Mia had decided that there was nothing more that she could do about the situation. Caleb would continue being cold and aloof towards her, and Jack didn’t deserve her distrust; she would have to wait until he was ready to open up to her about his wife and the tragedy of her passing—and if he was never ready for it, she would have to accept that. He was too good to her for Mia to be making demands of him for things he wasn’t willing or ready to give her. Certainly, he already gave her a lot: his time, his love, his attention. He also seemed to frequently have a little present for her when she least expected it—a piece of jewelry to wear to the next meeting, a pair of shoes that she’d had her eye on when they were at the mall together, but which she hadn’t bought because she couldn’t justify the expense. She didn’t know just how wealthy Jack was, but she knew that he was comfortable enough in his income to afford some pricy gifts for her, and she thought that a man who was doing such wonderful things for her was not a man that Mia should let herself doubt.
The day after Mia came to that decision—that she couldn’t do more about her situation—Caleb finally broke the wall of silence that had come up between them. He startled Mia by appearing at her side at a weekend event the pack was having in the forested area they owned jointly. The pack used the property to hunt and generally congregate, and Mia knew that they were in the process of buying up more of the land around it, expanding their range, with the thought of potentially living there part-time. Mia had taken herself to the side of a clearing where dancing and socializing was going on in the bright sunlight, a little tired from her exertions. Caleb showed up seemingly from nowhere, standing only a couple of feet from where Mia sat, fanning herself and smiling. She almost dropped her makeshift fan in her startlement.
“Hi, Caleb,” she said, looking up at him in confusion. Caleb glanced at the rest of the pack, scattered around the clearing.
“Hi, Mia,” he said, his voice sounding tense underneath his cordiality. “I know you’re tired out from dancing, but I think you’d probably cool off a bit faster in the woods than out here in the sun. Will you walk with me?” Mia’s confusion deepened. Caleb had been avoiding her ever since he had introduced her to Jack—why would he want to go on a walk with her? Jack was off on an errand, and Mia knew that no one in the pack would think anything of her going on a walk with Caleb; they would assume that Caleb had information that he could trust Mia to give to Jack, or that there was some other concern. As the second-in-command, Caleb should have had a stronger relationship with Mia from the very beginning, and Mia had heard one person comment with slight curiosity that it was odd, the way he never seemed to talk much to her. She had kept her mouth shut about the situation, not sure of how the pack viewed the fact that she had been sleeping with Caleb before she met Jack. She knew that there was more than a little casual sleeping around among the unattached members, but typically, once two wolves settled down together and took each other for mates, they were exclusive.
“I guess I could make it that far,” Mia said cautiously, hoping for some hint from her former lover as to what exactly was going on. “It does look cooler in there.” She stood slowly, glancing around and trying not to look suspicious or guilty as she let Caleb walk slightly ahead of her, leading her into the cool, shadowy depths of the forest. They walked for what seemed like an unusually long time, and Mia heard the voices from the clearing fading gradually, overtaken by the soughing wind, the rustle of branches, the crunch of leaves and detritus underfoot, and the sounds of the animals that populated the reserve. When she simply couldn’t go any farther—a mixture of curiosity, anxiety, and fatigue mingling in her—Mia sat down on the stump of a tree after making sure it wasn’t inhabited by termites or ants. “So, what’s going on? You’re avoiding me for weeks and weeks and now suddenly you’re asking me to take a walk in the woods?”
Caleb made a face, and Mia saw his jaw tighten as he glanced away from her for a brief moment. He sighed and settled himself on the ground, and Mia saw that his eyes were troubled, his face shifting as he considered what he wanted to say. She waited in silence, confused and worried.
“Look, Mia, there are a lot of things you don’t know about the pack, and about Jack.” He licked his lips, finding the courage to look her in the eye. “I’m sure it’s been exciting, finding ‘your people,’ but you’re not entirely one of us.” Mia felt defensive almost immediately; she knew that there was a difference between her and the rest of the pack, and she had felt it on more than one occasion, but she resented the fact that Caleb was bringing it to her attention. “You have werewolf blood, but you don’t belong with the pack.” Mia’s eyes widened. She hadn’t known what to expect when Caleb wanted to walk with her in the woods—she had known that he had wanted to talk to her, or had assumed it—but even her speculation hadn’t reached this particular topic.
“If I don’t belong, then why has everyone been so good about accepting me? How is it that you’re the first person who has ever said that to me?” Mia crossed her arms over her chest, feeling angry at Caleb. She had had moments of doubt, moments when her status among the pack had seem precarious indeed. It rankled that Caleb was trying—for reasons she couldn’t divine—to shake her confidence in her right to remain with the pack.
“You’re only half werewolf. You can’t even change. You’re not one of the pack, even if everyone is making you feel welcome. Jack included; you haven’t grown up with everyone the way we all have. You can’t trust the fact that people are being nice to you right now.” Mia shook her head.
“You bring in outside werewolves all the time!” she countered, scowling at Caleb.
