Chapter 26
The Boys-Maximus
Finally, Saturday is here. This week took forever. But now, we get Callie all to ourselves, all day long. First stop is the mall, once Callie gets here, which should be any minute. This day is going to awesome. I’m so glad we don’t have to go to that horrid dance. I would have if Callie had been going, but only for her. There is no way I could have gone with someone else. I know that, my wolf does too. Hell, he knew from the first scent of her. Vanilla and strawberries smell good, but on her, it makes her smell good enough to eat or lick, I’m not picky. It’s like thinking of her scent magically conjures it because I just got a strong whiff. My wolf and I want to roll around in that scent all day. It takes a moment, but then I hear her laugh.
Ah, my angel is here. We are still trying to navigate, this relationship with Callyn. All of us guys want to shout from the rooftops. It’s killing me not telling her and it kills me that we have to leave her in that house with her father. My protective instincts are riding me hard when it comes to that.
Callyn walks into the living room. I have to resist the urge to growl. She looks good enough to eat. She is wearing black skinny jeans, her black boots, long-sleeved red hooded shirt. She can be little red riding hood, and I’ll be the big bad wolf. I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, but it won’t be grandma I’ll be eating. Good god man, slow your roll. She looks amazing, combined with her scent, I just want to howl at the moon.
She looks over at me and smiles. “Hey, Max.”
I’m up and out of my seat before I know what I’m doing, heading her way. I need to feel her against me. I have to with her looking like that. I’m standing in front her, I smile quickly before I scoop her up into a hug. Her arms go around my neck, with her legs dangling. But it’s not close enough. Keeping one arm around her back, I move my other down to her leg. Gripping the back of her thigh, I move it slightly letting her know what I want. She understands because in the next second she wraps her legs around my waist.
My arm wrapping back around her, pressing her so close not an inch of space is between us. I bury my face in her neck, taking a deep breath. I want to lick and nibble at her pulse point. Instead, I gently kiss that soft spot right behind her ear. I feel her body shudder.
“Maximus,” she says in a breathy whisper.
Her hand tugging at the hair at the nape of my neck. She says my name making it sound like a prayer. The sound of my name coming from her lips, like that, almost brings me to my knees. Callie pulls back enough to look me in my eyes. She bites her bottom lip, eyes sparkling. She’s just as affected as I am.
My mate is absolutely beautiful. I want to kiss the shit out of her. I lean to do just that when someone clears their throat. It brings us out of our daze, out of the little bubble we are in. I would bet any money that Callie would let me kiss her, and I want to so much. I don’t think I’ve wanted anything more in my life. I can’t wait to feel her lips against mine. It’s only a matter of time. I bet when it happens, it’ll be electric.
Callie unwraps herself from me, slowly sliding down the front of my body. Her eyes widen. Yea, angel, that’s from you. I don’t try to hide it, I want her to know just how much she affects me. I make sure she is steady on her feet before I let go and back up. I look over Callies’ shoulder, seeing mixed emotions on the guy’s faces. Thankfully, none are anger, because she belongs to all of us and we can’t be jealous.
Callie takes a deep breath before turning and facing the others.
“You ready to go Callie?” Lucian asks.
“You could say that,” she murmurs.
I don’t think she meant for us to hear that, but since we are shifters and have exceptional hearing, we did. We all laugh. Her cheeks turn a rosy shade. I move closer and throw my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to my side. I kiss the side of her forehead.
“Let’s go, angel,” before I do kiss you. I want to see the sparks fly.
Lucian
I can’t be mad at Max. We all know that she belongs to all of us, but decided not to push her, to let her come to us on her own. He did what all of us has wanted to do and have thought about doing. It shouldn’t be much longer now, the Council is bound to find something. I don’t care what they say, they will not take my mate away from me. I don’t care if they find out she is completely human. Fate made her our mate for a reason. I’m damn sure glad they did.
Callie doesn’t realize it, but she always makes sure we get equal attention. We’re walking around the mall and every so often, she’ll switch holding hands with someone. She makes sure she engages all of us in the conversation. She is getting slightly attuned to our feelings, always making sure we are okay. I’m pretty sure she can even tell when we are not being quite truthful. Her eyes seem to stare right through you.
Callyn’s giggle brings me out of my thoughts and I focus on her. She looks so beautiful. I love the spark of life in her eyes. Just once I would like to see her pull her hair up and not hide behind it.
“So, when are we getting lunch because I’m getting hungry,” Max asks. The next second a rumble could be heard. We all look to Callyn, who busts out laughing, which causes the rest of us to as well. “We should feed her before her stomach starts to eat itself.”
∞∞∞
The mall is packed today. Max and Callie are in the middle of yet another round of giggles and laughter when a group of guys walk by. One looks our way running his eyes over us and then over Callie. He passes by, but then quickly does a double take. This time lingering on her longer than I like. I let out a little growl, narrowing my eyes.
Mine.
The guys hear me and look to see what is going on. They follow my line of sight, seeing the guy ogle Callyn. Three more low growls can be heard.
“You might want to think twice about that if you know what’s good for you.” You can hear the venom in Graydon's voice. The guy puts his hands up.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t know. I was just looking.”
“Well, look somewhere else.”
The guy nods and walks away. We all glare holes in his retreating back.
“What was that?” Callyn’s question has us whipping our heads back in her direction.
“Um, he was checking you out,” Zeke answers.
“So.”
“So, we didn’t like it.” Ever so tactful Graydon. Callyn narrows her eyes at him. Uh oh.
“And what exactly did you think he was going to do with the four of you standing right here? Hm? What gives you the right to dictate who I can and cannot date? If I was interested in someone you wouldn’t stop me.”
Graydon takes a menacing step towards Callie. I tense, ready to spring into action if I need. My eyes flicker between the two of them. I’m expecting Callie to back down, but she shocks me, by meeting him step for step. The toes of their shoes are touching. Graydon leans down, getting in her face.
“Like hell, I wouldn’t. He isn’t good enough for you.”
“Oh, and you are? What are you going to do, chase away every guy that shows an interest in me?”
“Yes. We all are. And you’re damn right, I’ll make sure no one comes sniffing around what’s mine.”
Shit, I need to stop this, before he tells her something we aren’t ready to tell her. He might say something she’s not ready to hear and deal with.