Page 115 of The Secret Mate Society

Trees and mountains drenched in snow flashed by the window as we drove.I sat staring, my forehead nearly pressed against the glass.The radio played softly and Calder hummed lightly along as he took us deeper and deeper into the wilderness of northern New York.And somehow, despite everything that had happened, I felt…peaceful.

A cardboard box sat on my lap, stuffed with years of obsessive notes and theories that the Elder Council had returned to me for this occasion.My father's death had consumed me for so long, but now I knew the truth.I knew who the monster was, why he’d singled us out , and more importantly, I knew he’d been dealt with.Calder had seen to that.

"You doing okay?"Calder's deep voice pulled me from my thoughts.His hand found my thigh, warm and grounding.

"Yeah."I looked down at the folder, then back out at the landscape."For once, I think I really am."

We turned off the main road onto a smaller one, then another, until finally Calder pulled over at a clearing I recognized instantly.My chest tightened.This was it.The place where everything had ended for my father.Where he’d been killed by the rogue werewolf.I hadn’t realized it was so close to the road.When it happened I felt like I was lost in the wilderness.But now I realized, if I’d just gone a hundred feet in the opposite direction, I might’ve found help faster.

That was in the past now and there was nothing I could do to change it.Besides, help wouldn’t have saved my father.It would just have put more people in danger.

Calder killed the engine and the sudden silence felt heavy.He turned to me, those light brown eyes searching my face."We don't have to do this if you're not ready."

"No, I am."I squeezed the box."I need to."

We got out into the crisp winter air.The cold bit at my face but I barely felt it.Calder retrieved a metal fire bin from the trunk that he’d brought along for this moment and set it up in the snow.I watched him work, this strong, capable werewolf of a man who'd somehow become my entire world in such a short time.

"After the new year, things are going to get busy," he said, arranging kindling in the bin."The enforcement councilor position is going to take up a lot of my time."

"I know."I moved closer to him."We'll figure it out."

He straightened and cupped my face with both hands."Yeah, we will."

I opened the box one last time, looking at all those desperate scribbles, all that pain.Then I fed the first page to the flames Calder had started.Fire licked at the edges until it caught, the heat quickly consuming the entire thing in seconds.Ash curled and floated upward, glowing for a moment before it settled on the snow and turned black.

Page after page followed.I fed them steadily into the flames, watching years of grief and obsession turn to ash.Calder stood beside me, a solid presence, his hand resting on the small of my back.He didn't speak, didn't rush me.He just stayed.

When the last page caught fire, I felt something release in my chest.A weight I'd been carrying for so long that I'd forgotten what it felt like to stand up straight.

"He would've liked you," I said quietly, watching the final embers die."My dad.He would've approved."

Calder's arm came around my shoulders, pulling me against his side."Yeah?"

"Yeah.He always said I needed someone who could keep up with me.Someone stubborn."I looked up at him with a small smile."Someone who wouldn't disappear when things got tough."

"Well, I'm definitely stubborn."He pressed a kiss to my temple, his breath warm against my skin."And you're stuck with me now, mate.”

We stood there for a few more minutes as the fire burned down to nothing.The cold was really starting to seep in now, but I didn't want to leave yet.This felt important.Final.

"Goodbye, Dad," I whispered.

It was such a small thing after so many years of fear, anger, and obsession.But saying it out loud nearly broke me.My throat tried to close as shuddering breaths escaped my lips.But Calder didn’t leave me.He stood right there as I cried, supporting me in a way I didn’t realize I needed.My mate and my protector.

Finally, when tears stopped and I’d begun to shiver, I gave him a nod.Calder squeezed my shoulder, then started packing up the fire bin, knowing I was ready to go.I helped him carry everything back to the car, and soon we were driving again, this time heading back toward the cabin we'd rented for the week.

My mom had asked us to stay with her of course, but I turned her down.Calder and I were still figuring things out between us.I was trying to process everything that had happened, all the things I’d learned about this paranormal world that I’d never known existed.And he was trying to support me the best he could through it all.There were a lot of emotions going around that usually ended up getting expressed sexually.

And my childhood bedroom wasnotsoundproof.

The cabin came into view through the trees, a cozy A-frame with smoke curling from the chimney.Calder had kept the fire going this morning before we left, and seeing it now made something warm unfurl in my chest.This temporary place felt more like home than anywhere I'd lived in years just because I knew he would be there with me.As long as I was with him, I was where I belonged.

Calder parked and we climbed out, but this time the silence between us felt different.Lighter.He grabbed my hand as we walked to the door, his thumb brushing over my knuckles in that absent way he did when he was content.

Inside, the warmth hit us immediately.I shrugged out of my coat and Calder did the same, tossing both over the back of the couch.When I turned around, he was already there, backing me against the wall with a hungry look in those light brown eyes.

"We have a couple hours before we need to meet your mom for dinner," he rumbled, his voice dropping an octave.He always knew when I needed a distraction.

"That's not a lot of time," I breathed, even as my body responded to his proximity, to that leather and spice scent that always made my head spin.