“Yes, werewolves—full werewolves. Women who can handle themselves in a fight against another wolf, who can breed. You’re still an outsider to the pack; you can’t change, can’t hunt with us, and you’re not going to be able to breed, so eventually Jack is going to get tired of you—the rest of the pack is going to lose patience. You need to get out and stay away, as far away as possible.” Mia stared at Caleb. She raised an eyebrow slowly, thinking about the focus of his words.
“That’s the lowest thing I think I’ve ever heard from you,” she said, standing up slowly. “And that includes you telling me that there was never anything between us, that you never cared about me, after being my lover for weeks.” Mia felt the bile rising in her throat, her anger making her heart pound. “I don’t know why you’ve decided just now that you want to talk to me after avoiding me ever since I took up with Jack, but I can tell you that if you think you’re going to drive a wedge because you’re jealous, it’s not going to work.” Caleb stared up at her in shock, and Mia took a deep breath, feeling her anger boiling up. “The fact that you would try and make me insecure, when everyone else has done everything they could to make me feel happy and secure, is completely despicable. YOU brought me into the pack, YOU insisted on me meeting Jack. YOU never had anything to say to me before right now about how I shouldn’t trust anyone and should get out.”
Caleb started to try and interrupt, but Mia held up her hand, glaring at him angrily. “I can tell you one thing, you asshole; I am going to stay exactly where I should be, which is at Jack’s side. You’ll have to just move the hell on.” She exhaled, turning away from Caleb and walking quickly back in the direction of the clearing, where everyone would still be having a good time. She heard the loud noises of the underbrush crunching underfoot, and took a deep breath, realizing that she couldn’t show up angry—she would only be inviting questions. And in spite of her denial of Caleb’s warning, Mia knew that she couldn’t possibly tell anyone in the pack what he had said. It would either cause trouble for him—which in spite of Mia’s anger towards him, she couldn’t make herself that vengeful—or it could, potentially, cause trouble for her or for Jack. She would have to get her temper under control and make some excuse about what she had gone off to do. She decided that she would just stick with the cover story that Caleb had come up with—it was cooler in the woods. It wasn’t very much, but
the best lies were the simplest.
No one asked her anything about her random walk with Caleb, or inquired about why he hadn’t walked back with her, and for the rest of the evening, Mia didn’t see her erstwhile lover at all. She wondered if he had simply left from the woods—or if he had stayed there until everyone else had left. She didn’t mention their conversation, but the words that Caleb had said weighed on her mind, distracting her from the good time she should have been having. She couldn’t give them any credence—it was obvious that Caleb was simply jealous of Jack—but the words themselves rankled.
He had called attention to her status as a second-class citizen in the werewolf community and the fact that she was infertile. In spite of the fact that Mia had known it for years, she had never really come to terms with the fact that she would never have children. When she and Jack went home for the night, she was so concerned, her mind working away at what Caleb had said to her so much that she couldn’t make herself stop thinking about it; she decided that she would have to clear the air—at least somewhat—between her and Jack. While they were taking a break between bouts of sex, Mia nuzzled up against Jack’s smooth chest, nipping at his skin playfully before she looked up, meeting his gaze. “Hey,” she said hesitantly, pulling herself up and chewing on her bottom lip. “There’s something I want to talk about.” Jack nodded, reaching up and brushing a lock of her dark hair out of her face, smoothing it behind her ear.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked her, smiling slightly. Mia felt her heart hammering in her chest. She had to be careful; she didn’t think that Jack would appreciate being told that Caleb was trying to warn her off of him. Jack was so caring, so affectionate towards her—and she didn’t want to make him doubt her affections for him either.
“Does it… does it ever bother you that I can’t have kids?” she asked, the words leaving her lips all at once in a torrent. Mia’s gaze broke away from Jack’s, and she felt herself blushing in embarrassment at the question. Jack pulled her body up and against his, moving her head around to kiss her deeply.
“It doesn’t bother me at all, Mia. It’s part of who you are—it’s not something that you can control. I knew it about you before we started seeing each other; I wouldn’t have taken up with you if I was going to decide that I minded.” Mia smiled slowly, feeling the relief flood through her. She responded to the teasing caresses that Jack was playing up and down her body, kissing him back hungrily, more than happy to start a new session in each other’s arms after the contentment that his answer had given her. She had been right to tell Caleb off—Jack had been nothing but good to her, and his answer was reasonable; he had known she was infertile—he knew she was a half-werewolf. The idea that Caleb had tried to plant into her mind was forgotten in a matter of moments as Jack’s touch became more aggressive.
Chapter Eleven
A few days before the full moon, Mia was surprised when Jack called to tell her he was taking her away for the weekend. “But don’t you need to be with the pack for the full moon?” she asked him in confusion when he arrived at her apartment, smiling broadly at the success of his surprise.
