re saying is that you didn’t sleep with her.”
“Right. I went on leave after serving for six months. I guess she told her bunkmate that she was going to follow me, and she wanted to sleep with me. There was no doubt she would be found to be AWOL but I guess she didn’t care. I bet she was shocked to find I was taking leave in the woods not far from base. The moon rose and I changed. I couldn’t help it. I held back the change for six months. I don’t remember much but I know I didn’t attack her. I remember watching her through the insanity that took me over. She was so beautiful there in the moonlight among the trees. But then she saw me as a werewolf. She screamed and took off running. I tried to follow. The craze took me in another direction. She didn’t see where she was running and fell into the ravine onto some sharp rocks. Her body was mangled. Some people suspected I had done something to her but didn’t find human tracks. All they found were hers and an animal’s. I self-destructed. I killed her. I might have not been accused of it but her blood was on my hands. I managed to get thrown out of the Army with a dishonorable discharge and was sent home. My mother and brothers heard of the investigation and assumed that I attacked her. They refuse to believe otherwise.”
She stared at him, shocked. She watched as he crossed the living room and picked up a frame she never noticed was there. She got close enough to see the image of him in his dress uniform in the frame. “Caleb, you didn’t kill her.”
He snorted. “Really? Explain to me how. She ran because she saw me. She fell to her death because the sight of me was so horrific it made her run. I am the reason she’s dead.”
“Did you know she was following you? Did you invite her along?”
“No.”
“She never said a word to you.”
Caleb looked up from the frame in his hand. “No.”
“Her orders were to stay on base. Correct me when I’m wrong.”
“You’re still right.”
“So she disobeyed orders when she followed you.”
He dropped his eyes to the frame again. She crossed the room and took it from him, tossing it on the couch. She caressed his face in her hands until he looked into her eyes. “You didn’t encourage her to follow you. You were following orders. Her death was an accident. It’s not your fault.”
He stared at her. Then he gently touched her cheek. In the dim light, she saw the glisten of tears in his eyes. “It’s not that easy to let it go.”
“I know. And I know I’ll be living in her shadow in your eyes.”
He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and drew her closer. “That’s the thing. She doesn’t hold a candle to you. If anything happened to you, Meg, I…” He looked away. She caught the single tear that slid down his cheek.
She pulled his attention back to her. “Nothing will happen to me. I have you.”
“I’ll be the reason you die. Don’t you fucking see that?”
She lifted herself until her lips nearly brushed his. “Caleb Hallow, you’re the reason I’m alive. Yeah, you’ve been an asshole to me. But after what you said in the truck on the way to Sharky’s I understand. And now it’s completely clear. You are my life. You are my breath. You are my soul. You are my mate.”
“Meg,” he whispered. “I’m evil. I’m the worst of seven beasts of Satan. How can you say
that?”
She let go a halfhearted laugh. “You honestly believe that beasts of Satan shit?”
“Spend your life being told you are.”
“You’re a pain in the ass. But you’re a man. A good one.”
“Stop. Now.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re scaring the shit out of me.”
“How? How can I be scaring the shit out of you?”
“Because I don’t want to feel this way.”
“Like you have to depend on me?”
“Like I need you. Like I can’t be without you. Like I spent the last week thinking only of you. I have the biggest fight of my life coming up. I’m going to be champion. And the only thing on my mind was you. I held your pillow as I slept so I could smell the scent of your shampoo. I read every text you sent, including the ones where you called me a lowlife piece of shit when you thought I tattooed you. I dreamed about you. It drove me crazy missing you.”
She gaped at him. Slowly she smiled as she kissed him. She felt him surrender to her. As they parted, she spoke. “Caleb, take me to bed. Welcome me home just like you know how to do.”
“I want you,” he murmured before he kissed her hard and deep. She could feel her lips swell. It only made her want him more.
He slid his fingers down her ribs to the hem of her T-shirt and tugged it over her head. His gaze locked on her breasts restrained by her lace bra. “Fuck, baby. You’re perfect. You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I need you now. Right now.”
“I’m all yours and only yours. Any time. Any place.”
He pulled her tight against him, molding her against his hard body. This was the only place she wanted to be. She cupped the side of his face as he stared at her. Then he dipped his mouth to her neck, his tongue tracing paths along the curve. She moaned as she buried her fingers in his hair to guide him. She shivered as his fingers feathered across her spine to the clasp of her bra. He released it with a flick of his fingers.
The sound of shouting and heavy footsteps on the deck tore their attention from each other.
Welterweight (Hallow Brothers Book 1) Page 9
