The Scarred Heart (Wilde Creek#5) (12 page)

Kammie pressed her hand to her heart as she gasped.  Noisemakers were blown and the people cheered and clapped.  Row looked at his mom and sister; they were smiling in a way that told him they already knew about the surprise party.

“So that’s why you didn’t need to explain yourself?” Row asked his mom.

She winked.  “Sue me for liking surprises.”

Brynn and Acksel stood in the center of the front room, with other wolves gathered around them.  Brynn said, “We’re sorry to see you go, Kammie, and we wanted you to know that you’ll be missed greatly.”

Brynn moved forward and hugged Kammie, slowly pulling her away from Row and into the group of wolves.  He let her go even though he didn’t want to, because he knew it was important to her to get to say goodbye to her people.

He joined Kammie and extended his hand to Acksel.

“Thank you,” Row said.

“Kammie was an asset to the pack.  She’s going to be missed.”

Brynn clapped her hands and the crowd quieted.  She put her arm around Kammie and said, “I can’t believe you’re leaving, but I’m so happy you found your truemate.  Hunting’s a good thing I guess, huh?”  She smiled and winked at Kammie.

“It can be,” Kammie murmured, casting a glance at Row.

“I know you’re heading out to dinner, but I hope you have time to stay and have some finger food and a piece of cake.”

To Row’s surprise, the males who’d been guarding the house the last time walked out of the kitchen with platters of food and set them on a card table against one wall.  Kammie’s brow furrowed, and Acksel cleared his throat.  “Brynn suggested that it wouldn’t hurt for the guards to know how to peel carrots and set the table.”

“I was a real slave-driver today,” Brynn said.

Adam introduced Row and Dani’s mom to the alphas while the crowd mingled and ate.  Brynn and a female named Mia bracketed Kammie on the couch, asking for details about the bear sleuth and what she was going to be doing in Oakville.

Someone cleared his throat and Row turned to face a tall, broad-shouldered male holding a young boy.  “I’m Malachi Slattery.  This is my son, Jack.”  He gestured to the couch where another female, with dark blonde hair, joined the others on the couch.  “My mate is Nila.  She’s sad to see Kammie go.  When she had trouble with her former mate, Kammie helped out by letting Nila’s friend stay with her while she recovered from an attack.”

“Kammie will miss some aspects of the pack,” Row said.

Jack wiggled in his arms and said in a very stern baby voice, “Carrot!”  Malachi put the boy down, tousling his hair and smiling as the boy hurried to Nila.  “I’m glad that things will be different for her with your people.  Brynn, my sister, and my mate went to see Dani, and she told them about the sleuth.  I’m sure you don’t have a good opinion of wolves right now, but things will get better with time.”

“Your alpha seems happy to carry on tradition.”

“He is, but he’s also anxious about his own family’s future.  If his children don’t shift, they’ll be omegas.  For an alpha male, that would be hard to take.  I personally don’t care if mine and Nila’s children shift.  I just want them to be happy.”

Row nodded.  “I think that’s a wish all parents have.”

“The good ones, anyway.”  Malachi said.  “Dani won’t technically be part of the pack, but she’s going to become an honorary steward, and she and Adam will work with Jeremiah and Honey, who are running late because they were working with the retirees.”

“What’s a steward?”

“A wolf who is assigned to help out the feeble or retired wolves in the pack.  It’s not technically a ranked position, but it’s not an omega either.  Dani, Honey, Jeremiah, and Adam don’t work for anyone but Dade, who is Acksel’s dad, and they help the retirees.  The pack pays them a salary as well.  I’ve heard that two of the retired females are already teaching Dani how to quilt.”

The front door opened and in walked a male and female.  Malachi said, “That’s Jeremiah and Honey.  I’ll go get them so I can introduce you.”

After meeting Jeremiah and Honey, Row relaxed, not realizing that he’d been worried about Dani’s place in the pack.  Honey and Dani hugged like old friends, and Row’s mom seemed content with her daughter’s new home and friends.  Dani could take care of herself, and she had a strong mate at her back, too.

The pack wasn’t as welcoming to outsiders as the sleuth, but it had been Kammie’s home for her entire life.  There was good along with the bad.  Row decided to put the past where it belonged and to stop holding the current generation of wolves accountable for the shortcomings of the previous one.  Sure, they’d treated his sweetheart badly, but they had grown up believing that was the way things were supposed to be.  It didn’t make sense to him, but he didn’t care any longer.  Dani was safe and loved, and Kammie was going to live with him in Oakville, where they could start the next chapter of their lives.

