Fighting for her Mate: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (Sassy Mates Book 5) (2 page)

TWO

Caleb downed his bottled beer in two long gulps, then slammed it against the scratched but clean table at Aric’s club, the Wolf Den. Tristan had gathered him along with all his sons for a pre-dinner meeting, men only.

“Hey, go lightly there, Caleb,” Aric said. “The tables aren’t new, but they’re in pretty good shape for as many brawls as they’ve seen.”

Caleb let out a frustrated sigh. “Sorry, man. I’m just so…” A thousand thoughts jumbled in his head, each vying for dominance.

“Let me guess,” Mason said, sitting to Caleb’s side, “you’re worried your mate, our sister, will do something dumb like sisters tend to do.”

Aric immediately laughed. “Remember that time she filled a straw with mayonnaise, then stuck it in a vanilla milkshake and gave it to Nate?” Among loud laughs, Nate scowled.

“Yeah, I don’t drink vanilla shakes to this day. It was gross. But I got her back. One day when she was gone, I turned all the boy-band posters on her wall upside down. She thought a poltergeist was in her room.” He joined the hilarity.

“Mason, do you remember when she put dog food in your Cocoa Puffs?” Jake slapped the table, howling. “I thought I’d pee my pants seeing your reaction.”

Caleb asked, “Why would she do that?”

Jake confessed for Mason. “Ellie used to watch some cartoon every afternoon. She loved that show and would throw a fit when she couldn’t watch it. So one day, Mason took the remote control and hid behind the couch. He kept changing the channel back and forth until she ran out crying for dad to fix the TV.”

Mason laughed. “How did she find out I did it?”

Tristan cleared his throat. “She dragged me into the living room, then picked up the remote on the sofa cushion and sniffed it. She must’ve smelled your scent on the remote.”

Caleb snickered. His Ellie was not just strong of mind and body, but personality and judgment. She stood up for what was right and never backed down when someone needed her help. “And if she were here, she’d kick all your asses for talking about her.” The group quieted, the music from the speakers taking over the barroom corner.

Aric tapped his bottle on the table. “Caleb, I hate to be the one to say this, but it needs to be said.”

Caleb’s body became rigid. Fuck, he’d been waiting for this. Trying to figure out how to get his pack back on his own wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped. “Go on.”

“This matter with the rogues and vamps is getting out of hand. I’m not blaming you, but the next time Rocco impedes on our people, we’re taking him down.”

He let out a frustrated growl. “We can’t wait for the perfect time, man. Our women have been attacked multiple times, but we can’t pin it directly on your uncle, so we’re staying out of it until we do have evidence.” Aric squeezed the beer bottle. “We know he’s a low life, but he’s got bigger low lives working for him. We need to catch him in the act and stop all this.”

Caleb looked up, a questioning expression on his face. “Who else would do your family harm?”

“First of all,” Jake started, “the pack from Las Vegas. We haven’t heard a thing from them, but that won’t last. There’s got to be some retribution for killing their alpha, even though he did attack my mate.” Jake’s lips lifted in a slow grin. “I’m not saying Nic killing him wasn’t bad, but damn, for her to take out an Alpha after being just turned…let’s just say I’m proud of my mate, big time.”

Nate chuckled and picked up his own beer. “Don’t forget about the Central pack. We took down Lewis Cane and his men when Karla’s sister was working with them.”

Aric nodded, a serious frown taking over his face. “That’s also the pack with the white wolves who attacked Jordan at the ceremony site. But that’s been months ago. They wouldn’t wait this long if they had issues. They knew Lewis was guilty. Still, we need to be sure.”

Tristan looked at Nate. “Speaking of Karla, how are my grandbabies doing?”

Nate’s face lit up. “Ah, Dad. They’re a handful. But they’re so adorable.”

“How’s Madison doing now?”

Nate laughed. “She can now out-cry her brothers in loudness. I think they’re competing to see who can be the squeakiest wheel. If Matthew and Michael are smart, they’ll learn quickly to let their sister win. Females are atrocious when they feel slighted by a man for anything.”

