Chapter 3

DEMI

I slammed the door behind me and groaned.

Why Kaleb?

I put the bag down, stomped to my bed, and sat down, trying to get my emotions in check.

After a short few minutes, I opened a mind link to my mum.

“Demi,” she says, “Is…”

“Kaleb is my mate,” I blurt out before she can finish her question.

“Oh, hunny,” she says, “that’s fantastic.”

I growled.

“No, it’s not,” I muttered, “he was the one who made my life hell in school. He always embarrassed me every chance he got.”

“Dem,” she says, “I think you should let it go and make amends. Kaleb was always known for pulling practical jokes on people.”

“Yeah, mainly at me,” I interrupted her.

“Maybe he liked you and did what he knows best to get your attention,” she said, sounding amused.

“What about making fun of me or even tripping me up?” I gritted out. “He didn’t like me. He always made sure everyone laughed at me, not with me. I was the one that was always on the receiving end of everything he did.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, “try to make amends; take being snowed in as a way of burying the hatchet. You both need to talk or something.”

“I don’t think so,” I muttered.

My mum sighed.

“You and Kaleb need to talk,” she said, “I will stand by whatever you decide, but Dem, he’s your mate; you might want to hear his side of the story first.”

Before I protested more, my mum closed the mind link.

I felt more confused.

What the hell was I going to do now?

I could feel movement in my head.

I looked back to see Lia staring back at me. She was sitting on her hind legs.

“What do you think?” I asked.

Lia c****d her head to the side and huffed.

“I think mama wolf is right,” she said, “we should see what he says first.”

I frowned.

Lia shook her head and continued to talk.

“What he did back in school was harsh,” she muttered, “but we all have changed, even us. We’re not the same people we once were. You still read and like to draw, but you have trained more and made a name for yourself in the other pack.”

That’s true.

I went to training daily, mainly as my Aunt Gina made me. At first, it was hard, but I started to learn what I liked to do more and loved it. I kept the training up until the day I left this morning.

I looked at Lia and sighed.

“What is your take on him?” I asked.

Lia huffed.

“I think he is…” she said, but stopped momentarily.

“Handsome,” she said as drool slipped past her lips. “I know what we could do with…” but I cut her off with a groan.

“Don’t finish that sentence,” I muttered, and her eyes sparkled slightly with amusement.

“I can feel his wolf,” she blurts suddenly, “he probably is giving him more grief about how he treated us.”

The thought of his wolf might be doing that was amusing. Usually, wolves respected their human counterparts and even had their backs, but what Kaleb did was petty and cruel at most; he never hit me, but the name-calling and embarrassing things he would say or do linger on in my head more than they should.

“It won’t harm us to try,” she said.

I was reluctant to do anything when it came to Kaleb.

I sighed and moved off the bed.

I walked to my bathroom and, headed inside, switched on the shower.

I needed to calm down and even chill for a while.

I quickly undressed and climbed in.

I placed my head under the shower and let the water do its magic.

I closed my eyes briefly, but an image of Kaleb came to mind.

My eyes flew open, and I groaned.

Fuck.

Lia laughed in my head.

I quickly washed all over and even my hair.

I switched off the shower, climbed out of it, grabbed a towel from the back of the door, and placed it above my chest.

I grabbed another towel and wrapped my hair up.

I walked out of the bathroom and headed into the bedroom.

I grabbed my bag, placed it on my bed, unzipped it, and flipped the flap over.

I quickly rummaged through my bag and pulled out some clothes to wear. I chose a loose top and shorts.

I placed them on.

I unwrapped the towel from my head and gave it a quick ruffle. I didn’t exactly want to blow dry it. I placed all the towels in the laundry basket and walked to the bedroom door.

I placed my hand on the door handle but paused.

What the hell was I going to do when I got down there?

I sighed and pulled the door open but was met with the most delicious smell.

I closed my eyes and sniffed, making my stomach growl as I opened my eyes and walked out of my room.

Yum, I thought, pancakes.

I love pancakes.

I walked down the stairs and toward the kitchen but stopped as I watched Kaleb over the stove; he looked over at me and smiled.

“There are some pancakes for you on the table,” he said.

I looked over to the table, and there was a stack of pancakes in the middle.

I walked over but felt Kaleb’s eyes on me.

I wanted to look, but I knew if I did, my heart would have a fit.

I pulled out the chair when I got to the table and sat down.

I stare at the pancakes as my mouth begins to water.

“Take as many as you want,” Kaleb says, making me look at him.

He steps away from the kitchen counter and walks to me with a glass of juice.

I can’t help but watch his every move. Part of me wondered if he ever looked this good before, or was it because…

Damn, stupid bond.

Kaleb walked over and placed the juice in front of me as he took the seat opposite. His eyes never left mine.

“Eat,” he says, motioning to the pancakes.

A slow smile itched the corners of his face; then I realized that look many times before, always before he did something to me.

“What did you do to them?” I asked.

Kaleb’s eyebrows shot up.

“You think that low of me,” he murmured.

“Well, I haven’t exactly had a good experience with you, have I?” I said sternly.

I gripped my fork, stabbed two pancakes, and moved them to the plate before me.

I looked up at Kaleb, but he seemed to be in thought.

I started to cut the pancakes and placed a piece in my mouth, but closed my eyes to let out a low moan.

They tasted so good.

I ate the piece and opened my eyes to find Kaleb staring at me.

“Don’t do that again,” he growled.

I gulped down the pancake but looked at him, confused.

I watched him slightly, but he moved somewhat and adjusted to sit back down.

What the hell?