Chapter 7

    ** Callen’s POV **

  

  This woman is so hot, but she is also odd, or maybe unwell? Is it rude to ask?

  

  She had started asking me questions about my family and then started acting strange. I hadn’t missed the slight tremor in her hands, or the way she had gripped the countertop as if it was the only thing keeping her upright.

  

  She had gone as pale as a ghost and her voice had gone a few octaves higher. Maybe she just had period cramps or something, which would explain her practically pushing me out of the door part way through our conversation. 

  

  I had thought everything was going well right up until that moment. She hadn’t even let me say goodbye to Jaxon. 

  

  I replay the whole evening and my every interaction with her over and over in my head as I walk back home. What did I do to upset her? What am I missing? 

  

  “Where are you?” I ask Remy in the mind link. 

  

  “Just about to head home. Why? "How’s it going with the pretty lady?” he responds.

  

  “You’re not jealous, are you, Rem?” I tease.

  

  “Of course not. She’s a human. She’s not even in the same league as me to be any kind of competition.”

  

  “Well, apparently I’m not as charming as I thought. She about kicked me out for no reason,” I tell him with a huff as I kick a rock on the forest ground. 

  

  “Aww, did poor Callen get his little feelings hurt?” Remy mocks.

  

  “Come here and say that to my face,” I growl. 

  

  “Nah, I’d rather run and have you try to catch me,” he says, knowing damn well that will get me riled up. 

  

  “Oh, you're on, your ass is mine, Beta boy,” I say as I pull off my shirt and toss it to the ground. 

  

  I take a quick glance around to make sure no one is nearby, and then I kick off my shoes and drop my pants before picking up all my belongings and stashing them in a tree. I’ll come back for them later when I’ve taught Remy a lesson for all the sass he has given me today. 

  

  I shift into my wolf, inhaling deeply. I’ve kept him locked up too long. He needs at least two runs a day to feel settled, and it’s been almost twenty-four hours since I last let him have his freedom. 

  

  The forest seems to breathe with me, the rapidly cooling air filling my lungs as I run. My paws pound the earth in a rhythm that is like music to my ears. There is nothing more freeing than this. The setting sun casts long shadows that flicker as I weave between the trees. 

  

  My feet move faster when I pick up a hint of Remy’s scent. It lingers, as if he was here recently. I’m on the right path. He can’t be too far away. I push forward. 

  

  Soon I hear his footfall, and then I catch glimpses of his dark form moving through the underbrush ahead, just out of reach. He’s fast. He always is. But I’m faster.

  

  His scent hits me then, sharp, familiar, intoxicating. Pine needles, musk, and that wild hint of him that drives me crazy. I push harder, picking up speed, the thrill of the hunt burning through my limbs.

  

  He vaults over a fallen log, glancing back at me with those amber eyes, daring me. 

  

  “Catch me, if you can.”

  

  “You know I will.” 

  

  I gather every bit of strength and surge forward. My heart hammers in my chest, and the wind whooshes in my ears as I close the gap between us. I leap, and for a heartbeat, we’re weightless. We crash to the ground in a tangle of fur and limbs, skidding through the leaves.

  

  I land on top of him, breathless and victorious. He writhes beneath me, growling low, but it’s a playful, mock protest. He wants this just as much as I do. 

  

  I bare my teeth in a panting grin before shifting, magic rippling over my body as fur transforms to skin. The cool air bites at me, but I don’t care. I’m straddling him, flushed with adrenaline and the heat of the chase.

  

  “You’re getting slow,” I murmur, brushing a hand through his hair as he starts to shift beneath me.

  

  A moment later, he’s human too. His cheeks are slightly red from the cold and the run. His chest rises and falls rapidly beneath mine.

  “You’re a cheater,” he smirks.

  

  “No, I’m a wolf, and I don’t cheat,” I say, leaning down until our noses nearly touch. “I hunt.”

  

  I kiss him, fast and rough at first, as the last sparks of adrenaline from the chase fuel me. But then I soften it for a moment, our lips slowing, mouths learning each other all over again. It’s been too long since we kissed this way.

  

  Remy and I have an understanding, and this kiss pushes the boundaries of the rules we set for ourselves. 

  

  When I first arrived here in Cinderwood, Remy was the first shifter I’d met. There was an instant connection between us, and a mutual attraction that neither of us had been able to resist for long. 

  

  I had tried to convince myself that I just needed one night with him, then I’d get him out of my system, and we’d be done. I had been wrong and, time and time again, we would find ourselves back in each other’s arms.

  

  We both knew we were not fated mates, so we couldn't let whatever this was between us get serious. 

  

  Instead, we set some simple rules. We tell no one. We don’t show signs of affection or tenderness, and most important of all… we don’t fall in love. Simple, right?

  

  I pull my lips from his and look down at him. “What was it you said about getting my feelings hurt?”

  

  “I can’t remember,” he breathes, his voice low and husky.

  

  “Hmm, I seem to remember a snarky comment you made earlier, too, and ever since I have been imagining gagging that smart mouth of yours with my dick,” I purr as I grind my hips against his, rubbing our erections together and drawing a groan from his lips.

  

  “Then you better hurry, because I feel another snarky remark incoming,” he taunts. 

  

  I push up off of him and get to my feet, fisting the base of my c*ck as I watch him get to his knees in front of me. Remy’s eyes meet mine as he wraps his lips around my tip. 

  

  “F*ck,” I groan, and my knees threaten to buckle as he slides his hot mouth down my length as he works his own c*ck with his hand. 

  I close my eyes and throw my head back as Remy makes quick work of bringing me to the edge. My mind conjures up an image of Paige and I push all thoughts of her away and focus on the here and now, on Remy.

  

  “Yes, just like that,” I praise.

  

  Remy groans, causing a vibration to run from the tip and straight to my balls. I feel the hot spurts of his release hit my legs as I shoot my load into his mouth, and he swallows it down.

  

  “Who said you could cum yet? I wanted to edge you for a while,” I pout when he stands up and smirks at the mess he’s left on my legs.

  

  “That’s exactly why I did it,” he laughs. 

  

  “Now that is cheating. Next time I’ll edge you twice as long,” I grin. 

  

  We walk towards the stream that runs through our land. I need to wash his scent from my legs before we go home, otherwise our brothers might get suspicious. 

  

  “So what happened with the hot chick?” Remy asks as we walk naked through the trees. 

  

  “I don’t know. I played football with the kid, then we had dinner, and she started asking me about my family. When I mentioned I had a twin, she started acting all weird and then said it was time for me to leave,” I shrug.

  

  “Maybe knowing you are a twin puts her off,” Remy offers.

  

  “Why would being a twin put her off me?”

  

  “Lots of reasons. If she is looking for a life partner to settle down and have children with, then the chance of multiples in pregnancy is higher with a twin parent. There’s also the worry she might mistake your brother for you one day and embarrass herself.”

  

  I let myself imagine for a moment what a child created by me and Paige might look like, with my eyes and her hair. Then I stop dead in my tracks.

  

  “How long ago was it that Ron found Ryder, exactly?” I ask, my heart racing as I piece the puzzle together.

  

  “It must have been six years ago, at least. Why?” 

  

  “I am so f*cking stupid. I think Ryder might be the kid’s father,” I admit, realising how crazy it sounds now that I’m saying the words out loud. 

  

  “How can he be? Even if it was a possibility that he hooked up with this woman, you look so much alike that she would have recognised you as him.”

  

  “You’re right,” I sigh, but I don’t fully believe it. I need to find out more, starting with a heart-to-heart with my brother.