Soul Mate by Roxie Ray
Cal
“So I was thinking—” Liv stopped abruptly, glancing over at the door. Her brows dipped downwards. “Someone is here.”
I could already feel some of the boneless relaxation slipping away from me as I followed her gaze, pulling myself off the small loveseat we’d rescued from another couple a few cottages down. It was a bit… well-worn, you might say, but it was as nice as anything I’d sat on in the past few years. If you looked past the fading fabric, it was almost charming.
And it was clean, at least.
I was halfway to the door when someone knocked, letting themselves in without hesitation. I half expected to see Maren waltz in; that seemed to be one of her signature moves. Instead, my father shuffled in, shoulders hunched, and closed the door behind him. I stiffened, glancing over at my mate, but Liv seemed just as surprised to see him.
He glanced up, thick brows furrowing together as his eyes shifted from me to Liv, who was curled up on the couch in one of my tees and a pair of boxers. We didn’t exactly have clothes to spare in this place, but she never wore my clothing outside of our home, so I didn’t see the harm in it.
Apparently, David didn’t feel the same way. His mouth twisted and immediately, I found my skin prickling. “What do you want?” I growled, folding my arms over my chest.
“Can I speak to you a moment, son?” His gaze flickered over my shoulder for a moment. “Alone.”
I could hear Liv shifting behind me. “Nope,” I replied, not giving her the chance to permit the obnoxious behavior. “Whatever you need to say can be said to both of us.” When he didn’t say anything, I shifted my weight and shrugged one shoulder. “She’s my mate, Dad.” Never mind that she was, you know, the fucking alpha, but one step at a time. “You’re going to have to get used to it.”
For a moment, I thought the man was going to argue; all the fight left him with a sigh, his shoulders sagging again. He shrugged and continued. “Your mother and I are going to be leaving. I’m not a pack wolf, not anymore. There’s way too much going on here.”
I blinked, momentarily taken aback by the suggestion. Thankfully, Liv spoke up. “What about Christine? Isn’t she still healing? I know it’s chaotic here, but it’s not safe to leave if she’s not healthy yet,” she reasoned, her voice carefully neutral.
“Right.” I gave a firm nod. “You can’t drag her out of here. Sorry this isn’t your quiet little sanctuary anymore,” I bit out, unable to keep my temper from rising. “But not everything is about you, you know. There’s a war coming.” What did my mother think about all this, anyway? Had she agreed, or was this something David Meyers had come up with all on his own? “Where is she? Where’s Mom?”
“I’m not dragging her anywhere,” my father grumbled, folding his arms over his chest in a mirror of my stance. “You’ve met her. That woman has a mind of her own – and she’s damn stubborn. That’s exactly why I need to get her out of here. A war is coming, and I’m not about to have her tangled up in it.”
“So you aren’t going to let your mate, who is a grown-ass woman and someone you let believe you were dead the last fifteen years, by the way, get tangled up in a war, but it’s perfectly fine for your son to get roped into the same thing with only a farewell.” I gave a short nod, grinding my molars together. My wolf stirred and growled softly; my spine prickled with shared agitation. “Good to know where I fucking stand, old man.”
“It’s not like that,” David tried to argue. “Look, son, you have Liv. You two both get along with these wolves. They respect you. It might not have been these exact individuals, but wolves just like them that ran me out of the Bridgehaven pack. I just can’t trust them.”
I threw up my hands; I was getting animated. I knew that. I just didn’t care, either. “Yeah, wolves just like them that harassed the shit out of me and my mother after you disappeared,” I bit back, pointing a finger at him. “You aren’t the only one with baggage here, but you’re the only one I hear whining about it!”
“Cal,” Liv finally murmured, her elegant brows lifted slightly. I glanced behind me. She still hadn’t unfolded herself from the couch, but her attention was fixed on me wholly. It was no surprise she caught my mood; the anger was practically rolling off of me in sheets. When our eyes met, I felt something connect.
“You need to calm down,” she told me, her voice level and soothing. I’d never heard her speak like that before, to me, or anyone else, for that matter. “Your father might be acting immature right now, but that doesn’t mean you have to stoop to his level.”
“But, Liv…” I huffed, momentarily torn between my two options.
She shook her head. “Settle.”
I felt compelled to be calm…or maybe shouting and pointing fingers just suddenly seemed far less appealing. I wasn’t sure. I blinked, and after another breath, I settled back down. I stood a little straighter and regarded my father coolly, my wolf silent but attentive. The look of shock on David’s face was sort of satisfying, I had to admit. “No one is going anywhere until we talk to Mom about this, too,” I explained, raising a single brow. “And no more hiding.”
My father looked like he wanted to argue and Liv spoke back up. “If Christine is going with you, then Cal has a right to know where you settle and choose to live. If you move again after that, you will tell him. He deserves to visit his mother and know she’s safe.”
