The Scarred Heart (Wilde Creek#5) (13 page)
Read The Scarred Heart (Wilde Creek#5) Online
Authors: R. E. Butler
That night, Row drove Kammie to Luna’s, the only restaurant in Wilde Creek. Their mom rode with Dani and Adam; she was going to spend the night with them so she could visit with Dani longer. Row was anxious to head home, but he didn’t want to take away from his mom spending time with his sister, and getting to know Adam. The party the previous night had been a big surprise. He appreciated that the alphas had thrown Kammie a going-away party, but he knew that Brynn was the driving force behind it. She seemed to feel guilty for Kammie’s treatment, but the reality was that wolf packs were run by the alpha males and there were a lot of laws that ensured the strongest survived. Adam was injured, but no matter his physical impairments, Row knew without a doubt that he would guard Dani with his life.
Kammie turned in her seat as he parked and gave him a mischievous smile.
“What’s that for, little wolf?” he asked.
She arched a brow and began to unbutton her top. His mouth fell open as he watched her fingers slip quickly down the front of her shirt and pull one side over to expose her breast. It was dark in the car, but with the parking-lot lights and his enhanced eyesight, he could see that she was wearing a very sexy bra.
“Sweetheart,” he said, growling softly.
“This is what I did today,” she said, her voice husky. “For you.”
He was overwhelmed. His mate had bought sexy lingerie…for him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, slipping his hand inside her top to touch the soft lace. “My sexy mate, you drive me wild,” he said against her lips, and she moaned softly.
“You like?”
“Love.” He leaned away and pulled his hand free, which took some effort. He buttoned her top back up and grinned at her. “I’m going to make you so happy later.”
“I’m already happy.”
He tweaked her chin. “I’m the luckiest bear on the planet to have such a sexy, giving wolf for my mate. I hope you didn’t plan to get any sleep tonight.”
“Bring it on, my mate.”
He kissed her swiftly and got out of the truck before he could turn the engine back on and drive them back to her house as fast as possible. He opened her door and held out his hand. “Eat fast.”
She laughed. “I’m glad your mom’s not staying with us tonight.”
“Me too, love.”
A young wolf male led them to a table in the center of the restaurant and Row pulled the chair out for Kammie as the others joined them. Kammie pulled off her jacket and set it over the back of her chair. The blouse she wore was green and looked lovely against her skin. The few buttons left undone showed off her cleavage and one of her scars. He was proud of her. As he’d been helping her pack up her clothes, he noticed that she had a lot of turtlenecks and clothes meant to entirely cover her. She’d gone shopping with his mom before they left Oakville, and the clothes she wore now, while still modest in their own way, were more revealing. He was looking forward to warmer weather because the clothes she wore wouldn’t be as confining. That she had bought lingerie for him that day just told him how far she’d come in her opinion of herself.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked as she picked up a menu.
“You in shorts.”
Her brow arched. “Shorts?”
He slid his arm over the back of her chair and leaned close, letting his lips brush her ear. “I love your body. I can’t wait to see you in less confining clothes. Warm weather means shorts, so I can stare at your gorgeous legs.”
She blushed and chuckled. “You’re insatiable.”
“I’m honest.”
“That, too.”
He kissed her ear and whispered, “Fucking love you.”
She turned to look at him, and the love in her eyes made him want to fall to the ground and worship her forever. It was powerful and honest. He’d never felt so lucky. “I love you, too.”
A waiter appeared and Row straightened, but didn’t take his arm off the back of Kammie’s chair. After placing their orders, he listened to Kammie, Dani, and his mom talk about the future. Dani was content to stay in Wilde Creek. She and Adam apparently made a great team when it came to being omegas. Row didn’t think much of the omega position in the pack because of the way that Kammie had been treated, but Dani was happy and that was all that really mattered. Adam, despite his burn scars, was well-muscled and fierce, and Row knew that he'd make sure that no one treated Dani badly.
“Tell me about being a steward,” Row’s mom said.
“They tend to the retired wolves exclusively. There’s a development in town where most of the retirees live. Dade, Jeremiah, and Honey assign duties to young pack members for those retirees – everything from shoveling the walk to helping with cleaning and home repairs,” Adam said.
Row’s mom smiled. “That sounds like an excellent job.”
“It’s been so much fun. The retirees are awesome. They’re friendly and so thankful to have someone care about them. Jeremiah and Honey are sweethearts. Honey and I have been handling the widowed females. There’s one female who hasn’t thrown out a newspaper since 1990. Her house looks like a newsstand threw up in it,” Dani said, laughing.
