What She Deserved

CHAPTER TWO

CALLIE

I woke up with a loud yawn as I stretched my arms and legs. There was a soft light illuminating the room softly through the curtains. I smiled as I watched the sky outside for a moment, letting peace and happiness fill me.

I yelped slightly as I felt two strong arms wrap around me. He pulled me closer to his chest and held me in place firmly. I chuckled as I tried to turn around, but his grip held me in place. “Xander, you scared me,” I said with a smile.

He chuckled and his arms around me loosened enough for me to turn around and look into his bright green eyes. “Good morning, my Queen,” he said roughly, and I rolled my eyes.

“Good morning, mate.” He smiled and we stayed like that for a moment, just getting lost in each other’s eyes. “I didn’t expect you to be here at this hour,” I said as I side glanced at the clock resting on his nightstand. It was already past ten. Xander and I normally woke up before seven, something was going on if he let us sleep in. “Didn’t you mention last night that you had an important meeting with the Alpha of the West Coast Pack?”

Xander nodded and smiled, “all that can wait. My mate is more important, especially today of all days.”

I raised an eyebrow, questioningly, but he had already closed his eyes and was breathing in the scent of my hair. “What’s special about today?” I asked casually, but in my mind, my brain was trying to make sure I hadn’t forgotten a special date.

Xander opened his eyes and his expression was serious. Before saying anything, he propped himself up with one elbow. His eyes never left mine and the seriousness was making anxious since I couldn’t find a special date in my mind.

“Today…” he trailed off, “today is the day I found you. The day I brought you here to the pack.”

My eyes widened and warmth filled me. I had never expected him to remember such a date. I mean, the moment, yes, but not the exact date. “I can’t believe that was a year ago, it feels like it has been forever since,” I whispered in disbelief.

It really did feel like many years had passed since then, I was only a year older, but it felt as if I had known Xander my whole life. We had only been married for a couple of months now and when we returned from our honeymoon, I felt like a different person. More mature, serious about wanting to help other packs and getting to know every member of the Royal Moon Pack. I had dived into my royal duties, and so had Xander, but it felt like years had passed.

Xander nodded and sighed in both awe and sadness. “I feel like we barely have time for ourselves. We’re so focused on our duties that we do not take the time to go out and just… focus on our bond, our marriage.”

“It’s only been a year,” I teased him. “I’m kidding, I get what you mean. I’ve noticed that too.” It warmed my heart he cared about the little things just as much as the big things, I hadn’t expected it and I was happy he cared.

He gently took my left hand and kissed it tenderly before looking back at me. “That is why I asked Joseph to clear our schedules for the day.”

My eyes widened and excitement filled me, “do you have anything in mind you’d like to do?”

He nodded his head, “I thought we could go to the city with Helena, Rose, Evan, Jake, and Mike. That way we could spend time together and with our friends.”

I nodded my head eagerly before responding, “I agree but…” I trailed off and I pulled my mate closer to me until our faces were only a couple of inches apart. “I would like us to have dinner together, just us two.”

His eyes brightened instantly, “you read my mind, my love.” He closed the gap between us and kissed me deeply. It had been days since we had last been intimate and me and my wolf yearned it. We wanted to feel close to our mate.

The urgency in our kiss only grew and I was anxious to love him like I wanted.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, “Callie, Xander, we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for you at the garage.” Helena’s voice followed by the sound of her daughter’s giggle was what interrupted us and I groaned slightly.

I was sure Helena had heard me because she was laughing as she walked away, “hurry up, lovebirds!” she called from afar and I looked at Xander.

He was shaking his head and smiling. When he saw me looking, he shrugged, “you heard her.” I sighed in defeat and looked up to the ceiling. “We can always shower together,” he said with a mischievous look in his eyes.

Instantly I was on my feet and running towards the bathroom, “last one there is a rotten egg.”

Xander chuckled behind me and I heard him get up and race after me.

…

We walked hand in hand towards the garage. I felt cheerful and excited, I was even skipping through the halls. Xander only smiled and watched me with amusement. He was the serious King while I was the more hyper, laid-back Queen.

Queen, that word still felt odd and it was even more strange to describe me as a Queen, Queen of Werewolves.

I could be serious, and I normally was when I was attending important royal duties but on days like this or when I interacted with a lot of young pups, I liked being more carefree.

I saw Helena waiting with the group, she was hugging Jake affectionately as they watched their daughter who was in Mike’s arms. He was spinning her through the air like an airplane and Clarisse was giggling with excitement, she was much bigger now, even though she wasn’t a year-old yet. Werewolves grew faster than the average human.

What caught my attention was that while Evan was waiving at us and walking to meet us halfway, Rose stood her ground and she looked… uncomfortable. Something was wrong, it was written in her expression, she couldn’t fool me like she thought she could.

