The Wolf's Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats

by R. E. Butler

  “We could just end you, dog.” Layla sneered down her nose at Callie.

  Callie let a trickling growl seep from her lips and let go of the little boy’s hand and folded her arms. “Okay.”

  All three females blinked at her in surprise. Layla narrowed her icy eyes at her. “Okay, what?”

  Callie drew on her inner bitch, drug her out from hiding by the back of her neck so she sounded as dispassionate as she wanted to appear. “I’ll take the beating now. But later, when I’m healed and you’re asleep in your beds tonight, I’m going to come into your rooms and bury something very sharp in the middle of your bodies. So do your worst. But you won’t stop me from helping this child.”

  They glared at her for a very long minute. Callie was close to losing it, their gazes were so intense, and then they parted like water and left the stairs clear.

  “Come on, boys. It’s awfully frosty down here.” She picked up the injured boy’s hand and took the hand of the boy next to her, and they walked up the stairs as a group. Determined not to show her nerves by letting her knees go weak, she walked with purpose to the bedroom and picked up the child and put him on the marble counter in the bathroom.

  The other boys gathered inside the bathroom and watched her while she gently pulled the shirtsleeve up to expose the cut and then used the medical kit under the counter to tend it. He winced before she even put the antiseptic on it and she said, “Watch this.” She kissed the tip of her finger and ran a slow circle around the cut, not touching it, and then said, “Okay, let’s count to three and my kiss will take the pain away, okay?”

  He nodded, eyes bright and wide, and all the boys counted to three with her and when she swiped the antiseptic across the mark, he didn’t make a sound. With a band-aid in place, she cleaned up and put him down on the floor. He said his name was Brian.

  The other boys followed with their names: Kevin, Owen, Henry, Nathan, and Ben. Henry was the oldest at 12. Brian was 6. She asked Henry, “Where are your mothers?”

  He looked down. “Our birth mothers don’t care for us.”

  “What? I’m sure they do.”

  He looked up with glittering eyes. “No, Callie, only our fathers care for us, and our cousins and uncles. Only the males raise the children. The females...they don’t care about us at all.”

  She was sure she looked shocked because he looked embarrassed. How sad! They followed her out of the bathroom when she couldn’t think of anything to say and she climbed up on the bed and patted the comforter. “Up.”

  They looked at each other in awe and then scrambled up as she put some pillows against the headboard and reclined back. Brian secured her right side and Nathan her left and she put her arms over their small shoulders and the other four boys crowded around them. They asked for a story, and her mind went suddenly blank. Her mother used to tell her stories when she was little, and she and Cadence had spent hours making up stories to amuse themselves when they were young, but gun to her head, she couldn’t think of anything that little boys would like. And then she had an idea.

  “Would you like to know one of our legends of the first werewolf?”

  They made surprised sounds and grinned. Settling down a little more, she crossed her legs at the ankle and looked up at the ceiling. There were tons of legends about werewolf origins, similar in some ways, but often differing in key elements. The first werewolf was always named Linus, but his first mate was where the stories often differed. Her mother had told her all of them, but she chose to retell the story she'd requested the most as a child and shared a legend and myth with boys that were sad because their mothers didn’t care about them. She didn’t understand that at all. Were female mountain lions only capable of anger? What an odd were-group.

  “Thousands of years ago, when the moon goddess was in her dark time as she prepared to shine for the new moon, she roamed the earth, sad and lonely. She was very beautiful, with hair like silver and eyes as dark as the deepest ocean. On one of her journeys, she met a man named Linus. He was a warrior, head of the army of his king, and a man that was as fierce and loyal as any before him. Linus was betrothed to marry a girl named Penelope, who was beautiful on the outside, but ugly on the inside, with a heart like a block of ice and a temper that everyone was afraid of.

