The Wolf's Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats (34 page)

On the table in the kitchen, she almost cried
at the sweet scene they’d set up for her before they left. They set
a place for her, and a tented card on the plate had her name in
Eryx’s scrawled handwriting, overtop of two roses, one tipped with
pink and one tipped with peach. She opened the card as she went to
the fridge.

“
Our sweet kitten, we can’t wait for the
wedding. This night will be torture for us, but we promise that we
will make it up to you for the rest of our lives. We love you. We
miss you. We’re so glad you’re in our lives. Your
soon-to-be-husbands, Ethan & Eryx.”

She misted at the sweet words on the card.
They only called her their kitten if they were talking about her
together, as in she was
their
kitten. Otherwise, she was
Eryx’s angel and Ethan’s sweetheart.

Three boxes and one plastic covered bowl were
waiting for her and she heated them all up carefully. Along with a
bacon wrapped fillet and baked potato with all the fixings in
separate little containers, there was lobster bisque, a tightly
wrapped loaf of sourdough bread, and a selection of spring veggies.
They knew exactly what she would have been in the mood for if she
hadn’t been so upset by Cades’ behavior.

She was certain they were already on their
way back to Allen, and she didn’t expect to ever hear from her or
any of them again. Karly had always been sweet to her, it was just
in her nature to be kind and considerate. While she was fiercely
protective of Linus, she didn’t have a malicious bone in her
body.

She was both surprised and not surprised by
Cades’ behavior. She could guess that some of what she was feeling
was hormone driven and maybe amplified what she was feeling, but
she and Callie had always been each other’s only support growing
up. She wasn't sure how she would feel if the positions were
reversed. If Cades was the one that had left the pack and joined up
with a different were-group, wouldn’t Callie be happy that she was
happy and loved and protected? She’d like to think so. Cades spent
her whole life wishing she was part of the pack, which is what
Callie had been born into. It probably rubbed at her that she’d not
only gone rogue, but had picked an entirely different were-group to
be with. Cades could probably handle another wolf pack or even a
human husband, but not cats. For someone who wasn’t really accepted
in the place she grew up, she sure had an elitist attitude about
wolves.

Finally stuffed and tired of thinking about
Cades and the past when she’d worked so hard to make her life here
with the boys, she patted the slight swell of her three and a half
month old twins and decided to just go to bed. She would take a
bath in the morning anyway since Lisa was taking her to the spa and
then they’d head to the church to get ready. And plus, if she
didn’t take a bath tonight, then she wouldn’t wash off the scent of
her men, and she truly couldn’t sleep right without that scent in
her nose.

She curled their pillows around her and
drifted off into a deep sleep, anxious for the day to flow quickly
and without problems. She was more than ready to start the next
part of her life.

By the time she’d spent a good bit of time
soaking in the four person sized whirlpool tub in the master
bathroom, Lisa was tapping her foot impatiently in the kitchen,
ready to get to the spa. The boys had splurged on this for her, and
she didn’t want to go alone, so Rhett had kicked in the extra cash
to send Lisa along and both women were tickled pink.

“I brought bagels and a note from your boys.”
She grinned up at Callie as she wrapped the robe tighter around
herself and padded down the winding staircase to the first floor.
After a cheek kiss, she took the note and a cup of decaf hot tea
from her, and sat down at the table. The envelope had Ethan’s
writing on it, and something weighed in the corner. She opened it
and pulled out the folded piece of paper and a ring.

It looked very old, delicate, and lovely. The
card said:

“
Night without you was hell. We can’t wait
to have our kitten in our arms tonight. We found this ring in our
grandfather’s things when he passed. This is your 'something old',
and a piece of our history that we are so thankful we don’t have to
repeat because you are in our lives. We love you and are counting
the minutes. Eryx & Ethan.”

She sniffed at the emotions that swelled
through her and fingered the ring. They were grateful that they had
found a mate, a woman to share their lives and to help them raise
their children. They’d dreamed about it, hoped for it, but until
they met her, they had never expected it to come true. And now,
thanks in part to being forced to take her away from their
hometown, their father, brother and uncles, not to mention their
adorable nephews, all had a chance to change their own destiny. She
was proud to take some credit for that.

