by Kaia Pierce
“I already told you. I wanted to give you a chance. We’re brothers, Caleb. That means something.”
Of all things, it was his calmness that infuriated me the most.
I stood up and clapped the dirt and dry leaves from my hands. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. If I hadn’t been born a twin, my life could’ve been completely different.”
Kaden scrambled up to his feet, too. “So tell me about it. I want to get to know you, Caleb! And…and my omega is in love with you. Your omega, that is. Liam. You were meant to come here to Riverrun. Don’t you see that? It’s fate.”
“If this is what fate wants for me, then why put me through all that bullshit?” I thought aloud to myself.
In my mind, I saw flashes of fire. I heard children crying. It wasn’t my own memories I recalled, but the memories that Liam had shared with me. Who knew that two people could share such similar pasts? Suddenly, I found myself missing him terribly.
“Because going through all of that pain helped make you strong,” Kaden said, walking towards me. When he placed his hand on my shoulder, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t tempted to jerk myself away. “I don’t know what happened to you before I knew you existed, but all that stuff helped bring you here to my town. So if fate was going to give you a chance, then so was I, because I’ve learned a thing or two about going up against fate.”
I nodded, because he was right.
“So just give me a chance, too,” he said. His tone was soft, without any of the defensiveness or resentment that I felt on my own inside.
It caught me off-guard.
“Let’s talk this out tomorrow,” Kaden said, noting my hesitation. “Both of us have mates to get home to.”
Suddenly, I forgot all about my foiled plan or my rivalry with Kaden. “Both of us? Are you talking about Liam? Is he still in town?”
Hearing my excitement, Kaden gave a small smile. “Yeah, he is. I can hear him up here,” he said, tapping his temple with his index finger. “He’s at home waiting for you—wait, where do you think you’re going?”
I stripped off my jacket as I jogged into the trees. “To Liam!”
“Let me drive you!”
“It’ll be faster if I run,” I shouted back.
I tore off my shirt and pants, already trembling with the oncoming shift. My shoes went flying when I became a wolf.
Abandoning my clothes in the wilderness, I shot through the forest, nose pointing west to the heart of Riverrun, and to Liam.
Chapter 21: Liam
After spending hours pacing my room, I finally heard Kaden’s voice in my head telling me what I’d been hoping to hear. The fight was over. In fact, it hadn’t even happened at all, but more surprising than that was what Kaden told me next:
Caleb’s coming.
I waited on pins and needles. Then, he showed up two-and-a-half hours later. I wasn’t sure how I knew the moment he set foot in my backyard. I just did. Maybe it was my pregnancy, his seed inside of me, allowing me to sense his presence.
I got up from the couch and went to the back door. I opened it just in time to see the last of his fur melting back into skin, leaving the tall, sinewy body I’d grown to know so well.
“Caleb—”
“Wait,” he said. He strolled closer.
Without even a single drop of fat on his body, he moved in the pale moonlight as if he was made of marble. For a moment I stood there, transfixed, as my heart pounded slow and light as butterfly wings in my chest. He raised a hand to my face and stroked his index finger along my jaw. That small touch made my entire body tense up. It was somehow a pleasant feeling, but only because Caleb was finally standing in front of me.
His lips parted. “I love you, Liam.”
I’d dreamt about hearing those same words from him for so long, I didn’t realize that I actually wasn’t dreaming at first. My eyes suddenly began to water, even before the rest of my body could react.
“You what?” I said breathlessly.
“I love you, Liam,” Caleb said, a tiny bit firmer and louder.
I never thought I’d hear something so beautiful in my life, yet there it was. His words sank into me like a kiss from heaven, leaving me speechless, and the only thing left to do was weep silently. I blinked once, and a cascade of tears poured from my eyes.
“I’m sorry for everything, Liam,” Caleb continued. His voice cracked. If he wasn’t standing so close, I wouldn’t have caught it. “I didn’t realize it until earlier tonight. I’ve been so caught up with my stupid plan. I was angry with my life, angry at God, and I wanted to make Kaden pay for it. But it all feels so empty now compared to what I could have with you.”
