Caleb’s [POV]
“He what!” I snarled, my temper exploding when Cole shrugged and gave me a knowing smirk.
“He’s mating her. Told me this morning and also told me that you’d do well to stay away before he kicks your ass again. In this case, I sort of agree, Cal. You fucked up, man, big time.” Cole muttered, ignoring my scowls of rage and grabbing coffee.
He took one sip and spit it back into the cup, his lip curling while I frowned and cursed.
“Jesus, you make shit coffee. I guess Ren was the one to make it before, huh?” he asked, smiling when I growled and slammed a fist into the table.
It creaked but didn’t break, something I was grateful for because Ren loved this table, and she’d scalp me if I broke it.
“She was supposed to come back.” I groaned, pacing to the sink to stare out the window while my bear grumbled and felt unsettled.
The bite on my shoulder burned, the wound unhealed because I’d pulled back before Ren could lick it and heal me. Sighing because even that couldn’t piss me off enough to make me stop worrying, I dropped my head and cursed us both. Why had she done it? Goddammit, everything was perfect.
“After what you said to her? Fuck Caleb, I’d have kicked your ass for it myself if you weren’t such a pitiful fool.”
“She made a mistake. She shouldn’t have bitten me.”
“As if she could help it. You’re hers, Caleb, her Fated. How was she supposed to withstand that? Hell, I don’t know how she withstood it this long.”
“She’s wrong!”
“Is she? Look at how far you’ve come, how you’ve changed in the last few weeks. She’s healed you, brother, and as far as I can tell, that can say only one thing. You belong together. Her wolf just knew it before you did.” He said softly, smiling when I growled again and whipped around to glare at him.
“I don’t feel it.”
“Then you’re more broken than I thought. And more foolish. But that’s not my problem. I only came over to tell you the news and to ask you to stay away. What you do now is on you.”
“He can’t mate her. She isn’t his!”
“Well, someone has to. Ren needs someone to put her first, Caleb, and if Trey wants to be that male, I’m glad for them. I gotta go. Be smart.” He said, leaving before I could say anything more.
I stewed as I stood there, my anger rising the more I thought about my Ren, mating to Trey. She couldn’t do that.
Goddammit. She can’t, I thought, my jaw firming when I turned and stalked out of the house, my feet picking up speed until I was running. I was barely winded when I reached town and panting from anger when I walked into Trey’s house and found him and Ren in the living room, talking softly.
The sight made red explode through my vision, and before I could stop myself-Jesus, I should stop! -I growled and curled my lip.
“My brother?” I snarled. “You just professed your love to me, and now you’re suddenly mating him. Nice, Ren.” I snarled, looking her up and down with disgust.
“Caleb. I can explain.”
“The way you did after this?” I asked, ripping my shirt down to display her mark. “Didn’t tell him that, did you? You gonna mate her, knowing her wolf thinks I’m hers?”
“Caleb, stop it.”
“Why Ren? I thought we should talk; you know, since you fucking left me.” I yelled, hurt and confusion filling me.
She left me. Just up and ran.
“Because you’re an asshole, and you don’t want me! What do you expect from me, dammit? I love you.” She yelled, jumping up to glare at me so hard I saw her eyes turn bright blue before I felt…something.
Oh Christ, not this, I thought, taking a step back when I realized what was happening. I’ve known about this for a few weeks now, and some of the stuff Ren’s said gave me a clue, but feeling her, in my head, was something else entirely. Gasping, I took another step back and closed my mind off as much as I could because if she knew what I was feeling…fuck, she couldn’t know.
I didn’t want anyone to know me, not like this.
Cursing, I shook my head in denial and tried to tell myself I was okay. I wasn’t afraid, and I wasn’t some green boy who didn’t understand how things worked. Ren had the Knowing. She could read my mind, and that wasn’t her fault. The problem was I didn’t want her in my head. What she’d see there…
“You shouldn’t love me,” I murmured, the need to leave riding me hard now because I didn’t want to hurt her, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted. “You can’t love me. You have no idea who I am.”
“Yes, I do!” Ren whispered, her eyes pleading with me for things I just didn’t have to offer. “Please, Caleb. We can fix this.”
“There’s nothing to fix, Ren,” I said softly, the anger bleeding out of me so quickly I felt drained.
There was nothing to fix, and the more I reminded myself of that, the better off she’d be. Turning because there wasn’t anything left to say, I left her crying silently and made my way home.
Alone. Like I needed to be.
Ren’s [POV]
“Ren, honey, you need to stop crying.”
“I can’t,” I yelled, my emotions in turmoil as Caleb’s thoughts bombarded me and turned my already broken heart to mush.
God, I didn’t know, couldn’t have ever known just how much he hated the thought of mating, and as I sobbed softly, I finally accepted that it was over. Oh God, the fear, the anger, the way he had looked at me before he left.
“It’s going to be okay.” Trey sighed, rubbing my back comfortingly as he made plans and talked about a mating that would never happen.
Not because I didn’t adore him. I loved Trey. He was my best friend, and he deserved the kind of love I had just lost. A mating. A true melding of hearts, minds, and spirits, and he wouldn’t ever have that with me. Not now.
