Chapter Nineteen

Bree slipped out before I woke, and by the time lunch rolled around, I was sick with worry. She hadn’t left a note, and she hadn’t called. When I tried to reach her, my calls immediately went to voicemail. It was as though she was avoiding me all over again.

“That isn’t true,” I scolded myself, pressing my palms to either side of the kitchen sink as I collected my thoughts.

She had to work, this much I knew, and after spending most of the night talking to Bree as a human and while wearing her pelt, I’d nodded off. She probably didn’t want to wake me. However, if that was the case, why hadn’t she left a note? Why didn’t she answer my calls?

As nerves bunched in the pit of my stomach, I resisted the urge to drive into town after her and busied myself around the house instead. Everywhere I looked, I saw Bree. She was sitting in her gown on the sofa. Her wolf was standing in the hall. And as soon as I reached my room, I could see both of them perched on the edge of the bed.

She belonged here just as much as anywhere else. I’d imagined her in my bed before, but never like this. Not with one leg crossed over the other with her hair down and definitely not as a wolf.

But the images fit. They both did. As much as I would’ve loved to have met Bree in another life, there was no denying how right everything felt. Bree. As a wolf. In my house.

I shook my head and couldn’t help the smile on my face. Just as her wolf had placed warm images in my mind about Jackson, I hoped she did the same with him when it came to me. Would he be pleased? Would he be as thrilled as we both were? Or would he turn his back and run?

“Maybe that’s what happened.” Maybe she went to tell him, and when he freaked out, she didn’t have enough time to do anything else.

That became an even greater possibility when she didn’t call back.

“She’ll call,” I said to myself as I worked on my lunch.

Even if it took all day, I knew she’d call back.

 

 

Spending the afternoon beside the phone reminded me of my time as a teen. I forgot just how unnerving it was, and by the time the phone rang, I couldn’t stand the thought of eating.

“Hey, sorry I missed your call,” Bree said in a hurried voice. “Battery was dead, and Jackson left his at home just like he always does.”

Releasing a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, I said, “That’s okay. I was afraid you shared the good news with Jackson and he ran off. I was going to offer to help, but when you didn’t pick up, I didn’t feel right leaving a message in case someone else got a hold of your phone.”

“Thank you for that,” she said with relief in her voice. “As for Jackson, I haven’t said anything yet.”

“What?” Why not? Was she embarrassed? Was she having second thoughts?

“Calm your mind,” Bree said, “I can sense your fretting over the phone.”

“Really?” Could she do that?

“No,” she said, “ but it would be cool if I could, huh?”

“With the amount of fretting I do?” I blew out a breath. “You’d get anxiety.”

She laughed at that, the softness of her voice easing the few nerves I had left in my stomach. “As for my brother, I thought we might tell him together. How about when we run? That is coming up, after all.”

“It is,” I agreed, “but what if he gets upset?”

“I don’t think he will.” She sounded so sure of herself, but I couldn’t share her confidence.

“How come?”

“Because this makes you more of a wolf than ever before. Trust me, by the end of the week, we’ll be one big happy family. Or you’ll be part of the pack, at least. It’s about time you met his wolf.”

Did she mean—

“If you can hear my wolf, chances are you’ll be able to hear him as well.”

My heart skipped at that. “And if I can’t?”

“Then I guess that particular gift is just for me. Talk to you soon?”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.

“I’ll drop by later once we’ve eaten and had a good run. I can tell him if you’d like, but I feel like this is something we should share together.”

Considering just how much I cared about the role Jackson played in her life, I had to agree. “I’ll see you soon.”

With that, I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He doesn’t know. Bree hadn’t told him yet and wouldn’t do so unless I was there.

Knowing just how uncomfortable I was when it came to keeping secrets, not telling Jackson or Greta about our bond would be close to impossible. The longer Bree asked me to wait, the harder it was for me to keep our truth a secret.

I fully understood her need for secrecy, but not telling my sister was becoming too painful for me to stand. Yes, she knew we were dating, but there was so much I wanted to tell her. Things like how beautiful Bree looked in her pelt, how graceful she moved, and how attentive she was even when she couldn’t speak.

Regardless of my promise to Bree, I was about to break.

 

 

“I need to tell her.”

Bree hadn’t even made it through the front door before the words passed over my lips.

“Hello to you too,” she said with a smile, leaning in to kiss me on the lips.

“I’ve kept your secret,” I said as she joined me in the living room, “but I can’t keep lying to her. She has a right to know.”

“She does.”

“I know it might put you at risk but… you agree with me?” I wasn’t expecting that.

