by Clare Atling
‘Okay,’ said Sarah. ‘I don't know what your brother packed for me, so not sure whether I can do a fancy restaurant. Why don't we get something to eat here and talk?’
‘Because,’ replied Seth, grinning, ‘if I have to sit in all evening with you wearing my clothes I can guarantee we won’t be talking.’ Without another word, Sarah stood up from the swing and headed toward the house. Shit, he had done it again! He couldn’t think straight around her; the urge to mate her rode him hard.
She turned her head and he saw a mischievous twinkle in her eye. ‘I'm all for staying in, then,’ she said as she sashayed to his back door.
He rubbed his hands over his face and stood up. He loved the fact his mate had a wicked sense of humour; it would maybe balance out his harshness. As pack alpha, he knew he had responsibilities, but he also knew she would make a wonderful alpha female at his side. He also hoped she’d understand that, when they mated, she would turn into a wolf on the next full moon. He couldn’t wait to see her wolf, to hunt with his mate by his side. He was going to woo her so she would never want to leave him and return to the human world. He followed her inside and, before she could bend down to pick up the case Logan had packed, he took hold of it. Let the wooing commence, he thought.
‘Where shall I put my things?’ Sarah asked coyly. ‘I'm sure you don't want to be kicked out of your room for good.’ She saw the disappointment in his face. ‘I mean, I'm all for staying here, but I don't mind taking the couch.’
‘You will not be sleeping on the couch, sweetness.’
‘Well, I can’t stay in your room, as you’ll need it.’
‘That’s kind of the point of you staying here, my mate,’ replied Seth, hesitantly.
‘Look,’ said Sarah, ‘I know I said I trust you and want to get to know you better, but you were right about what happened earlier being a mistake. Not like that, but I can’t set up house with you when I don't know you. You have to give me time. I'm sorry it’s not what you want, and if this is making you uncomfortable then I'm sure I can stay with Hope and Callie.’
Angrily, Seth slammed the door open in his bedroom and threw her bag on the bed. ‘You are not leaving this house. You are my mate and you belong here with me, sweetness, and you sure as hell are not sleeping on the couch. I’ll sleep down there for now. But make no mistake – it’s a short-term thing.’ He hadn’t realised he’d raised his voice until he saw his mate flinch. ‘Sweetness…’ He reached for her, but she backed away.
‘I am not your sweetness!’ shouted Sarah. ‘My name is Sarah and if I want to stay with Callie I’ll damn well stay with her. I haven’t agreed to be your mate and I do have a say in how my life goes. You Neanderthal!’ She stamped her foot and folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow at him as if daring him to question her outburst. For a few moments, he just stood there looking at her.
‘Fine,’ he replied, ‘but I am taking you out tonight and you will stay here with me. On that I am not moving.’ He turned around and left Sarah standing there, shocked at his behaviour.
Seth found himself walking to Callie’s house, wanting to talk to his mate’s best friend to find out the best way to approach this situation with Sarah. Normally, when a wolf met its mate, they were instantly attracted to each other; but, with Sarah being a human and not feeling the mating urge like he did, she wouldn’t understand the pain it caused him every time he touched her. The need he felt to take her in his arms and mark her for all to see. Shit, he needed to get his head out of his arse and stop flying off the handle every time she stood up to him.
Rounding the corner to Hope’s single-storey house, he saw Logan striding towards him with a murderous look on his face.
‘What’s crawled up your ass?’
Logan shoved passed him. ‘Fuck off, Seth.’
‘Logan, what the fuck?’ Seth was rubbing his shoulder, but Logan just kept going. Fuck that. He wanted respect, so he gathered his alpha strength and shouted to Logan.
‘Stop, brother. What is the matter?’
Logan stopped, his shoulders sagging slightly and his fists clenched by his side. ‘I'm sorry, Seth. I just need to get out of here. I can’t be around her. I just can’t.’
‘Who? Callie? Why, what’s the matter? What’s upset you so much?’ As Seth asked his final question, Logan turned round, his eyes glowing amber with rage.
‘I'm pretty sure she’s my mate,’ he replied.
