Untamed: an Alpha's Love (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) (9 page)

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

In the cramped guest bed that night, Parker held Charmaine tighter than usual, his arms crushing her against his restless body. For once, though, his hands didn't roam over her curves, and she didn't try to distract him from his grief by making a move on him. She listened to his breathing and kissed his knuckles, one by one.

"Let's have our Mating Ceremony tomorrow," he whispered in her ear. "I want to do it now, while my dad is still lucid." His breath caught on the last word and when she turned to him, his face was wet.

She'd never seen Parker cry. She never knew he
did
cry. Somehow the thought of her strong, capable husband being reduced to tears was so incongruous that it had never even occurred to her. But his father was dying. He was closer to his dad than anyone else in the world, even closer than she'd been with her own father. It was understandable. But it tore at her all the same, and when she cradled his damp face to her chest and felt deep, heaving, silent sobs rack his body she thought the pain would eat her alive. Had he felt this way when she'd lost César? And if so, how on earth did he bear it?

Threading her fingers through his soft hair, she held him, her lips skimming his feverish forehead. "Okay, Baby," she murmured. "Tomorrow. It's a good idea."

He nodded. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with grief. "I want him there. I'm sorry there isn't time to make it more special."

"Shhh, Baby, it's special enough with our families. Don't worry." Inside she mulled that over, trying to process how she really felt about it.
Is that really okay?
No dress? No preparations?
But she wasn't disappointed, not really. The Mating Ceremony was a formality. A traditional pack rite of passage, more for their loved ones than anything else. They were already legally married and declared Mated by an Elder. They could have a Mating Ceremony in their pajamas if they chose.

I have to call Mom
. She hadn't spoken to her mother in weeks. Up until the day she lost her job they'd exchanged several e-mails and text messages, but she missed the sound of her mother's voice. Guiltily she realized she hadn't been such a good daughter, even before Christopher had fired her.

She knew her mom had Shannon to lean on and that in a time like this, her mom needed to mourn without worrying about anyone else's feelings. She was a widow first now that her children were adults and didn't need constant looking after.
But I should have called. Taken her to dinner, looked in on her, something
. As she considered the tight-knit Kreuger nucleus huddled under one roof she felt even more like a failure.
Maybe Christopher's right. I don't deserve my family. I've been a shitty excuse for a daughter.

She pushed away the stubborn, petty voice that reminded her
the phone works both ways
and resolved to call her mother in the morning. Maddie's pinched little face came to her as if haunting her with her own advice to say what she needed to say, now. She had better not wait for tragedy to take her mother, too.

Before the sun was up she crept into the living room to make the call. She could hear Lena and Dominic murmuring to each other in the den.
She probably stayed up all night, poor woman. I would
. Her thoughts were confirmed as Lena slipped into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, still dressed in yesterday's clothes and moving with the stiffness of the bone-weary.

The phone rang, and then Crystal's breathless voice greeted her. She realized she'd probably interrupted her mother exercising to one of her favorite early morning fitness shows. In the background she could hear an impossibly peppy voice counting, "...nine... One more..."

"Mom!" she cried into the phone, relief flooding through her body. "Mom, it's me, Charmaine. Please don't hang up."

"Sweetie, why would I hang up? What's the matter? You sound strange. Scottie said you had a falling out with Christopher. Is that what this is all about?"

A falling out with Christopher?
But she realized what Scottie had done. He'd seen through Christopher's bluff and bought her more time. Her mom probably had no idea what was even going on. Christopher hadn't said a word to her about any of it. It had all been just a giant manipulation.

"I'm okay, Mom. Can we talk?"

"Of course, Sweetie." She heard her mom fumbling around and the perky countdown abruptly ceased.

Charmaine took a deep breath and began, all the way back at the beginning. Scottie's idea to crash the Kreuger pack's party. Meeting Parker in the hospital. Her visions (edited to a PG rating, of course). Scottie's proposal. The secret Vegas wedding. Christopher firing her. All the way up to being recognized as Mates by Elder Samson. She spilled it all.

She left out only one piece of information, the most important piece, because she wanted to give her mother time to digest everything before she hit her with the biggest news. As it was, Crystal was speechless.

"I know you and Shannon had your hearts set on me and Scottie, Mom. I'm sorry that's not happening. But Scottie is still family, no matter what."
Even if I'm not speaking to him right now for acting like an overprotective jerk and sleeping with a married whore.

"Sweetheart..." Her mother sighed. "I think you misunderstood us. We always hoped, of course we did. But I want you to be happy, and Mates are very special. I wouldn't dream of interfering with that. Surely you know me better."

"I don't know what I know about our family anymore," she whispered, her eyes filling. "Without Pop it feels like we don't even have a family anymore."

"Oh, Sweetie..." Crystal's voice was choked with emotion. "I know you must miss him so much. I do. I can't believe he's gone. Sometimes I still go into his office and just..." She sniffled and steadied her voice. "I miss him every day."

