Avelyn sighed. She wanted to go to her and hug her, but she had a feeling Claudia wouldn’t appreciate it at this point.
“It’s his past, Claudia. His mistake. He will tell you everything one day, and it will be a special moment for the both of you. Trust me and be patient. He will open up.”
Claudia turned to look at her friend. “Be patient. That means letting him blindfold me and tie my hands to the headboard every time we have sex, right? Then accept that he’ll just leave me there and go sleep in the other room. Until when?”
“Until he’s ready.”
Claudia looked at Avelyn long and hard. There was no trace of deceit in her friend’s eyes, only love and good will. She knew she could trust her, that wasn’t the problem. But could she trust Karl? How could she be so sure that Avelyn had read him correctly?
“All right, I’ll try,” she eventually said. “I’ll be patient.”
Avelyn smiled and closed the space between them. When she hugged Claudia, the girl hugged her back.
***
The first three days with Avelyn, Max, and their pups were fun and exciting. So exciting that Claudia almost wasn’t bothered by the fact that Karl hadn’t called or texted her at all. On the fourth day, as she was getting ready for bed, she exited Candy Crush and stared at her smartphone for long minutes before she decided to call him. No matter how much she tried to hide it and not talk about it, she missed him a lot. She hadn’t wanted to be the first to call him, but she eventually decided that was stupid. What was she? 15? It had nothing to do with pride or stubbornness. It would have been nice if he had called first, as she thought a man should, but she could do it just as well. She found the number, tapped the green button, and waited for almost half a minute before she understood he wasn’t going to pick up. Angry, she threw the phone away, and it landed near the edge of the bed.
“Jerk!”
Karl always had his phone with him because it always rang. Members of his pack, business associates, Councilor Voinom… it seemed like they all needed him all the time, at the same time. She couldn’t believe he always answered all of those people, but he didn’t pick up when she called.
“Oh God, I hate him so much right now!”
She covered her face with her trembling hands and let the tears flow freely. She missed him so, so much. Four days and not a word from him. She had thought of asking Matt about him, but she knew she would feel vulnerable and humiliated. She was the bride of his Alpha, and he was the Beta. It hurt her even to think that Karl stayed in touch with his Beta while ignoring her completely. If she didn’t ask Matt, then at least she couldn’t know for sure. She could fool herself with the idea that her husband was too busy to talk to anyone who didn’t require his attention related to business or politics.
“This is retarded. I’m acting like an idiot.”
She wiped her tears, threw the covers off her, and went to retrieve her phone. If he was in the shower, for instance, and would check his phone later and see her missed call, who knew what he’d think of her? She didn’t want to give the impression that she was needy, so it was better to tell him something,
anything, before he got the chance to come up with his own explanation to why she had called.
“Hi! I just wanted to tell you I love it here. Good night.”
“There, this message should do it.”
She tapped “send” and waited for a long minute. When nothing happened, she sighed and placed the phone on the nightstand. Of course he wouldn’t reply to her text. She didn’t even feel like reading, so she went right to sleep.
The next day, the phone remained just as silent. And the day after that. A week passed and Karl hadn’t given the tiniest sign. Claudia was starting to worry, truth be told. She first asked Avelyn, and when she told her Max and Karl talked all the time, Claudia felt even more betrayed and humiliated. Avelyn had tried to calm her down and convince her things would get better. If she, Claudia, loved him, then they were meant to be together and their relationship would improve. Needless to say, Claudia was losing the little patience she had had in the first place. With nothing left to do, she took a deep breath and went to find Matt. He was a nice guy, he wouldn’t judge her. She found him in the small, lovely gazebo in the back garden, playing chess with Caleb, one of Max’s Deltas.
Caleb was an adorable wolf-shifter Claudia could almost have a crush on. He was tall and strong, but not as bulky as most shifters. His lean, well-built body could make any woman swoon, and his mossy green eyes gave the impression he could see right into anyone’s soul. He was also smart and very intuitive, as he immediately check-mated Matt when Claudia approached them, and offered her his seat.
“Oh man… really?” complained Matt. “That was just plain mean.”
Caleb laughed and waved him off. “Take a break and we’ll try again later. Maybe you even beat me one of these days.”
“Fuck you!”
Matt turned to Claudia and his demeanor changed completely.
“Excuse the language, my dear lady. Caleb has a way of getting on my nerves.”
“Then why do you play with him?”
“Hmm…” he scratched the back of his neck. “Because he at least lets me make a couple of moves before he kicks my ass?” He chuckled sheepishly. “Are you any good at chess?”
“Played a bit at Alma Venus, but I was never crazy about it.”
“But would I beat you?”