‘What? That’s great, man,’ replied Seth, but then checked himself. ‘Oh, let me guess. She didn’t take it so well? You can’t blame her – you look like a linebacker and mean as a bear.’ He chuckled to himself.
Logan didn’t look so amused. ‘You’re kidding, right? I’ve just told you she is my mate and you think she didn’t take it well!’
‘Callie’s great.’
‘Then you fucking mate the heifer!’ Logan turned to walk off again, but Seth grabbed his arm to stop him. Logan tried to pull his arm free, but Seth wouldn’t let go.
‘What did you just say?’ he said angrily. ‘You fucking prick. You’re honestly angry because Callie is your mate and she doesn’t meet up to your perfect Barbie expectations? You self-centred bastard! And keep your voice down – she can hear you from here.’
‘I don't care if she can hear me,’ retorted Logan. ‘There is no way I'm mating with her. Now, let me go.’ He tugged himself free and strode off toward the marina. Seth knew he was going to the bar to find solace in a bottle of beer or two. Shit, so Callie was his mate, but Logan wasn’t keen. Ok, so that was putting it mildly, but he couldn’t believe Logan would react that way about Callie’s size. Sure, she was bigger than the girls he brought home, but she wasn’t fat and she was stunningly beautiful and had saved his mate’s life. He stood looking at is brother’s retreating back before he turned around and walked to Hope’s house.
Callie was sitting at the table, her fingers laced in her lap, looking down at the cup of coffee in front of her.
‘Callie, you ok?’ She snapped her head up, startled at the sound of Seth’s voice. Her eyes were red from where she had been crying. He had never wanted to beat the living hell out of Logan so much. ‘Callie, what did Logan do? It’s ok, you can tell me.’
‘Sorry, Seth,’ she replied, immediately standing up. ‘I didn’t hear you come in. I was just thinking about something. Would you like a coffee?’
‘Callie, sit down. I’ll grab my own coffee. I want you to tell me what Logan said.’ He walked over to the cupboard and reached for a cup, ready to pour his coffee out.
‘Nothing…’ replied Callie. ‘I mean, he said I needed to go back to the house to confirm the scent of the wolf. I'm okay with that, but I don't think...’ She stopped and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. ‘I don't think he was too happy about taking me there.’
‘I’m the alpha and if I tell him to go, he will go,’ said Seth firmly. ‘He is to protect you with his life, brother or no brother. He also told me he was your mate. Callie, what is it?’ He paused as he saw a tear run down her cheek.
‘I...’
‘Oh my god!’ Seth turned round suddenly at the sound of Sarah’s voice. ‘Not only do you have to bully me into submission, but you have to start on Callie as well.’ She rushed to her friend’s side and wrapped her arms around her.
‘No, Sarah, it wasn’t Seth’s fault,’ replied Callie. ‘Something just happened and I got upset about it. It’s stupid and nothing to worry about, I promise. Seth was just asking me to return to our home, so I can confirm the wolf scent is the same as the wolf that attacked us. We will be leaving soon.’
‘But won’t that be dangerous? You told me we couldn’t go home, that he may be waiting for us. Seth, you can’t let her go back. Please.’ Sarah looked at him with such pleading eyes that he knew he would give her anything he wanted if she asked.
‘Sweetness,’ he said, ‘she will be safe. Brandon and Logan will be going with her. I promise, no harm will come to her and she will return safely back
to the island. I met Logan out the front and he told me he and Callie were mates. I think he may have been upset that I'm putting Callie in danger and took off, but I’ll speak to him about it.’
Inwardly, Seth was confused about the whole Logan and Callie situation. Being mates meant they were supposed to be made for each other, like two souls coming together. However, Logan had clearly been against the idea of mating Callie. Fuck, two days ago his own life had been peaceful and uneventful, but now he had a mate who wasn’t sure how she felt about him and a brother who hated the thought of being with his own mate.
‘Callie,’ said Sarah, ‘you and Logan mates!’ She smiled at Callie. ‘Oh my goodness, that’s great! He’s so hot and huge. Yay for you, girl!’ Sarah’s smile was so wide that Seth’s heart hurt a little for her at the thought of having to admit to her what Logan had said. He was pretty sure that, had she been a wolf, she would rip Logan’s arms off and beat him with them.
