She was angry. Pissed. She told me to leave, but I wasn’t sure why. I knew she was feeling the mate pull as much as I was. She’d just shown me that by the way her body responded to mine. What the hell was going on with her?
Whatever it was, I had to find out and make it better. Seeing her again had cemented one certainty in my heart and my mind. I loved that woman. I’d never stopped loving that woman. And, no matter how pissed she seemed to be, or why, I wasn’t leaving Helen’s Corner. Not without my mate. Not now, not ever.
9
Muddy
What was he doing here? What was he thinking waltzing into my life like he hadn’t cruelly dumped me ten years ago? What was I thinking jumping his bones thirty seconds later like an alley cat in heat? Ugh…please tell me I’m going to awaken from this nightmare.
I hurried downstairs and rushed into the kitchen, needing some of Jay’s calm demeanor to rub off on me. Instead, I walked in on a porn set, minus the lights, camera, and director.
Spread eagle on the stainless steel island was Anna, eyes rolled back in ecstasy while Jay stood between her legs thrusting into her like she was the last woman on earth and he’d just been released from prison.
What the hell was going on around here? Did someone put a sex spell on the place? Was there such a thing? Grunts and moans echoed around the room and I did the only thing I could think of doing in that moment of panic. I shifted into my lioness and thrashed through my house nudging my way out the back door.
Sprinting through the woods behind my house, it didn’t take me long to choose a direction. Carter lived behind me, on the edge of the woods and a few houses down. Even though my friends had been acting strange, I needed a girlfriend to talk this out with. I wasn’t ready to spill the whole story of my history with Lang, but maybe some. I needed to vent. Bad. I also needed someone to share my freak-out about Anna and Jay.
Fuck. Carter would be at her cupcake shop.
I changed directions and rushed towards Sonnie’s house. She closed her floral shop on Wednesdays, and she knew the most about Lang, anyway. The two of us had had too much wine one night and I’d said a little more than I should have about my past. Not everything, but she at least knew a bit of the story. I could talk to her without having to start over at zero with it all. I looped around town, came up to her backdoor, shifted back, and knocked.
A few seconds passed before Holt pulled open the door and grunted, quickly averting his eyes. “Sonnie. Muddy is on the back porch. Naked.”
Holt had little Honnie in his arms and I leaned over and kissed her forehead. She rewarded me with a great big toothless grin before she went back to gnawing on a teething ring and drooling all over her hand. I felt better already.
Sonnie rushed to the door, her face flushed. “Muddy. What are you doing here?”
Again, the feeling something was off. “I came to talk. You busy?”
When she glanced nervously behind her, I inhaled deeply and scented the air. The scent of my friends struck me as a slap in the face. Apparently, I truly was the odd woman out. The rest of the girls were inside. I scented all of them. Even Carter. Sonnie blew out a big breath and nodded. “Come on in.”
I moved inside and looked around. Sure enough, Carter, Denny, Charlie, and Sonnie had all been sitting around Sonnie’s living room, eating cupcakes and chatting. What the hell? They all looked up at me and shared similar looks of guilt.
“What’s going on?”
Sonnie grabbed a throw blanket and handed it off to me. “Nothing… We were just… talking.”
“Uh…about a surprise birthday party for you. Damn, you caught us.” Charlie sat forward and forced a smile.
I frowned as I wrapped the blanket around my bare body. “My birthday was two months ago. If you’re planning a party for a birthday that’s not due for another ten months, I’ll be expecting quite a massive shindig.”
Glances were exchanged, but nobody said anything.
“Tell me what’s really going on, dammit. Y’all have been acting weird since I got back. What happened while I was gone? Did you all get together and decide now that I’m the only unmated one of us, it’s more fun without me?”
Carter stood up. “No! Of course, not, Muddy. We love you.”
