Chapter Twenty-three
Caleb rubbed his belly. In the months they had stayed in town, he'd grown larger than he thought possible. He had seen his friends grow during their pregnancies. Towards the end, Farley had been able to balance food on his belly like a table. It had been beautiful and funny when it happened to Farley. A magical part of the circle of life. But on Caleb? He just felt fat.
He tried to pull his shirt over his belly but it caught rudely, refusing to go all the way down. "Dang it!"
"Babe?" Asher called from the other room. Felix had given them an apartment in the building the pack had built and shared. It was a cute one bedroom that faced the city park. That was Felix's attempt to make Asher feel more at home. He looked like a different man in the city. Not quite so caged and trapped looking as he had when they'd first arrived. In those first few days Caleb had almost been worried that Asher would pick up and leave him so he could return back to his forest. Not that Caleb would ever voice those concerns since doing so would probably just earn him a spanking for doubting their mating.
"I'm in here," Caleb said, trying one more time to cover himself.
"What are you doing?" Asher asked, leaning up against the doorway. He wore a button up white shirt, unbuttoned, with the sleeves rolled up. A look Caleb enjoyed on him particularly when he crossed his arms over his chest like he did. Caleb preferred him naked or shirtless as he was in the forest, but could not deny the fact that Asher cleaned up well.
"I am trying not to burst into tears because I am now too fat to fit into anything."
"You aren't fat," Asher said too automatically for Caleb to find comfort. Asher must have seen his disbelieving face because he stalked forward toward him. "You are growing our children. Our family. That takes room. There are three in there. Besides, why are you getting dressed? Felix said that your bed rest is more important now than ever." Asher attempted to wrap his arms around Caleb but Caleb could tell his hands didn't quite meet in the back.
"Ugh! I've stayed in bed more the last months than I have in my entire life. That's probably why I am so fat!" Caleb pushed out of Asher's hold and spun toward him. He pointed his finger accusingly at his mate. "Was this your plan all along? Fatten me up so I can't run from you?" He poked Asher's chest for good measure.
Asher swiftly caught his hand and pulled it to his lips for a quick kiss. "You can always run, mate, you are strong and capable." He slid an open hand to the small of Caleb's back and pulled him tightly against his front. "And I will always catch you. Because you are mine."
A thrill vibrated through him. Caleb would never grow tired of hearing that. He felt a fluttering of movement from inside his body.
"Are they moving around again?" Asher asked eagerly. He crouched down so he could set the side of his head against Caleb's tummy.
"They are doing a line dance in there," Caleb replied, holding the bottom of his stomach. "Grab your partner dosey doe." Caleb caught sight of himself in the mirror and pulled his shirt off. The movement didn't disturb Asher since he couldn't get the shirt over his stomach in the first place. "There has to be something," he said, looking at the mountain of clothes he had already rejected.
Asher stood straight. "I ask again, where are you going? You don't have an appointment today."
"I wanted to go to The Den, I am craving some smothered fries."
"I'll go get you some to-go," Asher said, already heading toward the door.
"No," Caleb replied with a little more force than he'd intended. He didn't just want the food and it wasn't even that he wanted company. He just needed out of their small apartment. What he really craved was the green tint of the forest, the crisp, quiet mornings and the peaceful silence. But, getting out of his apartment would have to do for now.
Asher seemed to understand without Caleb having to explain, which was good, because Caleb would feel too inconsiderate voicing a feeling that his mate was probably feeling, but at a force a million times stronger. He pulled off his button up and slid it over Caleb's arms. "Here, this fits," he said, sliding his fingers up the shirt, buttoning Caleb in. He left the top button undone and then slid his fingers around to the back of the collar, fixing the fabric there so it would lay flat. "There is my boy, all ready."
Caleb grinned. "You are shirtless now."
"So? You like me better this way."
That much was true but he had never voiced that preference. "How do you know?"
"Because your eyes dilate when I am shirtless and you find more reasons to touch me." Asher looked down where, without realizing it, Caleb was stroking his forearm.
Caleb stretched up on his tip toes and kissed Asher's lips. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"
Asher offered his arm for Caleb to take. He did and Asher escorted them out of the apartment to the elevators. "You probably could, for a little while."
The trip to The Den was short. Down the elevators and a short walk across the parking lot. Despite the short distance, Asher made Caleb stop to rest at the halfway point. Inside The Den, Caleb ordered smothered fries while Asher ordered a steak dinner. He'd confessed to Caleb one night that he might miss the food that he could find in town when they returned to the homestead. Caleb was just happy he had said when instead of if.
It took him an embarrassingly short amount of time to eat the fries smothered with chili and cheese and Caleb was in the process of lifting the last calorie ridden morsel into his mouth when the front door to The Den slammed opened dramatically. Caleb, along with everyone else in there, looked to see who was coming in.
