Protected Promise by Julie Trettel

Kaitlyn

Chapter 17

 

 

 

Talking through some things with Tobi had really helped me out. I already knew Landon was a great man but hearing my friend brag about him was like seeing him in a whole new light.

The bond between us was strengthening. I could feel his emotions as clearly as my own now. I suspected I was feeding off of them as we made love, completely sober, and it had been perfect. He hadn’t tried to rush me or dominate me in any way. He was patient and loving. Most importantly, I trusted him.

Trust certainly wasn’t something that came easy for me, but it had where Landon was concerned.

I awoke early the next morning drooling on his chest. I wasn’t even certain he’d moved throughout the night as he continued to hold me. It made me feel protected and cherished.

I kissed his chest loving the feeling of his naked body against mine.

I knew he wanted to leave early though, anxious to return home. It wasn’t easy, but I left him to seek out a shower.

By the time I was clean and dressed for the day, Landon was up making breakfast and laughing with Owen in the kitchen.

The sun was just rising over the city in a display of brilliant color.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“It’s amazing, right?” Owen asked. “I was never a morning person until I moved here. I just can’t get enough of this view.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Landon came out from behind the kitchen island that barely separated the area from the rest of the main living space. He wrapped his arms around my waist as we stood there just watching. I relaxed into him. Something in the night had changed things between us. That awkwardness was gone, replaced by simple awareness.

I was cognizant of Owen watching us closely.

“How long have you two been together?” he finally asked.

I shrugged. “Not long actually.”

“But long enough,” Landon added.

“I guess when you know, you know. I just hope that someday, I find a woman that looks at me the way she looks at you, and the way Tobi looks at Jackson. It’s like the rest of the world fades away and only the two of you remain. You’re a lucky man to find a love like that, Landon.”

Landon just grinned and nodded towards Owen. He didn’t deny it.

Love? It was too early for that, wasn’t it?

All I really knew was that after last night, I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face. My cheeks literally hurt from smiling so much. I wasn’t sure that was enough to call it love, but it also didn’t freak me out that Landon hadn’t tried to deny it. Instead, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and my smile grew even wider.

Tobi walked out looking like a hot mess. She practically growled in our direction. “Oh great. You two look disgustingly happy this morning. We aren’t talking about it. I do not want to know.”

“Someone didn’t get her beauty sleep. I warned you we were leaving early,” Landon reminded her.

Jackson followed her out and shrugged.

“This was your doing, wasn’t it?” Landon challenged with a chuckle

Jackson smirked. “It was worth it. You’ll survive.”

“Will I?” he asked.

Tobi smacked Landon. It still surprised me just how close the two of them were. I suppose I knew that, but seeing their interactions solidified it. I wondered if it bothered Jackson how much the two of them touched each other. I didn’t think Tobi even realized she did it. They were just that close and comfortable with each other.

While after last night my confidence had increased significantly, I couldn’t imagine regularly smacking an Alpha. In many ways the two of them seemed more like I’d always imagined siblings to behave.

“Get your things and say goodbye. We’re already packed, and I’d like to be back by tonight.”

“Yeah, fine. There better be coffee in my future though,” she grumbled.

Owen walked over to the kitchen and grabbed two to go cups filled with coffee. “I warned him you’d need it.”

Tobi rolled her eyes but moaned as she took her first sip.

“I don’t remember you being this addicted to coffee,” Landon challenged.

She just glared at him before turning to Owen and giving him a big hug. “Take care of him while he’s here.”

Jackson rolled his eyes.

“I will. Have a safe trip. I’ll send him back to you in about a week. And I hope to get up soon to take a look around at potential building sites.”

“Wow, things are moving quickly then,” Landon said. I could feel he was a little worried about something, but he smiled and shook Owen’s hand. “That’s great, really great.”

I said goodbye to Owen and thanked him for our stay. Then I headed for the elevator. Landon had already grabbed my stuff along with his. Jackson was carrying Tobi’s as he escorted her to the car.

I bit back a grin in the elevator as Tobi edged closer to Jackson. I could see the flash of panic in her eyes, but as long as she was touching her mate, she seemed able to stay just on the brink without going into a full blown anxiety attack.