“If they’re like their aunt, then definitely.” Caleb gave another sigh. The room quieted again.

Aric looked around at everybody.

“So, Dad. Any reason you gathered us here before dinner? I’m starting to get hungry and our mates are at your house waiting for us.”

Their dad let out a big sigh and the boys tensed.

Aric was the first to show his concern. “What’s wrong, Dad? You’re freaking me out.”

Tristan waved a hand and motioned for him to sit. “Yeah, all right. I didn’t want to talk about this around the mates because they may get…argumentative.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Mason said with a grin. Caleb had never seen him this happy until Emma finally mated with him and they became a team. “Emma doesn’t have a disagreeable bone in her.”

Caleb snorted. Man, he really needed to figure his shit out already. He wanted to have his own home with Ellie. His own family and pups. “Tried talking to your sister lately?”

“Okay, you’ve made my point.” Tristan ran a hand through his hair. He picked up a beer, drank it in two gulps and slammed the bottle down. Everyone quieted at that moment. “There comes a time in every man’s life—”

“Whoa, Dad,” Aric lifted his hands and sat back in his chair. “This isn’t the birds and the bees talk again, is it?”

“Yeah,” Jake agreed with a smirk. “You’re a little too late for Nate.”

Nate threw a wadded up napkin at his brother. “I know where babies come from. I saw the stork land at the hospital with our three.”

“Would you all please be quiet and let me talk?” Tristan winced at his unintentional harshness. Caleb watched Tristan. He’d never seemed so stressed to bring up any topic. A round of
sorry, Dad
mumbled around the table. “As I was saying, there comes a time in every man’s life when he has to leave home and make his own way.” The boys froze, wide eyes on all. He had their attention.

“Especially when all of you are strong alphas in your own right. Each of you are highly capable of having your own pack, if you want to.” Caleb watched as the sons squirmed in their chairs, uncomfortable with the subject at hand.

Tristan continued. “Now that all of you are mated, it is time to think about your futures. You probably won’t believe this, but soon your alpha side will start to dominate your actions, in part wanting to drive away other alphas in the pack. You lead or let yourself be led, and none of you will let anyone lead you.”

“No way, Dad.” Aric sat forward, putting his elbows on the table. Caleb remembered him doing the same thing when they were little kids and Tristan had serious conversations with them. “I’d never make my brothers leave the family.”

His dad sighed again. His shoulders slumped and he appeared unhappy with the words he had to say but committed to saying them anyway. “That’s how it works, Aric. Whether you want to see it or not. How do you think I became alpha for our pack?”

“Wait a minute,” Mason said with a horrified look on his face. “What do you mean?”

Tristan cleared his throat and pushed the empty beer bottle forward. “Our pack was originally your mother’s. Her family started it. Have you ever wondered why most of your mother’s family is here and mine isn’t?”

The boys looked at each other, each shocked as shit. Tristan groaned and shook his head. “This is going as well as I hoped.”

Aric sat straight as if he’d come up with a good argument. “But, Dad. The pack’s name is Wolfe, which is our last name. If it was Mom’s, wouldn’t it be her maiden name?”

Tristan nodded, his features still somber. “Normally that is true, if a son of the existing alpha takes over. In your mother’s case, her older brother was killed in a car accident.”

“I remember Mom telling me the story when I was young and asked about his picture. She said he was driving too fast and his car rolled down into a ravine and exploded. He had his mate with him and neither lived,” Aric said.

Caleb stiffened, jerking in his chair. A shot of pure agony coursed through him. All eyes turned to him. “That’s basically how my father died. But Mom and he had already split, so he was by himself. It was really late and he was coming back from a meeting. We thought he probably fell asleep and missed the curve, going over the edge. The car ended up at the bottom of hill, exploding.”

Jake put a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, man. Never knew that.”

