9781616503369 (2 page)

“If you don’t like it, we can return it and get you something else. Jason mentioned you didn’t have a charm bracelet. I thought this was the perfect occasion to start one for all the important events in your life,” Samantha rambled as Julie stared at the small charm.

“It’s beautiful.” She smiled at Samantha’s anxious face. “Absolutely beautiful. I love it.” Samantha’s answering smile lit up the room, her satisfaction in bringing Julie pleasure obvious. Evidence of the caring nature and kind heart her brother needed in a life mate. His wolf had chosen well. If only she had a guide to help her in matters of the heart, she never would’ve gotten involved with her selfish ex.

The doorbell interrupted her wayward thoughts. She looked over, and a spark of desire shot through her system as Laurie moved to the door. Even before it opened, she knew Brendan stood on the other side.

Julie stared at the pane, desperate to see him again. She knew he wasn’t meant for her, but even as a little girl with pigtails she’d been fascinated by him. Despite her best efforts to move on, her childhood crush had grown with time. At college, everyone she’d met had paled in comparison.

Julie clutched the charm bracelet as Brendan came into view. He was more attractive than she’d remembered, which she hadn’t thought possible. Her hands twitched, the craving to run them through his short but thick dark brown hair made her stomach clench. His smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes until his gaze met hers across the room.

“Jules. I thought I saw you come into town earlier. I wanted to come by and drop this off.” Julie didn’t know what to say as he handed her a jewelry box-sized package.

Brendan had always been close to her family, having been a friend of Laurie’s since elementary school. She’d always suspected the two of them were mates, and couldn’t understand why they hadn’t claimed each other yet.

Her stomach, having flown moments before when Brendan had handed her the gift, dropped. He probably thought of her as a little sister, which was the last place she wanted to be with him.

* * * *

Brendan narrowed his eyes as he stared at Julie. Something wasn’t right. Her face had glowed with surprised pleasure as he’d handed her the gift. But soon after, he’d watched her pleasure dim and her posture stiffen. What could possibly be going through his mate’s head?

“You know the gift is actually
inside
the pretty silver paper,” Brendan joked, careful to keep his tone light. His wolf, sensing his mate’s distress, wanted to back her into a corner and snarl at everyone in the room. No one would stand between her and happiness.

Julie’s gaze shot to his before she laughed her discomfort away. Once again a mask slid into place. The carefree, happy girl he’d grown up with stood in front of him.

Brendan almost stepped back in shock. Questions whirled through his mind. How long had she been unhappy? How long had she hidden whatever internal torment she suffered from? And why had he never sensed it before?

“You didn’t have to get me anything, you know. It was sweet of you but unnecessary.” Julie rambled as she untied the ribbon and peeled the silver paper away from the box. Her words ended on a gasp as she opened the black velvet jewelry case and revealed a small wolf medallion hanging from a necklace chain.

“I put it on a chain, but Jason mentioned they were getting you a charm bracelet so you can always have it attached if you want.”

He didn’t mention the trouble he’d gone through to get one crafted to his specifications. Little though it was, he wanted something that resembled his wolf. He knew he couldn’t claim her immediately, but the need to mark her even in such a small way had been too strong to resist.

“Here, let me,” he said as Julie lifted the chain from the box. She swept her hair to the side as he moved behind her to fasten it around her neck. The urge to place a kiss on her nape just below the clasp, almost overpowered him, but movement to his right reminded him they had an audience. He looked over and met Danny’s shrewd stare. Sparing a glance around the room, he saw similar looks on Ethan and Jason’s faces. Laurie, on the other hand, looked amused.

He’d worry about her brothers later. Right now he wanted to see his charm against Julie’s pale skin. She turned toward him, her hand cradling the necklace.

“Thank you.” She smiled. It was a genuine smile, not the mask she’d displayed earlier. Seeing her unadulterated joy, and knowing he was the cause, warmed him as nothing else could have.

