Free The Wolf's Mate Book 1: Jason & Cadence by R.E. Butler Page B

Chris had never been
outwardly mean to her because of Jake, but he hadn't been fall over
himself nice, either. He was starting off from a much better place
than he was, that's for sure. She didn't hate Chris. In fact, she
clearly liked him and was in the mood to be swayed.
    "Callie?" He said finally and the look she
gave him told him that she'd been privy to a conversation he didn't
know about yet.
    "I'm sorry, Jason. She told me, earlier
before she got all jealous and confused, that she thought she'd
been single long enough, and that if no one stepped up to the plate
from our pack, then she'd move on. To Jake's pack."
    If a broken heart could break further, his
did. His mate, his sweetheart, was lonely, and was turning to Chris
because he was nice and she clearly didn't realize his intentions.
He was certain she hadn't realized it, but Chris had been
eye-fucking her on the stage the whole time they were singing, and
she had sounded incredible and looked amazing and damn it all to
hell if it hadn't made her even more irresistible to the males in
the bar. He was certain that Chris would waste no time in making
his intentions clear, marking her and mating with her as soon as
his time was up.
    After he left Linus' he went to his parents'
home. Partly to make sure Cadence made it home okay, but partly
because he needed advice. "I'm sorry that I made the decree, son,
if that's any consolation, although I'm certain it's not. I never
would have guessed that after being surrounded by us for so many
years that she wouldn't have figured out what you did and asked
about it." His dad took off his reading glasses and settled back in
the easy chair. "I wish I could fix it. Alpha decrees are binding,
forever, that's the point of them."
    His mother perched on the arm of the chair.
"Isn't there something that you can share so she is aware that
you've loved her for so long? She has to feel the connection with
you. I know she was young, but she's still part wolf."
    "I don't know what I could tell her without
breaking the decree. Every time I start to open my mouth around
her, the decree pops into my head. Callie said she feels like I
abandoned her. How could she not understand that I stayed away to
protect her?"
    "Because no other wolves did what you did to
such an extreme, son. You were so worried about her safety that you
didn't just keep her at arm's length, you shoved her away as much
as you could. You were cruel, because you thought you had to be;
she didn't understand because your actions were so different. You
went from walking her to school every day to barely being able to
be in the same room with her."
    "Dad, what did you say to her? That day? I
remember her running home and her hair was down. She never even
asked me about the marks. Which isn’t really in her personality.
She just doesn’t let things go. Ever.”
    His father took a breath, two, in thought.
“When I sent you in the house, I picked her up off the ground and
looked at the marks, which were already healed but her skin was
tanned from the sun and they were pretty evident. I was worried
about her father calling the police. That would be something they
wouldn’t ignore for me, you know, it was just too big. I pulled her
ponytail out and told her that you were playing a game with her and
your teeth descended accidentally and grazed her skin. I told her
that if her father saw the marks and asked about them, that she
should say she fell playing at her house and scratched her skin on
that prickly rose bush at the side of the house. I threw my power
into my voice, told her it was nothing and made it a decree for
her. She’s wolf enough to obey.”
    “Can’t he mark her again? If she was so young
and doesn’t understand what happened, can’t he just jog her memory?
Or mark her verbally now, like you did for me first?” His mother
looked at his father hopefully.
    Jason knew the story well. In the high school
cafeteria, his father had announced to his mother during