Chapter 38 (Caroline)


    I grunted and took a deep breath before I looked towards the bathroom again. “I’m going to go tell


    Asher that he’s not in trouble,” I muttered before heading down the stairs. The guys were sitting on the


    couch except Asher. He was pacing in the middle of the floor. All of the guys looked smug, but Asher’s


    face… I immediately walked over and hugged him. He squeezed me back tightly.


    “I’m so, so sorry, Caroline. I didn’t mean to-”


    “It’s okay, Asher. You didn’t know, and Keegan isn’t going to punish you for it,” I said softly, rubbing his


    back. He sighed.


    “Yeah, well it sounded more like you were punishing him,” Nick said, rubbing the back of his neck with


    a smirk. “Sensitive wolf hearing and all. You’re lucky we got Lena out of the house in time,” he added. I


    let go of Asher and red at him as the other guysughed, including Asher.


    “So you… you guys turn into wolves too?” I asked, whispering thest sentence. Sue me, but I didn’t


    want to say werewolf out loud. It was way too cliché. They allughed at my resistance to say it. I felt a


    pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. I knew it was Keegan by the sparks. I wondered if I would


    ever get used to that.


    “That’s why I was taking you to the creek,” Keegan said. I shuddered at just hearing the word. Keegan


    sighed and gave me a sympathetic look before he continued. “I was going to tell and show you


    everything.” Keegan’s mom bristled into the room and gave me a once over.


    “Feeling better dear,” his mom asked me sympathetically. I nodded as heat filled my cheeks. The guys


    just cracked up. They wereughing so hard, they were having a hard time breathing. I shifted my eyes


    to them and tried to get them to shut up.


    “I have to grab something from upstairs. I’ll be back,” Keegan said, kissing my cheek lightly before


    sprinting back up the stairs. I sighed as a little girl tapped me. Her eyes were wide ad she looked like


    her mother. I knew from the talking earlier that her name was Karma.


    “Gregg and Trevor can show you their wolf. Sometimes Keegan lets me ride on his back sometimes.


    I’m not a wolf yet,” she said. I smiled lightly and chuckled before I nodded. Trevor smiled before


    grabbing my hand.


    “Touch her again and I’ll kill you!” Keegan yelled from up the stairs. I rolled my eyes. He was so


    overprotective.


    “Keegan, calm down!” I yelled back. I grasped Trevor’s hand tighter as we went outside. The guys led


    me to the first field we passed earlier. We stopped and they started stripping. “Oh my God!” I squealed


    as I covered my eyes. They chuckled. Suddenly,ughing stopped. Instead, cracking could be heard. I


    only uncovered my eyes when I felt something damp on my hands. I jumped back in surprise. Trevor’s


    snout was right in my face. He smiled and nuzzled his head against my shoulder. I smiled and


    scratched his head before we heard growling from behind me. Trevor backed away with his ears down


    and tail between his legs as my Keegan wolf walked up, baring his teeth. I smacked his shoulder which


    made him stop.


    “I swear Keegan; you’re so overprotective. Stop it. These are your friends… and they’re my friends to,”


    I said, shooting him a scowl. Keeganid down beside me and rolled over on his back. I smiled. He


    was surrendering… good. I ran my hands through his fur before he justid on his stomach and put his


    head on his paws. Gregg wagged his tail and rubbed his face against my chest. I rubbed him too


    before I went and sat against a sulking Keegan wolf. I kissed his face and he perked up. He smiled


    before he stood up. I stood too and he nudged me towards the trees; sticking his nose in my butt.


    “Alright, alright, I’m going,” I said, taking the hint. I walked into the trees. Once we were hidden enough,


    Keegan stopped. I watched as bones cracked noisily and the tail retracted. His pores seemed to suck


    all of the magnificent ck fur away until he was just bare skin. I watched as hepletely


    transformed until all that was left was Keegan the human. I could only stare in shock. I knew he was a


    werewolf but watching him was something like I’d never expect. He smiled sheepishly at me. I looked


    down and noticed that he was naked…pletely naked. I gaped at how big he was. No way was that


    going to fit in me. It was a good thing he stopped me earlier.


    “Clothes on, now,” I said, snapping out of my daze. I turned and covered my eyes to give him some


    privacy. Okay, so really it was so I didn’t stare at him the whole time but whatever. He chuckled and


    shuffled around for a moment before I felt a pair of hands on my arms. I slowly uncovered my eyes to


    see him standing right in front of me, smiling. He just had some basketball shorts on. I took a moment


    to really look at his body again. It was toned and athletic and smooth. His muscles bulked slightly in all


    the right ces; causing deep ridges and veins to stand out all over his chest. His basketball shorts


    were hanging dangerously low; giving me a good view of his muscr v-line that veered into the


    shorts. When I looked back to his face, he held an amused expression.