“It looks good on you,” he whispered, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. The familiar scent of her strawberry shampoo hit him in the gut as it surrounded him. She pulled away sooner than he liked, shooting a glance in Laurie’s direction as she retreated. Brendan almost followed, wanting to know what had spooked her, but stopped at the regret in her eyes as she peeked at him. What did Julie have to regret? It disturbed him more than he wanted to admit. Something was very wrong.

Her father cleared his throat. “Well, I think it’s time for the cake. Brendan, you’re staying, right?” Brendan nodded, his gaze focused on Julie the whole time. She chose a seat between her brothers, leaving him to take one next to Laurie. Charles, their father, handed him a slice of cake, and Judith held out a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

He’d always been amazed by the Callahans’ welcoming nature. His mother had been loving and supportive, but hadn’t been able to be both mother and father to him. He had few memories of his father who had died when he was five. He’d met Laurie the next year when he’d started kindergarten. She’d befriended him the very first day, later admitting she couldn’t turn away from the sadness in his eyes. She’d brought him home to play that afternoon, and her father had taken Brendan under his wings.

They’d treated him like family, and when his mother passed away after his eighteenth birthday, the Callahans had been there, assuring him he would never be alone. He hoped they would be as supportive after he revealed his intentions toward Julie.

Growing up, there had been an unspoken rule among the Callahan clan. Julie was their treasure, and they guarded her closely. He never knew whether it was the fact she was the youngest, or her human status that compelled her siblings to protect her so fiercely. But whatever the reason, it had been clear she was off-limits. Respect for the family had held him back from staking a claim years ago when he’d first felt the mating pull. Julie had only been fourteen to Brendan’s eighteen, and there had been no doubt her family would have disapproved. But now they were both adults, and she made her own decisions.

It would be interesting to see their reactions as the next few weeks played out. Jason might be Premier, the leader of the pack, but nothing would stand between Brendan and Julie.

Although he’d never flaunted his strength, nor had any desire to lead the pack, Brendan was an alpha wolf too. He didn’t want to fight any of her brothers but would if he had to. Of course if all three jumped him, he might have problems.

As he pondered the possibility of fighting his three pack officers, he caught Julie studying him. She blushed as her lips curled up in a smile. Brendan couldn’t help but answer with one of his own.

She was worth any cuts or bruises he might have to endure. She was worth everything. Now all he had to do was convince her they were made for each other and figure out why she seemed so eager to pull away from him whenever he got close.

Chapter 2

Julie looked up from the account books as the bell above the front door jingled. The formal greeting died on her tongue as Brendan strode into the bookstore. His charming smile never failed to heat her blood. He looked around the room for a moment before settling his gaze on her. The warmth in his stare surrounded her, and she couldn’t help but return his smile.

“Hey beautiful,” he said, strolling over to her counter. “Where are Laurie and Samantha?”

Julie’s smile slipped a tiny bit before she plastered it in place. Of course he wanted to know where Laurie was. He probably came by every day at lunch to spend time with her.

“I’m sorry you just missed them. They went out to lunch at the diner, but you can probably catch up to them. They left a few minutes ago.” Brendan’s gaze narrowed as if he sensed her inner torment.

“Now why would I want to go chasing after those two when I can spend time alone with you?”

Julie felt his hand brush her cheek as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Wanting to savor the sensation, she closed her eyes until reason returned. What was she doing? This was Brendan who was not only way out of her league, but thought of her as a little sister. Besides, even if he were interested, she’d never betray Laurie like that. She had to get her imagination under control.

“So what are you doing out this way? Shouldn’t you be working in your studio?”

Unless he’d moved, Brendan’s metalworking studio was located on the other side of town. Not a huge trek considering how small Alpine Woods was, but the bookstore was far enough to be out of the way.

“I wanted to see you. You’ve been away a long time. I thought we should catch up.” Brendan shrugged. The carefree move drew Julie’s gaze to his shoulders. She could imagine gripping them in her hands, pulling him closer as he leaned in for a kiss.

A blush stole over her cheeks as she pushed the thoughts out of her head. Why couldn’t she get rid of this stupid crush? “It has been a long time.”