“They can do without me for one full moon,” he told her, gathering her into his arms and kissing her deeply. Mia was quickly breathless, giddy with the arousal that Jack inspired in her so easily. She knew that the pack liked to be together for the full moon—they usually hunted that night of every month, returning to feast and revel late into the night, almost until sunrise. It was different for them, she knew, to change during the full moon compared to other times; there was a magic about it. Their wolf-like natures were stirred more than usual during the waxing of the moon, and although Mia never went on the hunt with them, she had attended the feast afterwards, taking the day after off of work to sleep in. She was almost disappointed not to be participating in the revelry, since she always felt closest to the pack in those moments, more fully a member of their group. But the prospect of a romantic time away with Jack was a strong temptation; she knew that her relationship with Jack was more than the pack, as much as they had come to appreciate her and as much as they welcomed her in their midst.
“Where are we going?” Mia asked him, dizzily packing a weekend’s worth of clothes and toiletries. Jack had called her while he was on his way over, giving her little time to prepare for the outing. He sat on her bed and watched her, grinning at her hurry and confusion.
“Oh, I thought I would take you to my hometown. I’ve booked us a hotel that looks out over the woods that surrounds the village.” Mia felt a stirring of pride and pleasure; Jack was finally opening up, sharing his past with her in a substantive way. She grinned back at him, finishing her packing quickly. She had known that if she would just be patient, he would eventually find it in him to open up to her, and Mia was proud of the fact that it showed just how strong their relationship had become—and pleased that she hadn’t given into Caleb’s jealous accusations against Jack. Her trust in her lover had been redeemed.
“I’d love to see it,” she said, coming close and leaning in to kiss him long and lingeringly. Jack held her close, and for a moment, Mia thought that he would pull her onto the bed with him and have his way with her—her body thrilled at the idea of a quickie before their travels—but instead he gave her a squeeze and let her go with a playful slap to her ass, asking if she had everything she needed. Mia agreed that she did, and they went down to his car, Jack taking her suitcase from her and stowing it in his trunk.
The drive to his hometown didn’t take very long—maybe a little over an hour—and Mia was delighted with the prospect of the village where her lover had grown up. It was a small place, set into mountainous forest, the houses all snug and comfortable looking as they made their way to the one major hotel that the town boasted. Some of the streets were still cobbles instead of plain asphalt, making the car jostle and jump as Jack took the streets up to the old hotel. It was an old fashioned-looking building, promising homelike comfort, and Mia was charmed by the half-Tudor style, standing outside for a long moment to look up at the building with real enjoyment. Jack carried their bags up to their room, and Mia was shocked at the splendor of the suite: the bed was enormous, the deep carpet so plush that no sound accompanied her steps across it. The bathroom boasted a huge bathtub—more than large enough to accommodate both her and Jack. Mia thought to herself that it would be fun to play in it later—Jack enjoyed teasing her, bathing with her, and Mia had experienced his inventiveness in a much smaller bathtub before. All in all, it was a dream of a room, and Mia threw herself onto the bed, looking at Jack with her intentions plain in her eyes. Jack came near and chuckled at the obvious lust in her body language, kissing her and pinning her down against the sheets, running his hands all over her. “I want to show you everything,” he told her lowly, even as his hips rocked into hers, letting Mia feel the ridge that was forming at his crotch. “But if you want to be quick, we can get in a little relief right now.”
After their brief passage in arms, Jack led her out of the hotel and took her around the town, showing her the school he had attended as a boy, the place where he had worked as a teenager. “Not the best decision I’ve ever made,” he said with a rueful grin; he had worked in a deli, and explained with amusement that as he came into his full abilities in puberty, it had sometimes been impossible for him to resist his wolfish nature in the presence of so much meat—he had had his pay docked on more than one occasion for devouring hams or sausages, though the good-hearted shop owner hadn’t fired him for his misdeeds. Mia noticed a few odd omissions in Jack’s stories as they wandered around the town together, but she didn’t remark on them, thinking to herself that it was the wrong time to probe when Jack was finally opening up to her so much.
Mia was surprised by how much energy she had, as Jack whisked her from one location to another, taking her to the house he had grown up in. “My father passed away when I was eighteen, my mother a few years later,” he told her, faint sadness in his voice. “I wish they
could have lived to see me become Alpha of the pack, but they were proud of the fact that I had risen to second—and Dad always knew I would become Alpha one day.” He shook his head, staring at the house from across the street with Mia. “I sold the house to another werewolf couple—they appreciate the big yard for their kids.” Mia suggested that they could go into the house and look at it, since he knew the owners—but Jack demurred, saying he didn’t want to disturb them, and that anyway, they had changed it over the years, and it wouldn’t be the same.
He took her to dinner and to a local show, a band that Jack said he had known growing up, now just starting to gain attention from record labels and fans, now that they were in their twenties. “They played at my spring formal dance,” he told her, his expression softening for a moment. Mia almost asked him what he was remembering about the dance, but decided that it wasn’t for her to pry into; if he wanted to tell her, he would. They danced together, enjoying each other’s energy and spirits, and fell into bed late at night, laughing over the high points of the evening as they pulled each other’s clothes off and made love until just before dawn.
Half-Blooded: The Alpha's Mate (BBW Shifter Romance) Page 11
