MATEO’S P. O. V.
All morning all I have wanted to do is pull her into my arms and hold her. Maybe kiss her. She is full of venom at the moment. I gave her one of my t-shirts and a pair of boxers. She isn’t thrilled. “I can’t wear that. People are going to think we did something.”
“People are going to assume you have no clean clothes. Not everyone has their mind in the gutter, pet.” I smirk while still holding out the clothes.
She glares at me. “My mind is not in the gutter.”
I lean a little closer. “Sure it isn’t. I’m sure you haven’t thought about me in that way at all.” I give her a wink.
“Fuck you.” She growls.
“See there it is. People are going to be talking now.” I chuckle.
She snatches the clothes out of my hands. “You are such an ass.”
“Now, you are talking about my ass. Keep going, by the end of the day I am sure there will be plenty of people talking.” I call out to her as she leaves the room to head to the bathroom. I can’t help but laugh. She is so fucking hot. I want to lay her on this bed and never let her leave.
If she isn’t my mate, I am going to be the most shocked person on the planet. She makes me feel so light. I haven’t felt this way in like ever. I always feel the full weight of everything. She takes it away. I already need her so much and it hasn’t even been twenty four hours.
I go back down stairs to check on Callum. I wish the little guy would just say something. He is in the living room, drawing. It’s his favorite pastime. If it wasn’t for them we would have no idea what he is even thinking. Right now he is drawing a wolf. It looks a lot like mine. It’s standing out in the woods with a white wolf next to it. My black wolf next to that white. I don’t know why but I feel connected to it. Callum is an amazing artist for a five year old. His pictures could be in galleries. They aren’t though, just my office.
I sat next to him. “Hey, buddy. What are you drawing?” He points at me. I point to the other wolf. “Who is this one?” He points upstairs. “This is Lila?” He nods. How does he know what her wolf looks like? Add that to the mysteries that surround Callum. “Well, it is an amazing picture. Can I have it when you are done?” He nods. I put my arm over his shoulder. “Do you like her?” He nods and smiles. I don’t even have to say who. We just know.
I nod. “Good, I like her too.”
From behind us we hear a voice. “Like who?” I turn and it is Alyssa, Callum’s nanny. She’s nice enough, but something bugs me about her. She’s plain, but she tries to show off her assets. Her dull brown hair is always up in a ponytail. He eyes are gray.
“No one. Did you handle what you needed to?” I stand and get ready to check on Lila.
“Yes, Alpha.” Sometimes I feel like she is trying to hit on me. I always brush her away. Like now, she bites her bottom lip and looks me over. Seriously, what makes you think that is going to happen.
“Good, I have plans for the rest of the day and will only be back for meals. You need to be with Callum.” I don’t make it an option, it is her duty. That is what she is here for. I left her with Callum and bound up the stairs. I want to see her again.
She comes out of the bathroom as I hit the top step. Shit I planned that right. Lila is still rolling up the boxers, trying to get them to fit her slender waist better. She looks up at me. “I don’t think this is going to work. They are too big.”
I wave her off. “It’s fine. It’s only temporary. I have good news for you.”
“You are going to let me go home.” She smirks at me.
I scoff. “No,” Then I smile. “Callum likes you.”
“He seems like a good kid.” She gets softer.
“He is. By the way out of curiosity, what color is your wolf?” I want to know how accurate his picture is.
“White. I know rare, but it is.” Shit, how did Callum know. She’s right, it is rare to have a white wolf. Sure white patches are common, but not a pure white wolf. “What color is your wolf?”
“Black.”
She rolls her eyes. “Figures.”
I take her hand and lead her down stairs. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Black fur for your black heart.” She doesn’t even hesitate.
“I don’t have a black heart. That is a rumor.” She doesn’t pull her hand out of mine. “So are you suggesting that since you have a white wolf that you have a pure heart?”
“No, I guess that would make sense if you said it that way. Plus there has to be some color in your heart. You took in Callum.”
We reach the bottom of the stairs, Callum is standing there with his picture. I took it from him. “You and I are going to talk later, little man.” He simply smiles and runs off. Alyssa is standing off to the side. She glares at Lila. That pisses me off. “Aren’t you supposed to be with him?” I point to the way that Callum ran off. I am making it clear that she is here to do a job.
She looks at our hands that are connected. “Right.” She moves after Callum.
Lila leans closer to me. “Well, I don’t think she likes me.” Then she sees the picture that Callum handed me. “That is really good. Did Callum do that?”
I show it off with pride. “Yeah, he is quite the artist.”
She takes it from my hand. “Jeez, the detail is amazing. It’s like looking at a photo. Wait, who are these wolves?” She just got that they are me and her.
“Us.” I took the picture back.
“But how did he know I have a white wolf? I just told you.” There is no way to hide the shock on her face.
“Callum knows things. I can’t explain it. He just does. He told me it was me and you, before I asked you what color your wolf was.”
“Does he link with you?”
“No, he doesn’t talk in any way.”
“Then how did he tell you?” She counters.
“We have our ways of communication. It works for us. Now, I am going to take you to the person who will go get some clothes for you.” I start to pull her along again. I pulled her into my office and set her down. She looks around at the pictures on the walls.
“Are these all Callum’s?”