“I’m glad you found a place,” Row said, and he honestly meant it. Row knew that he would’ve been happy to be with Kammie anywhere, but he was thankful that she’d been ready to throw off the shackles of the pack and embrace a less restricted life.
When their food arrived, the conversation ceased. Row enjoyed a thick cheeseburger, while Kammie raved about her chicken ravioli in cream sauce. When their meal was over, the females excused themselves to the restroom and Adam leaned back in his chair.
“I’m glad you and Kammie aren’t staying. It’s hard to be a female omega like her.”
“Because of her scars?”
Adam nodded. “I’ve known her my whole life. She was a vibrant young girl, and then she was withdrawn. I never knew what had been going on with her uncle until she shifted for the first time as a teenager and I saw her scars. Unfortunately, everyone in the pack saw them, too. The alpha and many males knew what had happened, but they’d kept it quiet. The females our age, who’d considered Kammie to be a threat, began to treat her badly. She was ridiculed and ostracized for something she had no control over. It was the same for me, but my omega status came because my scars prevent me from running fast in my shift. The muscles are injured from the burns, and for the males in my pack, that makes me less than whole and unable to function fully as a wolf.”
“Why would the females think that Kammie was a threat?”
“Because she’s pretty and she’s kind. Females tend to see any beautiful
female as a threat. I think it’s an ancient, in-born thing. Every female wants the biggest, baddest male to be her mate, and anyone who might take that male from her is a threat. Females don’t physically fight as much as males do with rivals, so they resort to undermining their confidence and shunning them.”
Row shook his head. “It’s still the biggest bunch of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”
“I don’t disagree. But you’re talking to a guy who’s been shunned as well. Someone told me once that Acksel would never trust me to guard Brynn because I can’t run fast.” He glanced at his hand, where light scars were visible. “I would’ve protected her if they’d asked me to. Dani’s the first person who didn’t see my scars as a liability.”
Row knew he was that person for Kammie, too.
“How are you going to handle Dani shifting? I’m asking because I’m her brother and I want her to be safe.”
“I do, too.” Adam said. “I talked to Acksel about it. I’m going to fence in the yard. Acksel’s making arrangements with the local construction company to put up what will amount to a security fence. I’ll be able to stay with her in my shift, and she’ll be safe within the confines of the yard. It’s not ideal, but it’s safer than taking a chance on someone mistaking her for prey.”
Row nodded. “She’s impulsive.”
“I noticed.”
The girls returned to the table and the waiter brought dessert. Row shared a slice of dark chocolate cheesecake with Kammie, and then they headed home. When he unlocked the door to Kammie’s home and led her inside, he asked, “Would you like to stay longer?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“This is your home, the pack is all you’ve ever known. I just want to make sure I’m not rushing you from a place you love.”
She pressed her palms to his chest and looked up at him. “I don’t love Wilde Creek, I love you. And this place isn’t my home anymore – my home is wherever you are. Do you know how much you’ve changed my life? You give me the strength to be myself. I sat at a table tonight, in public, with a shirt on that clearly showed some of my scars. I don’t even know if anyone was paying attention to them, because I honestly don’t care. Because of you, because of your love and strength, I’ve found my own strength.”
“I think you had it all along.” He was humbled by her words, and profoundly proud of her.
She shrugged. “Maybe. All I know is that I don’t care if anyone sees my scars anymore. I am what I am because of what I endured. I can let my past go, because the future is going to be amazing.”
He lowered his head and captured her lips, drawing her close. She sighed and relaxed into him, her hands clenching in his shirt. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.
Slipping his hand down the center of her body, he pushed her top up and kissed her stomach. She fisted his hair and sighed happily. It took him no time to strip her of her clothes, and then he spent the rest of the night worshipping her the way she deserved and making love to her one last time in Wilde Creek.
Kammie woke up early that next morning. She was used to waking up and getting out of bed immediately to get ready for the day, but she didn’t have a job in Wilde Creek any longer. Before she met Row, she would’ve been out the door as soon as the sun was up to start working around town. She’d spent a majority of her time each day at the alphas’ home, cooking meals for them; Brynn had told her once she thought of Kammie as her own personal chef. It hadn’t been Brynn’s idea to have someone cook and clean the house for them, but Acksel hadn’t wanted Brynn to work too hard because of her pregnancy. Kammie knew that Row would be the same way once she became pregnant. He wouldn’t want her to lift a finger. But unlike the alpha wolf, Row would take care of her himself.
