Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

RIVER

T hey walked down the leaf-strewn street, and the laidback vibe calmed River's nerves. They walked into a general store.

"This place is adorable." She walked to an old teddy bear and picked it up. "I feel like I've walked into a fifties movie."

"This store is one of my favorites."

"Why?"

He chewed his lip for a minute, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to a section of shelves stocked with old board games.

She looked at them and up at him. "You like games?"

"I love board games. Especially rare and hard-to-find games or old games. My mom used to play with me. My father was gone a lot for business, and she and I used to play games to pass the time if he didn't take me with him."

She realized neither Ares nor Apollo talked about their parents. She scanned the games, recognizing a few names but knowing nothing about them.

"I've never played board games."

"Never?"

She shook her head. "My dad and I used to do other things together. When Bianca and her father, Strider, moved in, Bianca only talked about Barbies and clothes and makeup and music and boys. I spent most of my time watching out for her and doing what she wanted or working out in the shop my dad left me. I don't even think I ever saw a board game in my house."

"I have hundreds of them. Every time my mom found a new one, she bought it."

"And you still have them?"

"Every single one… well… there is one game I don't have. My favorite game. We used to play it all the time, but Ares once got mad that Mom spent so much time with me, so he set it on fire."

She could almost see a frustrated pre-teen Ares taking it from Apollo and throwing the pieces into a fireplace one by one in vengeance.

She took his hand and squeezed it. "What game?"

He chuckled. "You know… I don't even remember the name. It had a bunch of animals in it. Kind of like Wind in the Willows or Beatrix Potter, but I don't remember exactly. I just remember that it used to be my favorite game."

How sad. "Well, do you have a new favorite game?"

He looked down at her, and his cheeks flushed a bit.

"I won't laugh. I promise."

He eyed her dubiously for a moment and then shook his head.

"Tell me."

He squeezed his eyes shut and blew out a breath. "It's called parcheesi. It's simple but fun."

She looked at the shelf and found a copy. "This one?"

He opened his eyes and looked at it. "Yeah."

"Let's get it."

"That's okay."

She looked at the game and then at him. "I want to try it."

He took the game from her and put it back on the shelf. "Okay. I'll show it to you."

She looked at the game. "Then shouldn't we get it?"

He smiled. "I already have two copies at the cabin and three more at home."

She chuckled and shook her head.

"What? I want to ensure I always have a complete copy."

She nodded. "And how many of those five copies are new and unopened?"

He shrugged. "Only two."

Her wolf chuffed, and River reached up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You are adorable."

She dropped back to her feet and stopped realizing what she'd done.

Apollo's gaze grew serious, and heat rolled off his body. He reached out and cupped her cheek.

Her stomach fluttered, and her wolf howled and begged for more.

Apollo leaned in, and with every inch closer he moved, the more conflicted she became. Her wolf and her heart craved the feel of his lips on hers. But her brain screamed that it was wrong. She would be cheating on Ares.

An inch from her face, River stepped back, bumped into the shelf, and sent a bottle hurdling downward.

Apollo grabbed the bottle before it hit the floor. His gaze stayed on hers, and then he straightened and put the bottle back on the shelf.

He licked his lips and gave her a tight smile. "They have a candy counter on the other side of the store and make their fudge from scratch. You have to try it."

Her eyes widened. "Candy. Did you say candy? And real fudge?"

He offered her his arm. She set down the teddy bear she still held and took it.

Her wolf grumbled.

Oh, shut it! Just because you are ready to throw yourself at him doesn't mean I am a tramp. Did you forget about Ares so quick?

Her wolf whined, but River didn't know who she whined for, Apollo or Ares.

Apollo picked out almost all of the candies in the old-fashioned jars to take back to the cabin with him. He smiled like a child when the store owner handed over the haul.

"What do you want?"

River snorted. "And I thought I had a sweet tooth. I think there's enough in that bag for both of us."

Apollo pulled the bag to his chest. "This is mine, Kitten. None of this "No, I don't want dessert" business, and then you eat half of mine. If you want candy, get some."

She tried to discern if he was joking. But when he flashed her his fangs, she knew he wasn't.

Okay, sharing candy was off the table. Fair enough.

River got a two-pound fudge sampler and assured Apollo that she was not interested in sharing either. Then she got a box of fudge for each man as an apology for losing it earlier. Apollo said she didn't have to, but she insisted. She contemplated getting one for Ares but thought better of it.

They hadn't even left the store before Apollo dug into his candy. River handed boxes to Bennett, Silas, and Lachlan, each of whom bowed and thanked her. She made them stop before people began to stare.

She gave her box to Lachlan, who promised to keep it safe.

"I'm pretty sure no one is going to try and mug you for a box of fudge, but if you could keep it from melting, that would be great."

