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Job! Think about the job, I hissed before forcing myself to let go of the wheel and leave the car.
“Don’t freak out, don’t freak out. Just don’t freak out. This is fine. It’s good. We’re fine.” I whispered as I left my small beat-up car and walked towards the house, every nerve I owned drawn so tight I felt as if I was about to snap in half.
I couldn’t, though. I needed to be strong for once in my life and do this because if I didn’t, I was going to be homeless, packless, and then dead because when you accidentally killed your ex-husband…
Technically, I did no such thing. But did people believe me when I told them that fool, who was stalking me and terrorizing me, by the way, ran off a cliff all by himself? No. Everyone just assumed I had something to do with it, and dammit, I didn’t.
All I did was run when I got home to my trailer and discovered him waiting for me. It wasn’t my fault he followed me, and it really wasn’t my fault I was fast enough to dart away from the edge of the cliff when he threw himself at me.
“Just breathe,” I told myself as I climbed the steps to the big house, a farm-style place that weirdly fit in the middle of the trees.
I mean, it’s weird not to be coming to a cabin-style place, seeing as we lived in Montana in the middle of wilderness country, but I kinda liked that Caleb Chase’s home isn’t like other people’s homes. It meant he was different, and different is good.
It meant he wasn’t like other people.
“Feral,” I whispered, shaking my head hard to get rid of the thought because that wasn’t fair.
So what if the man was feral at one time? It’s normal for males of our kind to lose it when they lose a mate, although, from what Grammy told me, Caleb’s mate didn’t die. She rejected him, severed their mating, and when she did, it severed the bond they’d formed.
I’d heard of fated mates before; of course, I had, but to be honest, I’d never believed in it. Grammy had always told me it was true but coming from a pack and a generation where fatings just didn’t happen, I’d started to believe they were just fairy tales, the same as those stories of manic, wild beasts of men who killed indiscriminately when they went feral.
“Shut up. Just shut up. You’re scaring yourself.” I groaned, chewing at my lip as I lifted my fist and knocked on the door before I could change my mind.
I had to do this, whether I was afraid or not, so there was no point in holding off. If I didn’t get this job, Alpha Walker would have to banish me, and when he did, I’d be at the mercy of the Sheppard family. Without Walker's protection and the strength of the Enforcers here, I’d be left to their mercies, and God help a girl. Those animals have no mercy.
“It’s gonna be okay though. I’ll get this job, and I’ll be fine. Maybe I could even rent a small cabin closer here instead of going home to my old trailer where I once lived with Shane.”
The thought made me shiver, memories trying to intrude, but I shoved them away, determined, and squared my shoulders. I didn’t want to think about my ex, the hell our marriage was, or the fact that I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by moving here and marrying him.
That was in the past, and I was leaving that where it belonged. Just like I wouldn’t think about Caleb Chase as the monster people seemed to think of him. Or was. It was confusing, and I couldn’t be blamed because most of what I knew was the result of gossip. Not that people talked to me to gossip, mind you.
“Alpha Walker wouldn’t have sent you here if it wasn’t safe.” I reminded myself, and now I did feel better and even managed one of my smiles.
I felt better as I reminded myself it was okay, over and over, and waited for the door to open. When it didn’t, I cleared my throat and knocked again, keeping my nerves down.
“Hello?” I called, when there was still no answer, checking my watch.
It was twelve oh-eight, and I knew the interview was set for twelve sharp. Maybe Caleb Chase forgot? I mean, people forget things all the time, I assured myself when I knocked again louder and called out. I wouldn’t leave before I’d gotten this job. I’d promised Alpha Walker I wouldn’t, and dammit, I kept my promises.
“Hello? Uh, Mr. Chase? I’m here for the housekeeping job?” I called again, my stomach turning to stone when another few minutes yielded nothing but silence and the still, very closed door.
Dammit. Where is he?
I should probably just sit on the porch and wait, I thought, figuring he’d gone to run an errand or something, but I’d never been one to wait. Mama once told me I’m impatient as heck; she said I was so impatient I came a month early.
Sighing because thinking about her hurt the most, I shook my head and skipped down the porch steps, taking a left once I reached the ground again. The house, a nice little farm style that was white with black shutters, curved into a little work shop or extension. Following it, I tiptoed my sneaker-clad feet around the corner and slowly, oh, so slowly, made my way toward an open door.
I’m not really nervous—
Okay, I was more than nervous, but I was also really curious when I reached the door and peeked inside, finding a workshop that was a lot larger than I thought it would be.
“Wow.” I sighed, my eyes taking everything in with an awe that scrambled my brain.
Before I could stop myself, I shuffled into the space and stopped in front of a painting that, frankly, I had no words to describe what I felt as I stared at the landscape depicting trees, a lake, and a sunset so filled with color it was enchanting. All I could say or think was, wow, and wonder if this was Caleb’s work.
It must be. I mean, Alpha Walker was clear about Caleb when he told me to come out here. The man lived alone, hardly ever saw anyone, and when people did show up uninvited, he wasn’t exactly friendly. I could deal with that, though. I was married for two years, and Shane was far from friendly then, never mind after I left him and made it clear we were done. Unfriendly meant nothing to me. Well, that was not exactly true. Unfriendly just means I tried harder to be nice, and eventually, after I’d worn people down, they were nice back.
Sometimes.
