18. Miles

EIGHTEEN

MILES

I'd tried to make the drive to Tate's house as casual and calming as I could. Celina was doing a good job of acting like things were fine, but I'd been around her enough to know that she was probably freaking out. Everyone knew she was shy and an introvert. Tate had even given his daughters Mariah and Jordyn a heads up. Which was good. In my experience, Jordyn could be a lot. She was sweet, but the girl could talk your ears off.

There were two other cars parked outside Tate's house. One was Blayne's, and the other belonged to Steff and April, which meant we were the last to arrive. We were supposed to eat around two, so we'd have a few hours to hang out, talk, and finish cooking. Hopefully, that would be enough time for Celina to get settled and comfortable with everyone.

"You ready?" I asked as I turned off the truck.

"Yeah, sure," she answered. Her voice sounded calm, but she was gripping the platter of cookies with white-knuckled determination.

Once we stepped inside, Harley was the first one to greet her. "Oh my goodness, you didn't need to bring anything."

She took the tray of cookies from Celina and gave her a small hug. Celina smiled. "It's the least I could do. Thanks for having me over."

"No one should be alone for Thanksgiving," Harley said, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Celina's shoulders visibly loosened. Hopefully, that meant she was relaxing.

She was shy, that was for sure, but I tried to stay with her the whole time. I introduced her to my friends, April, and all the kids.

"Oh my gosh," Jordyn said when she met her, "I've read all your books. I love you so much."

Celina's eyes went wide. "All my books? Um…you mean?—"

"I think…" I added quickly, "…that she means the books under your actual name. Not any of your pen names."

Jordyn's eyes went even wider. "Are you serious? You have more books? What are your other names?"

"Well, I can tell you some of them, but there are a few that are"—she blushed and glanced at me—"maybe a little too much for someone your age."

Jordyn took Celina by the arm and led her to the couch so they could talk books. April and Mariah joined them. I caught Celina's eye and raised my eyebrows, giving her a questioning thumbs-up. She grinned and nodded. I went to the kitchen to check if Harley needed any help.

"Anything I can do for you?" I asked.

Harley shook her head. "Deviled eggs and pasta salad are made. Dressing and two different casseroles are in the oven, I'm boiling potatoes now to mash later. All I really have to do is bake the rolls. You can check on Tate and the guys outside. They're helping him smoke a turkey."

"Sounds good." I stepped out onto the back porch.

Tate nodded and tossed me a beer from the cooler at his feet. Steff and Blayne were in the yard, tossing a football back and forth to each other. When they saw me, they stopped and walked over.

"How's Celina?" Tate asked.

"Seems fine, actually. Jordyn accosted her about her books first thing."

Tate winced. "Ah, shit. Do I need to go in there and pry her jaws off your lady?"

I laughed. "Nah, they seem good. Mariah and April swooped in to help. She likes talking about books, so it should be a nice safe topic."

"Speaking of safety…" Blayne said, "…how are things going with the hunter chick?"

I sat on a patio chair. "Not great, actually, but that might work in our favor."

I told them about the fight Celina had with Felicity about us and that she was trying to turn her against us. That she'd told Celina we were worthless and not worth her time.

Steff nodded. "She's trying to lead her away from you. Turn you feral and get the curse to do its thing."

It was the most logical thing for her to do. The hunters had hired Emily to do exactly that. The curse they'd told her to cast hadn't worked out the way they wanted, but it still would cause us untold pain. They knew that if my mate rejected me, I would go feral and probably die in agony or of heartbreak or whatever the spell did.

Blayne pointed at the house. "Well, Celina is here. Looks like their little plan isn't working."

"Yeah, things are looking good. My wolf has been fairly calm for a while now."

"That won't last," Steff added, then drank from his beer.

"I know. I really want to tell her what's going on. The whole story."

Tate and Steff gave each other a look. "That's a big step…" Tate said, "…but I think things will work out. We can't make that call for you. Let us know when you plan on telling her. We'll give you any support you need."

"Thanks, that means a lot." I decided to change the subject to something equally pressing. "Any word on this Antonio guy?"

Blayne shook his head. "The guy went dark about two years ago. I searched his bank records and stuff, but he owns so many shell companies it's almost impossible to figure out where he is. He covers his tracks by buying and selling houses, apartments, and penthouses, then reselling them to other companies, buying them back under false names." Blayne rubbed a hand across his face. "It's like a billion-dollar shell game. Constantly moving, constantly changing, no rhyme or reason."

"Okay, then. What's our next move?" Steff asked.

I tossed my empty beer can in the trash can beside the grill and stood. "I think we send word to every pack. Literally every single pack we know. Tell them what they are dealing with and to be prepared. I'll call my old pack, talk to the alpha again. At this point, until we catch a break, all we can do is get everyone on the same page and stay ready."

I hadn't heard anything from my parents, but I trusted that the alpha had relayed my words to them. I'd thought about trying to contact Liz, to give her my condolences, but that was probably pointless. All it would do was make things awkward as she grieved.

We talked for a while as the turkey finished cooking, and I checked in on Celina a few times. To my relief, she seemed to be enjoying herself. I'd been a little worried that she'd curl into a ball in the corner and freak out. My wolf was overjoyed to see her enjoying being around my pack. These people were the closest thing I had to family, and I wanted her to enjoy being around them.

