His pitch was good.
Cat smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate the invitation, and it’s nice to know there are others like me who I can go to with questions about . . . what I am now.”
I tried to ignore the hurt her words caused. Was I not enough? Did she need others? Did she need something I wasn’t giving her?
“That’s how it started for all of us,” Angus put in. “We became friends, but now we’re more like family.”
My chest panged.
Cat nodded. “Would it be all right if I take some time to think about it?”
“Of course,” Tobias said. He gave me a pointed look. “And my invitation includes you both.”
I exhaled, not even sure whether I was disappointed or relieved by her answer. But that was something I’d have to figure out later. Right now, all I could think about was my mom. And the weight around my shoulders that was suddenly, just, gone.
23
Cat
The funeral for Bertram Raines was a strange gathering. Not many people showed up, and I suspected the ones who did only came out of respect for Tobias. No one spoke except for the pastor. East’s mom cried quietly, but otherwise, there wasn’t a single tear in the room. And I couldn’t even find it in me to feel sad for the man whose death didn’t warrant grieving.
Since then, East had been quiet and a little distracted, spending time with his mom and even more time alone. I had no idea where he went, only that he seemed settled somehow when he returned.
Part of me was too scared to ask what had caused the peace he’d discovered. Still, he hadn’t mentioned leaving. And I hadn’t stopped thinking about Tobias’s offer to join the pack.
I waited until the morning after the burial to tell East.
Rudy had already left for rehearsal. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was opening in a month, and the preparations kept him busy. I was glad. It left me more time to focus on the crazy turn my life had taken. A life I hadn’t yet found a way to tell him about. Though, he’d dropped enough comments that I suspected he knew something.
Bracing myself for an argument, or worse, for him to walk right out, I stood against the counter and watched East finish his morning coffee.
In the end, ripping off the Band-aid seemed like the way to go.
“I’ve decided to take Tobias up on his offer.”
Easton looked up, setting his mug down slowly. I tried to read his expression, but there was nothing familiar in his eyes now.
“I had a feeling you would,” he said, his voice even. Impossible to read.
“I think having a circle of others like me that I can lean on for support is important,” I said, rambling as I tried to figure him out.
He nodded. “Makes sense. I’ve been packless for a long time now, and it’s not easy.”
I bit my lip, waiting to see if he’d say more, but he only rose and went to put on his boots.
My heart sank as a feeling of dread settled in my gut.
So, he was leaving then.
“Hey, before you do that, would you take a ride with me?”
I nodded, numb as the loss settled over me. What would I do without him? This time, I had a mate bond to grieve over, and I had a feeling that sort of thing didn’t just go away because of a breakup.
“Sure.”
East was quiet during the ride, and I had no idea where we were headed. Outside town, we passed the turn for his mom’s and then the turn for Tobias’s which only made me more curious. But every time I looked over, East just smiled at me, his eyes sparkling in a way that left me confused considering this was supposed to be our goodbye.
“Where are we?” I asked as he pulled into an unfamiliar drive several miles outside of town. The house in front of us was cute in a way that reminded me a bit of my childhood home. Wrap-around porch. Big bay window. And a tire swing in the back that made me think of the hours we’d spent as kids with East trying to push me so high I thought I might catch the wind and fly away.
Nostalgia clogged my throat as East squeezed my hand.
“Come see.”
He got out and came around, helping me out of the truck. I climbed the steps to the porch and eyed the cute wooden swing hanging off to the side.
“Great swing,” I said.
East went to the front door and bent to peel away the mat. Grabbing a key, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, glancing around. But the yard was empty, and we were far enough back from the road to be out of sight. “You can’t just walk in.”
“Sure I can.” He took my elbow, guiding me through the door. “A man has a right to enter his own home.”
“His own. . .” I blinked. “You live here?”
I stepped in and looked around, noting the simple furnishings. Brand new and handmade, from the looks of it. The branding matched a local woodworking shop in town. I wandered closer and saw that the blue couch with deep, cozy cushions still had the tag on it. Everything was brand new.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, turning back to East.
“Depends. What do you think of it?”
“It’s beautiful. The house is lovely, and the furniture’s cozy.”
“Reminds me a bit of your old house,” he said, eyes twinkling again.
“Me too,” I admitted, softening when I realized he’d bought something just reminiscent enough of good times without all the grief that would cling to the actual house my parents had lived in.
“But what are we doing here?” I repeated, uncertainty curling in my stomach, mixing with a hope I didn’t want to admit to. “Did you sign a short-term rental contract or something?”
“I bought it.”
“Bought it?” I repeated, dumbfounded.
“I had a little bit left in savings to cover a down payment. And I just took a new job with the Midnight Falls ski patrol, so I’ve got the mortgage payments covered.”
“Oh.” Emotions churned through me. “Why?”
He stepped closer. “Why what?”
“Why all of it? Why buy this place? Why take a job with the ski patrol?”
“My mom’s been through a lot. I don’t want to burden her by moving in.” He paused, closing the distance between us until he was staring down at me from only inches away. “Besides. I thought you and I needed some privacy.”
“East.” My words stalled as a new thought occurred. “We’re still on pack land.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we both decided to join the pack then.”
“Oh.” My legs wobbled as his words registered.
“I’ve knocked you off balance, haven’t I?”
“Literally,” I agreed.
He laughed.
“Here, I’ve got you.” East reached out and scooped me up.
Ignoring my protests, he carried me past the couch and up the stairs into the bedroom. A large mattress draped in quilts took up the entire back half of the room. On each side, windows overlooked a backyard that sprawled until it hit the tree line.
