4.the brothers

Caleb’s P.O.V.

I was sitting in my armchair, staring into the distance of the farmlands. My thoughts were consumed with Reese, my niece’s hotter-than-hell teacher. I remembered the first time I had met her like it was nearly seconds ago while it had been hours. The smile on her face, the look in her eyes when she had seen me. At that moment, I had already known how much I was in trouble. It had been a really long time since I had felt a real attraction to a woman. Hell... probably years if I was being really honest, until earlier this afternoon. Until seeing Reese. Shit... when I had first seen her, I felt like one of those cartoon characters with their mouths dropping all the way down to the floor because she was just that Goddamn beautiful. I was twenty-nine years old, and I had had my fair chair of experience in the bedroom, but I had never once felt like this. 

Smitten

infatuated

struck

captivated...

I had offered to show her around town, but she had declined my offer, twice in a row, claiming she needed to focus on her job. At the time, I had accepted her answer, but now, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of determination to chase after her. God, I wanted her, and I was going to get her as well. Even if it was the last thing I would ever do. Because let’s be clear right here for a second... Reese, she wasn’t just a woman who I was attracted to because she was gorgeous. Oh no. When I had seen Reese for the first time, I had felt something that I had never felt before in my life. Hell, my inner wolf had started to howl toward the moon even though it was still in the middle of the day. And one word had soared through my head as alarm bells had started to go off in my brain.

MINE…

And that’s when I knew for a fact. Reese wasn’t just a gorgeous little thing, she wasn’t just a crush, she wasn’t just someone who I wanted to get in my bed, she was so much more… Hell, she was everything, because I knew right then and there, that she was the one for me. My mate. My one true mate. So yes, I wanted the whole package here. I wanted the chase, the flirty looks, the heated kisses, and the sweaty sex. But instead, I had gotten a 'no' from her... twice.

Which was two times too many...

But hell, I was a werewolf... me and my brothers didn’t live inside a real pack, and we knew far from all the rules. But my parents had one day left their pack, in order to live on their own. Why they had made those choices back in the day? I honestly didn’t know. They never shared and they had died when we were still kids, and up until now, we had never really found an answer to that question either. Our Nana, even though she never shifted into a wolf, I honestly doubted if she even had an inner wolf of her own. And the subject of our inner animals was something that had never been discussed out in the open whenever she was around. So, either she didn’t want to talk about it out loud, or she simply didn’t know anything about it. Which in all honesty, would make zero sense to me, because the old lady knew basically every single little detail that went on in this household. So the fact that I had a wolf hidden inside of me, was a secret I only shared with my brothers since they had one of their own as well.

I sat there in my chair, lost in thoughts, memories of Reese kept flooding my mind. I remembered the way her hair had fallen in loose blonde waves around her face, framing her delicate features. I recalled the sound of her laughter and the way her eyes sparkled with intelligence and humor. I remembered her lips and how I had had to fight every ounce of my self-control in order not to just lean in and kiss her right there and then. But most of all, I remembered the way that I had felt when I had been around her. It was as if the world had faded away, leaving only the two of us in our own private universe. I just knew that I had to see her again. I couldn’t let her slip through my fingers without a fight, and I highly doubted that my wolf would even let me since he had been acting like a whiney teenager, ever since we had walked out of that classroom. Begging me to turn back around and just go get her. I stood up from my chair and paced around the living room before I just went to sit down again, my mind racing with possibilities. I could just call her, invite her out to dinner and show her that I was the right man for her. I would sweep her off of her feet and show her a life she had never known before. But I shook my head, knowing she wouldn’t accept. She had been quite stubborn over the fact that she didn’t want to jeopardize her job, which only made me want her more because it made me realize that she would stick up for what she wanted, and by the looks of it, that was a quality in a woman that made me sport wood. God, I wanted her, and I was determined to make her mine. No matter what it would take.

I was pulled out of my daydream, as I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, seeing that it was Jake, my older brother who came walking down. He had just put Dahlia to bed and to be honest, he looked pretty tired himself. It must have been a shitty day at the police office for him.

“Hey, what’s got your panties twisted?” Jake asked me, as he walked into the living room, dropping his massive body onto the sofa next to me as he placed his feet on the coffee table. I took a deep breath and decided to just plunge in.

“I met someone, today.” I said, waiting for my big brother’s response.

“OK?” He asked me.

“I reckon it wouldn’t be the first time you met someone, or shared the night with a woman, so I don’t think you need to get a sex talk from me, so what is going on? I have never seen you so… lost in thoughts.” Jake told me, to which I pressed my lips into a thin line. Hoping my next line wouldn't get me a black eye in return from my brother.

“It’s Dahlia’s teacher, Miss Reese.” I added, feeling how the air around me started to load with some form of electricity, which was probably my big brother’s anger since he looked fifty shades of pissed at me.

“You do know fooling around with Dahlia’s teacher could cause all kinds of problems in the long run, Caleb.” Jake already began to speak in his fatherly voice. Or police officer voice. God, he even sounded like our old man when he spoke like this.

“And I’m sorry Caleb, but you can’t just go around fooling with every woman you set your eyes on. If Dahlia would find out, she would be heartbroken if you would hurt her teacher.” He added, to which I shook my head, stopping him right there.

“I know. And that's not even what I'm trying to say here, Jake.” I said, feeling my own frustration rise as my wolf growled deep inside of me, hearing that my brother thought I only wanted Reese for her body.

“I can’t help the way I feel. When I saw her, I felt this sort of pull toward her. And my wolf was going crazy inside of me. As if somehow, he felt that she was different.” I added, seeing how Jake’s eyebrows rose five inched higher on his too-good-looking forehead.

“What are you saying here, Caleb?” He asked me, to which I sighed again and shrugged.