He leaned over the back of the couch and kissed Kammie’s cheek.  “We can have dinner out tomorrow night if you’d like to stay longer and visit with your friends.”

She beamed at him.  “You don’t mind?  It would delay us leaving another day.”

“If you’re happy, I’m happy, little wolf.  Don’t you know that by now?”

Chapter 12

The following day, Kammie pulled into a parking space in front of the mall and took a deep breath.  Ever since their mating night in the den, she’d been aware that she had no sexy lingerie.  Well, she’d always known that, but it had never mattered to her before what her undies looked like because she was the only one who saw them.  She went for comfortable, not sexy.  She knew Row didn’t care about her panties or bras or what she slept in.  He preferred her naked and took every opportunity to tell her so.

“I’m really doing this,” she said out loud.

Before she could lose her nerve or talk herself out of it, she pushed open her door and got out.  The frigid air caught her by surprise, but she just wrapped her scarf around her neck a second time and shut the door firmly.  She was doing this for Row, but also for herself.  She was actually going to stand in front of a mirror in a changing room and try on lingerie.

Holy freaking crap.

Hurrying to the entrance, she waited a brief moment for the doors to open automatically, and then stepped into the warmth of the mall.  A large directory stood a few feet in front of her, and she used it to locate a lingerie store on the second floor.

When she told Row she wanted to go shopping, he’d wanted to come with her, but she hadn’t wanted an audience.  Row would be supportive, but he’d also probably tell her she didn’t need to buy anything fancy on his behalf.  Then she’d have to explain that it wasn’t just for him, although that would be a bonus.  She was slowly getting comfortable in her own skin, and buying something pretty was another step in the right direction.

She paused for a brief moment at the entrance to the lingerie shop to gather her courage when a familiar voice said, “Hi Kammie!”

Her eyes widened as Mia Slattery, a fellow pack member, straightened from where she’d been leaning over a table of panties.

“Hi, Mia,” Kammie said.  Her feet were firmly rooted to the floor, and her cheeks were pinking.  She was trying to have a milestone moment – by herself – and now she wasn’t alone.

Mia moved to her swiftly and said in a low voice, “Are you okay?  You look a little green.  And embarrassed.”

“I just…didn’t think I’d see anyone I know.”

Mia smiled in understanding.  “Can I tell you a secret?”

Kammie blinked in surprise.  She and Mia weren’t good friends, but they’d known each other forever because of the pack.  Mia and Alpha Brynn were best friends, and even though Mia was also an omega because she was a female, having a brother who was highly ranked in the pack meant that Mia wasn’t as low on the totem pole of omegas as Kammie was.  And Mia wasn’t scarred from an abusive childhood, either.

“Of course, Mia.”

Her voice lowered as she spoke.  “My brother’s business partner is coming in to have dinner with Mal and his family.  Nila finagled me an invitation because I’ve had the hots for Lucian forever, so I was thinking that I should buy some sexy undies, even though there’s no way in hell Lucian will ever see them on me.”

“Why not?”

“Because Mal has made it clear to Lucian that I’m off-limits.”  She sighed wistfully.  “Even though I wouldn’t want to ruin their friendship, I kind of wish that Lucian liked me enough to give up everything to be with me.”

“Do you think you’re mates?”

“I don’t get to spend enough time with him to know. He’s never in town because of his job, and when he does come into Wilde Creek, Mal never tells me.  I’m pining away for a guy who may or may not be my mate, but because my brother meddles, I don’t actually know.  It’s frustrating.”

“I bet.  I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well, me too.  I’d actually like to spend time with him and see if we’re mates, but I have a feeling that Mal is going to squash things again.”

“I wish I could empathize, but I was an only child.”

“Well, he’s not all bad.  He’s just overprotective.”  She shrugged.  “So, I told you about my unrequited love.  Are you here to find something sexy for your mate?”

Kammie nodded.  “I’ve never looked for anything sexy before.”

Mia smiled gently.  “Would you like some help?”

“Thanks.”  Kammie breathed out a sigh of relief.

She wasn’t sure what to look for, and as she walked into the sea of silk and lace and employees with headsets, she was glad to have Mia with her.

As they browsed, the two women talked about Row and the bear sleuth, and Mia’s undying interest in her brother’s best friend.  Kammie entered a dressing room with a handful of items and closed the door.  Mia moved into the room next to hers and said, “My mom took me to get my first bra when I was eleven.”

“That’s nice.”