Caleb cupped my face in his hands, wiping his strong thumbs under my eyes. I bit down on my trembling lip, still too shocked to say much.
He drew closer until I could feel the breath of his words on my face. “Even the most vicious, rabid wolf wants a soft place to rest at night. You’re what I’ve wanted all along. You and our baby.”
He spoke in a low tone that soothed my inner wolf. It gave me the strength to finally speak.
“I love you, too.”
The moment I said it, my heart twisted inside of my chest, and I felt like it would literally explode. Caleb’s fingers flexed along the sides of my face, and within seconds we were kissing deeply, passionately, hungrily, and as if we’d never, ever stop.
He loves me. I still couldn’t believe it. But the evidence was here. Not only had Caleb told me so, I could feel it in the way he kissed me and the way his hands moved over my body, claiming me as his. Suddenly, I was overcome with an unbearable urge to take him inside of me.
Judging by the hardness of his already-erect cock, Caleb felt exactly the same.
My hand shook as I held him in my loose grip. Stomach tightening, I tried to drop down to my knees, but Caleb stopped me.
“No. I want to take you to bed,” he growled.
In one swift movement, Caleb picked me up with his left arm hooked beneath my legs and his right supporting my back. I gasped as the ground fell out from under my feet. With Caleb being several inches taller than me, I towered, but I’d never felt more secure in somebody’s arms.
I could get used to this, I thought to myself as he carried me back into the house.
Once we reached my bedroom, Caleb gently lowered me to the bed. He sat down, and I reached for him, but he caught my hands in mid-air and placed them back at my sides.
“Just wait. Let me look at you,” he said.
His pupils were wide, swallowing up the pale gray of his irises. He licked his lips as he scanned me from head to toe. His hand slipped under my tee shirt, pushing it up to reveal the slope of my belly. He pressed his palm to the apex of the swell, right under my belly button.
“I can’t believe this is mine,” he murmured.
Another surge of emotion washed over me, and I found myself tearing up again. When Caleb caught my eye, a wrinkle of concern appeared in between his eyebrows.
“What’s wrong?”
I smiled in spite of myself. “I’m just so happy, and…and pregnancy hormones probably have something to do with it, too.”
Caleb smiled back and chuckled lightly, the sound of it muffled when he kissed my stomach. My legs jumped when I felt the rough skin of his chin grazing my sensitive skin. Then, when his fingers slowly worked my jeans open, I began to shiver.
My cock, which pounded softly inside of my pants, throbbed to life the moment Caleb’s fingers danced over it. I moaned as my body clenched, and I could feel a tiny drop of precum squeezing out from my tip.
Caleb lapped his tongue at it, still grasping the base of my shaft. Blood surged into my groin. Now, I was so hard it was actually hurting me. I was desperate for release.
Caleb pulled away just briefly enough to pull my pants and boxers off. I clamped my arms to my sides and dug my nails into my palms. My hips jerked slightly, groping towards the warmth of Caleb’s mouth.
“Caleb. Please. I need you,” I whispered. Sweat was beginning to form on my temples.
Caleb’s hand dropped from my crotch. He ran his saliva-dampened fingers down my sack, leaving a wet trail that felt cold every time he breathed on it. There was a pull deep inside my navel, and I exhaled just as I felt the first of his fingers sliding between my ass cheeks.
“Not yet. I want to hear you beg for it first,” he murmured, his lips twisted into a sly grin.
My asshole was already slick with my juices when he inserted a fingertip inside. His lips were barely touching the underside of my cock. Every few seconds, he teased me with the tip of his tongue, flicking up and down my length.
“Please,” I said with an anguished moan. My heart raced, and even more salty precum dripped out of my tip.
Caleb pushed himself upright. For a fleeting second, I thought he was going to start fucking me right then and there. Unfortunately, his next move was to push my shirt up even further and place a simple kiss placed right above my breastbone. Meanwhile, his finger continued to tease my opening.
