Sweet Caroline

Andrew quickly walked away before the girls could see him and realize he’d heard their conversation.

As he made his way to his next class, he thought about what he’d heard. He’d forgotten all about that incident where Caroline had gotten hurt. The fact was, he’d forgotten all about her. Now that he did remember, though, he had to agree that that was probably the start of Reva’s issue with Caroline. He also began to remember how it felt to hold her in his arms. It had been scary for him to have such intense emotions towards a girl at ten years old.

Taking a deep breath, Andrew forced it out slowly to calm his wolf. He needed to talk to the Alpha about it. Reva was part of the Pack, but soon Caroline would be too because she was his mate.

First, though, he had to get her to talk to him to explain things to her. Like why after a week of being almost glued to her side after she’d been hurt, I suddenly began ignoring her. He let out a huffing groan. Yeah, I remember that now too, that week of getting to know and snuggling with Caroline when we were ten.

By the time Andrew had completed his school day and football practice, he was more than ready to go home. When he reached home, he walked in the front door calling, “Mom?”

“In the kitchen, Andrew,” Mom called back.

Entering the kitchen, he grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter and sat down. “Mom, can I ask you something?”

Mom turned from the sink to look at him, answering, “Always.”

“Did you and Dad somehow figure out that Caroline would be my mate?”

Mom softly laughed as she sat down next to him at the table. “Andrew, that day the school called me when you were in fourth grade, do you remember that?”

“If you had asked me that this morning, I’d have answered no,” he admitted, hanging his head. “However, this morning, I heard Caroline talking about it to her friend, which jogged my memory. So, yeah, I remember, I remember everything.”

“So, you remember what happened to her. She was hurt by a child of one of our pack members.”

“Reva,” Andrew growled.

“Yes, and you were highly upset over it. You were more upset than you should have been since you had never even spoken to the girl, to my knowledge,” Mom said as she took his hand. “Andrew, I believed, even then, that she was your mate. You felt the urge to take care of her, make sure she was okay, and those urges were strong in you. You were showing all the signs of a male wolf protecting his mate.”

“But I didn’t have my wolf yet, Mom,” Andrew said, feeling the need to argue. “So, how could that be?”

“You have beta blood in you, son,” Mom answered. “True, you were too young to shift forms, but we’re born with our wolves. When you saw Caroline hurt and crying, it awakened your wolf early, and he chose his mate. I believe it’s also the reason why you shifted even earlier than your father did.”

“Wait, your saying I shifted younger than dad?”

“Yes,” she agreed, “he shifted at sixteen, but you were barely fifteen.”

Andrew sat back, taking in the words of his mother. “I’ve ignored her, Mom. I’ve ignored her since that last day when I left her house, back when we were ten. How will it look if I suddenly take an interest in her after all this time? Won’t it look as if I’m a player, or that I want something from her?”

“Son, she’s been around you; she knows you aren’t a player,” Mom reminded him. “Technically, you do want something from her, but you also want to give her something in return. So, get to know her the way you would any other girl. Speak to her in class, in the halls, at the Tasty Treat.”

“I walked her home the other night,” Andrew mentioned. Then, his face flushing with heat, he admitted, “I also might have um… sort of visited her.”

“Well, visiting her isn’t a crime… unless…? Oh, Andrew, tell me you didn’t go sneaking into her room or something.” Mom stared at him, giving him the ‘mom’ eyes. Sighing, she huffed, “You did, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Mom, I couldn’t help it,” he whispered. “I just needed to see her so badly.”

Mom sighed as she scrubbed her hand over her face. “It’s fine, son. Your dad did the same thing. So, how can I really scold you? Don’t you normally go to the Tasty Treats on Thursday?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Well, go now. Then be a gentleman and walk her home after,” she said with a shooing motion as she stood up and went back to her dishes.

Andrew did as he was told and headed for the Tasty Treats and his mate.

Meanwhile, at the Tasty Treats, Caroline was yawning as she glanced at the clock. It was now six-thirty, two more hours, and she’d be free. One good thing, Reva had been ignoring her, so she’d had a quiet evening so far. Sadly, Andrew didn’t come in with the rest of the group.

Then the bell jingled, and Caroline glanced up, her breath hitching as she spied Andrew. She saw Reva’s head come up out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t get out of her chair. This puzzled Caroline because Reva always got up, but she shrugged it off as Andrew headed her way.

“What may I get you tonight?” Caroline asked once he was in front of her.

“I’ll take the number four special, no onions and a sprite,” Andrew answered with a smile.

Giving him a nod, she placed his order then took the money he held out. Cashing the ten-dollar bill he’d handed her, she handed him his change. He just stood there, though. So, tilting her head, puzzled, she asked, “Was there something else you needed?”

“Yeah, um… I was wondering if I could walk you home after work,” Andrew admitted. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

“S-sure, I guess,” Caroline agreed. “I should warn you, though; I’ll be late tonight.”

“That’s fine, and I don’t mind.” His order was set down on the counter in front of him by Dale. Andrew glared at him before picking it up. He then told her, “I’ll see you in a bit then.”

Caroline noticed he sat at the opposite end of the table from Riva.

“What have I ever done to him?” Dale whispered.

Caroline turned to look at him and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a man thing you don’t understand.”

“I’m a man,” Dale huffed, “and I understand plenty. Just ask Rebecca.”

“Rebecca is biased, Dale,” Caroline said with a laugh. Then, casting a dreamy look Andrew’s way, she mentioned, “He’s cute even with a frown.”

“Cute as a rabid wolf, maybe.” As Dale stomped off, he muttered, “Frowning at me for no reason, who does he think he is?”

Caroline looked over to find Andrew watching with his head slightly tilted as if he’d been listening to her and Dale’s conversation. Which she knew he hadn’t because he was too far away, but still, it was odd to her. Regardless, she smiled at him before going to get a bucket of water to start scrubbing the tables with.

An hour later, most everyone had gone home, and she’d cleaned up the tables before putting up the chairs. Even though it wasn’t time to close, she knew no one would be coming in so late. The few that did come in after seven-thirty just got it to go.

Andrew had gone to sit in the corner out of the way of the cleaning-up process.

Caroline noticed Reva headed toward Andrew and huffed. I knew it was just wishful thinking on my part that Reva would finally leave Andrew alone.

“Why were you so late tonight Andrew,” Reva asked, running her fingertips down his arm in a flirty way. “It’s so, so, boring when you aren’t here.”

“I’m not interested in what you’re trying to sell, Reva. So, move along, will you,” Andrew said in a bored voice, never even looking up from his phone.

Reva gasped. Then she turned and grabbed ahold of Ben’s arm before stalking out the door.

Caroline giggled, and Andrew looked up with a wink and a grin.

Finally, it was time to go. So, Andrew waited outside while the alarm was set and the door was locked.

Standing outside the door, Caroline waved her goodbyes to everyone, and they headed out. Andrew once more glared at Dale, who was the last one to tell Caroline goodbye, causing him to huff as he left.

“Are you ready?” Andrew asked.

“Yep, and I am so ready to go home because I am so tired,” Caroline answered as they began to walk. “Thankfully, I have no homework tonight because I was able to finish it in my free time.”

“I finished mine too.”

Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So, you wanted to talk to me about something?”