‘Sarah, please don’t,’ replied Callie with some sadness. ‘It’s not like that. Logan wasn’t happy with being saddled with me for a mate. Please, just leave it. I’ll sort out the problem from home and make it safe so I can return when I'm ready to. I'm just going to grab some shoes and I’ll be ready to go.’ With that, she pulled herself from Sarah's embrace and left the kitchen. Sarah looked to Seth for answers and, when he held out his arms, she willingly went into them, as if she had been doing so for years.
‘Seth, what... what she said about Logan. Was it true? I thought you said that mates were attracted to each other, like an urge that’s hard to control. So why would he feel that way? I thought you guys wanted mates?’ Seth looked down at his own mate.
‘Sweetness, it’s not always so easy. Sometimes, as men, we don't always think with our head and are ruled by other parts of us.’ He was trying to explain as diplomatically as he could for fear she would explode. ‘However, Logan can’t seem to think of Callie in that way.’
‘Why not?’
‘Umm... because he likes a certain kind of woman.’ He felt her stiffen and he braced himself for the impact.
‘He what! You mean, he shot her down because he doesn’t like the way she looks? Oh fuck, no. No one, and I mean, no one – freakishly huge wolf man or not – gets to dismiss Callie just because she’s not a size zero bimbo. She’s the best person I know and would make anyone a perfect mate.’ By now, Sarah had pulled away from his arms and was pacing up and down. ‘You need to put this right. I will not lose my best friend to an arrogant egotistical wolf. There is no choice – it’s her all the way. She goes, I go!’
‘I’ll speak to him, I promise,’ replied Seth. ‘I agree, Callie would make a perfect mate to a wolf, but I don't know what was said. But first, we need to sort out this problem of the wolf that attacked you, and then we can solve the problem of Callie and Logan.’
Just then, Callie walked back into the room. She held her head high. ‘There is no problem,’ she said, obviously having overheard Seth’s last comment. ‘As soon as he scented I was his mate, he flipped. Said I couldn’t be his mate and that the gods wouldn’t be so cruel. I wasn’t his ideal picture – that he couldn’t even think about mating someone who looked like me.’ Although she tried to remain strong, her eyes began to fill with tears.
‘Oh, Callie,’ replied Sarah. ‘I'm sorry. I'm going to kill him. Mate or not.’ She turned to Seth. ‘If you’re really alpha and I kill your brother, will you have to sentence me to death? I’m going to rip his fucking head off and toss it in the lake.’ Sarah's pout made Callie chuckle a little.
‘I love you, Sarah,’ she said, ‘and you’re going to make a perfect alpha mate.’ Sarah blushed as Callie looked over at Seth.
As it was, Sarah was still confused about the whole mate issue, especially with him being 220 years old and her being a mere 26 human years. Although she couldn’t feel the mating urge, she did feel a strong pull to Seth.
‘Callie,’ said Seth, ‘can you please tell Brandon that we are ready to leave? I’ll be coming with you instead of Logan, okay?’ With that, Callie hugged Sarah tightly before leaving to find Brandon.
Sarah immediately flung herself into Seth’s arms and he felt her hot tears on his shirt. He rubbed his hand down her back to comfort her, but couldn’t help feel proud of the way his mate had stuck up for her friend and not been intimidated by his brother. Lifting her face with his hand, he kissed her lips tenderly, tasting her tears on her mouth. She kissed him back, pushing herself into him as if she couldn’t get close enoug
h. He pulled back to look down at her.
‘Sweetness, there are many things to tell you, but I have to go to the mainland. Will you please stay here with my mother and father until I get back? I need you safe if I'm going to keep my wits about me. Don't look at me like that. I will return Callie safe and sound to you. I love how you’re so protective of her. I also promise to make this right with Logan, okay?’ He kissed her again before walking to the door with her towards his parents’ house.