“What do you want me to do to you?” Caleb said.
He moved his mouth across my chest to my right nipple. I could barely even think, let alone respond, as he slid his grainy tongue over the sensitive, puckered tip. As he moved his attention to the other nipple, I blurted out the first thing that crossed my mind.
“I want you to bury that cock in my little hole,” I said, and I paused to catch my breath. “And I want you to fuck me over and over until I pass out.”
“But what if I like you like this?” he murmured into my skin. “So…helpless.” He finished his thought by giving my nipple a tiny bite.
At the same time, he crooked his finger deep inside my asshole.
My entire body jerked under him, as if I’d been electrocuted. Suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore. With a burst of strength I never knew I had, I flipped Caleb off of me and onto his back. I scrambled down to his crotch, riding the shockwaves of the quaking mattress, and shoved his cock into my watering mouth.
Immediately, his swollen tip collided with the back of my throat. His fingers dug through my hair. Applying some pressure to the back of my head, Caleb gave a deep groan and thrust his hips, packing his cock even deeper.
My asshole tingled as I savored the taste of him. I enjoyed him for a few glorious seconds before Caleb stiffened and pulled himself back out.
“That’s it. You’re getting it,” he said gruffly.
He slipped out from under me, forced me onto my stomach, and took his position behind my hips. Automatically, I drew myself up onto my knees, lifting my ass to him.
“Fuck me,” I said, my voice husky and deep, dripping with every ounce of lust I felt in that moment.
Caleb stared at my ass, his eyebrows knitted in concentration as he massaged my ass cheeks. A section of dark hair fell over his eyes, and my cock twitched suddenly with want. I had to grab myself to keep from crying.
“Please!” I begged. “Caleb, please!”
Caleb’s hard abs flexed.
The next thing I knew, my asshole burst open, and Caleb was slowly filling my cavity with his throbbing, hard manhood.
I screamed so loud that my ears rang afterwards.
“Oh, baby,” Caleb whispered, gripping my hips. He threw his head back and began to sway, pumping his cock deeper, deeper, and deeper.
I clenched my teeth. “Fuck.” I rode his thrusts. My ass clapped back against him and shook between his strong fingers.
“I missed you so much,” Caleb said.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I finally closed my eyes. Releasing a huge breath, I finally allowed myself to surrender to the absolute, blinding pleasure Caleb’s body gave to mine.
He fucked me in that position for what felt like forever and, at the same time, not enough time at all. Then, he flipped me over onto my back and fucked me with my ankles by his ears. His flat stomach massaged my cock. I was lost in bliss.
It didn’t take long for me to come. I screamed as I climaxed. My cum pooled on my chest, and my asshole pulsed down on Caleb’s shaft. Caleb came a few seconds after that, and everything fell silent, all except for our gasps as our bodies knotted together.
Our skin slick with sweat, we kissed, throwing the full weight of our love behind it. In that moment, I was absolutely complete, feeling secure in Caleb’s affection while his child grew inside of me.
Just as I thought I couldn’t possibly be happier, Caleb pried his lips from mine and brushed some damp strands of hair from my forehead.
“Liam, I have one more thing to ask you,” he said, his expression so grave that I felt a pang of worry. “How would you like to be my mate?”
My stomach dropped. “I…I mean,” I sputtered dumbly.
Caleb’s eyes fell to my lips. “Just say yes.”
“Yes.”
Our mouths crashed back together, and we kissed thirstily as the knot in Caleb’s cock still clamped his body to mine.
Chapter 22: Caleb
It was an overcast Thursday morning when I finally got up to meet with Kaden for the first time since the fight. By then, a few days had passed, and I’d spent all of them practically living at Liam’s house.
Josh came by to pick Liam up for a trip into the city. I knew they were both eager to bond over their shared pregnancy experiences. Standing on the driveway, I kissed him goodbye before he was driven away. Then, I got into Liam’s car and made my way towards the interstate.
