The Wolf's Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats (26 page)

The door to the garage slammed against the
wall and Eryx stood her up and stepped aside so that Ethan could
grab her, which he did. His eyes were dancing with happiness, and
he kissed her hard and hugged her tight. Dropping his hand to her
belly he sounded in complete awe, “This baby is going to be so
loved!”

They wanted her to take a test right away,
even though it wasn’t morning, and Ethan pointed out he’d gotten
her two, just in case.

She had to shove them out of the bathroom.
There were just some things she wouldn't do in front of them, and
peeing was near the top of the list.

She looked at the test in her hand and said
loudly, “I can still hear you outside the door!”

“Callie,” Ethan protested, “we’ve had our
hands and mouths on every inch of your body. Why are you so freaked
out about peeing in front of us?”

That actually made her feel worse. “I don’t
know.” She groused. “But I am. Leave me be for a minute or I’m
going to make you wait until tomorrow morning!”

She heard their matching sighs and smiled.
Then they walked away. Just to be safe, she turned on the faucet,
which helped anyway with her nerves.

It must have been a man that invented
pregnancy tests where a woman has to aim at a tiny stick between
her legs while sitting down. Sheesh. She finished up, popped the
cap on the test, and opened the door.

They hadn’t gone far and were both sitting on
the edge of the bed. Eryx clicked the stopwatch on his watch and
opened his arms for her. She curled into his lap and grabbed for
Ethan’s hand and closed her eyes. Five minutes takes either a very
long time when you’re waiting or a very short time when you’re
doing something you love. Like climaxing.

When the timer beeped, she suggested they all
go look together, and as they walked the short distance to the
bathroom, she could feel their anticipation and joy as if it were
her own. The two blue lines were bright and clear: she was
definitely pregnant.

She turned to face them and had to laugh at
their expressions. They were like kids at Christmas, full of giddy
bliss. “Now, you’re sure you’re not just being all excited for my
benefit?”

They snorted simultaneously. Ethan chided
her, “We couldn’t be happier. How do you feel?”

“Okay, I guess. Surprised.” She shrugged.
“Hungry?” They laughed and hugged her happily again before heading
into the kitchen to eat the lunch that Ethan had brought home for
them from a small deli next to the gas station.

After they ate, they made love together, and
then they left her alone in the room so she could call Cadence.

“Pregnant?” Cades shrieked happily. Had it
truly been nearly three weeks since Callie had heard her voice?
Seemed like an eternity longer than that.

“Yeah. I let the shot lapse in all the pack
drama in December and I went through my heat this month.”

“That’s something else, eh?” She laughed.
That was an understatement
. “So, did you find a wolf or will
it be human?”

“Ah, I’m actually mated now, Cades, to twin
mountain lions.”

The silence was deafening. She thought she’d
hung up, it went on so long. “Really?” She said finally.

“Yeah. They, well, it’s a long story. But
suffice it to say that we’re actually moving to Indiana tomorrow to
live with their uncle and his wife, and she’s human and really
sweet, and this will be the fresh start I wanted.”

“With cats.” She sounded unhappy
suddenly.

“Yes. What’s wrong with them being cats?”

“Because it’s not natural! Cats and dogs?
Shit, Callie, that’s like, I don’t know, too weird.”

She rolled her eyes which Cadence completely
missed since she was on the phone and not in person. “I’m really
sorry I couldn’t find a wolf to mark me when I was a kid and then
torment me for 14 years.” Callie snorted.

Cades sniffed and then chuckled. “Yeah, I
guess you’re right about that. I have no room to talk. So when will
you come home? We’re only going to be like a month apart!”

“Cades, I am home. My home is with Ethan and
Eryx, and I told you we’re moving to Indiana. I couldn’t go back to
Allen. It wouldn’t be fair to them and I’d be an outcast
anyway.”

She shifted gears. “Twins, really? So you do
the whole three-way dealy?” It was as if she hadn’t heard Callie
say twin mountain lions the first time.

“I’m not going to discuss my sex life.” She
felt defensive suddenly and hated that feeling. There was nothing
wrong with their relationship. Period.