I look around. It is quite the collection. Almost all of the space is covered in his art. I am going to have trouble finding space for this one. “Yeah, he likes to draw.”
She stands and looks at the pictures. She stops at one off to the left. I have seen that one a few times. It is me dancing with some girl. I never paid much attention to the girl. “That’s me.” Ok, maybe I should have paid more attention.
I come and stand next to her. Sure enough it is her, exactly the way that she was last night. “I guess it is.”
She turns to me. “How is that possible?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. He drew that one a year ago. Way before I even knew you existed.”
She points to the picture again. “But that was us last night. Are you telling me that his pictures are the future?”
“I don’t know if they all are, but that one certainly is. Or was. I don’t understand it. It’s not like I can ask him directly. Plus he’s five, does he even really understand what he is doing?” I pointed out to her.
“You didn’t ask yourself why he draws what he draws?”
I look at her like she has lost her mind. “Of course I have. But since I am who I am, there aren’t a whole lot of wolves I can trust out there to get information. And the council, I can’t tell them. They will take him away. I’m the only family he has. I can’t put him through any more than he has already gone through. So I let him draw his pictures and only ask questions when I need to.”
“So, you were looking for me last night?” She points to the picture again.
“No, I didn’t recognize you from the picture. Like I said it was a year ago. I don’t have all the pictures memorized. I just like them. That’s why they are here.”
She turns away from me and continues to look at the pictures. She points to another. “This is my Uncle Jay.”
“I thought both of your parents were only children?” I remember that from somewhere.
“They are. He is a vampire.” That makes me pause.
“How exactly does that work?”
“He was my mom’s best friend when he was a human. When he turned she took him into the pack. He has always looked after me.”
“And where was he last night?” Not that I am mad. She wouldn’t be here if he was at her side.
“I snuck out.” She continues to look at the pictures.
“And what is your vampire uncle doing in the picture?”
“He’s just smiling. He might like this picture.” She moves to another wall. “You know my family is going to be worried about me.”
“I can imagine that they will be. In a few days I am going to call them and let them know that I found you and you are recouping. I will return you the morning of your birthday. I just need you here until then.” I keep my face neutral. I don’t want to return her ever. But I will do what I have to do. Hopefully she won’t want to leave after her birthday. “Any other family members up there?” I try to change the subject.
“Just my brother Jace. He looks pissed.” She takes the seat again.
“Is he your oldest brother?”
“Yes.”
“Then that is why. You two are really close, I take it. I am sure he is ready to kill someone right now.” I smile at her.
She smiles right back. “That someone being you.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
Thankfully who we were waiting for comes in. My Beta Ash. “There you are. I need you to go into town and get supplies.”
He smiles at me. “Well, good morning to you too. And what supplies am I getting?” His blond hair is short now which is new, it was quite long before I left yesterday for business. Now you can see his blue eyes.
I point to Lila. He looks shocked for a second. “Well, hello. I don’t know how I missed you when I came in. My name is Ash. What exactly am I getting for you my lady?”
I growl. “Not your lady.”
He just smiles at me. “Clearly, she is wearing your clothes.”
She pipes up. “Only because I had no choice. I wasn’t given a chance to pack before I was brought here. Against my will, I might add.”
Ash looks at me shocked. “You kidnapped her?”
I link to him. “I think she is my mate. I have to wait until Wednesday to know for sure.”
He links back. “Still, you took her.”
I growl at him. This time Lila can hear. “Just get her what she needs.”
He nods, but doesn’t look happy. “Alright. What is it that you need?”
She thinks for a minute. “I need clothes. I do not want to wear his clothes for a week. A toothbrush, a brush, shampoo and conditioner that a woman would use. Oh, and body wash and deodorant. A razor. Do I need to write this down?”
“That would probably be best. Make sure to include sizes please. I could never guess what size you wear.” He points to the desk for her to make a list.
She takes some paper and a pen from the desk. As she is writing she keeps talking to Ash. “Sorry you have to do this, but as you can imagine I don’t have anything. I really appreciate you doing this. I don’t really like to be a bother, not to mention I have never had someone else shop for me. Don’t worry about the style, I will wear just about anything.” She hands the list to Ash. “Thank you for doing this.”
He smiles at her, then looks back at me. “I like her.”
I link to him. “When you are buying her clothes, text me pictures so that I can approve them. I don’t want her wearing anything like what she wore last night.”
He laughs. Lila looks confused. He links me back. “And what exactly was she wearing last night?”
“A very revealing dress. Now go. Please.” I add that last part as an afterthought. I will be honest, I am not a very polite person.
He laughs again. This time he speaks out loud. “Yeah, I am really starting to like her.” He waves the list and leaves.
I turn back to a confused Lila. “Well, he is going to be gone for a bit. I want to take you on a tour, but that will have to wait until he returns. Is there anything else that you would like to do?”
She looks at me like I am being ridiculous. “I am your prisoner. I can’t leave the house in your underwear, so that really leaves me limited.”
“Well, I could give you a tour of the house. There are a few people you could meet.” I point out. I could think of other things I would like to do with her, but I am afraid I can’t point those out just yet. She wouldn’t like it.
“Fine, I will take a tour of the house.”
I stand and put my hand out for her to take again. She hesitates for a second but then takes my hand. I wonder if it brings her as much joy as it does me.