“Breathe, Tobi. Just breathe,” Landon reassured her calmly.

“Almost there. You’ve got this,” Jackson cheered.

She noticeably relaxed when we hit the ground floor and the elevator doors opened.

“Thanks. I’ll never get used to that contraption,” she mumbled as she quickly got off the elevator.

Jackson and Landon shared a knowing look.

I let Landon lead the way to the parking garage to find his car. My stuff took up so much room that I had no idea how we were going to fit in Tobi and the extra luggage, but somehow Landon managed to repack things to accommodate us all.

“The space isn’t that big, but should be enough now,” he finally said.

“No worries. I’ll take it. I will probably just sleep the whole time anyway,” I confessed.

“Don’t be silly. I’ll take it. You sit up front with Landon,” Tobi insisted.

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind.”

“I’m sure.”

Before I could argue further, she opened the door behind the driver’s seat and turned to say goodbye to her mate.

“It’s only a week,” he reminded her.

“I know. I just hate being apart.”

My heart ached for her. I looked over to Landon as I studied him. How would I handle being away from him? In such a short time he was quickly becoming my everything. That was a little terrifying but thrilling at the same time.

To keep myself from gawking further, I gave a small wave to Jackson and slid into the passenger seat. Landon shook his hand and embraced him before joining me in the cab of the vehicle.

He reached for my hand like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Are you ready to go home, gorgeous?”

I smiled so big it hurt my cheeks. “I am,” I said confidently.

It took Tobi and Jackson a few more minutes and several kisses bordering on inappropriate for public before she finally slid into the back seat. He closed the door, blew her one final kiss, and we were on our way.

Of course I slept through most of the ride. I just couldn’t seem to stay awake in a moving vehicle.

“Are you happy?” I heard Tobi ask without opening my eyes.

“Yeah, I am.”

“She has her fair share of demons. I don’t really know all the details, but there’s a reason the doghouse protects her.”

“I know,” he said.

“But do you really know?” she pressed.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I know everything.”

“Good. I’m glad. She’s so sweet and if she can relax and open up to you then I know she’ll make a wonderful mate for you.”

“She is the perfect mate for me.”

Tobi snorted. “Well she is your one true mate, so I guess you’re right about that.”

“Do you think she’ll be happy in our Pack?” he asked, sounding so uncertain it nearly broke my heart.

“She’s definitely used to more than we have to offer, but I personally can’t imagine anyone not loving it there. It’s the best. You’re the best. She’s the lucky one. Plus, the Pack is growing because you’re an amazing Alpha.”

“So much praise today. You’re going to make my head swell.”

She laughed. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

“Just behave for once. I need to spend time getting Kaitlyn acclimated and catch up on Pack management. Dereck texted me this morning saying we have yet another offer for the corner lot along the highway.”

“Are you considering selling?”

“No. At least I don’t think I am.”

“If you allow Jackson a piece of property in that area to build his headquarters it’s only going to draw in even more interest.”

“I know, but I can’t see any benefit to giving up Pack land. We don’t need the money.”

“What about the buildings? Are the humans still pushing you to do something about those?”

“Yeah. That’s a constant battle. I don’t have the people or know-how to get them up to code though and as the law is written, they really can’t do anything about it except complain of the eyesore. So unless we get a large influx of new members migrating to Canada, then I don’t really have any motivation to do anything about it.”

“If they didn’t like it, they shouldn’t have run their road alongside it.”

“Do you think maybe we could convert one for Jackson’s company?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Landon sighed. “I should probably just tear them down. It just seems like a waste to do that.”

The car stopped and my eyes opened. We were pulled over along a highway staring at what looked like an old abandoned hotel. It was huge. If I had to guess it was probably built back in the 1800’s, but somewhere along the way it had to have been updated, or maybe it was just made to look like it was built back then. I couldn’t help it my mind was reeling with possibilities.

“Where are we?” I asked.

Landon looked over and smiled. “Home.”

“Don’t worry, this place hasn’t been used in our lifetime. Our actual housing is much better,” Tobi said with a snort.

