She huffed again and threw her hands in the air. “You’re impossible. Just as stubborn as your father.”
I cracked a small smile as she stormed out of the room. Being compared to one of the best men I’d ever known was something I’d take as a compliment. Even if she hadn’t meant it that way.
Just as I was about to follow her, there was a knock on the door. I walked over and tentatively opened it to find the woman who’d let us into the lodge yesterday. I think her name was Audrey or something like that.
“Hello?” I said.
Her smile was wide as her light brown eyes raked the length of my body. I was in a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and I knew it was covered in sweat from the move. I felt a little self-conscious at being seen like this and a lot self-conscious at the way she was looking at me. Like I was an ice cream sundae or something.
“Hey there. Wes, is it?”
“No, I’m Wyatt.”
Her smile grew. “Even better. I was just coming over to say hi and welcome you to the pack. I live right over there,” she said, pointing to the next house over. “If you ever need anything, feel free to come ask.”
“Um. Okay. Thanks.”
“And if you’re not doing anything later, I’d love to cook you dinner. I’m sure you’ll be tired from your move and could use a good home cooked meal.”
“Oh. Um. Thanks, but I think I’ll just figure out something here with Wes.”
“He’s welcome too. The more the merrier.”
I was pretty sure she was talking about dinner, but the look in her eyes made me feel like it might be something else she was referring to. Either way, I was uninterested.
“Oh. Um,” I said again, stalling for a good way to get out of this invitation. I didn’t want to offend one of the first people I’d met in my new pack, but I wanted to have dinner with her even less.
The sound of a door closing from the house on the other side of us caught my attention and I turned to find a lanky man with strawberry blond hair making his way toward us.
“You must be one of the Carter’s. I’m Doc Monroe, it’s nice to meet you,” he said as he approached with a hand held out toward me.
“Yeah, I’m Wyatt. Thanks for stopping by.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He cast a quick glance at Audrey before turning to me again. “Shall we?”
“Yeah, of course.” With a glance back at the over-eager woman, I pasted on the most sympathetic smile I could. “Thanks for the offer, Audrey, but I’m going to have to pass tonight. Maybe some other time.”
Her smile dimmed the smallest bit. “It’s Aubrey.”
“Right! Sorry, Aubrey. Thanks again. I’ll see you around.”
With that, I ushered the doctor into the house and closed the door behind me. It was less than convenient that her house was right next door, but I guess that was a small price to pay for getting to live here.
“Mom, this is Doc Monroe, the one Abraham said he’d send over to take a look at you. Doc, this is my mom, Nora. Thanks again for coming to see her.”
He reached out and shook Mom’s hand gently, the smile wide on his freckled face. “It’s my pleasure. Nora, let’s have a seat and talk a little bit about what’s going on with you. It’s been a while since I’ve treated someone who doesn’t turn into a giant wolf on the full moon, but I did go to traditional medical school and I’m positive I can help.”
My shoulders slumped with relief as Mom and the doctor headed into the kitchen to talk. It was like another load had been lifted off me and I felt lighter than ever. This really felt like the start of something great. Like Wes and I might get to relax for once. Like our mom might have an opportunity to get better finally. It seemed like the Asheville pack was exactly where we were meant to be.
Chapter 4
Wyatt
I stood in front of the mirror in my room as I analyzed myself. Unsatisfied with what I saw, I growled under my breath and pulled the shirt over my head. I turned to my closet and began the search for a suitable replacement when there was a knock on my door.
“Hey, I thought you’d be ready by now,” Wes said as he walked into my room uninvited.
“I’m just trying to find something to wear,” I called, my head still in the closet.
“Looks like you’ve gone through half your clothes already, Barbie. What’s the deal?”
I pulled my head out and shot him a narrow-eyed look. “Mind your business.”
Wes crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against my dresser. I shook my head and turned around again to grab another shirt off a hanger. I pulled it on and started buttoning it, doing my best to ignore my annoying brother, but that was hard to do when I could still see his reflection in the mirror.
“This,” he said, pointing at the pile of discarded shirts, “isn’t like you. What’s going on?”
I shrugged. “Abraham’s introducing us to the pack tonight. Don’t you want to look nice?”
Wes scoffed. “I always look nice.”
I rolled my eyes and did my best to ignore him again, but I could feel his dark gaze on me.
“There’s something more going on here. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll find out eventually.”
I shook my head. “You do that.” Wes continued to watch me until there was a knock on the front door. “That’s probably Beatrice.”
Wes pushed off the dresser and strolled out of my room. “I’m not done with this conversation.”
I rolled my eyes again. He was so dramatic sometimes. As soon as he was gone, I shut the door behind him so I could concentrate on what I was doing.
Wes was right. I wasn’t usually like this. Normally, I barely gave any thought to what I wore no matter the occasion, but for some reason, I did today.
Okay, it wasn’t just for some reason. It was one reason in particular. One woman in particular.
I hadn’t seen Callista again since we were introduced to her after that first meeting with Abraham and I’d barely been able to stop thinking about her. I’d all but convinced myself that I’d imagined how powerful that first encounter had been. There was just no way someone who’d only made eye contact with me for a few seconds could have that kind of effect on me.
I was determined to see her again and prove to myself that she was just like everyone else. That there was nothing special about her and I’d made it out to be so much more in my head.
But just in case it was real, it wouldn’t hurt to look my best, right?
With a sigh, I realized the plaid button-up shirt and decent-looking jeans was about the best I was going to do. It wasn’t a secret that money had been tight in the past and that meant luxuries like new clothes had been far down on the list. Things like affording Mom’s prescriptions always came first, and in the past, that had taken most of our income to do. Hopefully, things would be different here, though.
A couple days after we moved in, we’d finally gotten the chance to try out for the enforcers and thankfully, Beatrice had welcomed us both onto the force. It was a relief to know that, not only would we be doing something we both loved, but that we’d have the kind of income we’d only dreamed about. That we’d finally be able to afford to take care of Mom like we wanted and even have some left over to put into savings at the end of the month. It took a huge load off our shoulders and we were both feeling lighter than ever.