Page 72 of What a Wolf Wants

They finally ended the call so they could finish their meal, then ate the rest of their dinner, enjoyed the brownies, and thanked Noah for dinner while he thanked them for the dessert.

“Surveillance at two in the morning?” Ethan asked Noah.

“Yeah. I’ll pick you up,” Noah said.

Then Ethan and Charlene returned home, and he said, “I need to call Adam and Sierra and our pack leaders to tell them we’re mated.”

Charlene smiled. “I never thought when I found a mate, I would be sharing the news with a whole pack of wolves, and I love it.”

Ethan laughed. “Yeah, you’re now part of a much bigger family.” They walked into the house, and he called Cassie and Leidolf first. He figured Tori would tell Adam and Sierra that they were mated right away. “Hey, Cassie, Charlene and I have some news.”

“Let me get Leidolf on the phone. Is this about your case?”

Ethan smiled. “Something more of a personal nature.”

“Ooh,” Cassie said.

Charlene laughed.

“Leidolf! Ethan and Charlene are calling.”

“Coming!” Leidolf joined her and asked, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“We’re mated,” Ethan said, so happy to be telling them the news.

Charlene smiled at him. “Yeah, I had to think of some way to keep him in Oyster Bay after he finishes his mission here.”

“Congratulations!” Leidolf said. “It looks like we’re going to have a whole pack in Oyster Bay eventually. Our territory is expanding.”

They laughed.

“As soon as you can get away for it, we’ll have a pack celebration to honor your union,” Cassie said.

“Oh, that would be lovely,” Charlene said.

“Yeah, as soon as this case permits, we’ll plan to do that. We’ll let you know,” Ethan said. Then they finally ended the call.

Ethan gathered Charlene in his arms. “Man, here I thought I wasn’t going to find anyone following Renault, that he was just spooked. Then I was worried that I had sounded annoyed with you that you were out looking for a house and Noah wasn’t watching out for you.”

“And that I knew what he was doing.”

“Yeah, that too. But I was only concerned about you.”

“Which I totally understood. And you know what? I loved you for it.”

“It’s a damn good thing.”

She laughed. She cuddled against his solid warmth, soglad she had moved to Oregon to live her dream and ended up with her dream hero and, one day, a chance to start a family with him.

Chapter 20

At two in the morning, Noah showed up at the house to pick up Ethan again so they could do their surveillance of Oakley’s house. Ethan kissed Charlene and she stirred and sighed, then pulled him into her arms and said, “Be safe, love of my life.”

He smiled and kissed her again, hugging her. “Absolutely. Love you right back.”

When Ethan and Noah arrived in Shelby Bay and parked near Oakley’s home, it was dark. There were no lights on anywhere. Ethan let out his breath. “It looks like no one’s home. Or if they are, everyone has gone to bed and there’s not going to be any action. We can’t get inside the house unless we see evidence that Oakley, or Kroner, is staying there.”

“Yeah, it looks that way. What if Oakley got word of Thor’s arrest and he has moved to a new location?” Noah asked.