  “Linus took one look at the moon goddess and fell deeply in love with her. He promised to marry her and join her the following dark time when she was allowed to walk on the earth. As the goddess left him, promising to return at the next dark time so they could join together, Penelope overheard their plans and made plans of her own.

  “The moon goddess couldn’t wait for the moon phases to pass so she could go back to earth and marry Linus, and bring him back with her to the moon. But as she made her way back to earth, she found Penelope first and she cast a spell on the moon goddess that sent her back to the moon. The spell stripped her powers to travel between the earth and the moon, and she was not able to see Linus and bring him with her.

  “Linus was distraught when the goddess didn’t show up, and he went to the highest mountain in the land and climbed to the very top and screamed for her. But she could not answer, even though it killed her. A wolf nearby heard Linus’ screams of agony and told Linus what had happened, that the moon goddess was trapped on the moon now and would never be with him again. ‘If you sacrifice yourself, warrior, I will give you a way to be connected to her.’ Linus was so miserable without his sweet goddess that he accepted immediately. But the wolf was not really a wolf at all, but the great wolf spirit, and he cut his wrist and gave Linus his blood and Linus became a werewolf. Each full moon, when the goddess was her most visible and beautiful, the werewolf could commune with her by shifting into his wolf form and singing for her. The howls of the werewolf are a song as old as time itself, a pledge each full moon that they will never forget that Linus gave up part of his humanity for love. For three nights each month he loved his goddess with song, telling her over and over how great his love for her was.”

  The boys sighed happily when the story was finished and she felt herself drifting off to sleep amongst them. In another life, she could picture herself with her own children gathered around her, listening to the stories of her childhood. In the picture in her mind tonight, the children had silver-gray and steel-gray eyes, and thick, dark hair.

  Chapter 7

  **Ethan**

  Where the hell was Callie? She’d been gone for almost an hour. Ethan fidgeted on the couch which felt cold and empty without her next to him. Eryx’s dark expression said he was wondering the same thing. She’d just gotten up after hardly eating any of the lasagna that he’d taken such pains to make for her.

  “Do you think she’s so intent on leaving that she can’t even stand to be in the same room with us?” He looked at Eryx.

  Grinding his teeth, Eryx returned his look which was a cross between being supremely pissed off and having your heart ripped out. “I don’t know what to think.”

  Layla and Tanya stood suddenly and walked towards the front door. A shiver of worry skated through him and he stood up. “What have you done to her?”

  They paused mid-step but then continued their walk to the door and he and Eryx closed the gap between them and stopped their attempt to leave. “Where is Callie?” He growled. He could feel his beast snarling in his mind.

  Layla looked at them impassively as if she didn’t care that he was close to tearing her throat out. It was John’s daughter Jilly who said, “She’s with the cubs, stupid dog.”

  Their Uncle John jerked from his chair and grabbed her by the back of the neck and gave her a good shake. “You will not treat your cousins’ mate so terribly. I did not raise you to be like them.”

  He and Eryx relaxed slightly, but Eryx threatened them anyway, “If I find out that you hurt our mate, I will decorate the hill with your insides.”

  The females stormed out of the house, looking both angry and afraid. John shoved Jilly back into the chair and walked over to them. “Sh
e said one of the cubs got hurt and Callie took them all with her to the bedroom.” He sighed deeply and cast his eyes back to his daughter. “I’ve tried so hard to raise her to be compassionate. It's like the moment they come into contact with other females, they turn to stone on the inside. I wish I had taken her from here and never let her come into contact with others.”

  They walked back to the bedroom. The door was ajar, and they both stared in shock at the sight before them as the door swung quietly open. Stretched out on the bed asleep, Callie had five cubs draped over her, her arms around two of them protectively, even in sleep.

  Only Henry sat on the edge of the bed, slightly apart, but the look on his face was one of longing and sad resignation. They motioned for him, and he got up quietly and followed them deeper into the hallway so they didn’t disturb them.

