First Beginnings by Clare Atling, Steve Armario

mate Seth. He loves you and I can see you love it here. I’ll come
back. Lots and lots to see – you, and your baby sitting on you knee…’ She
winked as Sarah paled. ‘And, of course, I’ll be here for the wedding,’ she
added, smiling.
    ‘Stop it now,’ replied Sarah,
blushing. ‘You’re just teasing me. We are a long way off from all that…’ she
huffed, but the glimmer of hope stayed with her. ‘Plus, I don't know if I can
go through changing into a wolf without you, Callie. Promise me you will stay,
at least until I'm ready for you to leave.’ Which may be never , she
thought.
    For the rest of the afternoon
they discussed what work Sarah would be doing. Hope told her that she didn’t
have to work, as her family had enough money to keep them going for years, but
Sarah needed to do something. After she left Callie and Hope at their front
door, she walked off to find Seth, thinking that she couldn’t wait to have
wolfy senses like him so she could just sniff him out the way he did with her.
    She walked toward the main row of
shops and stopped when she saw him walking out of one of the empty buildings.
She could tell the moment he caught her scent and he looked straight at her.
She couldn’t help taking in his strong, muscular body, his thick arms peeking
out from under his white T-shirt, but when he started to walk toward her she
froze. He was stalking his prey, she could tell. His eyes lowered to her mouth
the minute she licked her bottom lip and she knew, at that moment, she would
give him the mating he wanted. He walked to her and swooped down, instantly
taking her mouth in a kiss.
    ‘Mmm, you taste so sweet,’ he
breathed. ‘I'm glad you’re here. Will you come with me? I have something to
show you.’ He seemed preoccupied about something. ‘You don't have to say
anything now – my brothers and I will do all the work. You would have complete
say in what goes where, but I think you will love it.’ He was talking so fast
that Sarah couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm as she followed him into
the empty building he had just exited. She looked around its shell, thinking it
had been used as a shop of some sort before its closure.
    ‘Well, what do you think?’ he
asked.
    ‘Of what, Seth?’ she laughed. ‘I
don't know what it’s for.’
    ‘It’s for you, my sweetness,’
replied Seth. ‘It’s all yours, for your dream. You could open a bakery here on
the island. I know it’s important to you and the guys can’t keep coming over
every day to sample your cooking. I don't want them in our home when you’re
alone. You’re mine and I don't like it.’ That made her laugh. She knew he hated
the fact that she cooked sweet treats for the guys after they came back from
the hunt; a few of them even came by every morning especially for her breakfast
cinnamon rolls that she and Callie would make.
    ‘I love you more than my next
breath, Sarah,’ he continued. ‘I’ll do anything to make you happy, including
giving you this building to make your dream come true. If you don't like the
building, we can look at another one. Logan already has some plans in place and
we could go over there now to look at them.’ He was watching her for any signs
of distress and, when he saw her eyes fill with tears, he knew it was all too
much for her. He’d been so sure she would love this little building, but
clearly he was wrong. He wrapped her in his arms as she sobbed against him.
‘Sarah, I'm sorry. Hell, I thought for sure it was something you wanted. I'm
sorry, baby.’
    Sarah looked up into his eyes
with a confused expression.
    ‘Oh, Seth. It’s perfect. You’re
perfect. I... I think... no, I know I love you!’ That was it. She didn’t
get the chance to say anything else before Seth picked her up against him and
devoured her. She could feel his pent-up emotions as he kissed her hard. She
pushed at his chest when she finally needed to catch her breath.
    ‘Of course,’ she added, ‘it’s