Mistakenly Mated

by Sonnet O'Dell

  “Someone shot at my mate and tried to run her over. If I find you had anything to do with it…”

  Avrilyne snorted. “Like I’d care enough to bother. You’re not the only wolf in the pack, Caleb Vander. I’ve got better things to do.”

  “I’m checking your financials. If I find anything that looks remotely like a pay off…”

  “You can’t do that,” she screeched.

  Caleb gave her a dark grin. “Oh, I think you’ll find I can. I will do what I have to, to protect my mate. Don’t doubt my sincerity on that.”

  Avrilyne snorted derisively. “You never showed this much caring when you were with me. What makes this little bitch so special? She’s not as smart as I am or as beautiful.”

  “She may not be as educated as you but do not for an instant think that makes her dumb. You look attractive but Kerry is not only that but warm. You’re not so different in that your opposites.”

  Avrilyne stood up. She stomped her high heeled foot, making a tiny black mark in his floor. “Don’t you dare compare me to that corn bread hick!”

  Caleb growled at her. “I’ve warned you once to watch your tongue when it comes to my mate.”

  Kerry ducked her head back behind the corner. A small smile played on her lips. Caleb’s words had touched her. She didn’t want to get caught up in their fight so she went down into the bathroom to clean up.

  * * * *

  Caleb heard the shower turn on. He glanced towards the hallway, then back at Avrilyne who was gearing up for another round of insults.

  “You have to go. She’s awake and I don’t want you here when she comes out of the shower.”

  “She’s here?” screeched Avrilyne. It was the last indignity because it took her three and a half weeks of their courtship to be allowed to enter his house. Avrilyne fumed. In truth she’d never thought about killing the girl until that moment.

  “I will be watching you, Avrilyne. If my mate is attacked again—believe me—we will have this conversation again.”

  Avrilyne picked up her purse, wrapped her pride around her, and stormed out.

  Caleb heard her car rocket down the drive and he listened for the sound of the gate closing automatically behind her. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

  His father denied having anything to do with the attacks Caleb made his choice and his father was prepared to stand by and let him pay for his own mistakes. That only left Avrilyne with a motive to want Kerry dead but her stringent denials—insults aside—seemed genuine.

  Killing the mate of another was death sentence. If there was one thing he could count on from Avrilyne it was that she looked out for herself first and foremost. She was the most important person to herself.

  He slid open the window, stepping out onto the deck and lifted the lid off the grill. Steak, baked potatoes, and peppers grilled on the metal. They sizzled away, steam rising up as its tendrils curled into the night sky.

  The moon was almost new; barely a sliver of light in the sky, soon though it would grow fat and bright once more. Then he and Kerry would be partners for life. He was pleased by the idea.

  The shower cut off and he checked that everything was set up. He had plates and cutlery. The food was nearly cooked and the table was set with a lantern and some flowers. He took his electric lighter from the shelf under the grill and lit the lantern so their meal wouldn’t be by starlight alone. Caleb turned back to the grill.

  He kept his ears perked so he heard it the minute Kerry’s bare feet came slapping along the wooden floor. He turned to look at her. She was swathed in his bathrobe—a thin, blue terry cloth material, tied tight with the sash at the waist.

  “That looked better on you than it does on me,” Caleb said with a friendly smile.

  “Thanks. I didn’t know what else to wear.”

  “It’s fine. In the morning you can borrow some of my clothes. I have some T-shirts that will be a bit baggy on you but they’ll suffice.”

  “In the morning? You’re asking me to spend the night.”

  Caleb flushed a little at the teasing tone in her voice. “Yes. I don’t want to let you out of my sight tonight. I want you where I can protect you.”

  Kerry gave a delicate little snort. “Chauvinist.”

  “Feminist,” he retorted with a grin.

  He flipped the steaks over. Kerry’s mouth watered. She was hungry as a horse She stepped out onto the deck and light breeze ruffled her damp hair.

  Caleb inhaled the spicy scent of habanero peppers. He, too, grew hungry but not for the steak. He adjusted his belt and tried to focus on the browning meat.

