Chapter 27
I was terrified in ways I didn’t deem possible before. After what happened with Logan all those months ago, I turned into a shadow of my former self and hid away from everything because I feared every single emotion.
It was nothing compared to the fear I felt when I couldn’t find Austin. I needed to see with my own two eyes that he was ok. I raced through the forest, swatting branches from my face before they could hit me, my legs started to burn but I didn’t stop. I could feel him up ahead the farther I went. He hadn’t gone home or left the forest.
I wanted to call out his name but I feared he might try to hide. It wasn’t like we were on the best terms; if he wanted to be alone I was probably the last person he wanted to crash his party. He didn’t know it yet but we needed each other. He killed to save my life and it was my turn to return the favor by helping through his misguided guilt.
The forest broke off, spitting into two halves divided by a lake. That’s where I found Austin sitting by the water. He shifted back into his human form; his bare back gleamed like a slab of granite under the moonlight. If he heard me he didn’t let it show. I walked forward and laid my over his shoulder.
I got on my knees to sit behind him. I wrapped both my arms around his back. “You shouldn’t be alone.” I whispered because I didn’t want to disturb the silent spell in the air. Even with Austin’s wrecked emotions I felt peace.
His body tensed. “Are you taking pity on me?”
“No, I know you would never accept it. I’m here because you need me. Mates help each other through the good and the bad.” I spoke with conviction that firmly explained I wasn’t going to allow him to push me away.
He turned slightly to peer at me over his shoulder. “So you had to be kidnapped and I had to kill, for you to finally admit it?”
“Piece of cake, right?” I smiled and touched my hand to his cheek next. I never wanted to stop torching him. “But seriously, I realized a lot when I was trying to figure out Logan and his plan. I realized I spent too much time being mad at you for something I was trying to fight. I hate what you did but I hated more the lack of control I felt. I didn’t want to fall in love with you.” I confessed.
The heaviness of the night started to ease from his eyes. “You’re in love with me?”
I was so scared of having my heart broken. I was tempted to try and explain away what I just said and I could too with some crafty lying. But, what would that accomplish? “I’m terrified I’m going to give into this and you’re going to tell me it was all a joke.”
“I didn’t lie, Sydney, not about the important stuff. I lied about not having control over our attraction but I didn’t lie about wanting to have sex with you. I was an asshole and I’m sorry for that.” The kiss he laid on me now pressed pause on the conversation we’d have to pick up later.
His hands came around my face as he kissed me intensely on the mouth. I was reminded he was naked when my hands fell on his bare chest. I could feel his heart racing beneath my hand. Things escalated at a rapid speed. His mouth dropped down to my chest, kissing the exposed skin as his hands reached around my back for the zipper.
I was in a haze and didn’t think about stopping him. I didn’t want to keep finding reasons to doubt him. I had to take the leap and believe his apology, believe him when he swore not to hurt me again. I had to take a gamble if I wanted us to have a relationship, so that’s what I did. I surrendered because I was in love with Austin Cater, I wanted us to have a life together.
He was three seconds from getting my dress open when his hands froze.
“Austin!” I hadn’t been the only one looking for him.
“Damn it. That’s my dad.” He groaned.
I jumped up from the ground. “We don’t need your parents finding us like this.” I was mortified at the possibility. “Are you ready to go home?”
His eyes couldn’t manage to meet my stare out of fear of my reply. “Will you stay with me?”
“I’m not going anywhere. You’ll probably get sick of me pretty soon but too bad because you’re stuck with me until the day you die.”
TWO YEARS LATER
I was pacing the living room as I waited for my annoying boyfriend to get out of the shower. We had the monthly dinner to get to. I was dressed in a dress, much to my dismay, Andrea picked out and ensured I couldn’t say no. My little sister’s new middle name was blackmail.
My patience level fell off the Richter scale after half hour of waiting. I marched to the bathroom.
“If we’re late you’re mom is going to rope us into some boring pack business for the weekend.” I flushed the toilet. Austin screamed and jumped out of the shower stall. I smiled at him, flashing all my teeth in a mocking manner. “Hi.”
