Claimed Mate by Roxie Ray
Cal
Ihad to leave the room. It was nothing Liv had done — far from it — but the longer I lay there and stared up at the ceiling, the hotter my temper ran. She had enough to deal with already, and even if her family had played some role in my father’s disappearance…
Well, that certainly didn’t explain why he never fucking called, did it? I growled under my breath as I stood outside the little cottage we’d been renting; my wolf echoed my sentiment. I didn’t understand; sure, he probably had to lie low for a year or two, but everyone thought David Meyers was dead. No one was looking for him. Even if he didn’t think he could show up on the outskirts of Bridgehaven, couldn’t he call? For fuck’s sake, Mom had apparently been sending investigator after investigator looking for him, and only one had turned up anything worth knowing.
I used to run the woods far outside the pack when I was younger. I had probably run up and down the North Shore more consistently than the T, looking for him. He hadn’t left me one single hint that he was alive, much less that he was apparently only a few hours away. Bastard.
I couldn’t even be bothered to feel badly about Lisa or Ben, even though I knew it was bothering Liv. The thought of them made me grunt and shake my head. What a way to ruin a mood. It was enough to get me moving again, and I started to stride through the little community, glancing around at the various, erm…projects. Maren had called this a farming cooperative, but outside of a vegetable plot here or there, I didn’t see much farming.
What I definitely didn’t see were any phones lying around.
I growled under my breath. I needed to find Maren; she’d know where to find one.
I’d no sooner made up my mind than a crushing wave of sadness crested and rolled over me; it took my breath away as if I’d actually been pushed underwater, swept up in the undertow of a current I couldn’t see. My eyes stung fiercely and I swayed with the force of it, throwing out a hand to prop myself up on the nearest building. What the…?
I shook my head, but the sensation stayed rooted. In the back of my mind, my wolf whined; the sound was long and low. Mournful. I sucked in another short breath and recognized what I felt. Grief. I knew grief, but… But I had just found my father. The time for grieving had passed. My wolf whined again, a soft warble to his brassy tone; he was concerned, but not about me. Liv…?
Wait.
The thought was shocking enough to part the veil of overwhelming sadness for a moment. Grief, confusion, hurt… This was what Liv was feeling right now? My brows pinched together and I looked back in the direction I’d come. Should I go back? My wolf gave a short, decisive bark; he was right. This was a bond, wasn’t it? Maybe if I could just…
Are you okay? I thought; I immediately shook my head. No one could hear me, but I still ducked my head anyways. That’s not how mate bonds went. The pack elder had explained to all of us, when we were ten. Eleven. Something like that. Young enough to still be respectful of what an old enough had to say, but old enough to realize what pairing off meant. What had he said?
-Different for each wolf and each bond…not helpful.
-Required a bite. Bonds were stronger if one partner was an alpha or an omega. I snorted and rubbed the growing bruise under my tee. Well, we definitely had the bite down.
What else had he said?
-Can’t undo it, yes, right. Could break it, though, but that was painful. Denying a fated bond was just as bad as breaking an established bond.
I ground out a frustrated growl and carded my hand through my hair; none of this was helpful! I’d established that this was, in fact, the mating bond, but hadn’t figured out what the hell I was supposed to do with it.
My wolf interrupted my thoughts with a soft chuff and a tip of his head. I was about to snap at him when I realized he was right; I was overthinking things. Liv hadn’t meant to send feelings along, at least, I assumed she hadn’t. She had just felt them. Felt them so strongly that now I felt them. It stood to reason I could do the same, right? Inhaling deeply, I took a moment to collect myself and organize my thoughts before focusing on Liv. I thought of warmth. I thought of holding her, of how soft that spot behind her ears were. How comforting her scent was; citrus on a summer day, clean linen, the hint of an ocean’s breeze. How it wrapped me up and settled my mind.
Little by little, I realized the sense of heartache was ebbing away; it was replaced by something else. Something fragile and far away; it was a mirroring warmth, I realized. Even if she wasn’t entirely okay, Liv was trying, and that was something.
Eventually,I was able to find Maren. There were some community buildings, for lack of a better word; it was midafternoon so they were relatively abandoned. People had things to do, I guess. There were noises coming from deeper in one of the buildings. My investigation revealed the fae, bustling around the kitchen. It couldn’t have been more than an hour or two since I’d last seen Maren, but it looked like the woman had gone to war with baked goods and decimated the chocolate chips, only to be utterly routed by the white flour. Despite my worries, my brows lifted and I found myself with half a smile. “What’re you doing?”
