Casper and I spent the night getting to know each other’s bodies until the point of exhaustion. Since I’m not on the schedule at the resort until later in the week and I don’t have to be at the ranger station for a shift until tomorrow afternoon, I’ve decided to take Casper on a little hike into the woods, where I can let him meet my panther and we can have a picnic. Jesse and Dwayne are following us at a discreet distance so, we’ll have privacy while still being protected. Casper’s phone has been eerily silent since the phone call last night, which has us all on edge.

As I step over a fallen log, I feel a twinge in my ass that has me grinning. After I claimed him fully last night, Casper expressed an interest in topping so, I let him have me. It felt so good, I know we’ll be taking turns often. Once we reach the clearing next to the river, I put down my backpack and begin unpacking the food trying not to blush as I remember the conversation, I had with my mother this morning before I asked her to make it for us.

Mom is the only one in the kitchen, when I walk in and as I make myself a cup of coffee and take a sip, she says, “Have a nice chat with god?”

Spewing coffee everywhere, I feel my face go red as I cough and sputter, “You heard that?”

She grins at me and says, “Honey, I think the whole neighborhood heard that.”

Stuttering out an apology, I say, “I hope Layla didn’t hear that.”

“You know how she is, a nuclear bomb could go off and that girl still wouldn’t wake up. Now, I know you didn’t come up here just to steal some coffee, what do you need?”

“I want to take Casper out for a picnic, can you make us something?”

“Of course, I can. Now, there’s two plates of breakfast in the fridge, why don’t you heat them up and go eat with your mate. When you’re done, bring the dishes back up and I’ll have a picnic basket ready for you.”

Once I’ve pulled out all the food, I put it all on a section of the blanket Casper has spread out, then take a seat next to him. Picking up a bowl, I take the lid off and keep going until everything is uncovered. Handing Casper a drink and a plate I let him pick what he wants to eat before grabbing a plate and serving myself. We eat in silence, enjoying each other’s company and the sounds of nature around us. Hearing the familiar crunch of leaves and twigs under someone’s boots, has me on alert. Jesse and Dwayne wouldn’t be making that much noise. I should know, since I could barely hear them following us, which means, someone else is coming towards us. Make that two someone’s. There’s a second set of footsteps a little ways behind the first.

It could just be a couple of hikers, but I refuse to take that chance. Nudging Casper gently, I say, “Text Jesse and Dwayne, let them know someone is heading our way but don’t intercept until we know who it is.”

He nods and pulls out his phone, typing quickly. At the exact moment, his phone pings with an incoming response, a man stumbles out of the trees and turns towards us. Feeling Casper stiffen beside me, I have a feeling that the man in front of us is Bill. He looks a bit worse for wear, like he’s been sleeping outside for a while. Standing, I pull Casper with me but put myself between him and Bill.

Bill begins stalking towards us, and says, “You little prick, do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me? I’ve had to camp outside for weeks waiting for an opportunity for you to be alone. I’m sick of it. So, here’s what you’re going to do, you little piss ant. You’re going to come with me to the bank, and you’ll transfer all your money to me, then before I kill you, I’ll have one final go at your tight ass.”

Growling, I say, “You’ll have to get through me first.”

Before he can come any closer or say anything else, a woman runs out of the woods and stops in front of Bill. She raises her hand, points a gun at him, and says, “You stay away from my boy!”

Glancing at Casper, I see his wide-eyed expression. “Mom? What are you doing here?”

She doesn’t turn towards us because it would give Bill a chance to take the gun from her. “I’m here to protect you. Before you say anything, I know what I did to you was wrong and I’ll explain everything later once I’ve taken care of the trash.”

Bill shouts, “Get out of my way, whore! I lost everything because of that brat. He owes me!”

“No, you lost everything because of you and your sick ways. Casper doesn’t owe you anything. In fact, for what you did, you should be paying him. Or you could go to jail, I’m pretty sure there is no statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.”

Casper is staring at his mom in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing like a fish because he’s unsure of what to say. With a roar, Bill charges forward, pulling a knife from his belt. “No! He owes me!”

The crack of a gunshot rings through the clearing and Bill drops to the ground in front of Casper’s mom. Casper flinches at the noise and buries his face in my shirt. The sound of the gun being fired is what has Jesse and Dwayne racing towards us. When they reach us, they take in the scene and after making sure no one is hurt, Dwayne places a phone call to the authorities. Since it isn’t hunting season, the gunshot will have roused suspicions so, we can’t just call someone to dispose of the body. Once the police arrive, we give our statements, and the sheriff deems it a classic case of self-defense. As soon as the Coroner removes the body, Casper and I head home, with Jesse, Dwayne, and his mother following close behind.

Back at my apartment, I prepare coffee for Casper, myself, and his mother. Jesse and Dwayne have gone back to their homes for some much-needed rest since there isn’t a need for them to watch the house twenty-four seven anymore now that Bill is dead. Carrying the mugs to the table, I place one in front of Casper and his mom and keep the third for myself. Taking a seat next to Casper, I take his hand in mine as a silent show of support.

Casper’s mom takes a sip of her coffee and says, “I said I’d explain, so listen up. I don’t have an excuse for what I did to you. The only thing I can say is I was under the influence of god knows how many drugs at the time and had I been sober, I would’ve seen the what was happening instead of lashing out at you in anger when I should’ve been lashing out at Bill for cheating on me.”