“You—”
“Careful. You wouldn’t want to say something ugly to your future wife and risk getting left at the alter.” The wedding date was set six months from now. Now that we weren’t denying our mate status, his mother thought it was a good idea to move up the wedding. We agreed. Austin Carter still annoyed me like no one else in the world but I loved him through it, we were stuck together after all.
“I don’t have to say something ugly to get you back.” He came toward me.
“No, uh-uh, you’re dripping wet and if you ruin this dress, Andrea will dig my grave.” The dress was made up of some soft satin and lace combo she said was to accentuate some newly acquired developments. Boobs basically.
“You should’ve thought of that. That water was freezing; I need a hug to warm me up.”
I dashed out of the bathroom. I was glad I waited to put my shoes on. Barefooted I was fast enough to get away to the living room. As luck would have it, Jonathan was coming through the front door.
“Yes! Go force your brother to get dressed.”
“He isn’t dressed? Everyone is outside waiting—dude!” Jonathan’s hand shot up to cover his eyes from the sight of his naked brother coming around the hallway. “What the hell?”
“I know!” I complained, trying very hard not to laugh. “He is very difficult to live with but you knew that. I’ll be outside.” I snatched my shoes from the floor and I was out of there.
Austin and I were living alone in a very nice two bedroom house just down the street from our parents and most of our pack. It felt good to have their support but also our own place to call home. Mr. Cater surprised us with the house roughly four months ago.
I walked down the street to where Martin was trying to charm my sister’s pants off. She was in the middle of rolling her eyes when she saw me. “Syd! You look so pretty.”
Martin smirked. “Nice.” His eyes were glued to my chest.
“Stay classy.” I patted his shoulder and turned back to Andrea. “Where are mom and dad?”
“They went ahead to the venue to help out Mrs. Carter. Where’s lover boy?”
“Getting dressed. It turns out it takes him longer than me to get dressed up.” I shrugged and leaned my butt back against Jonathan’s car. We were all riding together to save on gas money and for Austin to catch up with his brothers along the way.
It took another ten minutes for lover boy, as Andrea liked to call him, to finally join us. His eyes narrowed.
“You’re not still mad about that, are you?” My smile was huge, I bounced on the balls of my feet. I was taunting him and we both knew it.
Andrea groaned. “I used to think if you finally got together all the petty games would end.”
Jonathan nodded in agreement. “They just ride each other harder trying to prove who’s right.”
Martin laughed like the immature teenager he was. “That’s the problem; they ride each other too hard.”
Austin smacked him across the back of the head. “Let’s get going. Mom already called asking where we are.”
Tonight’s monthly gathering was being held at the same downtown ballroom Mrs. Cater favored many times before. This time when Austin and I walked together it was for real. I wasn’t trying to get under his skin with a too sugary sweet fake act. Two and a half years made all the difference in the world.
Many of the pack members were surprised to hear about the change and our new relationship. Mary had a million questions; all of them were basically to figure out what changed. I used to swear to her on my life I’d never give Austin the time of day, that I’d marry him over my dead body. At the end of the day I couldn’t pin point the moment that changed everything. I just knew I was in love with him and he loved me in return.
We stepped into the grand ballroom. I gasped. The usual sit down style of tables and simple colors were changed out for something bright. There were balloons, streamers, baskets, all in pink and blue color tones.
Andrea clapped her hands together once. “Do you like it? It was my idea.”
It dawned on me; we were at my baby shower. “That would’ve been my first guess.” I saw my sister’s influence all over the place. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.” My mom pointed out.
I looked at Austin. “Did you know?”
“No.” his eyes held the same amazement as he took in the space and all the pack gathered together to support us.
Martin said, “We didn’t tell you because we were worried you might tell Syd in the middle of some wild sex.” This time it was Jonathan who hit him. “What? Look at her, you can obviously tell what they’ve been doing.” He pointed to my six month pregnant belly.