Her mate slept quietly next to her, his big body warm against hers. She hadn’t ever spent the night with a male before Row, but she adored the way it felt to fall asleep with his arms around her and his warm breath on her neck. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of how amazing he smelled and how safe she felt in his arms.
Row growled softly and pulled her a little tighter against him. She felt his erection against her back and smiled as she laid her hand on top of his where it was splayed across her stomach.
“You must always have sweet dreams,” he murmured against her neck.
“Oh?” she asked, chuckling.
He hummed. “You smell extra sweet in the morning.”
She rolled to her back and he straightened his arms, caging her and gazing down at her with adoration and heat. “I was just thinking about how much I love to wake up with you.”
He smiled slowly, his eyes darkening. “You’ve come a long way from the female who made me sleep on the couch that first night.”
“Because of you. If I’d mated a wolf in the pack, nothing would’ve changed about my life. You’re a wrecking ball. You knocked down all my carefully constructed walls. I see myself more clearly now because of your influence.”
“You’re going to make me blush,” he teased.
She stroked her hands up his arms and gripped his shoulders. “It’s true. Without you, I don’t think anything would’ve changed about my life. I don’t think I believed I was worth loving.”
“And now?”
“Now I know I am.”
He nuzzled her throat with a growl and began to kiss down the center of her body. She loved the rough scrape of his stubble against her stomach, and she shivered as he kissed her navel and nuzzled her. He paused, burying his face more firmly against her and inhaling slowly. She brushed her fingers through his soft hair and scraped her nails lightly against his scalp.
He lifted his head, and his eyes were dark with passion. A smile spread swiftly across his face. “I think you’re pregnant.”
She blinked. “Um, no. I can’t get pregnant until my mating heat in the fall.”
He quirked a brow and pressed his nose into her stomach. She felt the air move across her skin as he inhaled. Lifting his head, he said, “You smell like a pregnant bear, sweetheart.”
She slipped her hand to her stomach and thought about their time in the mating cave. “Aggie said that sometimes pregnancies happened during the mating time. I didn’t think it was possible because of my wolf biology.”
He lifted off of her and slid out of the bed.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To get you a pregnancy test.”
“Wait,” she said, laughing, as she rose onto her elbows. “You don’t have to rush out now.”
“Aren’t you curious to know for sure?”
“Yes, but I want to finish what we were starting here, and then we can go to the drugstore.”
He growled softly as he climbed back onto the bed, pushing her legs apart to make room for his broad shoulders. She dropped back to the bed with a soft moan as Row took them both to the heavens.
* * * * *
Kammie looked at the pregnancy tests spanning half of one aisle in the pharmacy. She-wolves didn’t really use pregnancy tests. Normally, they could only become pregnant during the fall mating heat. A she-wolf would know when she became pregnant during the heat because the heat would actually cease, so there was little need for a test. Wilde Creek wasn’t entirely wolf, though, and there were many human females who would have a use for the tests.
“Hi Kammie!” Nila, Malachi’s human mate, said brightly as she led her son Jack down the aisle.
“Hi Nila. Hi Jack,” Kammie said, squatting down to give the cute little boy a hug. He babbled in his baby talk, holding out a stuffed wolf and saying, “Woof.”
“It sure is, kiddo,” Kammie said with a laugh. It was a joke in the pack that Malachi’s adopted son loved to woof like a dog when Malachi tried to get him to say wolf.
Kammie stood and leaned back against Row. “How are you, Nila?” Row asked as he wrapped his arms around Kammie and drew her back against his chest.
“Good, Row, thanks.” She glanced at the tests and down at her son who was shaking the wolf and giggling. “I think I might be pregnant. I didn’t want to take a test at Doc’s because I wanted it to be a surprise for Mal.” Nila was a nursing assistant and worked for the pack doctor, Gedding.
“We won’t tell,” Kammie said. “Congratulations, if it’s positive.”
“Thanks. I want to give Mal a baby of his own so badly. He treats Jack like gold, but I think all males want young of their own, you know? A wolfy sort of legacy.”
Kammie understood. “I don’t have any idea what I’m doing here.”
Nila’s head tilted slightly. “I thought wolves didn’t get pregnant outside of their heat.”
“We’re not really sure,” Kammie said and Row cut her off.
“I
am
.”
Rolling her eyes, Kammie continued, “but we think it’s because of how bears mate their females.”
“Because you’re truemates,” Nila said thoughtfully.
“Exactly,” Kammie said.
“How long has it been since the ceremony?”
