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When she was eleven, Aspen shifted into a stunning caramel-colored wolf, and while the wolf has a glow to it, she’s never been able to do a spell. Meaning she gets to experience heats. Something I know nothing about firsthand. Though, Cait’s told me about suffering from intense…oh, hell. I don’t want to think about this in relation to my daughter. Even if she is grown.
“I’ve got things taken care of,” she says quickly. “I just called to let you know…” There’s pure silence as if she’s muted me.
“Aspie?”
Her breathy voice cuts back in. “I gotta go, Mom. Tell Auntie Cait I’m sorry to miss the fun.”
The call ends, and I glare at the screen as if it’s to blame. “Well, this sucks.”
“You’re telling me,” Foster says as he storms into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. “I need a few more hours at least.”
I thought he was referring to his daughter at first and I almost die. Not that he isn’t fully aware that Aspen has heat cycles. Foster just prefers not to know. Picturing his daughter in that way… Yeah, I don’t blame him. I don’t like it, either.
“What happened?” I ask, since we’re supposed to be teleporting out of the pack and to Cait’s right now.
“One of the pups thought it would be a good idea to toss a filled gas can on his dad’s burn pile,” Foster snarls. “Something about pretty flames. Thanks to that, their house caught on fire, and I need to go see how bad the damage is and possibly find them a temporary home until repairs are sorted.”
I go to my mate and grab his arm as he throws open drawers, likely searching for more appropriate work clothes.
“Foster,” I say sternly. “Look at me.”
Begrudgingly, or so it seems, he pauses and turns toward me. “What?”
“Nobody was hurt, right?” I ask, and he nods. “Then, everything is okay.”
He glowers, running a hand through his shoulder-length russet hair. “But you were so excited to leave.”
“And I still am,” I say with a smile. “But today isn’t Christmas. If we don’t get to East Texas until tonight, then we don’t. This is our family here, too. Let’s go take care of them and do it with compassion. Not as an inconvenience.”
He grabs my face with both hands. “I couldn’t do this without you.”
“I know.” My grin grows wider as I push up onto my toes. “And you’ll never have to.”
At least this will distract him from realizing that our daughter isn’t around and not going to be. Now, it’s time to put on my alpha female hat and go help one of our families.
Cait will understand.
Chapter4
CAIT
Back in East Texas…
Iwill not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
But I will whine because absolutely nothing is going to plan.
And maybe shed a tear when no one is looking.
“What do you mean the lights aren’t working?” I ask as calmly as I’m capable of with three young teen shifters staring back at me like lost puppies.
Jake, the one holding a tangled mess of lights, says, “Well, before we started to hang them, we plugged them into four different outlets to make sure everything is working and nothing. Not a single bulb lit up.”
A rumble grows within my chest and has each of them backing up a step as I close my eyes and rub my hands over my face.
“At least one of you can drive, yes?” I ask, glancing at the three friends. Each of them nods. “Good. Go to the garage, take one of the pack vehicles and go buy all the fu—lovely Christmas lights you can find please.”
They might be rowdy boys, but that doesn’t mean I need to cuss in front of them. At least not when I can catch myself.
