The Wolf's Mate Book 3: Callie & The Cats (5 page)

“Doc said she might be running from a forced
mating. Maybe she’s feeling trapped in a similar situation.” Eryx
sighed. “I’m afraid to let her go. I don’t want her to be alone. I
don’t want her out of our sight, I just…I just want. I want so
badly.” His whole body trembled as he fought the emotions that were
so new. He’d never wanted a woman so badly before, just as he was
sure he’d never want another woman again.

“You’ll find a way. You’re mates, the three
of you together, and if she’s afraid or struggling with the
situation, then she may just need time. You can figure out a way to
keep her in town. Give her a reason to stay.”

His father dropped him off at the station
house and he spent the rest of his shift filing and doing busywork
so he could think. They needed to find out what she was running
from and what she was running to. If she was looking for something,
they’d give it to her. If she wanted a family, they’d do that in
spades. Safety, protection, a home. They would move the moon in the
sky if she asked for it. But first, they had to get past the anger
at her situation in order to give her whatever she needed.

It was nearly lunchtime when he trudged back
into the house, exhausted to the core. Ethan was sitting on the
couch, asleep, snoring lightly. He walked to the bedroom door and
stood silently. The only thing he could think to do was offer to
help her get her car replaced, to give back the thing she’d lost.
He lifted his hand to knock and then felt a chill slip over his
feet.

Reaching down, he felt under the door and icy
wind greeted his fingers. Trying the door knob he found it locked,
so he grabbed the key over the doorframe and unlocked it with
shaking fingers. His fears were confirmed as he stared in shock at
the room. The bed was made. Except for something folded on the
dresser, her things were gone. And the window was wide open.

Chapter
6

**Callie**

It felt damn good to run. Shaking the snow
from her shoulders, she sat down on her haunches and surveyed the
woods from her perch on a small hill. Earlier, she’d woken up from
a restless sleep with the sound of a car starting in the driveway.
It was damn early, but she hadn’t been able to sleep worth a crap.
Her hormones were in overdrive. The bed smelled incredible, like
the most male of scents mixed with a rich spice. Every time she
moved, the scent blasted her and she kept startling awake. It had
been just a little bit of extra hell in the full blown shit-storm
of her life. No home, no car, denied credit card. She had hit the
trifecta.

She heard movement out in the front room and
figured one of them stayed behind to keep an eye on her. She hadn’t
said much at all, except for her argument with Ethan. His steel
gray eyes were so sad as he’d implored her to eat with them. She
had a good idea that both he and Eryx wanted to give her a good
shake and force her to eat. And she
was
starving. The steaks
smelled delicious, the food made her stomach cramp because she was
so hungry and she hadn’t ever had any man make a meal for her. But
pride had kept her from devouring the delicious food. Stupid pride,
but pride nonetheless.

Her mom was killed in a car accident when she
was 15, so she’d never gotten to see her only daughter shift, and
that had always made Callie sad. Her father, and she used the term
loosely, was a rogue wolf that banged her mom, knocked her up, and
left without a word. Her mom wasn’t even sure he’d given her his
real name. She’d told her growing up that staying within the pack
was important, and that while she loved her, she wished she’d never
laid eyes on her father. Having a child with a rogue had tainted
her for the other wolves and she’d never mated. Callie knew she
didn’t really mean her to take it personally, but when her mom kind
of wished she’d never been born, well, it didn’t exactly make her
self esteem do cartwheels.

Jason’s parents were alpha at the time her
mom died and they took her in. They were cousins, after all, and it
wasn’t too long after that, that Jason took over the pack after his
father was shot in a hunting accident and made lame. Callie felt
like a lot of her timidness came from not having her father in her
life to teach her how things worked. Maybe that was bullshit. Maybe
she was just shy and would have been anyway. Or maybe she hadn’t
found anything worth fighting over.