Caleb met Aric’s gaze. He was his best friend and only he knew the story, but he appreciated that Aric had never talked about his personal business, not even to his brothers.

“It was so long ago. I don’t like to talk about it. I was out of town when it happened. Rocco took care of the arrangements before I could make it back into town. He said the fire—” Caleb paused to clear his throat. “Rocco said little remained to bury. We had a memorial service after I returned.” Jake squeezed his shoulder, silently relaying his support and friendship.

Caleb looked up. “I’m sorry, Mr. Wolfe. Please continue about your wife’s brother.”

Instead of speaking, Tristan turned his eyes from Caleb. The man’s expression was unreadable. Almost as if he pulled on a mask. Then with a snap, it was gone.

A waitress set a tray of fresh beers on their table and left.

Tristan swallowed a gulp of beer and continued. “Long story short, your mother became the heir and whoever she married would rule and rename the pack. I moved here and the rest is history.” He stood abruptly and tossed money onto the table. “Let’s get back to the house. I’m hungry.”

Caleb watched Tristan closely. For years, Caleb had looked up to Tristan as an alpha role model. His pack loved him and would die for him. That’s what Caleb wanted—not to reign by fear and hate as his uncle. He wanted his people’s lives to be full and happy. Ever since his dad’s car wreck that killed him years ago, he’d only seen his pack become frightened recluses who only came out to go to work and come home.

The children didn’t play outside anymore; afraid they’d be kidnapped. Teens, especially the girls, were seldom seen without a group of adults around them, if they even dared to venture out. And the alpha house…the debauchery there. He moved out a long time ago when Rocco started having strange women staying overnight.

For a guy in high school, having so many partially clad women would’ve been a dream come true. But not for Caleb. His last bit of tolerance dissolved in one night his senior year.

It was homecoming weekend at school. The varsity football team won the game, sporting the best record in the school’s history. The school sanctioned dance after the game was wonderful. Ellie was stunning and lighting up his insides with desire and love. He knew he’d marry her not too long into the future and together they would guide the pack as an awesome alpha couple.

Ellie wanted to wait until they were married before they fully bonded. Meaning she was too nervous to have sex. That was fine with Caleb. He’d wait forever for her. The thought instantly turned his balls blue. When it came to Ellie, he’d suffer through anything to make her happy.

At midnight, he had Ellie home by curfew and headed back to the alpha house. He didn’t like being there most of the time. Ever since Rocco took over as alpha a while back, the house environment changed for him.

Unfamiliar women stayed the night, making disgusting groans and moans from the alpha’s bedroom into the early morning hours. The women were nice on their own, for the most part. But when they were drinking and snorting powder with Rocco and his enforcers, the clothes came off and the fucking began.

Most of the time, Caleb was either in his room studying or hanging out at the Wolfe’s house. Of course, Ellie was there, so that was the only place he wanted to be. This night would be no exception to his routine—
get to my room asap and lock the door
. He’d hurry upstairs and turn the radio on to block out screams of “more” and “yeah, baby.”

As he pulled into the drive, he noticed unfamiliar cars parked out front. Not many, but enough to warrant questions about a party his uncle neglected to tell him about. Not that they talked that much. He parked in the garage and came in through the kitchen entrance.

He grabbed a water bottle and winced at the loud music and girly squeals coming from the living room. Of course, he had to walk through the room to get to the stairs leading to his bedroom down the second-story hall.

When he reached the main room, he froze where he stood. Naked skin filled the space. Bodies, arms, legs were writhing in piles of human women; at the bottom of each pile lay a male. He spotted his uncle under five women, all the enforcers, and even men he didn’t recognize.

His uncle saw him and sat up, shoving away the females. “Hey, tiger.” Caleb rolled his eyes. The man was just disgusting, still thinking he was a male role model, a father figure. “I got something special for you. Come on over here.” His words were slightly slurred.

Caleb raised a hand in passing, “Thanks, Rocco. It’s late. I’ll just go on up to bed.”