She ate four bagels heavy with cream cheese
and drank two cups of tea while Lisa told her about her wedding to
Rhett. She had been so sweet these last few weeks handling all the
wedding stuff for her. She had a flair for it. Every few days she’d
come to Callie with questions about what she wanted and she’d make
her choices and leave her to it. The only thing she cared about was
that at the end of day she’d be Mrs. Calliope Fallon. Awesome.

Lisa drove them to Kenneth’s Day Spa Salon in
Ketrick two towns over for their appointment at 9. All her things
were waiting for her in the chapel’s bridal chambers. The only
thing she had to take with her was the ring they had just given
her, which she was now wearing on her right middle finger. She
looked at the ring in the sunlight.

It was a slim white gold band, in the center
of which was a heart shaped setting made up of cut diamonds and
rimmed with tiny round rubies. Down either side of the ring were
four round diamonds. It was a lovely ring, and she was proud to
wear it, even though she could guess that when their grandfather
bought it for the lioness that he bred children with, that she had
rejected it. They never spoke of their grandmother, but their hurt
at their own mother's behavior suggested that it was an inborn
trait for the females, and that she never gave any indication that
she recognized them.

"Did your friend ever call to apologize?"
Lisa cut the quiet with a soft voice, drawing Callie's inner
thoughts about the demons her mates battled. Even though they
trusted in her and her love for them, she knew that at the back of
their minds, they couldn't help but think she was too good to be
true. Even with all her faults.

"No. I would guess they're back in Allen by
now."

"I'm sorry."

Callie cast a glance at her. She was half
watching the road and half giving her a very genuine look. Lisa's
own family had turned their backs on her because she married Rhett.
They thought he was a beast and would kill her. "I think that
they're right, that she was jealous of what I have with the boys.
When I think about what I would have ended up with if I'd stayed
with the pack, I doubt I would have ever found a mate. Not a true
one, anyway."

"The hierarchy thing, was it scary?"

"I was near the bottom, so yeah. At least
when we all first shifted, the ones in my age group were fighting
for rank. I think it was worse because they never understood that I
didn't care about rank, that I just wanted to live my life and be
myself. I had to leave to spread my wings, to find my heart."

"I think Ethan and Eryx clipped your wings
pretty good." She laughed and Callie joined in. Lisa would probably
never be her best friend, she was more like the aunt she was
supposed to be, but Lisa loved Callie because Lisa loved Rhett and
Rhett loved his family, and Callie felt the same way about her.

Two weeks ago she indulged in a Brazilian wax
and the boys had been thrilled. It hurt like hell, but a few pain
relievers before and after helped, and in the end it was worth it
to not have to shave. Since the first time she shaved for them,
they'd liked it enough to request it. So while the wax was painful,
a few under-carriage nicks bothered her more, not to mention that
eventually she wouldn’t be able to see that area as the babies grew
bigger.

They walked into the day spa and were greeted
immediately by a woman with great skin. "Oh, the future Mrs.
Fallon! And Mrs. Fallon!" She gushed at both of them and ushered
them right into the back. She walked backwards, holding a
clipboard. "Now, you're both getting our Supreme Spa Special."
Callie shrugged and looked at Lisa. They'd had nothing to do with
the reservation; it was all on the boys. The only thing she knew
for sure was that two of the estheticians were going to follow them
to the chapel to do their hair and makeup. Felicity, as the woman
had identified herself, swung her hand into a room that had two
massage tables, soft music, scented candles, and two women in
pastel golf shirts and beige slacks. They looked like those Swedish
bikini models, with big boobs, ultra blonde hair, and beautiful
faces.

"Helene and Dawn will handle your massages,
and then you'll be getting facials, manicures and pedicures. Do you
know how you want your nails?"

They both answered, “French," and she smiled.
"Of course. For your special day. You can change in the back, and
we'll take it from here."

