I debated jumping out, but it meant leaving the wolf. I glanced longingly at the forest, desperate to melt into its shadows, I’d done all I could for the wolf, healing it’s wound. I couldn’t exactly force him to wake up. I grabbed the scruff at his neck, shaking him hard, and his eyes cracked open. “Yes! That’s it. Wake up,” I encouraged, leaning forward and getting my first true whiff of him that wasn’t disguised by blood. I sat back, recognizing the scent as one of the wolves who’d come for Caleb. “You’re from his Pack,” I murmured, shaking him again as his eyes drifted closed. There was something odd about them.
He didn’t open them again though and as we came to a break in the tree line, a flickering sign proclaimed we were passing the Wander Inn Motel. I wasn’t familiar with the area, but I figured we had to be either on Pack land or close. The truck didn’t slow though, instead speeding up, and I knew I’d survive a jump, but it’d cost me. The unconscious wolf was another problem. He was huge and difficult to move. It was possible I could levitate him out, but I didn’t want to risk him getting shot again. There was no way the imbeciles in the truck would miss me levitating an enormous wolf out the back of their truck.
“Shit.” I sank back down next to the wolf, patting his shoulder as he remained oblivious to the trouble we were in.
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb
I hugged her, unable to process the fact that she was really there. “Mom,” I murmured again, feeling her wrap her arms around my waist. “What are you doing here?”
I felt her chest vibrate with laughter. “I came to see you, son.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my son?” She pulled back, smiling up at me. “I missed a lot, Caleb. I’d like to make up for lost time.”
“Yeah, okay. I just…no one told me you were here.”
“That was intentional,” she answered, guiding me to the massive sectional left from when Dom had lived there. “I heard from them that you almost died.” I didn’t correct her, figuring she didn’t need to know that I had actually died. “I wanted you to have time to recover before I sprang myself on you.”
“Probably a good idea,” I replied, still stunned at seeing her. She’d returned to her Pack years and years ago when I’d still been a child. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I’d worked up the nerve to visit her, positive she wouldn’t want to see me. I’d been wrong and we’d reconnected, but I couldn’t stay with her Pack since I didn’t intend to join them. It made visits awkward so it’d been a few years since I’d seen her. “How long are you here for?”
She smiled timidly, revealing faint wrinkles around her eyes that I had never noticed. “Well, that’s what I wanted to ask you.”
“Me?”
She reached for my hand, squeezing it, as she said, “I want to come back, Caleb. For good.”
“Wha….what do you mean?” I stuttered in disbelief. “Join my Pack?”
“Exactly. Either Dom or Anna’s Pack.”
“You’d leave your Pack to come back here? With all the bad memories?” I questioned, stunned.
“They weren’t all bad, Caleb. You’ve chosen your Pack and truthfully there’s nothing holding me to my own Pack. I want to spend time with my son and the only way that can happen is if I come back.”
“You would do that? For me?” It seemed impossible that she’d give everything up just to spend time with me, but as she smiled, I could see she would do exactly that.
“You’re the most important person in my life, son. Of course I’d do that.” She brushed a lock of hair from my forehead, the gesture a familiar one from my childhood, and I had to blink hard. “I missed so much. I don’t want to miss anymore. I want to see you become a dad, be a grandmother to your children, and see the amazing man you’ve become without me.”
“With you,” I replied. “You’ve always been with me.” I touched my chest as the memories I’d buried deep fought to resurface – the nightly bedtime stories, the gentleness of her touch, and her broken expression when she’d been forced to leave me. “I would love it if you stayed,” I said belatedly. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” I added eagerly.
She smiled, tilting her head as she met my gaze. “Is it a special someone?”
I nodded. “Very special,” I agreed, my expression softening. “She’s everything I ever wanted.”
Mom stroked my cheek. “I’m glad to hear that.” Her eyes grew damp. “All I wanted was for you to be happy.”
“I am,” I assured her. “I’ll be happier when I can bring her home, but just knowing she’s out there gives me peace.”