“Have dinner with me. Tonight.”

Shocked, her gaze shot to Brendan. Dinner? The invitation sounded like a date, but that couldn’t be right. She must be imagining things again.

* * * *

Brendan cringed. That wasn’t what he meant to say. He’d planned to come in and charm her a bit. Lay down some ground work before asking her out. But when she looked at his chest and blushed, he hadn’t been able to stop the words.

“Of course. I’d love to have a friendly dinner. Maybe we should invite Laurie too.” The emphasis she put on the words “friendly” and “Laurie” made him frown. Had Julie just shot him down? It wasn’t every day a woman he asked on a date invited another woman along.

“Laurie?”

“Yeah, why not? I wouldn’t want to steal you away from her, even for a night,” Julie said, the fake smile he hated back in place. He was getting better at distinguishing between the real one and the fake one. The differences were subtle but obvious if one paid enough attention and knew where to look.

Trying to absorb every detail, Brendan stared at her. Something wasn’t adding up. Why would she invite Laurie with them if the idea displeased her?

“Julie, what do you mean ‘steal me away from Laurie’?”

Julie started to fidget, avoiding eye contact. So he walked behind the counter until he stood in front of her. Cupping her jaw in his hand, he tilted her chin until her gaze rose to meet his.

“What’s going through your head, baby?” Brendan stared into her eyes, hoping he would somehow break through the wall she had erected. Her face fell until not even the fake smile remained. For just a moment, he glimpsed the turmoil within.

“Brendan, stop. What if Laurie walks in?” She tilted her chin out of his grip and stepped back, away from him. His wolf’s hackles rose at her retreat. A growl rumbled from low in his throat, causing Julie’s eyes to widen.

Why did she keep bringing up Laurie? He needed to figure out what was going on, and he needed to figure it out now. Every instinct screamed at him. Something wasn’t right, and his wolf struggled for control. All he wanted to do was shift and hunt down whoever had put the haunted look on her face.

“Why all this talk about Laurie? What does she have to do with anything?”

“She’s my sister, Brendan. You can’t be naïve enough to think fooling around with me wouldn’t hurt her. I wouldn’t do that to anyone, much less my own sister.”

Brendan took a step back. He held up his hands and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I’ve obviously missed something. What are you talking about?”

“You and Laurie. I don’t know why you two haven’t mated yet, but she’d be hurt if we fooled around.” As Julie’s words sank in, his frustration gave way to the slow burn of anger.

“Laurie told you we were mates?” He couldn’t help the forcefulness of his voice, even seeing her start. The way her eyes widened made him regret his tone. Wanting to assure her, he took a step forward, and watched her take a hasty step back in retreat.

The last thing he wanted was to scare her. Didn’t she know he’d die before he ever hurt her? He needed to get away before he scared her any more. He didn’t trust himself right now. His wolf was too close to the surface, stirred by his strong emotions.

Anger burned in his gut. He needed answers, but he couldn’t force them out of Julie without damaging their relationship. There had to be another way to get the information he needed. Hopefully, Laurie could tell him why the woman he loved,
his actual mate
, believed he was destined to another. Not just another, her own sister. He’d waited too long for Julie to have this keep them apart.

All those years, waiting for Julie to be ready and holding back from any serious relationship. The whole time, the woman he’d waited for thought he was already taken. And had suffered as a result. The regret and torment in her eyes whenever he got close told him this misconception played some part in her sadness.

Trying not to frighten her more, Brendan retreated, storming out of the bookstore. With each step he took toward the diner, his anger grew as he reflected on the wasted years.

He strode straight to the diner where Julie had mentioned Laurie and Samantha were having lunch. Friendship aside, Laurie would regret it if she’d driven a stake between him and Julie. Considering their long friendship, he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but he wanted answers. Was this the reason Julie always kept him at arm’s length?

Swinging the door open, Brendan stalked inside and sought out the two women. He approached their table and stood with his hands fisted. Both looked up, their smiles dying as they took in his appearance. He could only imagine what he looked like, half-crazed with frustration.