(Un)bidden (24 page)

He studied me for several long moments.  The disbelief in his expression made me grin; and with an arched brow, I patted the mattress again.  He quickly claimed the space, lying on his back beside me.  My heart gave an odd triple beat as I stared down at him.  His eyes reflected in the light as he watched me.

He reached out, curled an arm around my waist, and gave me a gentle nudge.  I gave into what I wanted and rested my head on his shoulder.  His arm wrapped around me, anchoring me to his side.  I laid my hand over his heart and snuggled in with a sigh.  He felt so right; so safe.

In the dark, we both listened for any clue as to what the new members of his pack meant to do.  The longer I lay against Thomas, the more I became aware of the way he smelled.  Like outdoors, just after a rain.  I normally wouldn’t have thought it a good smell; but lying on him, it made my head swim.

I adjusted my position, scooting a little higher so my nose touched the undamaged side of his neck.  Moving my hand from his heart, I gently feathered my fingers over his chest.  The feel of his smooth skin teased my senses.  I desperately wanted to kiss his shoulder and moved my head slightly.  The arm around my waist held me tighter, an indication of how much he liked me close to his neck.  Had he been serious about wanting me to bite him?  Would he actually like that?

Worry made me stop what I was doing.  I curled my hand into a fist on his chest.

He didn’t say or do anything for several heartbeats.  Then he sighed, and I felt him relax.  His hold on my waist loosened a bit.  He turned his head slightly and kissed my brow, a gentle reassuring touch.

His ease helped me relax, and without realizing it, I flattened my hand on his chest once more.  When I started exploring his skin with my fingertips, his hold didn’t retighten.

“Are they still on the roof?” I asked.  I could barely hear myself and hoped I kept quiet enough that any others nearby wouldn’t hear.

He nodded.  He let go of my waist and brought a hand up to my hair.  The feel of his fingers running through the strands lulled me.  I stopped exploring and let my arm rest across his chest.  The position pressed my lips against the skin over his collarbone.  His fingers continued to travel the length of my hair.

He seemed completely at ease with our positions now.  I kissed him like I’d wanted to and sighed.  My mind started to drift, ready to let sleep pull it under.

As my breathing slowed, I wondered if this place would ever be a home.

*    *    *    *

Before I opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong.  It wasn’t that I was alone in the bed; it was a weird niggling feeling that told me I really didn’t want to wake up right then.

I opened my eyes and almost screamed.  Mary’s face hovered inches from mine.  The fright of it had me flipping backwards out of bed.

She laughed.

“That wasn’t nice,” I said, sitting up.

“I’ve been waiting over an hour for you to wake up.  It was taking too long.”

I glanced at the window.  It was barely sunrise.  A yawn cracked my jaw before I could say anything else.

“What’s the hurry, today?”

She just grinned at me.

“You’re behaving oddly,” I said, pulling myself and my bedding off the floor.

“Not really.  I’m just wondering if there’s anything you wanted to tell me.”  She kept grinning at me, a big goofy smile that hinted she knew some big joke.

“Mary, did you take some of the medicine from the paper bag?”

She huffed.

“Of course not.  It wouldn’t work on me, anyway.”  She gave me a pouty face.  “Are you really not going to tell me about last night?”

“Last night?” I said, completely confused.  What was there to tell?  We’d gone to our room, Thomas came in, once we were settled into our beds, and sat on the floor.  At some point, members of his pack jumped up on the roof, woke me, then...I blushed.

“Finally!” she said.  “I saw him hold you.”  The goofy grin was back.

“You were watching?”

“Absolutely.  So...you seemed to like it.”

I started to remake my bed and tried for innocence.  “Of course I liked having him next to me.  Someone was walking around on the roof.  It was unsettling.”

She snorted.

“And the touching?”

“Reassuring.”

“You mean exciting.  I could smell what being next to him did to you.”

I stopped straightening the quilt to stare at her.

“So could he,” she said.  She walked around the bed and gripped my arms.  “If you like him, even if he can’t Claim you, tell him.  Tell everyone.  Be happy.”

“Mary, I’m fifteen.  I won’t be sixteen for another few months.  You know what will happen if I tell him or any of them I have a preference.  I’m not ready for that.”

“Stupid human rules,” she said, with a shake of her head.

“Stupid werewolf ways,” I said back at her using the same tone of exasperation.

She laughed and followed me from the room.  I was quiet, thinking of what she’d said as we made our way to the common room.  Did I prefer Thomas?  I liked him, but I’d had crushes on other boys before.  Thomas wasn’t a boy, though.  He wasn’t a man, either.  He was a werewolf.  I needed to remember that.

“Good morning,” Gregory said when we walked into the main room.  He lifted a pot from the stove and brought it to the table.

I peered down at a pot full of oatmeal.

“You cooked?”  I couldn’t keep the surprise from my words.

“Yes,” he said with a smile at Mary.

I glanced at her.  She blushed prettily as her gaze remained locked with Gregory.

“I’ll just take a bowl with me outside.”  I was talking to the room.  Neither paid me any attention as I quickly served myself and left.

Thomas and a group of almost a dozen men faced off in the yard.  I studied his back and wide stance.  His crossed arms and tense jaw told me just as much as the glares from the men he faced.

I took a bite of oatmeal as I walked toward the group.  When I reached Thomas’ side, my stomach executed a wild flip.

“Good morning, Thomas.”

“Good morning,” he said softly, not looking at me.  My pulse leapt as I thought of last night.

Thomas inhaled, then sighed and turned to me.

“Charlene, you should stay inside.”

I scrunched up my face as if considering what he said then shook my head.  He frowned at me.  I lifted my spoon.  “Oatmeal?”