Casper opens his mouth to say something, probably along the lines of it wasn’t consensual but she holds up a hand and says, “Let me finish. Bill disappeared after I kicked you out. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was seeing another woman who had a son a bit younger than you. When Bill did the same thing to him, he went to the police and Bill was charged. He spent seven years in jail before he got out. I don’t know why he blamed you. The only thing I can think of is that it had something to do with the other boy who came forward but chose to remain anonymous. Maybe Bill assumed that boy was you, I don’t know. What I do know, is he’s been looking for you ever since. But, I’m getting off track.”

She takes another sip of coffee and continues, “Bill was my supplier. Every time he’d come over, he’d bring me drugs. When he disappeared, I had no way of getting them on my own and because of that, I sobered up. It was like a fog had been lifted and I didn’t remember a lot of things at first. It took me two weeks to get back to myself fully. By then, I still hadn’t remembered much and because I had been detoxing, I never left my room. It was luck that I managed to avoid dying of dehydration. One morning, after showering for the first time in weeks and feeling my appetite return, I made breakfast.”

Tears fill her eyes as she tells us what happened next. “It was a Monday, so I went into your room to wake you for school, only you were gone. I was suddenly hit with the memory of what happened only this time I had a clear head and could see the situation for what it was. Then, I remembered what I had done. So, I started looking for you. When I didn’t find you around town I went to the police for help. But, when they found out I’d kicked you out at sixteen, I was charged with child abandonment and spent a year on probation so, I couldn’t leave the state. By the time I was free to look for you again, you were long gone, and I had no idea where to start my search. When Bill got out, he came straight to me looking for you. I managed to get him to leave once I told him you’d never been back after I kicked you out. I thought that would be the end of it, but he stayed around town and word that he was looking for you spread. Then, your lottery win made the papers and I knew he’d be coming after you, so I followed and here we are.”

She moves from her chair and circles the table, getting on her knees next to Casper’s seat and taking his hand. “Casper, I am so sorry for the way I treated you. I failed as a mother. It was my job to protect you and I didn’t. Your father would be furious if he were still alive. I can just bet he was rolling in his grave when I kicked you out that day. I’m not here for your money and I don’t expect you to forgive me any time soon, but I would like to be part of your life, if you’ll have me.”

Casper’s eyes are filled with pain, when he says, “You hurt me deeply when you didn’t come to my defense that day. I lived on the streets for years because I couldn’t get a job or find a place to live and the shelters were always full. I’m certainly not in a place to forgive you and it’ll take a lot more than an apology to get there, but if you’re willing to be patient and take this one step at a time, then I’m willing to try.”

“That’s more than I could’ve hoped.”

She stands and says, “I booked a motel room so, I’ll still be in town for a little while. We can get together and catch up if you like.”

He nods and says, “Sure.”

She grabs a notepad and a pen from the counter where I left it and says, “Alright then, I’ll get out of your hair. I’ve written my cell phone number down so, you can call me whenever you’d like to meet up.”

With a wave, she leaves and Casper sighs. Putting my arm around him, I press a kiss to his forehead and say, “How about a nice hot bath and a relaxing massage? It’s been a long day, and I think you could use the distraction.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Come on then love, let’s get you pampered.”

He laughs and says, “You spoil me.”

“Always. It’s what mates are for.”

“You know something, I think I might be closer to forgiving my mom than I thought.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I mean, if she never kicked me out, I wouldn’t have ended up living on the streets in Rockydale. I wouldn’t have gotten that job at the gas station that led me to a billion-dollar lottery win. I wouldn’t have built my resort or hired people to work there and ultimately, I never would’ve met you. So, I think I’m closer to forgiving her than I thought, because despite everything that happened and how much it hurt, I wouldn’t change it because if I did, I wouldn’t have you. You are my light at the end of the tunnel. The one thing I’d die a thousand deaths just to keep.”

Wrapping my arms around him, I pull him against me and hold on tight. “I love you too sweetheart, but no more talk of dying, okay?”

He grins at me and says, “Who said anything about love?”

Grinning, I wink at him and say, “You’d die a thousand deaths to keep me? That sure sounds like a love confession to me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Challenge accepted.”

“Challenge? What challenge?”

“The challenge to get you to admit you love me.”

“Oh? And if you lose this challenge?”

“I won’t.”

“But if you do…”

“It’s not even a question, sweetheart. I’ll get you to admit it. Maybe not today. Maybe not a month from now. But, one day, I will get you to say it. It’s only a matter of time.”

“And what will you do when I say it?”

“You’ll find out when that day comes.”

“Damn…”

Poking him in the chest, I grin and say, “And don’t even think about saying it when you don’t feel it just to find out exactly what I’ll do. Shifters can scent a lie, just so you know.”

“Well, that’ll make for some tough secret keeping.”

“Mates don’t have secrets.”

“So, if I want to plan you a surprise party for your birthday, it can’t be a surprise?”

“Nope. Besides, I hate surprises.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m lots of fun, just not in the way you want.”

“Oh? Care to share?”

“Get your ass in the tub and you’ll find out.”

With a two-finger salute, he races into the bathroom stripping out of his clothes as he goes. Laughing at his antics, I follow him at a more sedate pace, picking up his clothes from the floor so, we don’t trip over them later. When I walk into the bedroom, I hear the bath running. Dropping his clothes on the chair, I walk over to the drawer and grab the clip that I put over my nose when swimming, so water doesn’t go up my nostrils. Grinning to myself, I head into the bathroom and strip out of my clothes ready to show my mate just how fun I can be. I currently hold the record for longest amount of time spent underwater on a single breath which is perfect for underwater blow-jobs. My record is fifteen minutes but I’m pretty sure I can bring him off in three.

Challenge accepted.