Second chance love

T e n

She stared into his blue green eyes and found the answer she was looking for. 

“Of course I can wait. I’ve been waiting my whole life to find you, a couple more days won’t hurt.” She smiled as relief spread across his face at her words. She edged back to sit down and picked up her mug, taking a large swig of what was now luke warm tea. 

“Ugh, cold tea. I’m just going to grab some fresh, you want more coffee or anything while I’m indoors?” Holly watched as he downed the rest of his coffee and thrust his mug in her direction. 

“Hot or cold, caffeine is caffeine and I’ve got a long day ahead of me.” She laughed and walked away, feeling a mixture of relief tinged with sadness. 

“He is our mate, and he won’t be able to stay away from us much longer,” Lacey murmured in her mind, sounding mildly grumpy. 

“He’s lost everyone he’s ever loved, let’s just give him some time to adjust. He will get there in his own time, and it will be that much sweeter because of it. Now stop sulking or we’re not running this evening.” Holly shut her out and flicked the kettle on in the kitchen. She popped a teabag in her mug with two heaped spoonfuls of sugar, and dumped a large spoonful of instant coffee into Caleb’s mug. Not being a fan of coffee herself meant that this was the only type she knew how to make, but considering he had just necked half a mug of cold coffee she had a feeling that Caleb wasn’t exactly fussy. 

Holly finished off the drinks and headed outside, half expecting to see the table and food abandoned. She grinned as she spotted Caleb wolfing down the remaining scrambled eggs and toast, and made a mental note to get Beth to teach her how to make her own eggs the same way. She had a feeling it would come in handy. 

She put Caleb’s mug down next to his hand, and brushed the back of it with the back of her hand. Goosebumps shot up her arm followed by sparks so hot she felt that electricity would feel cold in comparison. Her breath hitched in her throat and she watched as Caleb’s sea coloured eyes turned a few shades darker as his body registered the response. He looked up at her but couldn’t form the words he wanted so he just started. 

“What are you waiting for i***t! Take her already! We have suffered enough don’t you think?” Caleb shook his head trying to get his wolf to shut it, but he was finding it harder to ignore him the more time he spent around Holly. She was the one that would make him whole again, but did he really deserve any kind of happiness after what happened to his family, his pack? He had let them down and until he could avenge them, he would not let himself feel happy again. After all, failure should not have any rewards. 

Holly watched the blue return to Caleb’s eyes along with a sense of sadness and regret. He mumbled out a thanks, then stood up to leave. 

“Thank you, honey, that was the best breakfast I’ve ever had,” Caleb avoided making eye contact, and Holly knew he wasn’t ready for this to happen yet. She smiled at him. 

“The company wasn’t half bad either,” she smirked at him before moving to the table to pack the plates and remaining food away. 

“Let me...” Caleb started before Holly interrupted - 

“Please, it’s fine. Go get yourself ready, like you said; you’ve got a long day ahead of you.” She smiled at him hoping it would seem genuine, before he nodded at her and walked away. Truthfully, Holly wanted to keep her hands busy so that she didn’t just run one through his dirty blonde hair. She wanted nothing more than to feel his hair between her fingers, and feel his breath on her face for a moment before their first kiss. She felt her stomach do a flip at just the thought, and rushed to get the bench cleaned up faster. She needed a shower again.