Their clothes folded, they met the girls at
the tables and Callie apparently got Dawn. Dawn stretched a towel
over Callie's waist and asked what scent of oil she preferred, and
she thought for a moment before answering, "Do you have anything
with honey?"

"I have honeysuckle, if that would work?" She
turned from the long counter with a brown glass bottle and Callie
said it would be perfect. Dawn started at her neck and she closed
her eyes with sigh. Her mind drifted to the coming honeymoon. The
only thing she knew was that they were going away for a week. The
boys had even gone so far as to pack her bag for her, so she didn't
have a clue what they had planned.

After their muscles were turned to butter
under skillful hands, they sat next to each other on padded,
comfortable chairs wearing luxurious fluffy robes. One woman sat on
a stool at her feet and began to tend to them, another sat on her
right and started on her nails, and a third stood by her head and
reclined the seat enough to do her facial. It made the whole
experience even better knowing that the boys had planned it for
her. She could picture Ethan at the computer, looking over the spa
services and asking Eryx what they should pick for her. Her stomach
twisted pleasantly at thoughts of them and she knew she'd get to
see them soon enough.

Buffed and polished to perfection, they got
dressed and headed to the chapel. Their two makeup artists, Holly
and Belle, were in their 30s, and spent their weekends doing bridal
parties.

They entered through the side of the chapel
and moved down a long hallway to the bridal chambers. It was a two
room suite with a full bath, plenty of couches and chairs, and a
refrigerator. Their bags were hanging in the closet and their
things were spread out in front of two vanities. They’d spent all
yesterday morning making sure they had everything ready.

Her stomach growled and Holly remarked that
most brides were too nervous to eat. Callie laughed, “Well, the
babies aren’t, that’s for sure.”

Lisa opened the refrigerator and pulled out
two plates and arranged them on the vanities for them. Both plates
had fresh fruit and veggies and chunks of cheese and crackers. She
sipped on hot tea while Belle started on her hair.

When Callie was finished with her light
lunch, she brushed her teeth and then it was makeup time, dress
time, and hair finishing and veil attaching. The veil clipped with
a rhinestone clip at the back of her head where Belle gathered
twists of hair and pinned them back. Her hair fell in thick curls
to her shoulder blades, shiny and radiant.

With her seed pearl earrings and necklace in
place, she looked at herself in the full length mirror and her
heart flopped. Who was that beauty? Oh, her!

Lisa grinned behind her. “The dress was an
excellent choice, Cal, you look beautiful.”

The cut of the dress made it drape
beautifully over the slightly rounded part of her belly where her
babies lay.

Lisa knelt in front of her with two garters.
“Does it matter which one is on which leg?”

With Belle and Holly’s help, the front of the
dress was lifted up and Callie lifted one leg and said, “No, it
doesn’t matter.”

After both were secured on her thighs, Lisa
stood and said, “Okay, you’ve got your new, which is the dress,
your old which is their grandfather’s ring.”

Callie nodded, “The garters are blue, and
then, for borrowed,” she blinked and then her shoulders sagged.
Cades was going to let her borrow her mother’s bracelet.

“Here.” Lisa unhooked her tennis bracelet and
put it on her wrist. She had just told her this morning how Rhett
had given it to her for Valentine’s Day and had saved for months
for it.

“Thank you, Lisa.” She hugged her and sniffed
past the tears. She didn’t want to cry and ruin her makeup before
they even got a chance to see her.

There was a knock and Lisa went to answer it
and let James in. He looked so handsome in his dark suit. They were
all wearing matching vests and ties, a silver and hunter green
pattern, and he had a perfect white rose in his lapel.

“You look just incredible, Callie. A real
princess.” He smiled and his eyes got bright with unshed tears.
Considering how caring and loving the cats were, she knew she
wouldn’t be the only one with tears in her eyes. She gave him a hug
and he kissed her cheek.

“I’m so glad you’re here for me, James. There
isn’t anyone else I’d rather walk down the aisle with than
you.”