Page 39 of Fated Despite the Moon

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Makayla watchedCaleb drive away then walked back to the kitchen and picked up the clothes she'd dumped out. She put them back in the bag, his scent still remaining in the air and the taste of his breath lingering in her mouth. She’d barely felt the brush of his lips across hers and yet for some reason the sensation played over and over in her mind like a dream she wasn’t sure she’d experienced.

She crossed to his bedroom and stopped at the door, her hand hovering over the knob. It felt like a betrayal to enter. But he'd been in her room several times. Why should it matter? She’d put clothes in there a few days ago.

She turned the knob and pushed open the door. His scent clung thicker to every surface. The sparse but nicely furnished room held a large, knotty pine bed, a rustic dresser and nightstands. A well loved rocking chair filled out the rest of the space. She smiled at the handmade vintage quilt covering the fluffy bed. It was all so very Caleb. She wondered if it was one of the quilts his mom had replaced with the floral monstrosity on her bed.

She walked to the closet. Inside hung several flannels and jeans. She ran her fingers over them. Flannel. Plaid. A design and texture she never- in the furthest stretches of the imagination- thought she would ever like. Derek would rather walk down Melrose Avenue stark naked and get arrested than to ever let a flannel touch his skin. The two men were so different. The photo of the diamond ring popped into her head. Caleb would never buy her something that flashy. But then again, he would never buy her a ring to try and apologize. He’d do something much more personal, like building her a kitchen and buying her baking supplies.

A diamond ring wasn't going to make Derek suddenly change his ways and become daddy material. And it sure as hell wasn’t going to make her go back to the superficial, hiding-her-real-self party girl she’d been before.

She rounded up several hangers and hung the new clothes in Caleb's closet. Then she went to the kitchen and put the food away before finally going to her room with her bags. The trip up the stairs seemed to take twice as long for some reason, and the distance between her room and his twice as far. She didn’t like being up there alone without him.

She hung up her new things, then sat on her bed. Fatigue weighed her down in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time. Every muscle in her body weighed more, and every action seemed to take more energy to perform. She laid back on her bed and closed her eyes. She just needed to rest for a moment before Caleb got home. From the state both he and Dakota were in when they left, he would probably need her when he returned. And maybe, if all was well, they would even pick up where they’d left off.

Chapter Twelve

Dim sunlight peeked through the curtains, and Makayla blinked several times. What time was it? The clock read five thirty. Holy crap, she'd fallen asleep in her clothes. She got up from the bed. Her hips ached from sleeping in an awkward position all night as she walked to the window. She held onto the wall and bent forward stretching her back. Man that hurt.

She straightened and caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She peered outside and saw something moving through the wood. She tracked it until it stopped at the edge of the trees. A large russet colored wolf emerged from the wood. Her wolf stood and howled at the sight.

His fur shook, his muscles trembled, then his bones snapped and lengthened as he stood on two legs and leaned heavily on a thick tree. Makayla wanted to turn away, but she couldn't, fascinated by the passive expression on his face despite the violent way his body contorted and strained. Though his shift finished in under thirty seconds, Makayla got a good full view of Caleb’s tight round rear and sizable back muscles.

A shift ripple coursed over her.

"Oh, hell no." She turned from the window and grabbed her chest. "Pregnant, remember?" Her wolf yowled in disappointment, but backed down. She supported herself against the wall for a minute, trying to calm her thundering heart.

The door to the laundry room opened and heavy footsteps hit the floor. She gave herself a minute to compose herself, visions of his delectable buttocks still burned into her mind, and then walked out of her room to the landing. He stood in the kitchen in a pair of tight boxer briefs and gulped down the entire carton of orange juice. When he finished, he sucked in a deep breath and turned.

"Hey." He threw the empty carton in the trash.

"Hi."

"Sorry to leave you like that last night."

"Is everything okay with Griffin and Dakota?

"Yeah.” Caleb paused for a moment as if weighing his words. “Griffin has... moments where he's plagued by bad memories."

"I get it." She knew that all too well.

"Let me get some clothes on, and I'll make some breakfast." He headed toward his room.

She took a step down the stairs. "You're leaving?"

He stopped. "I have to work."

She took several steps toward him. "But you've been gone all night."

"Why don't you come with me today? You can go to the library for a bit, and then we can meet for lunch, and I'll bring you home."

Going to the library to return her books and get some new ones might be nice. Surprisingly, she realized she hadn't replied to her friends’ texts from the day before. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t even wanted to.

Wow. She’d gone almost the entire day with cell signal and not even cared. She’d not checked her social media. She hadn’t checked her voicemail. All she’d done was told Derek to stay away.

"You know, I’m good actually. Yesterday kind of tired me out, so I'll just stick around here and get some stuff done."

He chuckled. "Unless you're going to start painting or put in a tub, there isn't much to do besides tending to the chickens."

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