"I miss both of you. Especially now."
Tell her
, she urged herself, and before she could second-guess herself the words tumbled out. "I'm having a baby. Parker and I are expecting a son."

There was only stunned silence from the other end of the receiver. She could still hear her mother breathing, so she ventured, "Mom, say something."

"I'm going to be a grandmother?" Crystal's tentative voice was filled with awe.

Charmaine nodded, even though her mother couldn't see her, laughing and sobbing simultaneously as she confirmed, "You're going to be a grandmother."

"And are you healthy? Have you been to the doctor? Do you feel okay?"

"Yes, I'm healthy. I go to the doctor next week. I have some nausea, but it's okay if I take it easy."

"Can I see you?"

"Well... that's why I'm calling. I wanted to invite you over to the Kreuger's today. His dad is in bad shape, really bad shape, and we need to have our Mating Ceremony today or he might not make it. And I wanted to be sure you could be there."

"Of course... I'll come now... or whenever you want me."

"Come now," she pleaded. "And mom?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't call. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sweetie. Text me the address."

As Charmaine hung up she felt lighter than ever. She tapped the address into her phone to send it to Crystal and headed to Dominic's room to say good morning.

CHAPTER TWENTY

With their hands clasped together, Parker and
Charmaine shared their first, official Mated kiss in front of their families. He smoothed a strand of silky, dark hair back from her forehead and gazed deep into her eyes. Seeing her love and longing reflected back at him took his breath away every time. She was beautiful. Perfect.

Mine
. The beast inside him wanted to take her and claim her right there. For half a second he let the wildness course through his veins before he gently tipped her chin again and planted a loving husband's kiss on her soft mouth. Her blue eyes twinkled back at him and she whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "I love you, Baby."

His heart swelled as he pulled his bride close. The past twenty-four hours had been tough, and he was grateful for this tender timeout. Charmaine's mother had been so thrilled to be invited, and without the strain of her husband's critical medical issues she was a charming addition to the family gathering. Crystal had her daughter's vivacity and the same sparkling blue eyes. She and Lena hit it off instantly. And Charmaine had been wonderful with Maddie, really listening to her and taking his little sister under his wing. He was grateful for the harmony of their two families.

Charmaine went into the kitchen with both their mothers to get drinks ready for everyone and he took a seat beside his father's bed. The hospital bed had been moved and propped, the entire living room rearranged to accommodate Dominic. Now, just minutes after the ceremony, he was barely awake, fighting the effects of the pain medication that he had insisted he didn't want beforehand. The drugs pumped through his system via an IV drip, and his eyelids drooped. His withered hand twitched toward Parker, who took his father's cold, pale hand in his and warmed it with his own.

"I love you, Dad."

Dominic's mouth moved in response but no sound escaped his lips. His eyes burned into Parker's—just for a moment, that fiery gaze he'd grown up with was back—and then his eyelids fluttered closed. He recognized his father's goodbye and knew, without any further confirmation, that Dominic would never open his eyes again.

Later that afternoon they all sat gathered around his bed. The nurse been by after the ceremony and had gently advised them that it would be only hours. Dominic was as comfortable as they could make him. Parker held his mom's hand and Maddie nestled against Charmaine. They held a silent vigil until Dominic took his final breath just before sunset.

CHAPTER TWENTY
ONE

They were still at his parents' house three days later when Parker kissed her quickly, his car keys in his hand, and murmured that he was heading back to the house to pick up a few things.

"Now? Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you stay here. I'll just be real quick. I have to get some..." he paused and looked away and the certainty that he was lying gripped her insides, "...just some stuff of my dad's. I'll be right back."

"But Parker, we were supposed to—" He was gone. She heard the growl of the Audi backing out of the driveway.

Something's not right.
He'd been out of sorts ever since his dad had passed, which was understandable—except it wasn't all grief. Sometimes she caught him watching her, deep in thought, the feral animal inside him lurking right below the surface.
He's protecting me again
, she thought grimly.
There's pack business going on again that I don't know about.

She had her phone in her hand before she even realized what she was planning to do. It was time to make amends with Scottie. Maybe there was one person in her life she could convince not to hide things from her. Her finger hovered above the screen, ready to tap his number, when Christine's voice purred in her head,
Scottie's really sweet... gorgeous...those golden eyes, that amazing body.
Nope, Scottie was hiding things, too. But she wanted to hear his voice and tell him that she was safe now. She hated to think of him worrying, which she knew he did, Christine or no Christine. With a sigh her finger pressed the "call" icon and she put the phone to her ear.

Half an hour later she was even more confused and suspicious than ever. Scottie had spent nearly half the conversation gushing about the new woman in his life, "Chris," who he described as "Jamison's gorgeous sister." Apparently he'd been spending all his time with her, and she'd cooked up quite an elaborate web of lies to spin around herself. His "Chris" was a soon-to-be divorcée who'd moved in with her brother to escape her abusive husband. According to Scottie she was the most incredible woman he'd ever met but she kept evading him when he pressed for something more serious.