“I think she might be my mate, Jake. I'm not sure, but I think she might be.” I concluded, which was followed by a minute of silence. An excruciatingly long minute of silence, since I didn’t know if Jake was actually believing me, or trying to not stand up and kick my ass this very second. Eventually, Jake rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and sighed deeply.

“I don’t know Caleb. This is a lot to take in. But I guess I can understand where you are coming from. If your wolf is telling you that she is your mate, then I guess you have to follow your instincts and see where it goes.” He spoke, actually surprising me with his answer. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I had been afraid that my brother would try to talk me out of pursuing Reese, and I was grateful that he was being supportive at least.

“Thanks man,” I said, clapping my brother on his shoulder.

“I knew I could count on you.” And Jake chuckled in return.

“Don’t get too excited just yet. I still think you need to be careful here. You don’t want to scare her off. Take it slow, and see where things go from there. And remember, she is still your niece’s teacher. You need to be respectful of that, always.” And I nodded in return, taking my brother’s advice to heart. I knew that I had a lot of work to do if I was going to win Reese over in the end, but I was willing to do whatever it took. I was in love with her, crazy as it sounded. And I knew deep down that she was the one for me.

The front door opened, and Zach walked inside, his face was covered in root and he smelled like smoke. His green eyes popped out even more, now that his face was so dark and dirty.

“Dude, shower at the station! You’ll make the entire house smell.” Jake groaned as Zach walked past us, sending him a playful wink as he disappeared into the kitchen, walking back into the living room four seconds later, as he was holding a bottle of beer in his hands.

“What are you guys up to? Ready to cuddle up and watch a romantic movie?” He grinned, looking at the two of us sitting on the sofa and Dad's old armchair. But instead of starting a discussion with him, I simply rolled my eyes at him.

“You better get your ass underneath the shower within two minutes, you stink.” Jake answered him, to which Zach lifted his arm and sniffed underneath his armpit for extra effect.

“Nah, I’m all good, oh mighty Beta.” He grinned even wider as he looked over at Jake. We all thought it was funny, but it was in fact, true. Our wolves all sensed that in our little pack of wolves, Jake’s wolf held the most power right now, probably because he was also the oldest one present. Even though he hated to be called 'the Beta', most decisions that were of importance inside this household would always have to go through him first. The only wolf that was stronger than him, was the wolf of our brother Rob, who was also the oldest son. But he wasn’t here. He was out somewhere in the world fighting powerful men’s wars for them. But if Rob would one day find the strength to return back home, he would be the Alpha, no doubt in our minds.

“Anywho, I needed to talk to both of you, handsome lads.” Zach spoke, leaning against the dining room table as he took a sip of his Blue Moon beer.

Oh God…

This can never be good…

“Oh Lord, here we go.” Jake sighed, and I chuckled since he was feeling the exact same way as I was.

“Hear me out, just for one second.” Zach spoke, lifting his hand to stop Jake from speaking any more. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pants pocket and his thumbs started ticking on his screen before he started to speak or read the text on his phone to us.

“One of the guys at work sent this to me. He stumbled upon an interesting new event, it’s called ‘Nice after Work.’ It is a new event that is organized by the city center, all profits go to ‘A better tomorrow.’”. He spoke, looking up at Jake and me. ‘A better tomorrow’ was a youth program of the city center, they would organize camps, dances, workshops, and other stuff for children who had lost one or both parents. As kids, all three of us had partaken in a few of those events ourselves, so we held it dear to all our hearts.

“So, what does this event consist of? This ‘Nice after work’ thing?” Jake asked, as Zach’s eyes once again lowered to his phone.

“Well, it’s called 'after work', so obviously, if you don’t work, you don’t get to go inside. It says right here; We welcome you to the fabulous Tithe Barn. From 6 pm, enjoy the free and tastiest buffets and then loosen up your legs on the best dance records by Resident DJs. At midnight we will finally pull the plug from the sockets so that you can appear at work fresh and cheerful the next day. Nice after work, the perfect mix between business and pleasure.” Zach spoke before he lowered his phone and looked back at us, waiting for an answer.

“Sure. I’ll go.” Jake nodded next to me.

“I’m not on shift and if it ends at midnight, it means that I won’t be a zombie the next day when Dahlia gets up before the crack of dawn. I think I can ask Nana to look after her for one night.” He added, seeing how Zach smiled and nodded at his brother. But as for me, I felt reluctant. I mean, I was a famous hockey player. I was worried about being recognized and swarmed by fans. Hell, just thinking about it made me hesitant.

“I’ll pass.” I shook my head, seeing how Zach rolled his eyes at me.

“Since when did you turn into such a boring fuck?” He groaned, to which I picked up a pillow and threw it straight to his face.

“I’m not a boring fuck, I just don’t feel like running into people I don’t want to see,” I spoke, already envisioning all the women undressing me with their eyes, simply because they either wanted my bank account, or they wanted a professional athlete notched on their bedpost.

“But what if you might run into someone whom you do actually want to see?” Jake asked me, making me turn my head to face him. I paused for a moment, considering my options.

“You really think she’ll be there?” I asked him, to which he shrugged.

“If the profits go to an organization that helps kids… I mean, wouldn’t every teacher in town be there?” He asked himself out loud, making too much damn sense for my liking.

“Who is this she that we are talking about here?” Zach asked, tilting his head in wonder.

“Caleb has a crush on Dahlia’s teacher,” Jake spoke matter-of-factly, while I took my second and last pillow and threw it at his face, now completely out of ammo to use. But the fucker was right. I did have a crush on her, and I also couldn’t resist the chance to see Reese again and potentially make a move on her.

“Fine, I’ll go.” I sighed, even though I couldn’t help but feel excited about this event. Hoping that it would be my second chance and the night when I would finally be able to win over Reese’s heart.