East didn’t stop until we reached the bed, and he lowered me onto it.
“What are you—”
“Come live with me, Cat.” His eyes were steadier than I’d seen since he’d come back into my life. Not a shred of uncertainty shone in his expression, and for some reason, that made it hard to breathe.
“I can’t just move in with you. This is so fast. And . . . you live in Breckenridge. You have a life there.”
“I already broke my lease there. My furniture’s being shipped.” He lifted a hand and smoothed back my hair. His touch was so gentle now. So certain.
My heart fluttered.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. “Your leg’s healed.”
“It’s not about the leg. It never was.”
“I saw your scans, East. It was definitely about the leg.” Why was I arguing this? Wasn’t it exactly what I wanted?
“I mean the healing. It wasn’t about the injury itself. It was about getting me back here. To you
. My pain healed the moment I decided to admit I was in love with you.”
My brows lifted. “I thought it had something to do with me choosing to become a wolf for you.”
He grinned. “So you did do this so you could sleep with me.”
My lips twitched. “It’s definitely a perk.”
He leaned in, his mouth brushing mine as he said, “Let’s sleep together forever.”
My breathing turned shallow. The small kernel of hope inside me bloomed into something larger than I could shove away. “This is fast.”
“It doesn’t feel fast to me.” His lips twitched. “In fact, after ten years in the making, I feel kind of thickheaded. Like it’s taken me way too long to get my shit together.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Well, I won’t argue there.”
His gaze flicked to my mouth, but he didn’t kiss me.
“Is this because of the mate bond?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Your wolf is compelling you?”
“You make it sound like I don’t have a choice in how I feel about you.”
“Do you?”
He sat up a bit. “Do you have feelings for me, Cat?”
My heart skipped a beat. “Yes.”
“Are they the same feelings you had before you became a wolf?”
My body hummed. “Yes.”
“Do you trust me?”
My chest ached as I realized that had been what I’d been holding back before. Like a dam bursting, I opened my heart and let it in. Trust. That East was mine as much as I was his. “I do.”
He blew out a breath, and I realized that answer had been all that mattered to him too.
“Good, because my wolf chose you as its mate. I suspected it ten years ago, but I couldn’t deal with it. Not with everything my dad had put my mother through.”
“And now?” I whispered.
“Now, I can’t ignore it anymore. I’ll admit, I tried to fight it when I first saw you again, but I’m not fighting it anymore. And even when I was resisting the mate call, I loved you. Like a human man loves a human woman. There’s no magic or coercion in what I feel for you. You’re amazing, Cat. Beautiful, smart, funny, a hell of a brawler.”
I smirked.
He grinned.
“And I can’t do this life without you,” he added. “Don’t make me.”
I reached a hand to his cheek, brushing against the stubble there.
“I love you, kitty cat.”
I smiled, letting his words wash over me.
“Does this mean I get to bite you back?”
“What?”
“The mating bond,” I explained. “It’s only fair that my wolf gets to claim you too.”
East laughed. A current of energy ran between us now. The tension we’d been tugging on for days was pulling taut. His hand began to wander up my midsection, excruciatingly slow. “You can bite me as many times as you like. As long as I get to do the same.”
My pulse quickened. “Will it hurt?”
His eyes darkened to something sensual. “Do you want it to?”
I shuddered, and his gaze flicked to my mouth again.
He leaned in. “Is that a yes?” he asked, his voice hoarse now.
“It’s a yes,” I told him, drawing him down.
“What do you want, Cat?” His hand brushed over my breast, and I arched into his touch.
“Kiss me,” I whispered.
His eyes danced in a mixture of playfulness and passion. “You’ve got it, my midnight mate.”
About the Author
Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. She’s only slightly socially awkward as a result. She writes romance of all kinds with plenty of abs and angst. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles, talking to her plants, and avoiding killer slugs.
You can find out more about Heather and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.com.
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Also by Heather Hildenbrand
The Girl Who Cried Werewolf: Bookstagrammer Romy Cartelli discovers book boyfriends are real. But not every supernatural creature come to life is one of the good guys.
Goddess Ascending: In order to save her family and the one she loves, she’ll have to ascend—if the darkness doesn’t get to her first.
Kiss of Death: A fae agent-in-training with a score to settle. A city overrun by demons. And a professor who thinks he’s the angel’s gift to the female species…Gem will need more than her books to help her ace this test.
The Girl Who Called The Stars: A fierce heroine far from home and the army she left behind must reunite to save the galaxy from utter darkness.
Bitter Rivalry: Two long lost sisters are reunited and forced to compete for the alpha role in their pack. The winner has been promised to the vampire prince. One sister wants to kiss him; the other wants to kill him. Can siblings survive rivalry and forbidden love?
A Risk Worth Taking: A New Adult Contemporary Romance with southern charm and a hippie farmer capable of swoon and heartbreak in the same breath.
Dirty Blood: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance about a girl who falls in love with a werewolf, only to find out she’s a Hunter, born and bred to kill the very thing she means to save.
Imitation: A Young Adult SciFi Romance with life or death choices and a conspiracy so deep, even a motorcycle-riding bodyguard can’t pull you out.
O Face: Is Summerville’s most eligible bachelor hot enough to melt the ice princess herself?
The Winter Witch
The Spring Witch
Protected By The Bear
The Badge & The Bear
Wilde Bear
River Bear
Alpha Undercover
Guarded By The Alpha
For a complete list of titles, visit Heather’s website.
Midnight Mate: A Paranormal Romance Standalone Page 13