  “Dinners almost ready. Take a seat.” He indicated one of the chairs at the wooden table with his spatula.

  Kerry sat, crossing her legs delicately. “You really shouldn’t go around threatening people,” said Kerry with a smile.

  Caleb froze in plating her food. “You heard some of that?”

  “Mhmm. If you’re going to go through someone’s financials, wouldn’t it be better for them not to be forewarned.”

  Caleb looked sheepish. He carried her plate over and set it down before her.

  She smiled at him. “There are more subtle ways to find out these things.”

  “I’m sure there are,” he said, flapping out a napkin before putting it in his lap. Then he squirted A1 BBQ sauce onto his steak.

  Kerry let the moment pass. She jammed her fork into her jacket potato and wriggled it till the skin ripped and steam rose in a ghostly sigh from inside.

  When Caleb was comfortable again, he started an easy conversation about her taste in music. Music led to books, books led to movies and—by the time they were done laughing over the inaccuracies in most werewolf movies—their meal was gone except for a smear of sauce on Caleb’s plate and across his chin. It looked like a red goatee. Kerry bit her lips to not laugh at him.

  “What?” Caleb asked as she continued badly to hide another fit of giggles.

  She got up, pushing his plate to her side. He pushed his chair back so she could straddle his lap. Kerry leaned his head back and licked the sauce off his chin.

  “You’re a messy eater,” she said, smiling.

  He returned her smile. “Good thing you’re here to clean me up then isn’t it?”

  “You could just learn to get your food in your mouth,” she replied teasingly.

  Caleb’s fingers twined in the small hairs on the back of her neck, pulling her in as she leaned closer. Kerry kissed him very softly. She leaned back, feeling a smile spread across her lips. She felt comfortable with Caleb, their conversation, eating together—all felt so natural. It was even more natural to lean back in those few inches and kiss him again.

  His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close. She felt something between them, quite literally. She giggled.

  “Is there dessert?” she asked in a husky voice.

  Caleb was a little stunned. He hadn’t even thought about dessert He might have some Pop Tarts in the cupboard which completely left his mind as soon as he felt her crawling down his body and her hands on his belt.

  “Kerry?” he asked. His voice trembled as she unleashed him from the confines of his jeans.

  Her hands were soft and gentle. Caleb’s head tumbled back against the chair and he groaned. He felt her warm breath and gasped when he felt her mouth. Her lips were heavenly. Caleb growled, trying to find something to grip hold of while she tortured to him. One hand formed a death grip on the edge of the table and the other stroked her hair. Such an intimate act felt like progress towards trust. Kerry’s mouth was warm, warmer still from the grilled peppers and the barbeque sauce they’d been eating. It make his skin tingle.

  “Oh, God. Please, no more,” he groaned.

  Kerry smiled up at him and he lifted her up to his lap. He kissed her hard and pulled at the sash as her waist, yanking it till the robe fell open.

  Kerry breathed heavy as his eyes roamed over her body. He stroked a hand down her neck, between her breast and ov
er her belly. His finger teased between her slightly parted thighs and made her groan. Caleb cupped one of the glorious globes that were her breasts, watching as her arousal and the night air did their work on them. He bent his head forward, taking her nipple into his mouth, and sucking on it hard.

  Kerry gasped and gripped his head to her as he lightly bit her with his teeth. She writhed for him, her back arching against the table as his fingers slipped inside her.

  “Caleb, please, Oh, God, I want you.” Caleb smiled against her skin as he kissed, licked, and nibbled at her throat. That was the first time she had said that. He wanted to hear her say it again. He grinned.

  “Beg pardon?”

  “I want you Caleb. Please don’t tease me anymore.”

  He grabbed her hips, lifting her so that her bottom bumped up onto the edge of the table. He pushed his jeans down with a sharp shove and pulled her onto him.

  Kerry cried out, arching her back, and pushing him deeper.

  Caleb smiled to himself. He felt like a teenager with his jeans around his knees and this goddess allowed him his first fumblings; but Caleb was no teen. He was an experienced man. He pulled back, rocking himself to the edge and then throwing his weight behind his hips. The movement brought her up off the table.