What kind of game are those freaks playing with him?
Charmaine had no idea how to burst his bubble. Furthermore, she didn't know why Christine would be play-acting at any of this. Pretending to be Jamison's sister? Inventing an abusive ex-husband to tug at his heartstrings?
What the hell is going on?

Her mind reeled as she recounted to him her recent validation by the Elder and her conversation with Crystal. Scottie seemed genuinely happy about her Mating Ceremony and didn't complain that he hadn't been invited.

When she'd thanked him for running interference with her mom, though, she detected a chill in his voice.

"What's up?"

"Your asshole brother. I was more than happy to help him out, but he stabbed me in the back. So fuck him—I'm glad you got to see your mom."

"What did Christopher do now?" she asked.

"He put the moves on my girl."

"He
what
?" Christine and Christopher? That was the ultimate evil pairing.

"She was with me when I went over to his place to talk business. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back out he was way too close to her, touching her and flirting with her. Later she told me he gave her his number and said he wanted to see her sometime. Who does that? Asshole."

"Business? What business do you have with Christopher?"

"Did you not hear me? Fuck the business, Charmaine, he hit on my woman. He's lucky I didn't kick his ass. If he hadn't had the place guarded—"

"What do you mean, 'guarded'?"

"His whole house is surrounded by security. You know how paranoid he is. He's got scouts and bodyguards everywhere. The place is a fortress."

Protecting him from whom?
It didn't make any sense. Christopher was paranoid, yes, and he had an overinflated sense of his own importance, but even for him that seemed like a lot of security. She and Scottie made plans to grab lunch, but she was barely paying attention. She was trying to work out why her brother would have that much manpower when his only threat had ever been the Kreuger pack, and now they were a threat no more. Unless—

Unless he's still planning the strike
.

Her mouth went dry and her pulse pounded in her ears as he dialed Parker's number. Immediately his voicemail answered.
Shit
. He'd probably turned his phone off. She left a message and rang the house phone. No answer. She left a message there, too, aware that she sounded a little crazy and was probably overreacting.
But what if I'm not?

An hour passed and she still hadn't heard back from Parker. She tried both phones again. Nothing. She checked the app on her phone to see if the security system had been turned off that day. It showed being armed the day they'd gotten the call from Lena and no activity since.
Shit. Parker, where are you?

"Hey, Lena?" She tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible as she approached her mother-in-law. "Do you mind if I take the car for a bit? I've been trying to get in touch with Parker to bring me something from the house and he's not answering either phone."

"Sure, you can take my car. Is it something I can just lend you?"

"No, it's... um... prenatal vitamins," she lied. "I didn't pack enough."

"Go ahead, take the car. I'm sorry my son isn't picking up and you have to waste a whole trip out there."

"No worries. I'll be quick." She took the keys and gave Lena a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

"Can I come with you?" Maddie stood in the doorway, her face hopeful.

"You know, I... um..." Frantically she thought of an excuse. "I thought tomorrow we'd go out, just the two of us, and have some girl time." Maddie's face brightened. "I'm literally just running into the house and back out. We'll hang tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Okay." Maddie seemed pleased, and before anything else could stand in her way, Charmaine raced out the door.
I don't know what the hell is going on
, she thought as she buckled herself in to the driver's seat of her mother-in-law's Honda,
but I'm not going to just stand by and let something happen to my husband
.

***

The sky blazed with a beautiful sunset which ordinarily would have taken her breath away, but Charmaine could only think of getting to her husband as quickly as possible. She tried Parker again and again as she sped toward their secluded home, the persimmon-colored horizon fading ahead of her. The Honda had neither the Audi's speed nor handling and in frustration she realized it would take her longer than she thought to get to the house.
Parker, pick up!
she pleaded silently as she dialed again and again. Nothing.

It was dark by the time she passed the big rock. She timed her homecoming by that rock, which she knew was exactly 2.3 miles from her driveway. The Honda strained as she urged it a bit faster, confident enough of the terrain on the home stretch to push the car to its limits.

Finally she was in the driveway. She rounded the first bend and her heart stopped. She shifted into park and stepped out of the car, her legs shaking so violently she feared she'd collapse. "Parker?" she called, but the only response was silence. "Parker!" she shrieked, louder this time, but her voice was swallowed by the darkness. She walked toward the abandoned Audi, its lights on and door chime still dinging plaintively. No Parker. Ahead the house loomed silently. He wasn't in the house; the motion lights hadn't been triggered.

She crashed into the bushes, calling his name. Her wild instincts took over as she circled the perimeter of their property in search of her Mate. He was nowhere. Not his scent, not a trace of him. He was gone. She cried his name until her voice was hoarse and then made her way back to the car, scratched from the brush and no closer to finding her husband.

Charmaine was relieved to see Parker's cell phone nestled in the console of his car, plugged in and charging. She gripped the phone with both trembling hands and prayed that 8% would be enough battery power as she fumbled through Parker's contacts until she found the one person who could help her. Right about now he was the only choice left. She pressed "call" and held her breath.

"Hey Boss," rumbled the deep voice on the other end.