Amusement crept into his gaze.

“What are you doing out here?”

I shrugged and made to eat the oatmeal on the spoon.  Thomas grabbed my hand and fed it to himself.  I blushed, cleared my throat, and got to the point.

“I had a thought last night as I was listening to the little patter of footsteps on the roof.”

Thomas’s gaze grew very serious.

“And that thought gave me an idea.”  I turned to look at his men.  “Why not send them out to find others and spread the word about what’s happening here.”

Several of the men smirked as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

“When you’re out there, be sure to tell everyone how you found females here and how we’re trying to make this place into a home.”

“Charlene...”  The caution in Thomas’ voice was unmistakable.

“We’ll go,” one of the men said, stepping forward.  Eagerness poured from him.

“Of course, you will.  The thought of finding enough men to break the pack apart and remove me, the terrible human, from your lives is perfect motivation.”

That wiped the smiles from their faces.  Finally, the one who’d challenged Thomas spoke up.

“Why would you suggest this if you know that’s what we intend?”

“Why indeed,” I said.  I smiled, took another bite of oatmeal, and studied them.  “Perhaps I believe there are more of your kind out there interested in what we’re trying to build here.  More than you think.”

“We?” the man said.

“Yes.  We,” Thomas answered.

“Or maybe there’s another reason,” I said with an indifferent shrug.  “You decide.  However, if you go, you have thirty days to send back as many as you can.  The day after you all return, Thomas will accept the new members.  Oh, and you all go or none of you go.  Make your time count.”

The men looked at Thomas.  I glanced at him too.  Sweat beaded his forehead.  Then, he nodded and the men sprinted for the trees.

“Charlene, do you know what you’ve done?” Thomas said

“I gave you a reprieve for a month.”

“No, you’ve doomed the pack.”  He ran his hands through his hair.

“Do you have a headache?”  I’d thought sending his men away would have helped that.

“Yes.  You gave me one.”

I shook my head at him and turned to walk inside.

“I don’t think I’ve doomed the pack, by the way,” I said over my shoulder.

“Oh?”  He sounded close.

“I think I just gave it a real chance.”  I opened the door and took a step inside before I stopped.

Gregory had Mary pinned against the wall, his face buried in the crook of her neck.  Her jean-clad legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his shoulders.  Her closed eyes and parted lips conveyed just how much she liked what he was doing to her.

My cheeks heated.

“Congratulations,” Thomas said behind me.

I gave him a startled look, but he remained focused on the couple across the room.

Mary opened her eyes, released her hold on Gregory, and gave Thomas a bright smile.

“Thank you.”

She stepped away from Gregory, who couldn’t seem to let go.  He kept an arm around her shoulders.

Then, I saw the bite mark on her neck.  My stomach dropped.  I’d just lost my friend.

“Congratulations,” I said.

Thomas’ arms suddenly wrapped around me, pulling me back against his chest.

“Liar,” he said softly near my ear.  My skin prickled.

Mary didn’t lose her happy smile.

“Don’t worry, Charlene.  I’m not leaving.  Thomas is staying so we’re staying.”

I nodded, shrugged out of Thomas’ embrace, and went to sit at the table with my cold oatmeal.  Physically, I knew she wasn’t leaving, but I’d watched those two together enough to anticipate what would happen.  She would be spending a lot more time with Gregory.  I didn’t begrudge her that time; it just meant I’d be spending a lot more time alone.

“I was wondering if one of you could talk to Winifred for me.  I’d like to know if she’d be willing to extend an invitation to families who might like to stay here.  Maybe we’ll find a few Elder candidates that way or get a second pack in here that agrees with what we’re doing.”

“Packs typically don’t share territory,” Thomas said, coming to sit beside me.

“Oh.”  When I’d had the thought that we needed to make this place a happy home, I’d counted on the support from other families and packs, a united front against those in Thomas’ pack who didn’t want me here.  Had I really doomed his pack?

“Aren’t Leif and Ann their own pack?”

“They are.  Small packs of two to three generally don’t hold a territory.  It’s too dangerous in such a small group, not from our own kind, but humans.”

What he said made sense.

“Where is Ann?” I said, realizing we hadn’t yet seen her or Leif.

“She had her cub last night and is sleeping.”

“What?  Why didn’t you tell me?”  I really wanted to see it.  Would it be a baby or an actual puppy?  Did it matter?  Both were adorable, and I couldn’t wait to see.

Mary shrugged.  “I didn’t think you’d be interested.  She is really cute, though.”

“She?” Thomas said.

Mary nodded.

“They’re both excited.  Winifred is, too.  She said it might bring more families with young boys.”

I ate the last bite of my oatmeal and took the bowl to the sink.

“Thomas, can you call the rest in to eat?  I’d hate to waste Gregory’s cooking,” I said.

Mary giggled, and Gregory leaned over to kiss her.

*    *    *    *

Over the course of the next several days, I caught Gregory and Mary kissing often, spent time with the new baby, and slept alone in my room despite Thomas’ protests.

The pack members who’d remained behind worked on window covers and wood splitting during the day.  And, they joined us for each meal.  We seemed to have developed a pattern, a boring one.  I knew it was ridiculous to feel bored—bored was better than bitten—but after the excitement of the last few weeks, the quiet was unnatural.

Friday morning I woke feeling grumpy and not alone.

Thomas lay on his side next to me, watching me as I opened my eyes.

“I warned you,” I said a moment before I pushed him off the bed with my hands.

He hit the floor with a thud but immediately sat up and scowled at me.

“I didn’t sleep in your room.  I came to wake you up.”