Today, I pad down the stairs, smelling coffee and something sweet as I walk into the kitchen where the three guys are talking heatedly.
“What am I missing now?” I ask, reaching for a mug in the cabinet. I know when I reach my arm up, my butt cheeks are in plain sight, and I’m not wearing panties.
“You know how hard it is to argue when you walk in here, looking like that,” East jokes.
I smile, pouring coffee and adding creamer. “And what is it you’re arguing about?”
“Cal wants to go to the pack meeting.”
My lips purse, knowing there must be more to this. “And that’s a bad thing?”
“It’s not bad,” Callum says a little defensively. “I just want to go and see what people are up to.”
River shakes his head. “Not true. You want to go and show off your mate.”
I pull up a chair and join them at the circle table in the breakfast nook and listen.
“It’s not about that.”
“Bullshit.” East cuts a piece of coffee cake from the center of the table and offers it to me. “Just got it in town this morning.”
I swallow, feeling nervous every time they mention town… wondering if they will hear something about a murderer on the loose. East doesn’t say anymore though, instead, he turns back to Callum.
“I thought we didn’t give a shit about the rest of the pack? We disagreed with one thing and they practically threw us out.”
Callum looks at me across the table. “Fine, you’re right. I do want to show off Rem.” My cheeks grow hot as he looks at me. “I want them to know Remedy is ours.”
Chapter 13
Remedy
The mood changes when Cal says I’m theirs. They all turn to look at me as if wondering if his words will scare me—make me run. But it isn’t the first time he’s said it.
But for some reason, it feels like the first time I understood he wasn’t joking, exaggerating. No. When Cal says I am his—he means it with his heart and soul.
“And how does Rem feel about this? Wasn’t part of the reason we fought with the pack in the first place was that we disagreed with the way they treated their women? And now we will just go and put Rem on a pedestal, for everyone to inspect? No fucking way,” East says.
“What’s a pack meeting like?” I ask, using the fork to take a bite of the cake.
“It’s a once a month gathering,” River explains. “Malik, the pack leader, gives updates on the pack and announcements are made. Usually, there’s a bonfire after.”
“And women, they attend?”
The guys nod. East stands and gets himself a coffee refill. Pouring his cup, he says, “Yeah, and kids too. It’s a social thing as well as clearing up business.”
“Which is why I don’t understand why everyone is so opposed to this. Rem is going to need to meet other women in the pack. Our child is going to––”
“Don’t bring the child into this,” River says with a scowl. “Your motives are off, Cal, admit it. You want to show Rem off, that’s it.”
“Fine,” Cal shouts. “What’s so fucking wrong with that, anyway? Rem is everything to me. To us. And I want the rest of the pack to know that.”
My heart swells. Even if Cal wants to show me off, part of me takes pleasure in the idea that he thinks I’m worthy of being shown off. No one in my life has ever taken pride in me… yet Callum looks at me know with such devotion, so much respect—my heart seems to double in size.
“I’ll go,” I say, bringing my coffee cup to my lips.
“You’ll what?” East snorts. “That’s insane, Rem. Malik will be pissed that we’re sharing you.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What do you mean?”
Cal shrugs. “Malik changed the way we mate. Back in the day, our pack always had groups that shared one woman, then when he came into power, things shifted. Pun unintended.”
“So, for you guys to go against the grain, it will be kind of a big deal?”
River runs a hand over his jaw. “It’s gonna be an epic clusterfuck.”
A hint of a smile is playing on my lips.
“What?” East asks, the flecks of gold in his eyes revealing doubt in whatever I’m about to say. “I know you’re up to something, Rem.”
I shrug. “I told you I have a problem with authority.”
“And?” River asks.
“The idea of showing up with the three of you, pregnant, as your mate—it feels badass. They basically kicked you out, and now you are coming back stronger than ever.”
Callum grins—loving this idea, as I knew he would. River and East, however, don’t seem as thrilled.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” River says.
But I reach for his hand across the breakfast table. Pasting a smile on my face, I ask him, “Don’t you want the world to know I’m yours?”
“And when did you decide that?” East asks. “The last few days you’ve doubted your place here. Now that you have a chance to cause a scene, you’re all in?”
I raise my eyebrows, not wanting to be called out like this, by East of all people. I want him to be on my side or no side at all.
“God, I just thought it sounds fun,” I toss back. I pull back my hand from River, burying my fists under the table. East has gotten a rise out of me and I feel anger growing in my belly. More than what matches the actual situation at hand.
My selfish desires are surfacing in a way that makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t know how to rein them in.
“I don’t want to fight about this,” River says.
“Too late,” I say, my voice laced with heat.
“Can we all rewind about two minutes and go back to Rem walking in here without any panties on?” East asks trying to downplay the tension.
“I don’t want to go if this is just a game to you, Rem,” River says quietly. “I’ll go to the meeting if you have genuine feelings for us—but not to go stick it to the man.”
River’s honesty makes me feel like a fraud. I hate the idea of disappointing him, of messing this all up. The ground rumbles beneath me and a plate hanging on the wall falls to the floor. I don’t know why it keeps happening, the shaking of the ground when I’m upset—but it’s impossible to ignore.
Everyone looks around, bracing themselves for a larger quake, but my fists unclench, and suddenly I’m exhausted.
It’s not a joke to me at all but I don’t know how to say that. Or how to admit to them that, yes, whatever we have here is special.
Because every time I’ve had something good in my life, it’s been taken from me.
And I can’t handle that again.
“I think I should leave,” I tell them, forcing a blank look on my face. I will not let them know how much they matter. I will not let them see that I need them. “River’s right. This is nothing but a game to me.”
“Fuck that,” Cal says, shocking me with his forceful words. He pushes away from the chair, pacing the kitchen. Stopping in front of me, spinning my chair from the table, dropping to his knees. “I don’t believe you, Remedy. Not for a minute.”
“Stop it,” I say, blinking back tears. Telling myself to get a grip. But Cal’s hands are on my face, forcing our eyes to meet.
“I’m not letting you run, little wolf. Not this time.”