Man, my mate was so smart sometimes. Even arguing with David, she knew exactly how to make an argument even he couldn’t deny. And boy, my dad looked real annoyed about it, but he finally gave a single nod. “Fine. Before we go, we’ll all meet and discuss the plan,” he agreed, turning towards the door. It hadn’t escaped my notice that he hadn’t actually acknowledged Liv’s role in mediation, but she seemed content to watch him slink out our front door.
“Well, that was…”I trailed off, dragging my hands over my face. I had no idea what that was, really. Even if I felt calmer now, I was still unhappy with my father’s decisions; it had been, what, three weeks since I’d discovered he was still alive? Four? Across all of that, all we’d done was argue. David Meyers of the institute was nothing like I remembered my dad. “Ugh.”
Liv pressed her lips together, summoning me back over with one hand. I sighed and dropped my hands to my sides, retreating to flop on the second cushion with a heavy sigh. I tipped over, leaning against her warmth as I rested my head against her shoulder. She wrapped one arm around me and squeezed me tight. “I’m sorry, Cal,” she said.
“Not your fault.”
“I know.” She bent over to press her lips to the top of my head. “But I’m still sorry it worked out this way.”
I sat in silence for a moment, content to simply bask in my mate’s presence. The alpha power had been fleeting at best, but just being near her made me feel better. The scent of oranges made me calmer. I might have even debated simply going to sleep; my stomach decided that exact moment was the right one to growl. Loudly. I snorted and Liv giggled, curling against me. “Hungry?” she teased.
“What do you think?” I grumbled, trying to hide a smile. It was a pointless effort. I untangled myself from her, stretching as I ambled over to our tiny makeshift kitchen. Before my father had let himself in, I had promised to cook my mate dinner. It had been a while since I’d cooked anything, but I used to make a meal now and then for my mother. Admittedly, I’d never used a hotplate before, but it didn’t seem that complicated. It was just like a single burner; all it required was a little more planning.
Liv followed me over a few moments later. “Need any help?” she offered, almost bumping into me.
I laughed. “The most helpful thing you can do for me is sit on the couch. This kitchen is tiny.” When she hesitated, I gave a little shooing motion. “Liv. I said I’d make you dinner. I’m going to make you dinner. Go sit down.”
Thankfully, I had actually thought of this ahead of time; I had to, in order to ask Corin to add the ingredients to the shopping list. She called it a shopping list, anyway, but I’d never seen anyone come or go to the store. Either way, she got me everything I needed for eggs in tomato sauce. It was one of my mother’s favorites, and probably far fancier than anything Liv might think I was capable. I was looking forward to surprising her.
It tookme a bit longer than normal to put together dinner, but given there was only one burner, I felt I could be forgiven. I grabbed both plates and called to Liv. “Hey, babe? Can you get the door? I figured we could eat outside.”
My mate appeared a moment later. “Isn’t there only one chair out there?”
When I just raised an eyebrow, she gave me a curious look and retreated to the door to let us both outside. “Oh!” she said. I knew exactly what she was looking at, even as I grabbed forks to meet her outside. I’d rounded up a second chair the day before, and Erik had promised to bring it over today after training. Despite first impressions, he was a pretty good guy. Reliable. Even though I’d left training early, he brought the chair over, just as he said. (And quietly enough that Liv hadn’t even noticed him do it.
“Well, go on,” I laughed, motioning towards one of the chairs. “Sit down.”
Liv picked the new one, sitting down and wiggling for good measure. The chair didn’t move an inch and she beamed. “This is pretty comfy!” she said, gently taking one of the bowls from my hands. “You know, as far as porch furniture goes. For our not-porch.”
I shrugged and sat down next to her, tasting my creation. It was exactly the way I remembered it. It brought a smile to my face and I sat back, content to simply eat and enjoy the late summer evening with Liv. She was quiet for a minute, save for the clink of silverware against plate and the occasional pleased hum. She didn’t need to say anything; I knew she liked it, because I could feel the quiet contentment in our bond the same way you might feel springtime sunshine on your bare skin.
“We could build a patio,” Liv suggested, setting her empty bowl on the ground next to us.
“Hm?” I looked over, not exactly following.
She pointed at the dirt beneath our feet. “A patio. I don’t think a porch would make much sense here, but we could make a little stone patio for our chairs. It’s nice eating out here with you,” Liv explained, the side of her mouth tipping up.
My mouth twitched. “I’m surprised you aren’t looking for a bigger place to move in to.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “I might be a little vain, but I’m not greedy.” She stuck out her tongue. “Besides, I…I really, really like it here. You can hear the crickets at night. We know most of our neighbors. I wouldn’t mind staying here a while and making it a little more our own.”
My smirk gave way to a softer expression and I gave a little nod. “If you want a patio, I’ll build a patio.”
Liv shook her head. “I said we. We’ll build a patio, Cal. Together.”
I paused for a moment, and I reached out to take her hand in mine. I gave a little squeeze. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot, actually.” For a moment, it was like we were just two regular people, living regular lives in a regular town, with no worries except whether it might rain tomorrow.
Liv beamed and my chest tightened. “I’d like that too, Cal. I’d like that too.”