“Oh!” She fumbled the bowl she was holding, expression slightly frantic. “Oh, hi, Cal. I didn’t hear you come in.” She gave me a sheepish smile, hugging the blue mixing bowl to her chest. “Is everything okay?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, considering everything?”
Maren looked even more self-conscious, if that was even possible. Her hazel eyes dropped to the dough. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Considering everything.”
“Everything’s fine.” I paused. “Can I borrow your phone? I need to call my mother and I don’t bring a charger.” I hadn’t exactly gotten a lot of heads-up on this whole even, after all. “Liv didn’t, either.” The fae chewed on her lip for a moment, staring down at the bowl like it would give her the answer. I sighed and folded my arms over my chest. “Maren, what are you doing?”
“I, er. Well.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “Stress baking. But, uhm, badly.”
I snorted. One quick look over the battlefield that had taken place in the kitchen had told me that much. “So, can I borrow your phone? Please?” I supposed manners never hurt anyone.
The woman finally set down her bowl and wiped her hands on her jeans, leaving floury prints behind. “Cell phones don’t…really work here. GPS tracking, you know? Big brother.”
I frowned. “I don’t think Ben is that smart.”
I was awarded a laugh; it sounded like chimes in the wind. Almost immediately, I relaxed; a moment later, I tensed again. Was Maren like the other fae? I knew they could seduce shifters and I gave the woman a suspicious look, my brows raised. Could Maren do that…? Was she trying that on me right now?
“No, I don’t think he is either.” She agreed, oblivious to my train of thought. “Ben’s such a stereotypical jock. I meant, like, the government. Not that I think it cares! But, also, you know, farming cooperative. Some people might get funny ideas and we wouldn’t want too many humans poking their noses where they shouldn’t? Or other supernaturals who might sell us out. Wolves are so nosy. No offense.” The wink told me she did mean some offense, but I let her have that one. Wolf packs were notoriously bad at ‘letting things go.’
The laughter seemed to settle her nerves though, and she led me out of the kitchen and down the hall. “We have a line that’s supposed to be secure. I’m sure no one would mind if you made a call.”
It was only a short walk to the office, and I had to marvel as the building seemed to transform around me. The entrance and kitchen had seemed as ordinary as any old New England town hall; somewhere the Lions’ Club would hold a monthly bingo to raise money for, I dunno, orphans, or something. This hallway seemed much more sophisticated, though. Old-school library. Manor. Something.
Maren opened the door and paused, blinking rapidly. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were in the office,” she babbled. I sniffed and peered around her shoulder. Sure enough, there was a man — a fae — sitting at an ornate desk in the center of the room. “We’ll come back later.”
I bristled. “Maren—”
“It’s no problem,” the fae said, offering a bright smile. No, not bright. Downright blinding. I fought the urge to blink and shield my eyes; even my wolf whined, ducking his head and turning away. “I had a little free time on my hands, so I thought I would organize the desk. The files were getting a bit unruly.” He winked at us.
I suppressed the urge to growl. Barely. Bizarre sunshine smile aside, who in their right mind decided to organize? For fun? My wolf rumbled his agreement and I folded my arms across my chest. “Look, man, we just need to borrow a phone—ow!”
Maren stomped on my foot, shooting me a dark look. I think that was the first time I’d ever seen her less than charming and sweet. She cleared her throat. “We are really sorry to bother, sir. This is one of our guests, Calum Meyers.”
“Cal’s fine,” I said, trying to deformalize my presence.
Her look got even dirtier before she took in a breath and forced the smile back on her face. Somehow, I actually believed she meant the threat that look promised. “Cal helped Liv and I escape. Cal, this is Prince Malachi Ó hAodha.”
Prince?My brows shot up and I straightened my posture, a little surprised Maren had just introduced me to some sort of royalty. She certainly hadn’t mentioned that before; ‘just a few fae,’ right? “Thought you’d take a break from your palace and slum it for a bit, huh?” I lifted my chin; even my wolf was locked on to this guy. It made the skin on the back of my neck prickle. Did fae have alphas, too?