My face turned bloody-mary red. “Anyway. This place looks amazing.” We didn’t know the gender of the baby yet so I understood why Andrea chose both pink and blue.
THREE YEARS LATER
I never understood why they called it the terrible twos until I was running around the house trying to catch a two year old. The little munchkin had more energy than I had of stubbornness—and I could be pretty stubborn.
Austin was coming through the front door during my third lap around the living room. “You’re daughter is trying to kill me.” I gave up and fall onto the couch. “It’s your turn to catch her. She’s somewhere upstairs.” I knew better than to say yes again when she asked if I wanted to play a game of chase.
He laughed. “You couldn’t catch her?”
“It’s not as easy as it looks. Plus, I have a ton of homework to get done.” I was working my way toward a law degree. It turned out my passion to argue had its benefits when it came time to settle on a career choice. When Austin finished college he knew exactly where he was going to work; with his father building homes.
Austin stepped over to the couch and kissed me hello. “I’ll get her.”
“Is that a bet?”
“Maybe, what are we betting?”
“If you don’t get her, you do the laundry for a month.” Before we had a toddler, our bets used to consist of something involving sex. Sex I liked and sex I could get without betting for it. Laundry, now that I hated.
“And if I win, you have to take Chris and his troop camping next weekend.”
I made a face. “That’s mean.” Eleven year old boys had a huge tendency to be dirty, add nature and you were asking for a mess. “How about this? You catch Abby and do the laundry and I’ll....” I was staring into his eyes unable to think of something extra appealing.
“What?” Austin didn’t wait for a reply before climbing on top of me. “You’ve gotten worse at this game.”
“I can’t think straight with you doing all this.” It was almost pitiful. We had been together for five years, nearly three of them married, and he still made my heart race like it was the first time all over again.
Austin chuckled at my confession than kissed me.
“Yuck.” Abby was standing at the corner of the coffee table watching us. Her eyes were as big and gold as her father’s. Her hair was brown like mine.
“Are you finally tired of running?” I asked. She must’ve run the stairs a good ten times. I reached for her and pulled her up on the couch.
“Can we go run outside?” there was no denying the wolf within her spirit. I needed to take vitamins if I wanted to keep up with her.
“I need you to do me a favor first.” I pulled her down to my chest and whispered something in her ear.
She sat up and turned to her father. “Daddy, I like how you wash Miss. Bear more.”
TEN YEARS LATER
When I was a kid and thought of the future it never looked like this. I was in the hospital, a mother of two and married to Austin Cater, breathing through a contraction for baby number three. Austin was to my right. Abby and her little six year old brother, Jason, were seated in front of the TV.
I gripped Austin’s t-shirt. “If you want anymore after this, you better be the one giving birth.”
“You’re beautiful when you’re pissed at me.”
“I’d punch you if our children weren’t in the room.
“I love you.”
“Bite me.”
The hospital door creaked open and in walked my sister and mother. “Have we missed all the fun?” mom asked. “It’s a hoot when you start threatening everyone.”
“Not yet.” Austin answered. “She’s only at the part of saying she doesn’t want anymore children. Threats soon follow.”
I flipped him off. Whatever movie the kids were watching had them thoroughly entertained. “I didn’t say I don’t want anymore. I said I want them to start coming out of your body parts. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“I love you.”
“Suck it.”
It was another grueling two hours before I was wheeled away to the OR. Andrea stayed with the kids while my mom and husband came with me. I needed him but I needed her more. Giving birth, no many how many times you did it, was a huge deal and I needed my mom to help me through it.
Just after 2 pm that Friday afternoon Caroline Cater was born.
SOMETIME DOWN THE ROAD...
In the end we had five children total; three boys and two girls. It turned out I was pretty fertile, and Austin and I always remained too impatient to reach for a condom in time. We were mates and the bond that came from that never faded, if anything it grew and burned brighter. I loved him more as the days went on than I did the day of our wedding.
When I was eighteen I thought I had all the answers. Oh, how wrong I was.
-
The End.