Page 80 of Her Big Bad Wolf

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Why did Kelsey take Vanessa from work?”

“Calm down, okay. Apparently, she hasn’t been doing well. My mother has been worried about her. So she got coverage for the afternoon and Kelsey picked her up for lunch and to talk. She’s still there. She’s fine.”

“At your house?” I guessed.

“Yes. But don’t go causing trouble.”

“I’m not looking for trouble. I was just out for a run earlier and my wolf kept going back to your place and trying to howl. Of course, I didn’t let him.”

“Guess he smelled your mate.”

“Guess so,” I muttered.

“This is bullshit!” Noah yelled. It felt as if he’d been keeping that pent up inside until it literally exploded from him. “You love her right? You want her to be with us. Tell me if I’m wrong.”

I was stunned silent. I had no idea how to respond to that.

Did I love her?

I wasn’t sure. Everything had happened so quickly, but I knew I could. Vanessa would be easy to love. She was everything I never knew I was missing in my life.

“That’s what we thought,” Cam said, approvingly.

“We’re guessing you screwed up and that’s why she’s not coming around. We heard you fighting the last time she was over,” Mason said.

I sighed, “Sorry about that. I hate that you heard it.”

He shrugged. “We’ve heard it before. It’s no big deal.”

“It is a big deal, and it shouldn’t happen. Listen to me, all of you. That is not normal. I was scared and I pushed her away. She was mad and yeah, we fought, but that’s the sort of thing that shouldn’t happen often, if at all. Do hear me?”

Kyle chuckled.

“What?” I snapped.

“It’s just funny seeing you as a father figure. I never would have guessed how naturally it would come to you.”

I scowled.

“We still need a mom too,” Cam added with a grin.

“I say, we get her back,” Noah proclaimed.

“Yeah, but it’s gotta be big. You have to go the extra mile because she was really pissed,” Mason explained. “You gotta do the big gesture.”

“The what?”

“You know, the big gesture, like in the movies.”

“One of our foster moms was addicted to Hallmark. Mase used to watch them with her,” Noah said.

I shook my head. “I heard you three were little terrors. I’m not sure I believe it.”

“Not even when we stole your straw?” Mason asked.

“That was hay, the stuff you feed to the animals to eat, not straw that’s used for their bedding,” I growled.

“And the eggs,” Noah reminded me, completely unaffected by my outburst.