"I don't know," said Bennett. "This fudge is worth mugging someone for."

"What about you?" said Silas. "You gonna trust me with your giant suitcase-sized bag of Halloween candy?"

Apollo looked at him. "Hell no."

Everyone laughed, and then Silas took Apollo's candy.

"Why don't you focus on your mate, not your sugar tooth today?"

"Why can't I do both?"

"Because candy makes you crazy," Silas and Bennett said together.

"You remember when we were twelve and Jonas took your candy bag? I thought you were going to put him in the ER."

"Dude. I was twelve. I'd spent hours going house to house for that haul."

"Well, for the safety of your mate, who might accidentally try and sneak one from you, we are keeping it."

Apollo growled and shook his head.

The dynamic between Apollo and his men differed significantly from Ares and the others. Ares was cautious, serious.

Apollo grabbed a candy stick from his bag and shoved it in his mouth before taking her hand. "There's a place I want to show you down the street. Then we can stop at the little shop across the way and get you more clothes."

She nodded, and they headed down the sidewalk. She looked over her shoulder to see Silas digging into Apollo's bag of candy.

She suppressed a giggle. They better not try that with her fudge, or they'd lose a hand.

* * *

APOLLO

Apollo did everything he could to fight his inner beast. Her rejection of his kiss sent his beast into overdrive, and it had taken every ounce of strength to keep the animal from emerging and ripping the store apart and marking her right there.

So he'd done the only thing he could think of; he'd distracted himself, and the only distraction was the candy counter. With each sugary delight he popped into his mouth, his wolf became diverted enough for Apollo to calm him. It was stupid, and he didn't understand it, but for some reason, if his animal couldn't screw or kill, only food calmed him. Especially desserts and sweets.

By the time they left the store, his wolf was calm enough to lie down. That didn't mean he wasn't still grumbling, though.

Mine. Mate. Omega.

Trust me, I get it. But that's not the way.

Mine. Take.

Ours. No take. She gives.

His wolf grumbled and then huffed.

For the moment, he had calmed the beast enough to keep him from escaping his tether, but Apollo wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep that tether on lockdown.

"What did you want to show me?"

Apollo pointed to the shop at the end of the corner. "It's right there."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and when they came to the shop, he stopped to watch her reaction.

A smile spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled when she looked at him. His wolf howled.

"Wood carving?"

"The man who makes them has been doing it for over forty years. The big ones he does with a chainsaw in the back."

"That is so cool." She pulled open the door, and he held it for her as she entered.

The scent of pine, cedar, redwood, and more permeated the store, along with the smell of varnish and motor oil.

A bell tinkled overhead, and River headed straight to a giant statue of a bear standing in the corner.

"Wow." She looked up at the eight-foot behemoth.

Apollo still had no idea how the older man did it, how he achieved such fantastic detail with such enormous tools.

River ran her fingers over the bear and then turned her attention to a statue of two smaller cubs.

"These are unbelievable."

"Thank you." An older man emerged from the back room.

River looked up at him. "You are so talented."

He chuckled, and his belly jiggled in his overalls. "All it takes is practice. Anyone could do it."

River shook her head. "You're being modest. I sculpt with metal, which you can do with practice, but this…" She gestured around. "This takes talent."

The gentleman waved her off. "You could do it too if you tried."

"Me?"

"Why not?"

An idea popped into Apollo's head. "Would you be willing to give her a lesson? I'd pay, of course."

The man looked at him and shrugged. "Sure. You don't need to pay me, though. Just seeing her beautiful face is payment enough."

Apollo's wolf raised his head and growled. Apollo pulled out his wallet. "I insist."

He handed three hundred-dollar bills to the man.

The man shrugged and pocketed the cash. He held out his hand to River.

"I'm Walt."

"River. And this is my…" She looked at Apollo. "This is Apollo."

Apollo shook the man's hand, taking stock of his firm grip.

"Well, come on," said Walt. "I just put a couple pieces of fresh wood outback."

"Now?"

Apollo shrugged. "Unless you want to wait."

She shook her head vigorously, and Apollo smiled for making her happy.

"How about I get us some coffee from across the street and come back and join you?"

"Strong and black," said Walt. "Denise knows how I like it."

Apollo nodded and looked at River.

"Just a large soda, please."

"What kind?"

"Surprise me." She smiled at him and then followed Walt into the backroom. The two began to chat as they went, and Apollo's wolf grumbled.

"Oh please, he's old enough to be her grandfather."

Mine.

"Fine. If he touches her, I'll let you eat him. Happy?"

His wolf wasn't happy. Not one bit. And if Apollo was being honest, he wasn't either, but he knew one thing for sure– if he wanted to win over River, he needed to be patient. Patient and calm. The two characteristics his twin did not possess.