  Kerry wrapped her legs around his back and gripped his arms. He paused to lean over and kiss her before working his hips like a piston. He felt her heels dig into his ass and her moans echoed in the darkness. Her hands gripped his biceps as he continued pounding relentlessly into her willing body.

  “Caleb,” she cried.

  She hung her head back and tightened her muscles around him. His breathing became labored as he worked to keep his rhythm. He pulled back, then grabbed her hips and pulled her onto him, hitting deep inside her.

  Kerry broke. She screamed her pleasure, falling back against the table. Her back arched and her nails left red lines down his forearms.

  He shuddered, letting his orgasm take her before collapsing over her body, still deeply buried inside her. He rested his head against the cushion of her breasts while he remembered what breathing was.

  “Next time…” he said with a breathy smile and wicked glint in his eyes, “I would like to make love to you in a bed. No jeans around my knees. No night critters watching—just us and a bed.”

  Kerry grinned at him, pushing up onto her arms to have a better view. “Well, I think you’re sexier then socks on a rooster right now.”

  Caleb laughed. “That’s got to be one of the nicest thing you’ve ever said.”

  She let him put himself to rights before he swept her up in his arms and carried her through to his bedroom. She dropped the robe, climbed into bed, and settling down to watch him strip. Caleb took it slow so she could enjoy the show.

  “Come on now mister sexy pants,” she called in a mock irritated tone. “Get in this bed. It ain’t gonna warm up all on my lonesome.”

  Caleb climbed in from the opposite side, pulling her back against his chest. His body curved around hers perfectly. She fit him just right.

  He threw one arm around her waist and played with a lock of her hair between his fingers. “Have you considered growing your hair out?”

  “I used to wear it long, but I went on a trip with our senior class. During the night, someone cut it off. No one would admit to it. I kept it short since then.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “I was thinking about it. Short hair makes me look a bit like a boy.”

  Caleb laughed and pressed tight against her. She snuggled back against him.

  “No way you could be mistaken for a boy.”

  Kerry rolled over to face him, pressing her breasts against his chest. She looked up into his face.

  “I saw this thing once that looked like this.”

  “Two naked people snuggling? Dirty girl.”

  Kerry smacked his arm and shook her head.

  “No, white and black curved together, a perfect fit for one another. Di…someone once told me what it was called but I forgot it. What I do remember was that it represented balance, two elements that create a whole…”

  “You complete me?” he asked, arching a brow.

  Kerry smacked him again, rolling over and giving her backside to him. He gave it a playful smack and she harrumphed.

  He kissed her ear and whispered softly, “You make me whole.”

  Chapter Nine

  Although Kerry woke up in a strange bed, she was entirely comfortable there. She rolled over to look at the tight muscles in Caleb’s back as he snored away. Kerry stifled a giggle, listening to him breathe in and out like some slumbering beast.

  She slipped out of the bed, tugging on her shorts and pulling one of Caleb T-shirts before dashing across to the bathroom.

  She’d soaked her bra in cold water to get the blood out. It was now a nasty brown color. Kerry didn’t think her momma and a ton of bicarbonate of soda could save it. She sighed.

  Kerry binned it and decided to check out the kitchen for some eats. When she looked around, she found the fridge mostly stocked with meat—all wolves need to eat a lot of protein. The crisper drawer was full of hodgepodge of vegetables to make one interesting salad. Kerry took out a section of Italian sausage, chewing on it while she searched the cupboard.

  She came up with a box of crackers. She swallowed it down with a big glass of ice tea from in a big bottle in the fridge door. She was making a plan. Caleb was sure someone was out to get her and she knew the best place to find out information about a mystery shooter.

  Kerry searched out a pad and paper and wrote a note for Caleb. She left it tucked under the lamp on the bedside table as she retrieved her shoes. She found the keys for his car on a neat little hook in a box on the hallway wall. There were several and it took her a minute to match the symbols on the keys to the car sitting in the driveway.