Charlie folded her arms across her chest and sighed. “You really think we’d vote you out of our friendship?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You really think this is a good time to give me attitude?” I leveled a glare around the room that made even Charlie wither. “Tell me what the hell is going on. You’ve all been keeping something from me and I want to know what it is.”
Sonnie clenched her hands even tighter. “Well. It’s kind of about what you’ve been keeping from us.”
My eyebrows drew together and my stomach dropped. They couldn’t be talking about Lang. That just happened. There’s no way they could know about it. Yet. “What are you talking about?”
Denny stood up suddenly and hip checked a vase on Sonnie’s side table. It crashed to the floor and water and fresh flowers spilled out in a puddle around her feet. “I, uh, oopsie.”
Charlie sniffed the air. “Wait a second. Wait just one second. You smell…” She took in a huge whiff. “You smell like sex!”
Damn her for developing her lupine sense of smell after she and Axel mated. I bit my tongue and backed away. “Don’t change the subject. That’s not what this is about.”
“Your mate?” Denny’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
I glared at Sonnie. She was the only one who knew I had a mate.
“He’s here?” Carter made a face. “How?”
I looked around at each of them. “Why isn’t anyone surprised by me having a mate, Sonnie?”
She stuttered. “T-they’re all surprised. Sooo surprised!”
Charlie grunted. “Cat’s out of the bag. Literally. Where’d you lose your clothes, Muddy? Let me guess, you saw your mate and they spontaneously combusted from your body heat?”
I blinked a few times and felt my chest tighten. “You told them? All?”
Sonnie shook her head, sending her hair flying, but then she stopped and nodded. “It slipped out. I didn’t mean to tell them all about him rejecting you. I did, though, accidentally. Baby brain. And since I couldn’t figure out a way to take it back, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to confess my slip up.”
“So, that’s what you’ve been doing? You’ve all been sitting around, gossiping about me and my pitiful rejection behind my back? Feeling sorry for me and whispering about it?”
Charlie shook her head. “Come on, Muddy. It wasn’t like that. You know us better than that. We just didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
We’d somehow split the room. They were all on the opposite side of the coffee table, looking at me like I was charity case. They were my best friends. As shocked and pissed as I was, I knew they loved me, but knowing they’d been discussing my secret behind my back and feeling sorry for me while going home to their mates, pushed me too far. I felt tears fill my eyes and angrily swiped at them.
“Oh, Muddy, don’t cry. We’re so sorry.” Denny was wringing her hands together on her lap.
I forced a shrug and rolled my shoulders. “It’s fine. Everything’s out in the open, now. Yes, my mate rejected me in front of everyone in our hometown. And, now he’s here in Helen’s Corner. He bribed a couple old ladies out of their room at my B&B and thinks that I’m going to jump right into his arms and all will be forgiven. And, yes, I just had sex with him. I just had sex. For the second time. Ever. In my life.”
They all sat in stunned, wide-eyed silence.
“Now y’all can talk about that, too.” I turned before the floodgates that were holding back my tears exploded.
“Muddy! Don’t be like that.” Charlie reached to grab my arm, but I dropped the blanket and raced towards the back door.
I passed Holt, who was bouncing Honnie in the crook of his elbow. He sighed and made a big show of turning away from my naked
body, and then I was back outside and running through the woods, my lion free and in control.
Maybe I’d just stay like that. It was easier. My lioness was tough. She didn’t have tender feelings that got hurt when her friends all got together in secret to talk about her behind her back.
We circled town a few times and, when there was no one close by, crossed over the main road that snaked in and out of town. We stayed in the shadows and as the sun went down, found a spot out of the way and rested on a flat section of vegetation that had been mashed down by other animals before us.
I shifted back and laid flat on my back, staring up at the darkening sky. Ten years ago, I gave my virginity to Lang, my mate. That turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. Now, he was back. And worse, there was no way he just stumbled upon Helen’s Corner and thought he’d drop in and say hello. No, he sought me out. He came here to see me. What did he want from me? Sex? Was he still married?