  He told them how Callie had stood up for them, how the females had threatened her and how she returned a threat to them. Henry was confused by her affection for them, because he’d never known any females outside of humans that cared for cubs, and humans wouldn’t care for children that weren’t theirs.

  Pride warmed through Ethan at the thought of their mate protecting the cubs even though either of those females could have hurt her grievously.

  Henry’s voice got tight. “Why, why is it like this?”

  “Like what, Henry?” He asked.

  “Why are the females not like her?” His voice cracked and he coughed to clear it, but there was no mistaking the tears and the sob caught in his throat. He gave the cub a hug and Eryx squeezed his shoulder. They both exchanged looks.

  He smoothed Henry’s hair back and kissed his forehead. “She’s special and unique. I don’t know why lion females don’t care about marriage or family, but that’s why the males were made to be both mother and father to their cubs. We are lucky enough to find a mate strong enough to stand up to the females and compassionate enough to protect cubs that aren’t hers. You can find your own female some day, Henry. You don’t have to live the solitary life if you don’t want to.”

  His head shook furiously. “I don’t, I don’t.”

  “Go and find your father, cousin.” Eryx said gently and Henry peeled away from them, gave a wistful glance into the bedroom, and walked away to join the men. They crept back to stare into the bedroom where she lay sleeping soundly. Her mouth was parted slightly, her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks, and the sound of her deep breathing was hypnotic.

  “I’m jealous of the cubs,” Eryx whispered.

  Ethan put his arm around his shoulders and said quietly, “Me, too, brother. Me, too.”

  After the fight was over, and their two human friends left, the men sat around discussing Callie. Henry had gone over the scenario in the basement and bedroom for their family and they were all determined not to let her go anywhere. For all their sakes.

  If the children had softened her towards them some, then perhaps time was the only factor. Time for her to be around them, but only around the males, and time to get to know them all.

  “There’s the wedding Saturday evening, you know.” Their father settled back against the deep couch. Eryx had picked it out, the only thing in the house that he’d cared about as far as decorating went, and he picked it not for the color but because he liked to fall asleep watching TV and it was deep and comfortable. It was also an unfortunate color their father affectionately referred to as hooker-red.

  “Thad and Jane’s wedding?” Eryx looked confused. Ethan felt the same way. Thad drove for the town, a tow truck year-round and a salt truck in the winter. In his mid-30s, he’d found the love of his life in their overnight desk clerk, Jane. Both were human, but that didn’t mean they thought any less of them. It was just another glaring example of how their kind were different, and a month ago, hell even a week ago, he was damn jealous of Thad.

  Their father said, “Don’t women get all worked up at weddings? Think about getting married and that sort of thing? I mean, not our women, but others?”

  They all looked blankly at each other. None of them knew anything about women. The females were cold and emotionless unless they were angry. If aloofness was an emotion, they could do it over the top. Even during sex they were robotic and unfeeling.

  “It’s worth a shot.” Uncle John said, scratching his neck. “If you can keep her here through the weekend, you could ask her to go with you.”

  “Maybe. But you still don’t know why she left her pack. Didn’t the doc say that they don’t leave for no reason?” Uncle Grant said.

  “And you guys haven’t talked to her. You haven’t told her that you’re both mates with her. You haven’t told her anything.” Their father said.

  “She locked herself in the room. What would you have us do, treat her like a wayward cub? Force her to talk to us?” He snarled, not meaning to sound so harsh but unable to stop himself.

  “Fine, fine.” Grant held up his hands. “You don’t want to push her, you want to give her space, whatever. But you might let her have her space all the way out of town, and then where will you be? The sooner you talk to her, the sooner you can give her whatever it is that she was missing or needing when she left her family.”

  Damn depressing thoughts. John finally said it was time to get the kids home and one by one they extracted the children from their tangled holds on Callie. Three of the older ones were sprawled across her legs and Nathan and Brian were cuddled into her shoulders, their little arms across her stomach. Ethan had to steel himself as he picked up Brian last. The child was swimming in her scent that was a cross between honeysuckle and lavender, sweet and sultry.