  Once outside with the car, she pressed the little pad on the chain. The key shot out and the car beeped, unlocking. Kerry smiled to herself. Technology. She climbed in the driver’s side and adjusted the seat to her smaller height before staring at the dash in confusion. So many dials. Once she worked out which was the gas gauge and the speedometer ,she figured she could monitor how fast she was going and if the car was about to run out of gas. She put the car into drive and started at a gentle pace down the drive, hitting the brakes as she reached the big iron gate.

  Kerry was puzzled. How do I get out? She looked around the car for something else—a button or switch to flick. The second chunky fob on the keychain caught her eye. It has a button on it. She pressed it and the gate slowly slid open. Quickly she pulled forward and out, watching the gate close again in the review mirror as she headed for town.

  * * * *

  There was one guns and ammo store in town. Kerry parked Caleb’s sleek, cobalt grey car across the street. It was a stark contrast with the pick up in front of her and the one parked behind.

  She got out, making the car beep again as it locked. She walked over to the door and looked up at the faded sign and bars on the windows. The open sign was turned towards the glass so she turned the door handle and pushed it in.

  A little cow bell rang out as she stepped into the dimly lit store. A glass fronted counter ran around the entire store in the shape a square horseshoe. In the cases sat ammunition, scopes, cleaning kits, and all manner of extras any avid hunter or gun enthusiast could want. Smaller guns were displayed on one side. There was a rack of rifles in the middle of the store. Shotguns and more scary looking automatic rifles were on the walls in racks. Kerry could only recognize the basic guns that she’d been around for her entire life: a pistol, a shotgun, a Winchester.

  She didn’t know the difference between bullets other than some were bigger than others or had different colored ends. Kerry was the last person to expect to walk into a gun store which was the reason Willard fell off his stool behind the counter. He hit the floor with a loud thwack and a moan.

  Kerry rushed over, leaning o
ver the counter. He looked dazed and his eyes were bloodshot but that could be because of the lit joint that fell from his hand.

  “K…Kerry. Hi? What are you doing here?” Willard was wooly-haired and simple; completely different from his cousin. He wore denim overalls over a white T-shirt and big, heavy work boots.

  Kerry looked at the joint with a raised eyebrow.

  Willard quickly twisted the tip of it, putting it out. He stuffed it into his pocket, wafting the strange smelling smoke away from them as he stood.

  “Hey, Willard. I need you help with something.”

  “With what? I don’t know anything,” he said defensively.

  Kerry pressed her hand to her side where her wound was slowly knitting together. “What do you know about this?”

  Willard looked like a spooked cat momentarily and then tried to act way too cool. He leaned against a display, knocking it over and sending boxes of turkey loads spilling across the floor. He scrambled to pick them up.

  “Absolutely nothing. Well, I heard a bit here and there. I’m sorry it happened,” he said while loading up his arms dropping the boxes on the counter. He wiped a palm across his forehead, flicking sweat onto the floor.

  Kerry smelled the rank stench of his nerves even over the dope. Willard had to know he sweated like a pig in a butchers shop. He was a wolf too—that was how they knew each other.

  “Yeah, me too. I came to you because my mate is pretty sure he knows who shot me. If I can just take a look at your book and see who you’ve sold a rifle to recently.”

  Willard grabbed the rest of the boxes, dumping them onto the counter. He shook his head. “Kerry you know I can’t just let you go looking at those. Daddy would kill me. It ain’t my shop yet.”

  Kerry strolled along the counter, stroking her finger over the wooden frame as she walked closer to him. Willard backed up spooked.

  “Your daddy would also kill you if he knew you were smoking that crap on his dime, wouldn’t he? You don’t have to help me but I think we ought to phone him and let him know you’re not fit to work right now.”

  Willard’s father was a bit of an old bully. Unfortunately for him, he had early onset arthritis pretty bad in all his joints. That meant he couldn’t stand for hours, minding the store. He certainly couldn’t shoot anymore. It would make him really mad to have to come down to the store because his son was strung out from smoking pot again.