It was a thirty minute drive to the Highway Diner, the place where it had all started. I reflected on my first meeting with Kaden all those months ago, how distrustful and—I hated to admit it, but insecure—I’d been back then. Loving Liam had changed me, but I was still shaded by a ghost of my old self. I thought I needed to sit down with him to talk things out one last time.
I didn’t see Kaden’s Harley when I parked outside the diner’s entrance, but he was there when I walked in. And to my surprise, he wasn’t alone.
Just like last time, Kaden sat in a booth by the window, facing the door so he’d see me when I arrived. With a beanie pulled down low over his forehead, he gave a small wave when I walked in. The brunette ponytailed woman sitting across from him turned around, and I recognized her as Rowan, the witch.
“I thought she’d have some insight into figuring out what actually happened with that spell,” Kaden offered by way of explanation.
I slid into the seat beside Rowan. “No worries. I actually invited someone to join us, too.” I glanced out the window at the parking lot. “Here she comes now.”
Curious, Kaden and Rowan followed my gaze.
Outside, the world was frozen, gray, and hazy from the exhaust of the semi-trucks pulling in and out of the gas station. There was a lone, petite figure amongst the hulking truckers crisscrossing the lot. She leaned into the wind with her gray coat and blue scarf, scurrying towards the diner with quick, tiny steps.
“Kaden and Rowan, meet Stevie Bishop,” I said when she walked in.
Kaden gave me a hard, questioning look as Stevie took the seat beside him, the only open one left at the table. All I could do was respond with my own stare, a silent promise that things would finally become clear in the end.
“So why did you ask me to come here?” Stevie asked the moment her butt touched vinyl.
I opened my mouth and snapped it shut again when a waitress stopped by to top off Kaden’s coffee. When she asked us if we needed anything else, Kaden thanked her and sent her away.
“Yeah, why?” Rowan pressed, turning away from the window towards me.
Immediately self-conscious, heat rose to my cheeks. I hadn’t expected to be the one to open today’s dialogue, but Kaden did have the right to know what actually happened in the clearing that night.
I anxiously cleared my throat and lowered my voice. With the clatter of silverware, conversation, and oldies music in the background, my three companions had to lea
n in close to hear me.
“Stevie, you can answer that for yourself,” I began, “by telling us why you shot Carl Henderson.” In response to her stony silence, I added, “I think you owe me an explanation at the very least.”
Kaden’s dark eyebrows shot straight up, raising his beanie a good two inches higher on his brow. “You shot Carl? I thought that was just part of the spell.”
Rowan was uncharacteristically speechless, so I guessed she was just as shocked as Kaden.
Stevie’s expression was bored and impassive. Her eyes were on me, but I knew she was tracking Kaden and Rowan in her periphery, too.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” she said in a calm, even tone, “but Carl Henderson was my husband.”
The three of us were wordless with shock.
“He was abusive,” she added. “I’d found out he was closely affiliated with my boss just before you reached out to me, Caleb. He gave up looking for me a few years ago, but he was bound to discover that I worked at Grayback Industries. That’s why I wanted the gun and why I shot him. Now, he’ll never hurt me again.”
I nodded silently. I didn’t challenge her or ask for more details. Thanks to Liam, I knew exactly what Carl Henderson was capable of.
“But you couldn’t do it without the coven’s help,” Rowan said.
“Probably not.”
“So what did they want in return?”
Stevie cocked a thin, brown eyebrow. “Is that any of your business?”
Rowan’s mouth tensed, but before she could fire off, Kaden cleared his throat.
“You don’t have to tell us that, Stevie. Just knowing what was going on while I was under the spell is helpful enough. Thank you.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else?” Stevie said, staring pointedly at me.
“Nope,” I said.
“In that case, I should get going,” Stevie said. She stood up and left without saying goodbye.
Kaden’s eyes followed Stevie through the exit and across the parking lot to her maroon sedan. Then, they snapped back to rest on Rowan.
“What’s your problem? She’s a battered housewife trying to defend herself,” Kaden said.