Cadence sounded sad. “We used to talk about
everything.”

“Yeah,” She sighed as she looked out the
bedroom window. “There’s a lot that’s not the same anymore. But I
don’t regret anything that brought me to them. I’m happy, finally,
and we’ll get married in the spring and then I’ll be popping out a
half mountain lion, half wolf kid in September.”

“Maybe we can come to the wedding? You should
have someone stand up for you, from your old home.”

“I’ll think about it.” She saw something
moving out in the woods, a flash of blonde hair, and the hair on
the back of her neck rose. “I’ll call you in a few weeks, Cades.
Tell Herr Jason I said hi, and Michael and Linus, too, okay? I’ve
gotta go.”

“Is something wrong? You sound upset
suddenly. I didn’t mean to make you think I wouldn’t like your men,
it’s just I didn’t expect you to wind up in a three way marriage
with cats. I know I’ll like them when I meet them.”

“No, it’s not that. Just something out in the
yard. I’ll call you when we’re settled, Cades. Love you, bye!” She
hung up before hearing her reply and dashed out to the family
room.

“I think Melania’s out in the woods!”

Chapter 19

**Ethan**

At Callie’s alarming words, he left her with
Eryx and ran out the back door. He scanned the woods and saw no
sign of movement, but the females were fast runners even in their
human forms so that meant nothing. If Callie saw her, then she had
been there. The question was, why?

A half second before the scent hit his nose,
he heard Eryx and Callie yell for him from the garage. The vehicles
were on fire!

Callie stood outside the garage, shivering
without a coat while Eryx battled the fire inside the mustang with
the kitchen fire extinguisher. Ethan grabbed the extinguisher from
the tool cabinet in the garage and opened the back gate of the
jeep, burning his hand in the process. Fortunately the window was
slightly rolled down so the extra oxygen didn’t cause the fire to
flare, and as he poured the foam into the interior of his truck, he
vaguely heard the fire sirens, just slightly louder than the sobs
of his wife.

Several minutes later, that seemed much
longer, one of the firemen gave him a blanket to wrap around her as
they stood shivering on the sidewalk. The burn on his hand was
nearly gone and he and Eryx were both covered with soot, but they
were all okay. He could be thankful for small miracles. Such as
nothing had exploded and the garage hadn’t caught fire.

Their dad walked up with Alek, both of them
furious. “Well, you can be thankful that the trailer wasn’t sitting
in the garage,” their father said. They’d moved it around to the
side of the house because it was full and ready to go.

Eryx grunted and held Callie against him,
rocking her back and forth. She’d stopped crying but somehow that
was worse. It had been such a joyful morning. “Except now we have
nothing to tow it with.” Eryx’s voice was hard edged. “They’ve
effectively hobbled us for at least a week, possibly longer.”

Callie’s voice was small, “It’s my fault.
Melania was clearly a distraction to keep our focus away from the
front of the house.”

Ethan caught her eyes, “No, love, none of
this is your fault. Not a single bit of it.”

“You should leave tonight,” Alek said.

He and Eryx looked at him in surprise. “And
how would you suggest we do that?” Eryx asked.

“Take dad’s truck. It’s big enough to haul
the trailer easily, and I’ll act as chauffer for him. Gordy can
give us a loaner until you come back in the spring to visit.”

“Are you sure?” Ethan asked in surprise.

Alek shrugged like he was trying to distance
himself from the emotions he was feeling, “You clearly can’t stay
here any longer. Once you’re out of the lion territory then you’ll
be free of all this and you won’t have to worry about your mate’s
safety. And the lionesses just nearly burned my damn house down
trying to get back at you three, so yeah, I think I’d rather you
take off than see what else they have planned.”

“Of course, my truck is yours, no problem.”
Their dad said, looking both relieved and sad.

Callie turned in Eryx’s arms and smiled
sadly, “Thank you both. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve
caused.”

Their dad shook his head, “It’s not you,
honey. It’s the way they were made and our acceptance of it up
until now. I'm happy to give up my truck to see you all safe.
There’s nothing more important to me than my children, and you’re
already part of our family.”