  He closed the front door as his father and brother left, ignored the kitchen, and walked back to the bedroom where Eryx stood at the bottom of the bed, staring. He joined him and they watched her in the near darkness of the room. The bathroom light was on, so they could get the children out of the room without turning on a brighter light.

  It was almost too much. The sight of her in his bed, the image of children in her arms, and the scent of her hanging in the air. His cock scraped his zipper in an attempt to break free and he let out a small groan of frustration. Eryx chuckled and then whispered, “We can at least make her comfortable.”

  They each took a tennis shoe in hand and undid them, putting them on the floor. As tempting as it was to free her from the confines of her jeans, he was certain it wouldn’t go over well when she woke up in the morning, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her think they didn’t respect her. He tucked a blanket around her gently and couldn’t stop himself from brushing her cheek with one finger. Her skin was as soft as he imagined it would be.

  With a last look over his shoulder, they left her alone in the bedroom, and went to bed themselves.

  Eryx stood at the sink, rinsing out his coffee mug as Ethan finished making breakfast for himself and Callie, whenever she got up. It was only 7. He was taking the day off to take her to the used car lot, although the thought of her leaving filled him with despair.

  “I didn’t dream that there were five kids in bed with me last night, did I?” Callie asked, surprising both of them as she walked into the kitchen, dressed in a short jean skirt, black tights, knee boots, and a tight navy blue sweater. To say she looked incredible was only fitting if you couldn’t come up with another word. For the moment, his mind was in a tailspin and words escaped him.

  Gathering his tongue off the floor, he gestured to the table. “No, their fathers took them home when the fight was over. Sit, I made breakfast.” Eryx, who had been on his way out, filled his empty coffee mug and sat down. Never late, it was something for him to sit back down.

  “Did you sleep well, Callie?” Eryx asked as Ethan fixed a plate for both of them.

  Her hair, held back by a thin headband, was so pretty that he wanted to run his fingers through it and test every strand. He put the plate down in front of her and took the other chair. “Yeah. Thanks, whichever of you took off my shoes.” She fixed her coffee with two
spoons of sugar and milk until it was very light beige. He knew they would both remember that for tomorrow.

  “The children were very happy to make friends with you last night. Do you have younger siblings?” Eryx asked.

  The pause was significant and Eryx shot him a questioning look. Ethan had no idea why she’d gone so quiet. Finally she said, “My father got my mom pregnant and took off before I was born. The pack rejected her for mating because of that...a...spurned female isn’t considered of value. So she never had any other kids. And she died when I was 15.”

  He couldn’t help but reach out his hand to her. “I’m so sorry, Callie.” She looked at his hand on hers and then she pulled her hand away and began to eat.

  Her whole tone changed, her demeanor went cold and distant. “It was a while ago.”

  “Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, not having your mother around must be hard. Is that why you left the pack?” Eryx asked. Ethan wasn’t sure that pressing her right now was such a good idea, but he didn’t try to stop his brother.

  The fork dropped to the plate with a clang. “Would you stop trying to analyze me already? Shit.”

  She made motions to get up, but Eryx clamped his hand down on her arm. “Don’t do that. Don’t run away again. What is so wrong with getting to know us?”

  “Because I’m not sticking around,” she snarled and jerked her arm but Eryx didn’t let go.

  “Who screwed you up so badly that you can’t trust anyone?” Eryx demanded.

  Ethan saw the anger rise in her eyes like a tidal wave and he said the only thing he could think of to stop her from pulling away even further. “Callie, we’re not pack. We’re not like anything that you’re used to. The females, they’re uncaring and cruel, but there’s not a…ranking in our pride. We’re just a large family. But it’s the males that make the family, Callie. It’s in our nature to care, to help. Won’t you let us help you?”