Oh, god, what if he was married! My stomach knotted in alarm. What if I just had sex with a married man? What if he had children? Was I a homewrecker?
I had no shame. I really was pitiful.
I didn’t know what he wanted or what he was doing here, and I didn’t care. Lang Millingham was bad news. I rubbed at my eyes and tried not to panic, but the gravity of the situation was sinking in fast.
I may have just made the second biggest mistake of my life.
10
Lang
Dressed, and doing all I could to not let the frustration of Muddy’s tearing out of here like a bat out of hell get to me, I went downstairs and tried to get work done at a table in the dining room.
A crazy parade of old women took turns marching by and glaring at me until I retreated back to my room. Perhaps someone had circulated a memo. Langdon Millingham: intruder, interloper, and all around bad guy.
I was back in my room, on the phone with one of my managers, when four women carrying an abundance of pent-up aggression surprised me by pushing their way inside.
“Are you Muddy’s mate?” A pint-sized human woman with short, black hair marched forward, hands on hips. “Well?”
I was taken aback by the group of women, but also by hearing myself called Muddy’s mate. That felt good. I took in a deep breath and hung up on the man at the other end of the phone before addressing the woman. “I’m Lang Millingham. Muddy’s mate. And you are?”
She ignored my question. “Who the hell do you think you are? Coming here after all these years?”
Before I had a chance to answer, a gangly woman with mousy brown hair elbowed her way forward. “Do you think she wants you here?”
A tall blonde practically snarled, and I scented her as a wolf shifter. “We want to know your intentions with our friend.”
I held my hands up in front of me. “Your friend, my mate.”
“Hold up, buddy, not so fast.” The little human stepped so close, we were almost touching. She had to tilt her head back on her neck to look up into my face. “You don’t get to say that after you rejected her.”
Rejected her? Is that what they thought? I supposed I could understand how it might seem that way. But that wasn’t the case. Not exactly. Well, things were complicated.
“I never rejected her.”
“She told me you rejected her.” The dark haired human poked me in the chest as she spoke.
I blew out the breath I was holding. No wonder she was so angry with me. No wonder she had run out like she had. I stared at the four angry women, one by one. “So, you’ve come to tar and feather me, then?”
The blonde wolf shifter, who was even taller than Muddy, crossed her arms over her chest. “We’ve come to kick your ass to the curb. Whatever you did to Muddy back then, it was bad enough. You don’t need to one up yourself. She’s too good for you, and you’re not welcome.”
They all shared matching expressions as they looked at each other for encouragement.
The woman who hadn’t said anything yet, the one who smelled like a bear, moved closer and growled. “You’re not staying in this house. This is her house and she doesn’t want you here. You can get out or we will remove you. Your choice.”
I looked around at them and nodded. It was comforting in an odd way to see that Muddy had such fierce and loyal friends. At least she was well cared for. I was glad for that, even if it was to my detriment at that moment.
I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll go somewhere else. I’m not leaving town, though.”
The little human’s eyes flashed with suspicion. “What’s changed? Why do you all of a sudden want Muddy? Or, did you come to torture her?”
I blinked. Time stretched. I knew that if my answers weren’t satisfactory, her friends would rip me apart. So, I told the truth and hoped that it would be sufficient enough to keep them from mangling me to a pulp. “I didn’t come to torture her, I came to claim her, and I intend to do just that. You win, though. I’ll leave this B&B. But, ladies, I’ll say it again, I’m not leaving town. Not until Muddy’s wearing my claiming mark.”
I kind of surprised myself with my own admission, but I meant it, and they knew it. They could hear the truth in my voice. That had been enough, apparently to keep them from ripping me to ribbons, because they left. Still, they all glowered at me with vitriolic expressions before stomping out. I heard the front door to the house slam a few minutes later and then the old ladies downstairs started whispering again.