Silence dropped over them again, and he and
Eryx took turns comforting Callie while the fire department hacked
their vehicles to pieces to make sure the fires were out. Eryx’s
face was blank and he knew it was because he loved that mustang and
hated seeing its destruction. He was fond of the jeep, too. But,
better the vehicles than the house. Or something irreplaceable.

Their father and brother left to go get the
truck and make arrangements with the insurance company, and the
three of them went back into the house after the fire department
was gone. Their vehicles were towed to the police impound lot for
evidence and to wait for their cousin to take care of things with
the insurance company for them.

There were several things to be thankful for,
and he listed them for Callie and to hear them out loud
himself.

He gestured to their suitcases that were in
the hall. “At least we have our clothes, and your box of things,
sweetheart. The only stuff we lost with the vehicles were a couple
of emergency kits, some old coats, and our iPods. It could have
been worse. If they’d gotten into the trailer, or, hell, done
something in the house. Sweetheart, let’s just get ready to move
and put this behind us.”

Eryx slid his hands around her and he spread
his fingers on her stomach. “And let’s not forget that our cub is
growing inside you, love. Our family, the three of us and our child
are the only things that matter. Everything else can be replaced.
You certainly can’t.” He kissed her ear and gave her a gentle push
into Ethan’s arms and he wrapped them around her tightly and held
her close.

Within a few hours the trailer was hooked up
to their father’s F-250 and the rest of their belongings were
packed inside. Everyone had come to say goodbye to them, and the
cubs all cried into Callie’s arms about her leaving them and every
male there was sick with the sight.

Aaron said, “It’s fucking not right.”

“We have to keep her safe,” Ethan
protested.

“No, I mean, it’s not right for us to let you
go on your own. I know Rhett’s there and he’ll keep a good eye on
you, but, shit. I can’t let the only female that my boys have ever
gotten a hug from walk out of their lives. We’ll join you. If you
don’t mind the company.”

Ethan’s heart swelled. “We’d love to have
you.” He and Eryx shared hugs with their uncle and then Grant said,
“Well, fuck, if you’re going, there’s no way that Brian and Kevin
would ever let me live it down. We’ll go, too.”

Their father said with a grin, “You already
know there’s no way I’d let you have my grand-cub in another
state.”

John sighed, “Jilly’s fourteen. In another
two years I’ll lose her completely, but I can’t risk bringing her
with us and exposing your cub to their cold nature. When she leaves
me at 16 and becomes a stranger, I’ll bring Henry. He’ll hate
waiting, but it’s for the best. And I’ll send him to visit in the
summer, too.”

They all looked at Alek. He didn’t look one
bit happy when he said, “I’ll stick around until Uncle John’s ready
to leave and then I’ll join you.”

A huge number of life changing decisions were
made within a few minutes and he looked at Eryx and his eyes were
shining bright with hope that they’d opened a new chapter of their
lives. Not only for themselves and their wife and cub, but for
their entire family.

When they told Callie to stop crying because
they were going to join them in Indiana within the month, she was
beside herself with joy and the kids were no less enthusiastic.
With final kisses goodbye to the cubs and the adults, they slid her
between them on the bench seat of the truck, belted her in, and
said goodbye to the only home they’d ever known.

The six hundred mile trip from King,
Pennsylvania to Ashland, Indiana was going to take about 11 hours
without counting stops, which was why they’d planned to drive
halfway and stop for the night. Ethan drove the first leg of the
trip, and they talked about the future that waited for them in
their new home.

According to Rhett, the barn would be easily
converted into a proper home for them. The first floor was wide
open and could be divided into a kitchen and family room and
electricity, gas and plumbing were already in place. Rhett sent
pictures to their cells, and they could see the staircase that led
to the second floor loft, which was big enough for several bedrooms
and bathrooms and perhaps a game room for the kids.

Callie groused, “Let’s just have this one
first, before we go planning anymore, okay?”

He laughed and squeezed her hand which she’d
parked on his thigh. “Of course, sweetheart. Rhett can help us find
a doctor for you. There’s no pack in the area and he’s the only
were in Ashland, but he said there are a few were families
scattered around other towns. He’s certain one of them will have a
doctor they trust.”