    “No, no, please continue. I don’t think you’ve thoroughly checked me out enough,” he joked, making my


    cheeks me. I looked to the ground to try and mask my embarrassment. I felt a finger under my chin


    before I was looking at Keegan again. He was very close. My hands reached up and rested on his hips


    as we stared at each other. Keegan smirked. “You know, watching your mate transition is very


    intimate… pretty much magical. You treat it as if it was a chore,” he said with a slight pout. I looked up


    at the hovering stars. They were sharp and beautiful from this forest. I sighed.


    “What time is it?” I asked Keegan. He only shrugged.


    “Let’s go back inside. I’m sure dinner’s ready,” he said. I nodded and he pushed my hips forward and


    out of the woods. We entered the warm house and the smell of cooked meat and vegetables hit my


    nose. My mouth started watering instantly and my stomach grumbled loudly in protest of not having any


    of that delicious smelling food. I immediately went to the kitchen. Lena was bustling around.


    “Anything I can help with?” I asked. She looked up and me and smiled. She brushed the back of her


    hand along her forehead as she let out a breath.


    “Yes actually, can you make the bread rolls? The dough is over there and there are spices in the


    cab. The pan is on the counter over there. Go nuts,” she said, pointing out the ingredients. I smiled


    and immediately thought of my mom’s famous sweet rolls. And for once, I wasn’t sad thinking about my


    mom; at least, not with Lena right here and Keegan in the next room. I washed my hands quickly and


    strapped on an apron. I grabbed a stick of butter out of the fridge and the milk. I set that and other


    things on the counter. I put the dough in the bowl and set the whole stick of butter in it. I sprinkled a


    little salt and an unhealthy amount of sugar in it. I kneaded it over and over again until it was all


    blended evenly. I made a hole in the middle of the dough and squirted almost an entire bottle of honey


    and some olive oil inside before I kneaded it again. Once the whole thing was covered in honey, I made


    them into intricate little rolls. I added a small design by pinching and twisting a small piece of the middle


    on the top. I set the rolls in the avable oven—there were three almost industrial sized ovens!!-- and


    took the liberty to make another batch. The first batch made about 30-some-odd rolls but I knew that


    wouldn’t be enough.


    Lena and I bustled around the kitchen quietly as we worked. While my rolls were baking, I mixed up a


    block of butter with honey. I mashed it into stic wrap and formed it into a ck before putting it in the


    fridge. I went ahead and made a Chinese cabbage sd with involved shredded cabbage, chicken


    voring powder, olive oil and sugar also. I also made my mom’s special punch. It was a simple fruit


    punch with lots of diced fruit, orange juice, ginger ale, and passion fruit punch mix. I also made some


    homemade mashed potatoes. By the time I finished the sd, punch and mashed potatoes, my rolls


    were ready. I pulled them out and smiled as I saw that they were perfect. The golden brown rolls were


    steaming and perfect. I still remembered it perfectly. I pulled my honey butter out of the fridge and


    unwrapped it on to a butter te. Once the rolls cooled down a bit, I put them in the cloth covered


    bread basket and set my makings on the dinner table. I sighed and wiped the sweat from my forehead


    on the back of my hand. I leaned against a chair and watched as Lena started setting her food on the


    table. She made chicken, ribs, sloppy Joes, roast beef, broli, sweet corn, and sweet iced tea. I


    smiled at the spread on the table. Except for my Chinese sd, this was a great Southern meal.


    “Dinner!” Lena yelled. All at once, Karma, the guys, and Keegan rushed in and took a seat. “Nobody


    touches the food until after I make Wes a te,” Lena said sternly. Their eyes bugged as they watched


    her slowly make a te for her husband. I chuckled and pulled off my apron, sticking it back in the


    kitchen. When I came back out, everyone was staring at me.


    “What?” I asked.


    “I told them to wait until you told them what you made,” Lena exined with a motherly smile. “You


    were a real help today, thank you,” she said. I smiled back and went to sit in the empty seat next to


    Keegan, who was sitting at the head of the table.


    “Thanks for letting me help,” I said back. I looked at the expectant faces andughed. “I made the


    mashed potatoes, fruit punch, cabbage sd, and sweet rolls… oh and the butter is for the sweet rolls,


    though I doubt you’ll need it,” I said. I grabbed my basket of rolls and set one on my te before I


    passed it to Keegan. It was a family-style dinner and everybody took what they wanted and passed it to


    the person next to them. The guys all had their tes piled high. I had a good amount of food on my


    te also. Keegan bit into my sweet roll and froze. In fact, after everyone took a bite, they froze and


    looked at me. So now, no one was eating anymore or even moving. They were all looking at me.


    “What?” I asked confused before took a bite of my roll. I smiled and chewed it slowly. It was perfect.