I folded my arms across my chest and flopped down in my chair feeling like I’d been zapped of energy.
Suppressing a growl, I put in a call to Andrea. “I need a new place to stay around here, A.S.A.P. It doesn’t look like there are any hotels or motels in this place, and I don’t want to leave town if at all possible. Maybe find out if there’s a rental available in the area.”
“Yes, sir.”
Oh, and Andrea.
“Sir?”
I hesitated a moment. “The Mill-Mart on Hickerton Road, have a position created for that store that supersedes the managerial position. Offer the job to an employee named Lonnie, not sure of her last name.”
“Lonnie…yes, sir.” Andrea knew enough not to ask questions.
“In fact, make sure that the managers of the store have to answer directly to her.”
“And the pay rate for the position, sir?”
“Double whatever Lonnie’s currently making.”
“Right away, sir.”
That ought to take care of Dickhead Ted.
I stood up and threw the few things I’d unpacked back into my suitcase. I debated waiting around for Muddy to show up, but I didn’t think that was the way to handle my departure. Her friends had given me some food for thought. Perhaps the situation wasn’t exactly what I had assumed. I’d retreat for the night and make a comeback the next morning. Muddy couldn’t avoid me. We were in a town of about ten people.
I got back in my truck and took one more looked up at her place. It hadn’t been very long since I pulled up, but I already everything was different. Seeing her again…for the first time in ten years I was confused, yes, but also filled with a hope and excitement that I hadn’t felt in years. I wasn’t going to let her push me away.
I drove around the tiny town for about an hour checking things out before Andrea called with the address of a temporary rental home she’d booked for me from a man named Greg Jones who was, apparently, only in residence for a few months of the year.
I didn’t plan on being there long. The way Muddy had reacted to me meant that there were still plenty of sparks between us. With a little communication, we’d get things worked out.
As I unpacked and looked through the kitchen at the groceries Brice had arranged to be dropped off for me, I assessed the situation.
If anything was clear, it was that Muddy’s visit to Chattington hadn’t been a sign to me like I’d thought. It was evident by her reaction to finding me in her house that she hadn’t been expecting me and didn’t want me there. So, the welcome
mat I’d assumed, or hoped, she’d roll out had been wishful thinking.
It didn’t matter, though. I would just have to work with what was there. I wasn’t giving up, especially not after finding my way to Helen’s Corner and having her in that small bedroom. She was so much better than the thousands of times I’d fantasized about her while I jerked myself to release. She’d always been beautiful, like a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day. The years had turned her from a beautiful girl to a gorgeous, sensuous woman.
It pained me to hear from her friends that she thought I’d rejected her. I needed to set the record straight, and explain the truth. I could still get there, even if I had to beg for forgiveness. She felt something for me. I was her mate.
I just had to press on. I’d win her back. It’d just take a little longer than I thought. She had been everything all those years ago, when I was too stupid and too naïve to realize it. Now, I knew better. Money meant nothing; a family name meant nothing. Nothing meant anything without the woman I loved to share it with.
11
Muddy
I crept back into the B&B the next morning, feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. I wasn’t a teenager and I wasn’t cut out for sleeping on the cold, hard, ground. These bones needed a soft bed. I should’ve carried my sorry butt back home the night before and kicked Lang to the curb. Then, I could’ve crawled into my warm bed and been cradled in comfort until the morning sun gently woke me. Well, something like that.
Instead, I moved like someone had taken a baseball bat to my joints. I was almost too miserable to notice that most of Lang’s scent was gone. There was still enough lingering to feel like a kick in the gut, but it was residual, not fresh. He was gone.
The disappointment that coursed through me was disgusting. I’d demanded he leave. I wanted him gone. Yet, I found myself deflating. What was wrong with me? He’d just wanted another roll in the hay, and knew I was an easy target. I swore and stomped up the stairs to my room. Shame turned to anger and I let it burn through me as I showered and got ready for the day.
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