Page 36 of Fated Despite the Moon

"This sure looks great." She dug into her spaghetti taking an extra large mouthful so she couldn’t answer any of their looming questions.

Chapter Eleven

Mary didn't say another word to her the rest of the trip. As they bounced up the dirt road toward the cabin, Mary finally pulled the car to the shoulder and stopped. She stared straight ahead without saying a word for several minutes.

"When Caleb cares for someone. He cares for them with no restraint. He goes all in."

"I understand."

"No. You don't. When he said he'd take you on, I worried. Worried about who you'd be. Worried whether it would work. Worried that he wouldn't ever come to really care for you. But I see the things he's done for you already in these short weeks, and I already know he's all in." She paused and then finally looked at Makayla. "Caleb has been through a lot. It's not my story to tell, but I'm letting you know, his heart can't handle another break."

Makayla dropped her gaze to her hands. “I’ve heard that before.”

"That ring photo Paige saw on your phone. Is it from the baby's father?"

"Yes."

Mary nodded. "I've said my piece, and now I would just ask one thing of you. If you're going to leave him, do it now. Don't wait. Don't break him for someone else who really wants to be with him. Because to be honest, the Pacific Northwest is full of Blood Born who'd take him if he'd spare them a one-second glance."

Mary put the truck in drive and continued down the road to the cabin without another word.

* * *

Caleb paced the living room,trying to calm the demons that threatened to overtake him. He'd spent the last hour and a half searching the entire town. No one had seen Makayla. Her stuff was still in her room, and he worried that she'd gone out into the woods and gotten lost. He'd caught her scent out back near the chickens and the garden, but he couldn't track anything beyond that.

Flashes of memory plagued his mind. Memories from his past.A hospital room. Police going in and out. The shattered look on Franny's face.

A vehicle rolled up the drive. He raced to the door and peered into the darkness. The headlights to his mom's truck blinded him. He stepped out onto the porch as the passenger side door opened, and Makayla slid to the ground.

Caleb stormed down the steps.

Makayla smiled. "Hey."

"Where the hell have you been?" His words came out harsher than he'd meant.

Makayla's brows furrowed. "Your mom took me with her to Moscow."

"And you didn't think to let me know?"

Her furrows deepened and the corners of her mouth turned down. "I didn't realize you were my warden."

He stormed over. "That's not what I mean, and you know it. I thought something had happened to you. Maybe you'd gotten lost in the woods."

"Okay, Caleb, that's enough," said his mom.

His anger turned to her. "Dad's been calling you all day."

She shrugged. "I forgot my phone."

"Well, he's worried."

His mother snorted. "The last time your father was worried about me, I was dating a wolf named Ravager." She stared at him hard for a minute. "Caleb. You need to reign it in."

"Reign it in? She's my responsibility, and she's pregnant. She might not care about that, but I do."

"That's enough!" His mother’s eyes flashed golden.

Caleb opened his mouth but the growl emanating from his mom's chest made him shut it.

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