Chapter Twelve
Sarah was sitting with Mary, Seth’s mother, in her kitchen, watching her gracefully walk around preparing dinner. She hated to see Callie leave without her and, even though she knew she would come back, she felt annoyed that she couldn’t help. However, what perplexed her the most was how much she had missed Seth in the space of only a few hours. He had told her they had much to talk about, but did she really want to know? Could she really leave everything she’d ever known behind, to live amongst wolves on an island? Sure, she had no family except her mother, who she saw twice a year if she was lucky, and her only friend was Callie, who could also live here with her. She rubbed her hands down her trousers in an effort to stop them sweating as she fretfully waited to hear from Seth or Callie. She heard Seth’s mother chuckle.
‘More coffee, Sarah?’ she asked. ‘But then again, you’re so tightly strung that I think tea would be better.’ Mary walked to the kettle and flicked a switch. ‘I know it’s a lot to take in,’ she went on. ‘But, knowing Seth, he will be extra careful with Callie, as he wants to make a good impression on you. I hate watching them go off into the world, not knowing if they will come back hurt, or worse. Over the years, you get used to it, but it’s still hard for a mother to watch.’ Mary paused and looked at Sarah. ‘He loves you, you know. I can see it, even though it’s only been a few days. He is normally so aggressive and abrupt, but already I see the changes you’ve made in him. May I ask you something?’ Sarah nodded, shocked by what his mother had just said. ‘Why are you holding back? You’re scared of letting something go in your life. What is it?’
Sarah couldn’t help the tears that stung her eyes. ‘I'm afraid of giving everything up in my life for a man I’ve known for only two days,’ she replied. ‘I’m scared of how I feel about him and what it means to be mates. He’s over two hundred years old and I'm twenty-six. How can it work? I’ll grow old, whilst he doesn’t age. If I put all my dreams and hopes into this, will he just leave me and get bored after thirty years and move on to his next mate? I’m scared that I'm falling in love with him and he’ll break my heart and I won’t recover.’
‘My goodness, child, is that all?’ Mary chuckled. She squeezed Sarah into a hug. Sarah wound her arms around her and hugged her back. Never before had she experienced such a motherly hug, which made her cry all the more.
‘Mates don't have other mates waiting in the wings for them,’ explained Mary. ‘We have one mate we are bound to for the rest of our years. I can’t believe Seth hasn’t spoken you about this. When – or if – you mate with my son, that will be it. No other will be enough for you; it will be as if the sun sets and rises on your one true mate. I’ll let my Seth explain the details to you, as it’s not for me to tell; but once you mate, you will turn into a made wolf on the next full moon. You will cease to age; instead, you will live a very long life together.’
Sarah blushed, as she gathered it had something to do with sex, and she sure as hell didn’t want to talk about
it with his mother. Did she even want to turn into a wolf and live forever? To be with one man for all eternity and never look back with regret? The more she thought about Seth, the more she missed him; but the more she thought about her life, the more she realised how empty it was before. Sure, she wanted a husband and kids, but not yet.
Then a thought struck her. They hadn’t used protection! Shit, could she already be pregnant? How could she be so stupid! However, instead of panicking, she felt strangely composed. She couldn’t feel upset or angry; instead, all she could think about was Seth taking her against the wall for the best sex ever.
‘With that smile and blush on your face, I gather that you two haven’t had much time to talk!’ Mary winked and got up to finish making Sarah's tea. ‘It’ll work itself out, honey, don't you worry. Seth is a strong alpha and has a loving family around him. You and Callie are welcome to stay here, no matter what your decision.’ With that, she went back to making dinner.
Chapter Thirteen
Marcus sat and watched from the house across the street. The stupid old woman had let him in, believing him when he’d said he was checking out for insect infiltration in the area. Her neck snapped easily under his palm as he watched her slump to the floor. He left her in the hallway as he made his way to sit by the window and wait. He knew they had to come back sometime. Whores rarely left their place of work. And that’s all they were – whores. He would show them just how much he hated being left disappointed.
When he saw the fucker Logan coming over from Penn Island, he knew immediately where the girls had gone and he almost gave up waiting for them to come home. That afternoon was his lucky day, however; not only did he know where the girls were, but he watched from the window of the dead woman’s house as a black car pulled up outside and the fat bitch got out with the other brothers, Seth and the weak-looking Brandon.