“Hey, we thought you were not going to come,” Evan teased as he reached us.

I blushed, I had gotten used to this Evan, the one who liked to joke around with his friends. “Good morning to you too, Evan,” I said with a smiled and he hugged me quickly. Then he pulled away to talk with my mate while I walked to join the others.

When I reached Rose, I gently touched her arm, “are you okay, Rose?”

She quickly nodded and masked her wariness with a smile, “yes, of course! We are finally going to hang out someplace other than the typical pack meetings.” I didn’t push the subject, it was obvious something was troubling her, and I had first noticed it a month ago, but I wasn’t going to push her. That would only drive her away.

Xander and Evan joined us. “Are you all set?” my mate asked with a smile and everyone nodded.

“Alright, the girls can drive together in one care while we take another,” he suggested, and everyone agreed.

…

I drove while Rose sat, lost in thought, in the co-pilot seat, while Helena sat in the backseat where she could keep an eye on her daughter. The drive was mostly quiet until a song on the radio sounded through the speakers. The city was about an hour away from pack territory, but no one minded the silence.

I turned up the music and looked at my friends quickly. “Do you guys remember this song?”

Both of them blushed and nodded their heads. “I can’t believe it’s been a year since that day,” Rose said with a light chuckle. “Can you believe how much we drank? And the next day with the hangover.” I laughed and Helena joined in too.

“That feels like so long ago,” Helena said, never taking her eyes off her daughter. She was the oldest of us and now she had a child to take care off, we were growing up too fast, I couldn’t even begin to picture myself with a pup, not in at least five years.

When we got to the mall, the others arrived just after us.

We spent the day walking around the mall, window shopping, talking, and goofing around. It had been a while since I had felt like a normal teenager. Some of the humans gave us shocked glances, I guessed it had to do with the fact Helena was pushing a baby carriage in front of her. I rolled my eyes; humans could be very judgy.

Occasionally I threw Rose wary looks but she always shrugged me off. She was quieter than usual and she kept her attention on Clarisse. The small pup was sitting on Rose’s lap. Our mates and Mike had left us to go look for some equipment needed for the pack and they left us at a spa. At first, the workers seemed hesitant to let us in because of Helena’s daughter.

“We’ll make sure she behaves,” Helena assured them with a smile.

The receptionist eyed us in shock, she was probably wondering whose child it was but by the color of Helena’s and my hair, she probably thought it was either of ours.

“Let me talk to my manager,” she said slowly, and we nodded our heads.

From across the hall, we watched the woman talk to a familiar figure. My eyes widened as I recognized who she was talking to, it was a young woman, couldn’t be more than 25 and she belonged to the Royal Moon Pack before she left to find her mate. I had met her right after returning from my honeymoon. Her name was Zoey.

When Zoey turned to look at the entrance, the three of us waved and her eyes widened before a smile appeared on her face. She walked towards us, clipboard in hand. “Hello, I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said when she reached us.

Rose shrugged, “it’s our day off and we thought we needed some girl time.”

Zoey nodded her head, “I know what you mean. It’s a surprise. How is everything…” she trailed off as she looked around uncomfortably. The receptionist pretended to be immersed in her texts, but I could tell she was eavesdropping.

“Everything is great. Everyone misses you. You should come to visit sometime,” I said with a warm smile. Zoey was a sweet girl and if she had stayed, I was sure we would have been great friends.

“Really? You’re too kind, Callie,” she said with a faint blush. I could tell she felt uncomfortable referring to me without my title after not seeing each other every day like we used to.

I waved her off, “nonsense, you are always welcome back home.”

She smiled and nodded her head. Then she turned to look at the receptionist, “Maddy, could you show these ladies to cabin number 5, they are going to be having the Luxury Spa deal. Oh, and take good care of them, they are like family.” Zoey turned to look at us and we smiled back at her. “I’ll see if I can catch up with you before you go. But first, I have a lot of work to do, those bills aren’t going to pay themselves,” she said cheerfully, and we nodded.

Once she was gone, I turned to look at my friends questioningly. “She did say bills, right?”

Both of my friends nodded. “I thought she left the pack to find her mate,” Rose whispered under her breath.

Helena shrugged, “who knows. Maybe she’ll tell us later.”

We turned to look back at the receptionist who was giving us a slight smile. She was already up and had begun to lead us deeper into the establishment. “Right this way ladies. Careful with the cables on the floor, we are remodeling.”

The cabin was big enough to fit the three of us comfortably. Even Clarisse’s carriage fit comfortably next to Helena’s chair.

“Your masseuse will be with you shortly, in the meantime, would you like anything to drink?” Maddy asked at the door.

“Do you have pink lemonade?” Rose asked and I raised an eyebrow.