Landon sighed. “I guess I should just have it torn down once and for all.”

“What?” I shrieked. “Why?”

He looked at me like I was crazy.

“There’s a local human commission that has been hardcore pushing for it to be removed. It’s at the point where I’ll need to get legal representation to fight them even though they really have no jurisdiction over my land. It’s just a headache and I don’t like humans sniffing around Pack land even if we don’t use this section due to its proximity to the city about forty minutes further north.”

“But it’s so beautiful,” I whispered.

Tobi scoffed. “It’s a dump.”

I bit my tongue. It really wasn’t my place to get involved, but I could see so much potential there and it broke my heart to think of it being torn down.

Landon squeezed my hand. “If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them.”

“Really?”

“Of course. But I promise, most of my territory is not so dilapidated. Would you like to see it?”

I nodded. “Wait, most of it? Does that mean there are more buildings like this?”

“Several,” Tobi said. “Landon and I used to sneak off and explore them as kids. Nothing infuriated his father more. He hated us coming so close to the border, but really we only made it this far one time. The others are scattered throughout the woods and much smaller, like large cabins. I’ve always wanted to remodel one to live in.”

Landon rolled his eyes. “I told you we’ll build closer to the Lodge.”

“There’s a Lodge?” I asked, starting to get even more excited.

“It’s the building we all live in,” Tobi explained. “It’s smaller than the one you just saw, but big enough for us all for now and definitely more up-to-date.”

I couldn’t wait to see it. There had always been something so exotic and romantic about hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, and even campgrounds to me. That was the biggest reason I’d chosen hospitality for my major. I wanted to be a part of that other world and live a vacation life. I knew I had romanticized the concept, but it still tugged at my heart.

Tobi rolled down the window when we turned off the highway onto a dirt packed road. She stuck her nose out the window and sniffed the air.

“Home,” she said with a happy sigh.

Landon grinned and squeezed my hand.

We drove for at least another half an hour through the woods before coming to a large clearing.

“Welcome home, Kaitlyn,” Landon said proudly.

I gasped. The clearing was even larger than I expected and looked like a well maintained park. From the way he had forewarned me I was expecting wild nature. That was fine too, and I could see it all around as we drove in, but right there in the heart of it all was a beautiful oasis.

In the midst of that was the Lodge. The large sign above the four story entrance even said as much.

The second the car came to a stop, I jumped out to look around. I was overwhelmed with giddy excitement. It was like a fairytale come true. Through my darkest times in life, I’d imagined being whisked away to just such a place and here I was.

“It’s perfect,” I whispered.

Landon wrapped an arm around me and smiled proudly.

Things got crazy quickly. A woman came running out of the front door waving her arms in the air as she ran up to me. Just before she threw her arms around me, she came to a sudden halt.

“You are not my daughter. Who the hell is this and where is my girl?” the woman snarled.

“Mom?” Tobi cried as she ran around the car to embrace the woman.

I was taken back by the hostility in the woman’s tone as she spoke to me. Until that moment I had hoped that everyone would be as welcoming and excited to have me as their Pack Mother as Tobi had been. That dream had been instantly shattered.

Why should any of them want me here? I was nobody to them. They didn’t know me and I seriously doubted they were just going to trust me. I was going to have to channel every bit of training I’d had to keep a positive face and let them warm up to me if Tobi’s mother was any indication of the rest of them.

A younger couple emerged and went to greet Landon while completely ignoring me.

“You’ve had a safe trip, I assume,” the man asked as others began filing out to see what was happening.

“I did. Thank you, Dereck. Kyle Westin sends his best regards. He is thrilled to hear how settled you and Mina are here.”

“I hope you gave him our best as well,” the woman beside Dereck said. I could only assume that was Mina.

“Dereck and Mina joined us a few years back migrating from Westin Pack. It was how I got to know Kyle and heard about the ARC,” he explained to me. “As well as a million other things. They’ve really helped to open doors for us that I never even imagined were possible.”

I was grateful that at least Landon hadn’t forgotten me amongst the commotion.

As he spoke to me, everyone around us became silent as they stared suddenly curious about the mysterious girl by their Alpha’s side.