Eventually, Tate finished the turkey and brought it inside. As we came in, I saw Celina sitting on the recliner, holding Tate and Harley's son, Tory. It looked so natural. The grin on her face as she looked down at the little guy made my heart leap with joy.

Harley leaned over to me. "Tory took to her immediately. Like he'd always known her."

"Really?" I asked, not taking my eyes away from Celina.

Harley squeezed my arm. "I really like her, Miles. Everyone does."

Watching Celina cradle the baby caused my wolf to perk up. For the first time since meeting her, I was filled with a primal urge to claim. A sense of longing and love filled me. My wolf fed the desire, and I wondered if this was what Steff and Tate had talked about. Since being banished, I knew my wolf had missed having a family and the old pack. My new family was great, and I'd found peace with my friends, but it wasn't the same as having a pack of your own. A pack you grew up with. My wolf seemed to be desperate for that.

We all settled around the table and devoured the food. It was, possibly, the best holiday I'd ever had. Mostly it was because Celina was there, but something else was happening too. The guys and I had been so alone for so long, that experiencing this was something none of us had ever thought we'd have––mates, kids, laughter, good food, celebration. It felt like a dream I didn't want to wake up from.

After dinner, we hung out for a few more hours. Once it was time for dessert, everyone raved about Celina's cookies. She seemed to truly appreciate everyone's praise. Before we left, April and Harley pulled Celina aside in the kitchen, and my shifter hearing caught what they were talking about. The ladies were offering to take Celina out for a night on the town with them and Kris's wife, Chelsea. I watched a serene and happy smile spread across Celina's face as she nodded happily.

On the way home, I took us on a detour up into the mountains that surrounded Lilly Valley and stopped at a lookout. We sat there in companionable silence, staring at the lights of the town for several quiet minutes.

"I really like your friends," Celina finally said.

"They've become family to me. Since I don't have one." I realized that wasn't entirely true and added, "Well, I do have a family. It's been a long time since I've seen them, though."

"What happened? Why don't you see your family anymore? I get why I'm alone, but why are you?"

I sighed, thinking of the best way to describe it. "Something happened a long time ago. I got kicked out because I did something dumb that reflected really bad on my parents. I embarrassed them, and rather than have them face the same fate I did, I left. I loved them so much, and knew they'd do anything for me. I couldn't let them. So, I left in the middle of the night. Didn't tell them where I was going. One day I had a family, the next day, I was on my own. Simple as that."

I looked over and saw she had tears in her eyes. She put a hand on my arm. "You're leaving something out. I can tell. You weren't some rebellious kid who would do something bad for no reason. Plus, what kind of a family wouldn't follow you? If my kid left in the middle of the night, nothing would stop me from finding them. There's pain in your voice, so I know you regret leaving. Why won't you tell me? I promise it isn't that bad. I can take it."

No one had ever been this close to me, so intimate that they could read my voice, and see through my carefully layered stories. She could read me like one of her books. I'd never let anyone get this close to me before, always pushing them away, holding them at arm's length.

"I miss my parents every single day. You're right about that."

Celina took my hand. "Why can't you go home? If you love them that much, they must love you equally, if not more."

"It's complicated." I chuckled. "You might be ready for the truth soon. I didn't kill anyone or anything if that's what you're thinking."

She grinned. "Good to know. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready. I can take whatever you throw at me."

I kissed her, surprising both of us, and rested my hand on her thigh. I wanted this connection. After this day, I wasn't sure anything could be better than sitting here, looking out at one of the most beautiful views in the world, and kissing my mate.

We got home an hour later, and I walked her to her door. Before she could step inside, I grabbed her hand. "What are your plans for this weekend?"

"Oh, well, I need to be up in about three hours to go Black Friday shopping."

I stared at her, dumbfounded, and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

She laughed and blushed. "I actually got you with that one. No. I was going to go out Saturday or Sunday and do some decoration shopping. There should be some good deals."

"Decorations? For what?"

"My apartment. What else?" She smiled.

I was out of my depth here. She was supposed to leave in less than a week. Why would she put up decorations? I asked her as much, and she gave me a sheepish grin.

"I'm staying for a while. I told my agent I was going to stay in Lilly Valley a while longer. I signed a two-month lease, but only planned on staying a month. I was only going to stay longer if I really liked it." She looked down, her face going red. "I do really like it here. There are some things that are pretty amazing here. I'm going to talk to the rental agency on Monday and see if I can rent it all the way through until their next tenant is supposed to move in. Two or three more months, maybe?"

I had to clamp my teeth together to prevent myself from shouting in joy. My wolf was doing prancing tap dances inside my mind at the news. I cleared my throat and smiled at her, trying to maintain a calm exterior.

"Are you serious?" I asked, wanting to be sure I heard her right. "You're staying?"

"Yeah. For now."

The words were barely out of her mouth before I had my lips on hers. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. Celina was startled at first, but after a moment. she seemed to melt in my arms.

I pulled away. "That's the best news I've had in a while."

Celina smiled and tried to catch her breath. "I'm glad you're happy. I could get used to your honesty."

"Get used to it. I'll always be honest with you about how I feel."

She looked at me from beneath her lashes, a skittish look of an animal that's been wounded too many times to trust anyone. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke again. "And how do you feel?"

As an answer, I pulled her to me again. This kiss was deeper and more intense than the last. I tried to put everything I felt into it. I wanted there to be no doubt in her mind how I felt about her. She was mine, and I was hers.