She waited until she heard the deep breathing
of the man in the front room, signaling he slept. She’d been
totally aware of their presence in the hall and although she
couldn’t hear what they were saying because they whispered so
softly, she could feel their worry, taste it on the back of her
tongue. It was odd, to say the least, and uncomfortable at best.
That she wanted to comfort them when she was the one in the bad
situation had helped keep her awake. Nothing like guilt to chase
away a much needed rest.

Sliding the window open, bristling at the
cold rush of winter wind, she stripped and slipped out of the
window and dropped down into the snow, shifting immediately. Her
shift was typical size for a female wolf, something like a large
dog but leaner. She-wolves were smaller than males, around 60 lbs.
or so, but all muscle and often no less fierce. In her form, she’d
take on anything in a hunt. In her human form, though, she was
content to stay in the background.

She'd always thought she was made for snow.
Her fur was very light gray and tan on top and stark white
underneath. She bounded away from the house and gave herself over
to the beast so she didn’t have to think about the twins, or their
kind eyes, or their gentle voices, or her own needs that were
rising inside her like a slowly filling vessel.

Starving, she scented for game, and found a
clutch of rabbits that gave good chase, catching one and devouring
it before heading off deeper into the woods in search of more. In
winter, not much was out and about except things built for snow, so
she expected birds more than anything, but really didn’t know much
about Pennsylvania game. Sure, she could have asked the twins, but
that conversation probably wouldn’t have gone over well at all.

She ran for hours, drinking in the smells of
the woods in deep slumber, relishing the crunch of old ice and snow
under her paws and the dust of fresh snow that kicked up and
tickled her nose. She watched the sunrise, appreciated the valley
for its beauty, and finally had enough and headed back. As she
trotted along her own path, she realized suddenly she wasn’t alone,
as two mountain lions came towards her with purpose.

She crouched low, defensively, but knew she
was no match for them. They weighed at least three times as much as
her, were twice as long, and they had a fierce look to their eyes
that said they were pissed off. Somehow, she knew they were Eryx
and Ethan and slid out of her crouch and sat back on her haunches.
Her fur bristled as they came closer and the feeling that she was
in their territory made her want to run, but she stood her ground.
Or, rather, she
sat
her ground.

To her surprise, they both chuffed at her,
and then laid down, rolling to their sides and showing her their
bellies. It was a clearly submissive gesture, and a little part of
her softened at the sight. They could take her head off with a
swipe of their paw, but they were telling her they weren’t going to
hurt her. She wished she could talk. She would have told them that
she appreciated the gesture. But it was probably better that she
couldn’t talk because she might say something ridiculous and out of
character like, “please take your human form and mount me against
the tree,” or, “would it be alright if I licked your chest?”

She showed them the respect they deserved
with their offering by moving slowly towards them and nuzzling
their necks. They smelled the same, even in their shift, like sun
warmed spices. Their fur in the sunshine was golden, their bellies
white and lovely, and their eyes were the same color as their human
eyes. Ethan’s steel gray and Eryx’s lighter silver. She gave each
cheek a lick, in what she hoped they recognized as a friendly
gesture and no more, and then her head snapped to the side.

They leapt up next to her, lifting their
heads and sniffing the air at the same time as her. And then they
were on the hunt, barreling as a trio towards the scent of
something big. Flying through the trees, Eryx took the lead and
Ethan fell back behind her, and they crested a small hill and came
upon a single bull elk, drinking from a stream. They were neither
quiet nor stealthy as they crashed down on the elk. She went under
him for his throat, and Eryx lunged for the back of his neck as
Ethan took down his back haunches. They splashed into the icy
stream while the elk cried in alarm until she choked off his air
supply. The elk caught her on the hind leg with a hoof and she
yelped and dropped her grip, rolling away, and Ethan roared and
tore the offending leg clean off before sinking his fangs into the
neck and pulling the flesh free. The elk’s breath gurgled in the
gaping wound and he went still as Eryx shook his head and broke his
neck and then dropped him. Gesturing with their heads to the elk,
they were offering her a great boon in wolf culture by letting her
have a kill that she didn’t take down. If she were with the pack,
she’d have been one hungry puppy.