Brady rushed in and it took Caleb a moment to place the man. In a different environment, he looked almost like a stranger. His flannel was torn and his boots muddy. He didn't have any of the gentle grace that he'd had when Caleb first met him in the forest. He looked frazzled. His eyes searched the room once and then again.
"Brady," Caleb called out when Brady's gaze passed over them again.
"Oh my God, you are here," Brady said, pulling the two of them into a hug. "I had thought the worst. I am so glad you are here. I didn't recognize you," he said pausing his frantic energy long enough to look in awe of their different appearances. His gaze flitted more than once to Caleb's pregnant belly. Caleb hoped he was as over Asher as he proclaimed, otherwise, this would be a hard moment for him. "You need to come back," he announced. He was very sweaty and dirty. On his cheek there was a line of blood where it looked like he had probably been scratched. "I am so glad you are here," he repeated. "A few days ago, two of your wolves found me down at Riverside. They were acting so strangely, showing up out of the blue like that. They kept tugging on my clothing until I realized they wanted me to follow them. I thought something was wrong with you two so I did, and they led me to your homestead. I only knew it was yours because I recognized some of the tools and clothing strewn around. Someone destroyed it. I suspect coyotes. Your cabin, all of it is destroyed."
Caleb looked to Asher who took the news that the home he'd built for himself from the ground up had been demolished. Maybe he thought it wasn't as bad as Brady was saying. "You said, two wolves," Asher said.
"Yes, there were only two, the female I treated and a large male."
That meant the smallest male wolf was missing. Or maybe he just didn't want to make the trip?
"It was hard to tell with everything as torn up as it is, but it looked like there could have been a struggle. I think they've taken the third wolf. I searched the area and found no large amounts of blood or a body."
Caleb got to his feet and Asher stood next to him. "We've got to go," Caleb said. "We have to go save him."
"I understand," Asher said. "But you can't, my boy, even if you weren't on bed rest, you wouldn't be able to hike up there. Think of what it would do to the babies."
Caleb knew he was right, but he wasn't happy about it.
"What do you need?" Conner asked having come out from the kitchens with Pippen the moment Brady had burst through the door.
"I have to go back to my clinic," Brady said. He looked around the bar like a criminal looking for a cop. "I left the animals there in care of a friend, but I need to be back as soon as possible."
"Of course," Conner replied. "I will have Stella escort you back."
"That won't be necessary," Brady said. "I drove here myself."
Conner stood back as if suddenly realizing Brady wasn't a shifter. "Oh, yes, of course. Let me ask Stella to at least pack you some food for your trip home."
Stella appeared like her name was a summoning spell. "What sounds better a cheese steak sub or a burger?"
Brady looked almost as frazzled as Asher had his first couple of days. He might have lived in a town, but it was a lot smaller than the one he was in now. "A burger?"
"Give me five minutes." She disappeared leaving Brady looking as confused as when she arrived.
"I am so relieved to see you both are okay," Brady said. "And, apparently, pregnant? I uh, I didn't know that could…"
It was so easy to forget that Brady wasn't a shifter. Caleb had just assumed Riverside was full of people who knew about shifters, but they all thought the coyotes were just one big inbreeding family. And those were shifters that had visited their town somewhat regularly. The citizens of Riverside were clearly happier living without knowing the truth.
"We have a lot more to talk about now," Caleb said, smiling.
Brady returned the smile. "Yes, we do. I'd love to stay but I have a pregnant pig in my house that is ready to pop."
Luckily for Asher, Stella returned only a few minutes later with a paper bag. "Thank you for making the trip."
"You're…welcome…" Brady halted in his turn away, waving goodbye to Caleb and Asher.
"Are you sure you can't stay?" Caleb asked.
"No, I need to get back to my animals and this is all…" He didn't finish his sentence. Caleb wasn't sure he even had the words.
"Thank you, friend," Asher said.
Caleb was sad to see Brady leave so soon, but it was Brady who had practically ran out of there.
They wasted no time after he left. Caleb took Asher's hand and they moved as a group to the kitchen. Pippen cleaned off the large stainless steel table and Conner retrieved a map of the mountain. "We had this ready from when we went to rescue Caleb," he explained. "Your homestead is here." He pointed to a small spot on the map. "We can easily hike through, checking the space for damage, on our way to where we believe the coyote camp may be in this area here." He pointed to a spot that was down and over from the homestead, in the direction of Riverside. "If they have your wolf, it may be there."
"He isn't mine," Asher replied. "He is part of my pack."
"Then he is a part of ours as well," Conner said resolutely.
Asher did not contradict him.