“She invited my grandma.”

Kammie laughed.   She’d never had any of those experiences.  Maggie had taken her in after her uncle was banished from the pack, but the female, although kind, had only had sons and didn’t seem to remember what it was like to be a young woman.  She’d provided for her as best she could, but all of Kammie’s clothes had been hand-me-downs.  She’d dressed to hide her scars and had never been told that she was pretty or that she shouldn’t cover up.

Kammie stared at herself in the long mirror.  It had taken four bras to find the right size.  She was more confident in her skin than she’d been since before she was abused, but she didn’t want a strange woman to measure her chest.  Now she was wearing a teal lace bra with tiny flowers embroidered on it.  She held the scandalously tiny panties in her hand, thinking they would probably melt to nothing in the washing machine.  Staring at herself critically in the mirror, she looked past the scars to the woman behind them.  She’d come a long way since she met Row.  They were both fully marked and mated now, and his favorite activity wasn’t just making love but lying around naked and talking. 
Naked conversations
, as he liked to call them, were some of her favorite times with her mate, too.

“How’s it going?”  Mia asked.

“Good.  You?”

“Meh.  I’m just kidding myself about Lucian, and buying sexy undies isn’t giving me the confidence I thought it would.”

“I’m sorry,” Kammie said as she stripped.  She set aside the teal bra and panty set and lifted a satin baby doll from a padded hanger.

“It’s okay.”

Kammie slipped the soft material over her head and adjusted the sexy outfit, tugging on the hem as she looked at herself.  “Would you wear a baby doll for your mate?”

“Oh sure.  But don’t buy a really expensive one.  Brynn said that Acksel tears everything she buys because he can’t control himself when she wears lingerie.”

“That’s good advice, thanks.”

“Well, maybe Row isn’t as much of an animal as Acksel is,” Mia said with a chuckle, “but I think most guys love to see their mates take the time to wear something just for them.  Then they don’t have enough blood left in their brain to think straight.”

Kammie laughed and pulled the black babydoll off and set it on the bench with the bra set she was going to buy.  She dressed, gathered her things, and left the dressing room.  Kammie selected a few more bra and panty sets in different colors and followed Mia to the register.  “I’m glad you were here,” Mia said.  “I wish we’d gotten to know each other better.”

Kammie watched the girl ring up her purchases and then handed her credit card over.  Glancing at Mia, she said, “Me too.”

“Brynn does want to change things, but she can only do so much when her mate is steeped in tradition.”

Mia paid for her items as Kammie stood next to her.  “I think if packs don’t change with the times, they’ll lose their young.  They’ll want to leave for more progressive packs, or just leave their people behind entirely.”

“Like you’re doing,” Mia pointed out.

“I wouldn’t have left without Row’s influence.  If I’d mated a male in our pack, nothing would’ve changed for me.”

Mia took her bag and walked out of the store with Kammie.  “I don’t think things will change for me unless I make the changes.  I need to grow up.  Brynn’s my best friend, but she’s the alpha and she’s having a baby.  Pining after a male who doesn’t care for me enough to stand up to my brother isn’t really worth my time.”

Kammie looked at Mia and saw the determination in her eyes.  They stopped at the mall’s exit, and Kammie gave her a hug.  “Whatever choices you make in your life, I wish you well.  If Lucian really is yours, then it’ll happen, and if not, then the male you do choose as your mate is one lucky guy.”

“Thanks, hon.  Have a safe trip, and I hope this next chapter of your life is full of love and happiness.  You deserve it.”

The two women parted ways and Kammie brushed at a few stray tears as she sat behind the wheel of her car.  She was sad to be leaving Wilde Creek, but she couldn’t bear for Row not be honored for the powerful and amazing male he was.  He didn’t deserve to be an omega, and she realized she didn’t deserve the super-low status she’d been given either.  She was a strong female.  She’d stood up for herself in the face of a madman, and she could handle anything that the future threw at her.  Especially with her sexy mate having her back.

Smiling at the package on the seat next to her, she shifted the car into drive and headed home.  It was their last night in her house and then they’d be leaving Wilde Creek behind.  If she had any regrets about her life, it was only that it had taken so long for her to meet Row.  She would’ve loved to have been tackled by him in the woods when she was younger so they could’ve known each other that much longer.

She could imagine her sixteen-year-old self bouncing through the woods after a rabbit and having a big bear come crashing through to find her.  She bet even at that young age she would’ve known that Row was meant to be hers.  The connection between them was instantaneous and sweet, and grew stronger every day.