Ethan nuzzled her back leg with an unhappy
growl. When she shifted, she was betting she’d have a good scratch
on her thigh. She made a short whimpered sound but moved to the elk
and tore a chunk of meat from the neck. She tucked it into her paws
and they fell on the elk and ripped it apart, their happy purrs
echoing around them. They were graceful and beautiful, even covered
with blood.

Finished, Eryx drug the carcass away from
them, and she assumed it was to keep scavengers away from their
home, although anything that would come into a lion’s territory,
especially two of them, was just asking for it. Ethan nudged her
and she trotted off, her leg burning slightly, but already
healing.

Eryx joined them shortly and took up her
other side, and she felt oddly safe in the middle of two such large
beasts. She would have gone back around to the bedroom window, but
Ethan made a barking sound at her and threw his head towards the
open garage door. With a deliberate gesture, they both motioned
towards a Jeep Cherokee, and she got the idea that they thought she
should shift behind it. She’d rather be in the house in the bedroom
and not out in the garage with no clothes, but she didn't seem to
have much choice.

She moved to the front corner of the jeep and
shifted back to her human form. She was sure it looked spectacular
to humans, the shift from human to wolf, or other animal as it
were, but for their kind it was just normal. It felt good to shift,
like a part of her had been caged up and was glad to be free.
Certainly it wasn't painful like they showed in the movies. She’d
never want to shift if it hurt like Hollywood said it did.

She stayed crouched behind the jeep as the
garage door shut and the overhead light clicked on. “Callie?” Ethan
asked.

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming?”

“I’m naked.” Her face went hot with
blush.

There was a small chuckle and then a blanket
came airborne over the jeep and she caught it and draped it around
herself. Hell it’s cold out here!

Eryx was standing with his large hand holding
the door open, a pair of jeans on and nothing else and Ethan was
next to him, also in jeans and nothing else. They’d obviously
stripped and shifted in the garage before coming to find her. She
took one step and winced slightly and Ethan was at her side in an
instant, sweeping her up into his arms.

“I can walk.”

“You’re injured. Don’t be so stubborn.” His
grip tightened on her and she tried not to sink into the warmth of
his chest. She’d known them less than a day and her mind just about
stalled out completely every time she saw them. If she didn’t split
fast, she’d get mired in something too thick to get out of. And she
wanted to leave. She needed to spread her wings and live on her own
for a while. Her new mantra: resist the hunky lion cops!

Ethan carried her with sure strides to the
bedroom and laid her down and Eryx disappeared into the bathroom
and came out with a medical kit.

“Whoa!” She gasped, jerking the blanket from
Ethan’s hand. She’d almost let him take away her only covering.
“I’m fine, I heal fast.”

“Elk hooves are filthy.” Eryx said, handing
the kit to Ethan.

“I just want to see your leg.” Ethan’s voice
dropped to a soft tone and she groaned in defeat. She just couldn’t
resist that tone. It was so sweet.

“Fine, just, would you let me put my pajamas
back on at least?”

Eryx handed her the folded tank and shorts
set that had been on the dresser and they both turned their backs
to her and the problem with that, was that their backs were just as
lovely as their fronts. All tight naturally tanned muscles. And
their fronts were very nice. Well, nice was an understatement.
Underwear-model worthy, definitely.

She shoved her arms into the tank and
shimmied into the shorts, still feeling incredibly bare. Trying not
to sound breathy, she steeled herself and said, “Okay.”

Ethan folded the blanket down and rolled her
over slightly more by her hip and her whole body jerked at the
touch. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

She turned scarlet and cleared her throat.
She was great. Ethan had just found a direction connection between
her hip bone and her pussy, that's all. “I’m good.”

The hoof mark was healing as she knew it
would be, and if she were by herself she would have showered and
left it alone. But Ethan clearly had some medical training because
he cleaned and bandaged the scrape quickly and expertly. Giving her
a satisfactory pat on the knee he said, “You in any pain at all,
Callie?”