The Call of Her Heart (Whiskey Springs Pack Book 2)

by Stella Night

  Celia’s wolf smiled. Then she leapt, eyes on the wolf-man’s throat.

  ***

  The raft made the next bend and Logan saw the kids in the water. Some of them huddled under the big knees of the bald cypress trees, sheltered there. He chanced a look at the sky, seeing that the columns of smoke were enlarging and starting to merge.

  A teenage boy grabbed the side of the raft as Logan cut the motor and drifted to the shore. The boy, Chase, was talking so fast Logan couldn’t keep up.

  “Slow down, slow down. Now tell me again what happened.” Logan accepted one of the smaller children, a little red haired girl, from one of the other teens. He settled her in the raft as Chase spoke.

  “Two men. One has a gun. One started a fire. The one with the gun wouldn’t let Miss Celia go. And he shot the man who started the fire. Miss Celia sent us down here. She whispered that we were to call for the pack. Are they coming?”

  Logan shook his head. “They will get here. Right now the trail is blocked by the fire. I want you to tell me exactly where Celia was. Then I want you to get all the kids in this thing and head back downstream until you get to the boat ramp. Then I want you to call for the pack again.” He settled the last child in and held the raft as Chase got in. “Got it?”

  At Chase’s nod, Logan started the motor and shoved them off. Then he turned toward the trail, eager to find Celia.

  Halfway up the trail, he heard a gunshot. Then he heard a yelp followed by a scream.

  Chapter 25

  Pain shot through Celia’s flank as her wolf struggled to hold on to Joe Easton who was still screaming. She knocked him down and howled with rage. Snarling, she bit his arm as he raised the gun again. Then she went for his throat. The wolf wanted blood, an eye for an eye. But pack rule wouldn’t let her kill him as much as the wolf hungered for vengeance.

  She saw Logan crash into the clearing just as Joe broke free from her jaws. Dizzy with pain now, she let go and fell to the ground. All her weight went onto the injured flank. She yelped in pain.

  The two men exchanged blows, their grunts and panting breaths harsh in her ears. Then the partially shifted Joe ran. Logan chased after him.

  The wolf pulled herself up and tried to follow. Flames surrounded her, singeing her fur. She yelped as she tried to put her weight on her leg. Needing to find her mate, she pushed past the pain and jumped through the fire. Nose down, she followed Logan’s scent.

  She emerged in another clearing that was quickly filling with smoke as more of the underbrush burst into flames. She glanced around and found the men. She was just in time to see the man-wolf Joe swing a branch. It caught Logan squarely on the temple. Her mate crumpled to the ground.

  Snarling in rage, she ran to the prone form of the man. She searched for the wolf-man but he was nowhere to be seen.

  Grabbing Logan’s collar in her strong jaws, she began dragging Logan away from the smoky clearing. She stopped and looked around, searching for the best path to the water. She found a small game trail and followed it, limping on three legs as she went.

  Brambles and briars scratched both of them as she dragged her mate down the trail. She could hear trees falling over as the fire consumed them. The smoke caused her eyes to tear, blurring her vision. She didn’t waver. She pulled and tugged until she finally reached the water’s edge.

  Dropping Logan’s collar, she willed herself to shift. The pain in her flank screamed. Still, her human self pushed at the walls of her being until she finally achieved her goal. As she shifted back, Celia stumbled and fell, landing on her injured thigh. She screamed with pain. Logan should have stirred but he did not.

  “Logan? Please wake up, love.”

  She crawled to him and ran her hands over his head, finding an egg-sized lump on his right temple. His heart beat was strong, his breathing was clear, but she could not wake him.

  She looked up and down the river bank until she found one of the bald cypress trees. Its huge knees jutted over the water, offering temporary shelter from the fire. She prayed that the wind kept blowing it away from Whiskey Springs and the river.

  Celia stood, balancing on her good leg, and threw her head back. Her howl rang through the woods. She had never called the pack before, never used her howl. She could only hope that her brother and the pack recognized her voice.

  She remembered what Logan had said about her strength. She offered up a prayer to whatever deity might be listening. She stood and tested her leg. She still couldn’t put all her weight on it without pain. She didn’t care about the pain if it meant saving the man she loved. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed Logan under his arms and pulled.

  Tears of pain and worry streamed down her face. Using every ounce of strength she could muster, she pulled Logan into the water. The water was cold against her bare skin. She tugged him with her as she waded to the cypress knees. One arm curled under Logan’s arms. The other curled around the knobby wood.

  With one eye on the fire and the other on the water, Celia desperately hoped her pack had heard her call.

  Chapter 26

  He had a headache from hell. Everything hurt. Crap, even his hair hurt. How much had he drunk? All he knew was when he found the truck that hit him, he was going to kill it. He managed to open one eye, but the glare from the light hurt too much to keep it open.

  “Hey there, sleepy head.”