“It isn’t, and stop telling me we’re getting mated. We’re not. Stop glaring at me, Trey Chase. It isn’t happening. For one, I’m fated to your stupid, dumbass brother, and for another, I want to see you fall in love. Hell, I want to be at your mating and see your first cub born and be its favorite aunt.” I huffed, a small smile blooming when he groaned and leered at me mockingly.
“You think I couldn’t knock you up? I could call you ‘aunty’ while doing it.” He purred, making me snicker before my shoulders drooped, and I let out a sigh.
“God, that man is such an ass. I don’t know why I couldn’t just fall for you or Cole. You guys are a lot less”
“Nuts?” Trey asked, grinning when I glowered at him.
“Don’t talk about Caleb that way. He can’t help being a little unstable right now. I just presented him with his worst fear, and before you ask, yeah, I get it now.”
“You connected?” Trey asked, smiling when I shrugged and shivered.
“This fating stuff is so awful.”
“It isn’t supposed to be. The fating thing is more of a melding so deep and intimate, you never feel alone.” He said softly, watching me intently while I shuddered.
“Says you because you don’t understand. He doesn’t think this is real, Trey. I mean, I knew it, but I, I felt it, and dammit, how am I supposed to convince him when he’s right. He had a Fated!” I sneered, despising his ex-mate so much. If I saw her now, I think I’d rip her face off.
“He has two animals. I’ve been trying to tell him for months. I don’t think she was his bear’s choice.” Trey sighed. “Truth is, even when they were together, it was just his wolf. Those two-toned eyes were nowhere in sight. Just that crazy wolf.”
I chewed on that for a minute, trying to understand.
“So you’re saying his bear didn’t want her?”
“I’m saying Caleb always assumed his wolf was his stronger animal, but it wasn’t true. My mom…she’s a bear shifter, but she was always so happy we’d all been born wolves. Caleb wasn’t. He always showed a stronger side, a more dominant, territorial side. Mom and dad didn’t like that and encouraged him to suppress it. It isn’t ‘normal’ to have two animals, they’d say, and eventually, Caleb would only wolf shift. By the time we were grown, that’s the only shifting he did.”
“That sounds so awful. It wasn’t his fault he was born that way, and besides, it’s cool.” I yelled, incensed for him and so sad. My lips trembled just thinking of tiny Caleb being taught to hate a part of himself.
“Stop crying! Jesus. It wasn’t the worst thing. Caleb grew up stronger, and he did fate to Joyce. He was happy.”
“Gee, thanks. I just love hearing this.” I snarled.
“My point being, it had to happen. That wolf of his was too controlled, too…cold. The perfect match for that icicle he called a mate.”
“Trey, no offense, but your pep talks suck. If you’re trying to make me feel better”
“I’m trying to make you understand”
He started to say something but was cut off when there was a knock at the door, and someone just walked in without waiting. I gasped now, my eyes growing wide when I saw my mother walk in beside an older woman who looked so much like Trey. I felt my heart sink.
“Fuck.” Trey grumbled, growling when my mother immediately launched into her reasons for being here.
Which was, surprising. Not pleasant, but surprising.
“She’s not going home with you to mate someone she doesn’t know.” Trey roared once mama got done speaking, his fury making me flinch while mama huffed.
When they started yelling, completely ignoring me, I rolled my eyes and wondered if I shouldn’t just accept it. I could mate someone from my pack and leave this place where all I’d received was pain and rejection. He could be nice.
Or old with hairy balls.
“Oh, shut it. You’re being negative.” I hissed.
Maybe, maybe not. Do you really want to just leave and give up on Caleb?
“The man doesn’t want me. You saw his thoughts. He’s horrified.” I reminded her, a thick lump forming in my throat again when I thought about it.
It hurt to feel those things, but it hurt even more when he slammed his mind shut and looked at me with so much horror and disgust. I mean, I didn’t mean to connect with him! Do you think I want to go into that crazy head of his?
Girl, chill out. You’re moving too fast and overthinking everything. Just give yourself a minute to think, and don’t do anything you can’t come back from.
I huffed, agreeing with her, which was surprising because she was usually nuts and irrational.
“Okay. But I’m not mating Trey. I would never hurt him or Caleb that way.” I told myself, happy with that decision because it was the right one.
“…old man with disgusting balls. She’s already fated!” I heard Trey roar before the door burst open and hit the wall with a bang that made everyone scream and jump.
I gaped when I saw Caleb strode back in and growled, and I was still gaping when he spotted me and walked my way, ignoring his mother when she tried to stop him. Gulping, I thought I would faint when he grabbed me and pulled me closer, but then his mouth settled over mine…
I wouldn’t call it a kiss. It was too raw and brutal and over too fast, but by the time Caleb pulled back and glared down at me, I was breathless. And rapt when I saw his eyes. Golden. Both eyes were golden and glowing so brightly that it was a shock to me when he suddenly tipped my head to the right and bit me on the shoulder.
It hurt. Oh, Jesus, did it hurt because he wasn’t even a little gentle. But the pleasure that followed his teeth as they sank into me was so stark; I shuddered through a moan and felt my body turn to marshmallow.
“Caleb-”
“Mine!” he roared after drawing his head back, his eyes murderous when he whipped around to glare at Trey. “Mine.”