I was vaguely aware of Maren paling, opening her mouth to say something else. Malachi simply tipped his head back and laughed; if Maren had sounded like bells, than the prince’s laughter sounded like music. Harmonic. My wolf pinned his ears and my skin crawled. “Now, what is wrong with a bit of fresh air?” he hummed, blue eyes pinning me to the floor. He swept around the desk in one graceful motion, clasping one of my hands in both of his. I hadn’t even offered it.
My pulse escalated. I didn’t growl, but it was a near thing.
“You have had quite a day, Calum Meyers. My phone is all yours.” He released his hold and reached for Maren’s shoulder, already directing her towards the door. “We will leave you in peace.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” Maren added, and then the door clicked shut behind them both. I stared at the solid wood for a moment, both deeply irritated and absolutely bewildered by the man. I had no idea what his game was supposed to be, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t think Liv and I would be sticking around long enough to find out.
I sat on the corner of the desk and picked up the phone, dialing my mother’s cell number. It went straight to voicemail and I frowned. Well, she hadn’t gotten better. I dialed Danny next, closing my eyes as I willed my best friend to pick up. Thankfully, someone in the universe was looking out for me, and after the third ring, I heard a familiar voice. “Hello? Who’s this?”
“Danny! Danny, it’s me, Cal.”
“Cal, my man! Where the hell are you? Why’s your number coming up blocked?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Phone died,” I huffed, impatient with all the details. “How’s my mother? Can I talk to her?”
The space of an exhale felt like an eternity. “She’s outta it, Cal. They finally figured out what was wrong, but she’s got a punctured lung.”
“Holy shit. Danny. Danny, tell me she’s okay.”
“Settle down, let me finish. She’s outta it because she had surgery, and they said it went pretty well, okay? But it’s a major surgery, so she’s not out of the woods yet.”
I exhaled and stood; I realized a moment later the phone was corded. What kind of asshole still had a corded phone? I couldn’t pace, so I tapped my foot against the floor. Fuck. I wanted to know more. I wanted to tell Danny about my father, that the man was here the whole time. That he hadn’t even asked about Christine. Wanted to tell him, too, about the thing with Liv, the bond thing; any other voice would be appreciated right now.
I glanced over at the door and sniffed; unfortunately, the door was so thick, I couldn’t determine if Maren and Prince Sunshine were lurking just outside. I couldn’t risk it. “Be careful,” I said instead, rubbing my face again. “Danny, look, I know I already asked you for way more than I have any right to, but can you keep an eye on my mother? Ben was, but…”
“But Ben Burns is a flaming asshole, and not in the fun way?” He laughed. “I told you that that wasn’t a good idea. I’ve got a few guys who’d be willing to take shift with me.”
“Bridgehaven?” I frowned.
I could practically hear Danny roll his eyes over the phone. For some reason, that was reassuring. “No, dude, rogues.” Of course. I exhaled.
“Are you sure? Because I could—”
“You could what? Show back up and bring half of Bridgehaven down on top of Christine’s head?” My brows show up. He kept talking. “Everyone knows Lisa is gone; the rumors are flying, my guy. Do not come here.”
“I…” I closed my eyes and leaned back against the edge of my desk, exhaling. Was I being selfish? I should be there to watch out for my mother, but maybe Danny was right. Maybe I’d just be exposing her to Ben instead. Danny had always had my back before, so… “If anything changes, tell me.”
“You got it.”
“I gotta go.” I sighed, opening my eyes to stare at the door. We exchanged a quick goodbye and I hung up, taking a moment to corral my thoughts before opening the door into the hallway. To my surprise, Prince Malachi had been true to his word; the hallway was empty. I’d been given privacy to make my call.
I wasted no more time wondering after the man; after everything that had happened so far, I felt like I could sleep for a week. The bond had gone suspiciously still; I hurried back to the cottage and found Liv where I left her, curled up on one side of the bed; the only evidence that she had moved at all was her wet hair and a damp towel hanging over the bathroom door.
Hell, I could use a shower, but it felt like the whole day had hit me all at once. My bones weighed a hundred pounds each, and I wanted nothing more than to flop into bed. Once I’d pulled my shoes back off, I slipped between the sheets and wrapped one arm around Liv’s middle, careful not to wake her. She still smelled like blood orange. I buried my face against the back of her neck and closed my eyes; at least, I thought, I had this.
