The Whispers and The Wolf

Twenty-Eight

Another day waking up in my bed alone. I rolled over to find his side of the bed empty and I sat up immediately. “Conlan?” I called. “Conlan?!” I called again, more urgent this time. I couldn’t sense him.

“Down here birdie,” he shouted up from the patio. I looked over the balcony and could see him outside on the phone. When I reached him, he took me in his arms.

“OK, OK. Good work Campbell. Keep working on it and I’ll shout ye soon. Cheers mate.” And he hung up the phone.

“Who is Campbell?” I asked leaning my head against his chest.

“He’s my Beta, my second in command.” He kissed the top of my head.

“I thought I was to be your second in command?” This was all so confusing.

“Absolutely not! You are my partner, my equal.” He beamed. “Let’s get ye some breakfast, we’ll be off soon.” He said leading me inside.

“I’m not hungry, Conlan. And anyway I’ve got nothing-“ I stopped when I saw the shopping bags on the island.

“I asked Sadie to get ye all the same stuff ye bought from the market before. The woman has some bloody memory… Anyway I didn’t want ye having to go out on yer own so here we are.” He said, motioning to the bags and blushing ever so slightly.

“You are beyond sweet, thank you my King.” I tiptoed to kiss his cheek but he turned to catch my lips.

“You keep calling me these names and I won’t be able to wait for another 5 days.” He growled, taking a handful of my ass.

“Well maybe that’s the point, Alpha.” I snaked my arms around his neck and he pulled me up so my legs could wrap around his waist. “Did you say we were going somewhere?” He sat me down on the island.

“Aye, I need to get to grips with what happened last night so can’t stay here aw day. I thought it’d be nice for ye to spend the day with Sadie. At my childhood home.” I could tell that meant a lot to him, he didn’t meet my eyes when he said it.

“Thank you Conlan, I’d love to see it.” I stroked his chiseled face then leaned my forehead against his. “Should we get this shopping away?”

“I’ll do it. I’ll make ye a coffee, away and you get ready. I’ll sort aw this.” He lifted me off the counter. As I walked away, he smacked my ass. I turned and faked horror. “It’s mine now,” he shrugged, choking on a laugh. “Now away ye go.”

I was looking through my wardrobe trying to find the right outfit when Conlan appeared behind me with my coffee. “Here ye go wee birdie.” He sat on the bed and sipped his own. “Best to wear comfy shoes.” He said.

“Oh… why?” I didn’t own a lot of comfy shoes that weren’t crocs…

“It’s a farm, Autumn. I’ll wash the cups, ye’ve got 10 minutes.” I tanked the now cold coffee and quickly grabbed a pale blue yoga set with Nike socks and my old New Balance 530s. Throwing on my denim jacket I was done. I met Conlan at the bottom of the stairs.

“Gorgeous as always,” he kissed my cheek. “Right come on Cinderella. Yer carriage awaits.”

I grabbed my phone, keys and sunglasses, then he lead me out to his truck. A solid grey Range Rover Sport with blackout windows. It looked immaculate for a landscapers truck.

“How long is the journey?” I asked.

“20 minutes baby. Would be faster on wolf back.” He chuckled. I laughed nervously. I wasn’t quite ready for that yet, I’m glad he recognised it.

We hopped in and we were off. Conlan took my hand and held it on his lap as he drove. He rubbed circles with his thumb on my hand, sending delicious shocks up my arm. He looked unbelievably handsome; sunglasses on, his biceps peeking out of his white tshirt. He was so striking. He caught me looking and smiled at me. A smile that made me go weak at the knees.

“Something on yer mind birdie?” He asked.

“Why don’t we pack some stuff to bring back home?” I asked him, giving his hand a little squeeze.

“Are you sure?” He glanced at me. “I don’t want you to feel rushed into anything.”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything my King.” I smiled genuinely. He raised my hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on it. We drove in comfortable silence the rest of the way. The scenery was just glorious here. It made the fact that I now lived here feel even more unreal.

We took a few lefts until we were on a smaller dirt road. A massive farm house came into view in the distance, becoming more extravagant as it grew closer. It was rustic but elegant, with dark wooden beams and a terracotta tiled roof. It was country chic in its finest. As we approached, howl after howl greeted us. Conlan looked to me and smiled.

“Welcome to the Maxwell Estate.” He grinned.

“Conlan! It’s exquisite!” My jaw was open as I gawked at this mansion. Centred in acres and acres of land, farm and forest, and nestled in the hills surrounding us. “It’s like something out of a fairytale.”

“Just call me Prince Charming.” He kissed my knuckles. He parked the truck and got out, coming to my side to help me down. Sadie was at the door to greet us.

“Oh hen it’s lovely to see ye here.” She opened her arms to embrace me. She seemed a lot calmer in her own environment.

“I’ll need to run off birdie.” Conlan interrupted. “Will ye be alright here?”

“She’ll be fine ya big eejit, off ye go.” Sadie answered for me, shooing him off.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, OK? I love ye.” He took my face in his hands and gave me a tender kiss. An eruption of howls from around us caused him to laugh into our kiss. He seemed calmer here too. “I’ll see you soon.” He said, running off. “Grow up ya bunch of bastards!” He yelled into the hills and we all started laughing.

“Come on darlin’, let’s give you the tour shall we?”