“You’ve been patient, and the fact my wolf can speak to you as though you’re one of our own, I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about. Just make sure you’re ready,” she said, sitting beside me on the sofa so I was in her arms.

“Ready?” For what? I wanted to ask, but looking at her then with concern in her eyes, I knew.

For the backlash. For the reaction I wanted that might never come. Greta as over the moon about my relationship with Bree, but there were so many things I hadn’t told her, so many things I had to unload until I could even begin to share everything about Bree.

“Where do I even start?” I asked Bree as well as myself.

“Where we all do,” she said, lifting my chin with her hand. “At the beginning.”

I’d planned on calling Greta myself once Bree was gone, but when she offered to stay around for emotional support, I didn’t argue. No matter how the call went, I knew I’d be overwhelmed. Having Bree or her wolf there to hold me up was probably best, especially once Greta picked up and my heart beat loud enough for anyone else to hear.

“Hey,” Greta said in a groggy voice, “you’re calling a day early. Is everything okay?”

“Yup,” I managed, swallowing when my voice refused to work.

“You don’t sound okay,” my sister said with a touch of concern in her voice. “Is this about Bree?”

Anymore, when were our talks not about her? Keeping the thought to myself, I forced a smile, then said, “It is, but it isn’t what you think. There’s something I need to tell you. A lot of things, actually.”

“Oh my god. She proposed, didn’t she?” My sister squealed on the other side of the line and would’ve blown out my eardrum if I hadn’t moved the phone away in time. “I mean, it’s a little early but—”

“That isn’t it,” I said before I could lose the little courage I had left. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Well it isn’t like you’re pregnant,” my sister said with a nervous laugh.

One of which I shared. “That would be very weird.”

“Yeah, unless you got with her brother.”

I coughed around my surprise and hid my face which was burning hot. “I care for Jackson,” I said, “but not like that. You might want to sit down for this.”

“Um, okay.” Once she did, she said, “So, if it isn’t bad and she didn’t propose, what’s so important that you had to call me this late at night? Shouldn’t you be in bed? You wake up before dawn, don’t you?”

“Sometimes, yes, but that isn’t important. Look, this is going to sound crazy, so just sit and listen. Everything will make sense in the end.”

For the next hour, I told Greta everything. From the wolf I first spotted outside of town to the one standing in my front yard, I let it all out.

“…so that’s where we are now,” I said once I was through. “What do you think? It isn’t crazy, right? We’ve seen other situations like this on the site before.”

“Well, yeah, but… Bree? Really?” Greta blew out a long breath. “I mean, I don’t really know her, but… how long have you known? Did you know before you were coming home? Did her wolf attack you?”

“No, it wasn’t anything like that. That’s why she kept her distance, remember?”

I’d just told her everything, but apparently, she hadn’t heard it all. No doubt she got caught on the parts about a wolf attacking the house and again about Jackson’s injuries. At least, that’s what I would’ve done.

“Right. Right,” Greta mumbled on the other side of the line. “I’m sorry, it’s just a lot to process.”

“You’re telling me.” I’d had a few days to work things over in my head, and I still wasn’t firmly planted on the ground.

Then, in pure Greta fashion, she said, “I told you she was special.”

“That you did.”

If only we’d known just how right she truly was.

“So, when do I get to see her?”

“Who? Bree?”

“Her wolf.”

I laughed at that. “That’s up to her and when you’re coming out here to visit.”

“I can be on a plane next week.” Knowing her, she already had the websites open on her laptop.

“Let me talk things over with her and Jackson first, but we’ll get together soon. I promise.”

“We’d better. We have so much to talk about.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm, then went through our usual routine whenever it came to ending a call. “Yes, I love you too. I’ll call you as soon as I know. Okay. Bye.”

Once I hung up, Bree was waiting for me, batting her long lashes in my direction before I’d even had the chance to breathe.

“I take it things went well,” she said as she took the phone away from me, setting it aside before meeting my gaze again.

“It did.” Better than that if I was completely honest with myself. “She wants to meet you.”

“That’s cool.”

“And your wolf.”

Bree winced at that. “That might be a little more complicated.”

“Which was what I told her, but we can figure that out before she visits.”

“Which is when exactly?”

“Whenever we’re ready.”

“Week after next?” Bree offered. “That way, we’ll have enough time to bond and sit with Jackson. I don’t want to jump him with too much at once.”

That made sense. “The week after next it is.”

As anxious as I was to see my sister, I worried about Jackson even more. Would he accept an outsider visiting their territory even if she was related?

I guess we’re about to find out.