  He slowly opened both eyes and looked around. An IV stand stood near his bed. The tubes connected to his arm. There was also a pain med pump attached to the tubes. A white sheet was draped over his legs and he wore a cotton hospital gown.

  His wandering gaze stopped when he spied the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “It’s about time you woke up. You had me worried.” Celia reached over and took Logan’s hand in hers.

  He closed his eyes again. “What happened?” His words were little more than a whisper.

  “Well, you have a pretty severe concussion. And a little bit of smoke inhalation. But other than that, you’re fine.”

  Logan opened his eyes and looked around again. “Why are you in a wheel chair?”

  Celia looked down and laughed. “Well, our friend Joe shot me.” When he started to say something, she stopped him. “It’s okay. The bullet only grazed me. That’s much easier to deal with than a bullet in me. Doc sewed it up with four little stitches.” Her dimples framed her mouth as she smiled. “They’re making me stay in this thing until I leave.” She wheeled a little closer to the bed and cupped his jaw with her hand. “And I was not about to leave without you.”

  Logan turned his head and kissed her palm. Then he reached up and took her hand in his. “What did I get hit with?”

  “Tree branch.” She got out of the wheelchair and nestled on the bed, curled up by his side. “You also got to go swimming.”

  The bed shook as Logan laughed. “Swimming?”

  Celia nodded. “Yeah. I figured the water was the safest place to wait for the pack.”

  “Did they find Joe?”

  She shook her head. “They haven’t found him yet. He did confess to killing Rick Gerald though.”

  “Did he set the fires?”

  Celia shook her head again. “No. Fred Smith did that. He set all of them. Joe shot and killed him in front of the kids.”

  “Son of a bitch.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “It was horrific. I thought he was going to hurt one the children. I couldn’t get them down to the water fast enough.”

  Logan laid his head on hers. Her soft hair tickled his cheek. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  Celia laughed softly. “Oh, as if.” She sat back and tilted her head up at him. “You are stuck with me, Logan Nilsson.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. For a few moments neither of them spoke. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest, could feel her fingers on his arm. He breathed in her scent then he kissed the top of her head.

 
“I love you, Celia. I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.”

  Celia didn’t say anything. Logan was afraid he had scared her again by declaring his feelings.

  When she did speak, he could barely hear her. Her voice was a soft whisper. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you something. Something important.” She paused. “Do you know how a shifter chooses their mate? The one being they will spend the rest of their life with?”

  “Don’t they fall in love?”

  She snuggled closer and tightened her hold on him. “It’s more than that. Our wolf has to declare a mate.” She took a deep breath and paused. “My wolf chose you before you ever said those three words. I was afraid to tell you.”

  “I see.”

  Celia pushed up and glared at him, her coppery eyes shining. “You see? No, you don’t see. I barely knew you and my wolf was saying ‘mate’ every chance she got.”

  “You found your wolf.”

  “That’s what you took away there? I found my wolf?” She went still for several heartbeats, her eyes focused on his face. “Yes, my wolf finally spoke to me. Her first word to me was ‘mate’. And I tried to ignore her.” She grinned. “Apparently, things don’t work that way. At least, according to Mrs. G. and my brother.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Logan held his breath as he waited for her answer.

  “Well, I’m going to start by telling you that I love you.”

  The smile on his face made his temple throb. He pushed the pain away and pulled her close.

  “Hey, hey — watch it. You can’t be moving around a lot and I don’t hurt as long as I don’t move around a lot.” She snuggled back against his chest. She shifted her leg around before she spoke again. “Anyway, the wolf was right.”

  Celia leaned in and kissed him. Logan wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss, letting it deepen. Her tongue probed tentatively. His body reacted immediately.

  She sat up and giggled like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Doc says none of that for a few days.”

  “Stop changing the subject, Miss Masters. What was your wolf right about?”

  “That I want you as my mate, Logan Nilsson.”

  He scanned her face as his smile grew. He pulled her in for another kiss. “Really?”

  Celia nodded. “And apparently, you asked my brother for his blessing?” At Logan’s nod, she continued. “Well he gives it on one condition.”

  Logan’s brow furrowed and his voice was a whisper. “Um, a condition from the Alpha?”

  “Yeah. He gives his blessing on the condition that you let me mark you. That way it’s a shifter mating and the pack will approve.”

  Logan sat up and ran his hands up her back. One hand cupped the back of her head. He held her close as he kissed her. Their tongues touched, probed. He pulled away and kissed the tip of her nose, her eyelids, her dimples. He returned to her mouth, unable to get enough of her sweetness. When he pulled away, her pupils were dilated, nothing more than copper rings surrounding the dark pool of her iris.

  Her smile answered his. “Then I think that would be most appropriate.”

  Celia took a deep breath. “I have one more surprise for you.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  Being careful of the tubes in his hand, she took it in hers. Then she laid it on her abdomen and watched his face.