Maddy nodded her head, “should I bring you girls a jug of pink lemonade?” Helena and I shared a look before nodding and Maddy left the room.

A couple of minutes later, Maddy returned with a jug full of pink lemonade, and the masseuses followed after her.

We drank a glass of lemonade before the masseuses gave us instructions and dimmed the lights on the room. Helena gently set Clarisse on her carriage, “be a good girl, alright? Mommy is going to be here right next to you, but we cannot talk while the workers do their job, okay?”

Clarisse nodded her head and laid on her side and soon, her soft snores filled the room.

We took off the clothes the masseuses had instructed and laid down on the beds. There was a knock on the door before three women walked in and guided us through the massage. It was the first time in a long time that I let myself relax.

All my tension and aches were forgotten, and I enjoyed every moment of it, hoping the peace I felt would be eternal. No more rouges, no more fights, just peace. I knew it was a long shot that probably would never be accomplished, but I wished some more years passed before another battle.

...

An hour later, my friends and I were seated on the white couches on the other side of the room, drinking the rest of the lemonade, even Clarisse was drinking a little bit.

“Mommy, I want to go to the bathroom,” Clarisse struggled to say. My eyes widened, it really amazed me how fast pups grew up. It took a third of the time humans took to reach the maturity of a five-year-old.

“I’ll take her,” Rose said as she got to her feet. The massage had managed to take some of the tension away, but I could still see the stress behind her eyes.

Helena nodded and handed her Clarisse.

As soon as the door was closed, I turned to Helena, “is it just me or is there something off about Rose?”

Helena sighed and looked at me, “I was wondering when you were going to ask. I read your thoughts before we left the mansion.”

I threw a fluffy pillow her way and she quickly dodged it, “hey! I can’t help listening in. Your thoughts are way too loud.” I shrugged and she continued, “I have noticed it too. I tried to ask her a couple of days ago, but she said it was nothing, that she was just tired, but I don’t believe her for a second.”

“I don’t think we should confront her, at least not now. Let’s give her a couple of days to see if she tells us on her own. If she doesn’t, then the three of us should talk.” Helena nodded and there was a silence before I said another word. “I don’t like this. Something about this is making me fidgety.”

Helena sighed, “I know. Goodness, I am not ready for another battle.” I nodded my head and raised the glass of lemonade to my lips again.

Just then, Rose stepped inside with Clarisse giggling in her arms. “She is such a sweet girl.”

Clarisse smiled and when Rose sat back down, she turned to me and extended her arms. “I want Aunt Callie.” We laughed in unison and I reached out to take the small girl in my arms. She felt so fragile and small but if she ended up anything like her mother like I knew she would, she was going to be the complete opposite.

Clarisse started playing with my head while I sat her on my lap and moved my legs up and down to imitate a horse galloping. She smiled when I did this. “Higher! Higher!” she yelled, and Helena stiffened.

“Sweety, you don’t have to yell,” Helena said playfully.

“Oops,” Clarisse said as she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Alrighty, are we ready for facemasks and mani-paties?” a woman asked as she walked into the room, rolling a bag behind her.

…

An hour later, the boys had come to get us, and we were practically floating out of the Spa, like clouds. Zoey hadn’t made it in time to talk to us but Maddy made sure to tell us she sent her regards.

“You look nice,” Xander said softly as he wrapped his arm around me longingly before leaning down to place a gentle peck on my lips.

I chuckled, “I always look nice.”

“Yes, you do, my Queen.” The way he looked at me made shivers run down my spine and I had to look away.

Clarisse had fallen asleep a couple of hours after noon, just before we left the spa, and I saw Helena give Jake a look. Jake nodded and turned to the others. “I think we should head back before Clarisse wakes up,” Helena said with a sad expression. I nodded my head.

“We’ll walk you to the car,” I said, and everyone nodded.

It had been a great afternoon; I needed my girl time with my friends, and I was glad we could have some days off like this.

At the parking lot, I handed Mike my keys. “Drive safe, you guys. We’ll see you later,” I said as I waved them goodbye.

Xander and Evan were discussing some pack business, I could tell by the way Xander’s expression turned serious and Evan’s eyebrows furred together. I sighed; we were never completely free from our duties.

My mate joined me a couple of moments later and Evan got in the third row of the backseats with his mate.

“Is everything alright?” I asked Xander seriously, once the car was out of sight.

Xander nodded his head and kissed my forehead, “everything is alright, Luna. You have nothing to worry about.”

I raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced, but there were only a couple more hours of freedom before we had to dive back into work, and I didn’t want to waste them. So, I didn’t push the subject and smiled.

“So, what should we do next?” I asked cheerfully.

“How about rock climbing?” Xander said with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

I jumped up and down and nodded, “let’s go!”