    The ratio was heavenly, and now I understood. If I wasn’t mistaken, Asher had tears in his eyes. It was


    quiet for a really long time before someone finally spoke up.


    “Caroline, you have to give me this recipe,” Lena gushed.


    “I didn’t think it was possible to love you even more,” Keegan smiled lovingly.


    “Please marry me,” Gregg sighed as he took another bite. Keegan growled at him.


    “I want to marry these rolls,” Trevor said dreamily.


    “I want to have sex with these rolls,” Nick muttered. Iughed heartily as Lena scolded Nick.


    “Have y’all tasted her mashed potatoes? They’re insane,” Asher said with a mouthful. Thus, everyone


    at some of my mashed potatoes and the cycle started all over again. By the time dinner ended, they


    still weren’t done gushing about the food I made. Keegan couldn’t keep his hands off of me. Literally,


    he had to be touching me in some way, but I didn’t mind. He finally hung out with the guys and I started


    wandering around the house. I went into the kitchen to help Lena clean up. Afterwards, she pulled a


    te out of the over with food piled high.


    “I’ll be back, I’m just going to give this to Wes,” she said.


    “May I?” I asked hesitantly. She smiled and nodded.


    “Yeah, he hasn’t seen you in a week. Go for it,” she said handing me the te. I thanked her before I


    took the familiar way to Wes’s hospital room. I knocked lightly before I opened the cracked door. There


    was a scruffy graying man visiting with Wes. I looked at him apologetically.


    “I’m sorry, Is this a bad time?” I asked. Wes only smiled and shook his head. He had his oxygen tubes


    on today so they restricted his movements a bit.


    “It’s never a bad time for you, my daughter,” he smiled. I blushed as a warm fuzzy feeling filled my


    stomach at hearing him say that. It was safe to say that I loved this man. Not in the same sense as


    Keegan, but in a fatherly way. I held the te up a little.


    “I brought you dinner,” I said, setting the te on his hospital table and rolling it in front of him.


    “Perfect! I’ve been waiting to taste these rolls that you guys have been talking about,” he said, picking it


    up. He took a bite and groaned as his eyes closed. “Holy mother of Jess… if I were catholic, I would


    feel the need to confess to eating this roll. It tastes like pure sin. Marcus, you have to taste this,” he


    said, handing the man his other roll. Marcus took a bite and practically fell out of his chair.


    “This is extraordinary,” Marcus breathed. His eyes snapped to me. “Where did you learn to cook like


    this?” he asked baffled. I hesitated as my smile fell a tiny bit.


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    “My, uh… my mom taught me before she died recently,” I exined softly.


    “I’m sorry,” Marcus said sympathetically. I shrugged and fiddled with my hands as I shuffled closer to


    Wes.


    “It’s okay,” I dismissed it.


    “How did your father handle it?” he asked curiously. I sighed and held my chin up. I refused to be pitied


    this much in one day.


    “He died also. We were in a car ident and my dad managed to get me out, but it was toote for


    them,” I exined softly but surely. I was sure of myself about for once in my life. Maybe I was finally


    over my mourning period of what happened. Wes reached over and squeezed my hand gently. I gave


    him a soft smile before I reached over and gave his cheek a quick kiss. “Wes and Lena are the closest


    thing to parents I have now,” I added.


    “We are your parents,” Wes said towards me. “You’ll be our daughter inw in just a little bit anyway,”


    he added with a wink Iughed as my cheeks heated.


    “Well, I-I should probably start heading home. Danny has to work tonight and Keegan and I are


    watching Preston. Well, Keegan doesn’t know that he’s helping me yet,” I said with a soft smile. Wes


    to remember that he was sick. Wes finished coughing and I handed him some water. His eyes


    wandered over to Marcus who was sitting quietly.


    “Danny is her older brother who she lives with and Preston is his son,” Wes exined. Marcus only


    nodded quietly. I sighed and rubbed Wes’s arm gently.


    “You have to take it easy. I want you around for as long as I can keep you. That can’t happen if you’re


    “I will always be here for you, even when I pass,” he said with a small smile. I sighed and hugged him


    gently.


    “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I said softly. He nodded and I left. I trudged back up the stairs and to the


    living room. Keegan was sitting on the couch with the guys. I sighed as he pulled me onto hisp. “We


    should get going. Danny has to work tonight,” I said. His hand rubbed up my leg and I stopped it before


    it went too far, even though I really didn’t want to.


    “Okay,” he said quietly before he kissed my gently. We stood and I said goodbye to the guys before we


    left. When we finally reached my house, I turned to Keegan. I looked at him curiously.


    “Do I know everything yet?” I asked. I wasn’t going to lie, I wanted him badly, but he said we couldn’t go


    there until I knew everything. He shook his head as we walked inside.


    “Not yet,” he answered.