  Logan sat up slowly, unable to take his eyes off hers. “Really?” One tear slipped down her cheek as she nodded. “Damn, woman. I love you more than words can say.”

  “I love you, too, Logan.”

  Chapter 27

  “Ella! Help me please!” Celia struggled with her zipper, not quite able to reach around to close it.

  “I’m coming, love. Just hold on.” Ella walked into the bedroom with Eli right behind her.

  “I swear, I was not this big last week when I wore this dress. Maybe I should find something else.”

  “Well, that’s the thing with baby bumps. As the baby grows, so do they. It fits, you’ve just gotten…the baby has gotten bigger.” Ella zipped her sister-in-law up. Then she turned just in time to swoop Eli away from the tempting things on the bedside table.

  Celia looked at herself in the mirror and fluffed her hair. The tawny tresses brushed her shoulders now, thanks to time and maternity hormones. She turned sideways and wrapped her hands around her belly. Her dimples bracketed her mouth as she smiled.

  “Are you ready?” Ella was struggling with Eli who was still reaching for things that little hands didn’t need. “We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.”

  Celia laughed and grabbed Eli’s hands. She played pat-a-cake with him until he giggled. “Yeah. Let’s go. I can’t be late to my husband’s grand opening, can I?

  The women walked down the stairs of the Old Masters Bookstore and out the front door. Ella paused to lock it before they continued across the street to the restaurant. Celia stopped for a moment to gaze at it.

  Unlike the former Old West facade, Logan had decided to give the restaurant a face lift. The new facade was the stuff of fairy tales with a stuccoed and timbered front straight out of Grimm’s fairy tales. And Celia loved it. But Logan had nixed living quarters above the restaurant, saying it was just too dangerous in general. He had bought a nice sized home that had come up for sale shortly after the fire — a place big enough for a family to grow.

  In the six months since the fire, spring had returned to Whiskey Springs. Tiny trees and other plants had popped up in the charred remains of the wooded area between the town and the river. The campground was closed this year, but the pack had all helped with clean up and replanting so it could reopen next year.

  A crowd had started forming in front of the Hungry Boar two hours ago. Both pack and tourists were eager to partake of the food. The pack was gathered to honor their newest member and to toast the upcoming birth of his heir.

  There had been no problems with the pack accepting Logan as one of their own. This was the man who had saved not only their town. He had also saved their children and the sister of their beloved Alpha.

  As Celia, Ella and Eli approached, the crowd parted to make a path. Several pack members greeted them as they made their way to the front door. Celia rapped on the window and the women waited until Logan unlocked it to let them in. He pulled his wife into an embrace, lifting her off her feet, and kissed her.

  “You would think I’d been gone for a week.” Celia gazed into her husband’s sky blue eyes. She hoped, not for the first time, that their child would inherit that startling color.

  Logan kissed her cheek. “Any time away from you is too long, Mrs. Nilsson.”

  “Flatterer.” She kissed him as he set her on her feet. Then she took his hand and headed toward the back of the restaurant. She pulled him into the office and locked the door.

  He grinned at her and pulled into his arms again. “Are we going to have a quickie before the crowds come in? We only have ten minutes.”

  Celia slapped at him and smiled. “No silly. I have something to show you.”

  “Well, that might lead to a qui—”

  “Logan! Behave.” She pulled out of his embrace but held onto his hand, which she placed on her belly.

  He tilted his head, looked down at his hand, then brought his confused gaze back to her face. “What are we doing?”

  “Just wait for it.”

  After a few seconds, Celia felt the tiny ripple in her belly. She watched her husband’s face. Logan’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open.

  “Was that. . ?” he whispered. She nodded and moved his hand a few inches to the left. This time the kick was stronger. “Oh my God! That is amazing! That’s our baby?” Logan kept moving his hand over her belly, chuckling every time he felt the tiny movements.

  “That’s your son.”

  His hand stilled. He didn’t move for a full minute. Then he put his hands on her shoulders. “Son?”

  Celia nodded. “Doc did the ultras
ound this morning. It is definitely a boy!” She bounced on her toes in excitement.

  Logan fell to his knees. He placed his hands on the sides of her belly and kissed it gently. “Hello, son” he whispered.

  “And I’ve got a name picked out.”

  “You do?”

  “Mm hm. I’d like to name him Evan.” She paused. “If that’s alright with you.”

  Unshed tears shown in Logan’s eyes. He stood and took Celia’s face in his hands. H kissed her reverently. “It’s more than alright with me. And I know my brother would be honored just as much as I am. I love you Celia Nilsson, more than I can say.”

  “And I love you, Logan Nilsson. With all my heart.”

  The End

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  Also, if you enjoyed Celia and Logan’s story, check out Josh and Ella’s story in The Call of Her Wolf, Book 1 of the Whiskey Springs Pack. You will find it and all of my other stories on my Author Central page on Amazon.

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