“About two weeks. Row said I smell pregnant, but it’s so early. I’m not even sure if I can test yet.”
Nila turned to face the shelves and scanned the boxes. She pulled two purple boxes from one shelf and said, “This is an early detection one. They’re formulated so you don’t have to take them first thing in the morning, but we always recommend it. You can take one now and then one in the morning just to be sure.”
“Thanks, Nila,” Kammie said.
“You’re very welcome. And congratulations on your pregnancy.”
Kammie and Nila hugged briefly, and then Kammie gave Jack a kiss on the cheek before leaving the aisle with Row.
Row paid for the tests, and they held hands as they walked out into the cold morning. She shivered, and Row put his arm around her, giving her a squeeze as they navigated the icy parking lot.
“Do you want to get breakfast first?” Row asked as he opened her door and then handed her the sack.
“Nope. I’ve got a date with a pregnancy test and then we’ve got to get on the road.”
“In a hurry to get back to Oakville?” He chuckled.
“You bet. We’ve got the next chapter of our lives to get started.”
He grinned, and it was her favorite smile – the one that showed a hidden dimple and made his eyes dance. “Love you, little wolf.”
“I love you too. Now let’s get on the road!”
* * * * *
Kammie looked around the empty house. She’d already checked every room twice. This was the place she’d called home since she moved out of Maggie’s house. Now she had a new home in Oakville, with Row and the sleuth. Somewhere along the way, she’d stopped thinking of Wilde Creek as home and started thinking of Oakville that way instead. She knew it was because she felt like she finally belonged.
Row hugged her from behind and buried his face in her neck. He kissed her with a soft growl. “Are you sad, little wolf?”
She laid her hands on top of his and sighed as he kissed her throat. “Yes and no. There are things I’ll miss, but I’m mostly happy because you and I get to start our lives together.”
His hands pressed lightly against her stomach. The first pregnancy test had turned positive immediately. Row had growled happily and hugged her. She could count on one hand the good things that had happened in her life, and all of them had happened after Row tackled her in the woods.
She turned in his arms. “I have an idea for a name for our baby.”
“Oh?” He kissed her nose and squeezed her waist lightly.
She nodded. “If it’s a girl, I want to call her Joy.”
“That’s beautiful. And if it’s a boy?”
“Nathanial, after your dad.”
Row smiled. “That’s wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being my mate. Being amazing. Being yourself.”
“It’s my pleasure. Now let’s get this show on the road. We’ve got a nursery to get ready.”
“I can’t wait.”
She went up onto her toes and kissed him. Without looking back, she left the house and locked the door, leaving the key on top of the doorframe.
Row’s mom waited in Kammie’s car on the street. After Row and Kammie had returned from the pharmacy and she’d taken her pregnancy test, Dani and Adam had come to say goodbye, bringing Row’s mom with them.
Kammie wished that Dani and Adam were coming to the sleuth with them, but she understood that they’d made the choice to stay in Wilde Creek. Dani seemed remarkably content already.
Dani’s face was shiny with tears, and Adam was consoling her. “Take care of my sister,” Row said, shaking Adam’s hand and giving Dani a last hug.
“With my life,” Adam vowed.
“It’ll be spring before you know it, and you’ll be able to come and visit,” Kammie said softly to Dani as she hugged her closely.
“I know. I’m just being emotional. It’s hard to say goodbye, but it’s a good thing to move on in our lives, right?”
“Especially when we have such amazing males to move on with,” Kammie said.
She kissed Dani on the cheek and waved at Adam as Row guided her to his truck and helped her into the cab. It was warm because he’d had the engine running, and she snuggled against his shoulder after he climbed in and pulled away from the curb. He honked the horn twice and they waved at Dani and Adam. Kammie turned in her seat and watched the house disappear from view as Row pulled onto Main Street and accelerated.
“You know the first thing I want to do when we get to Oakville?” she asked as she turned in her seat and snuggled against her mate again.
“What’s that, sweetheart?”
“Make love in every room.”
“Oh?” he said with a soft growl.
“Sure. We’re newly mated, and I want our combined scent in every room. Right now the house smells like a bachelor pad.”
He chuckled. “You can have anything you wish.”
She lifted her head to look at him. He glanced at her for a brief moment, and she couldn’t miss the heat in his gaze. “I have an amazing male for a mate, I’m pregnant, and I finally have a home in the sleuth where I feel like I belong. I don’t have any more wishes, because everything I’ve ever wanted has come true.”
“You’re my dream come true, too.”
The End
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