Taming the Beast
Chapter 38 (Caroline)

I grunted and took a deep breath before I looked towards the bathroom again. "I'm going to go tell Asher that he's not in trouble," I muttered before heading down the stairs. The guys were sitting on the couch except Asher. He was pacing in the middle of the floor. All of the guys looked smug, but Asher's face... I immediately walked over and hugged him. He squeezed me back tightly.

"I'm so, so sorry, Caroline. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, Asher. You didn't know, and Keegan isn't going to punish you for it," I said softly, rubbing his back. He sighed.

"Yeah, well it sounded more like you were punishing him," Nick said, rubbing the back of his neck with a smirk. "Sensitive wolf hearing and all. You're lucky we got Lena out of the house in time," he added. I let go of Asher and glared at him as the other guys laughed, including Asher.

"So you... you guys turn into wolves too?" I asked, whispering the last sentence. Sue me, but I didn't want to say werewolf out loud. It was way too cliché. They all laughed at my resistance to say it. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. I knew it was Keegan by the sparks. I wondered if I would ever get used to that.

"That's why I was taking you to the creek," Keegan said. I shuddered at just hearing the word. Keegan sighed and gave me a sympathetic look before he continued. "I was going to tell and show you everything." Keegan's mom bristled into the room and gave me a once over.

"Feeling better dear," his mom asked me sympathetically. I nodded as heat filled my cheeks. The guys just cracked up. They were laughing so hard, they were having a hard time breathing. I shifted my eyes to them and tried to get them to shut up.

"I have to grab something from upstairs. I'll be back," Keegan said, kissing my cheek lightly before sprinting back up the stairs. I sighed as a little girl tapped me. Her eyes were wide ad she looked like her mother. I knew from the talking earlier that her name was Karma.

"Gregg and Trevor can show you their wolf. Sometimes Keegan lets me ride on his back sometimes. I'm not a wolf yet," she said. I smiled lightly and chuckled before I nodded. Trevor smiled before grabbing my hand.

"Touch her again and I'll kill you!" Keegan yelled from up the stairs. I rolled my eyes. He was so overprotective.

"Keegan, calm down!" I yelled back. I grasped Trevor's hand tighter as we went outside. The guys led me to the first field we passed earlier. We stopped and they started stripping. "Oh my God!" I squealed as I covered my eyes. They chuckled. Suddenly, laughing stopped. Instead, cracking could be heard. I only uncovered my eyes when I felt something damp on my hands. I jumped back in surprise. Trevor's snout was right in my face. He smiled and nuzzled his head against my shoulder. I smiled and scratched his head before we heard growling from behind me. Trevor backed away with his ears down and tail between his legs as my Keegan wolf walked up, baring his teeth. I smacked his shoulder which made him stop.

"I swear Keegan; you're so overprotective. Stop it. These are your friends... and they're my friends to," I said, shooting him a scowl. Keegan laid down beside me and rolled over on his back. I smiled. He was surrendering... good. I ran my hands through his fur before he just laid on his stomach and put his head on his paws. Gregg wagged his tail and rubbed his face against my chest. I rubbed him too before I wen and sat against a sulking Keegan wolf. I kissed his face and he perked up. He smiled before he stood up. I stood too and he nudged me towards the trees; sticking his nose in my butt.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," I said, taking the hint. I walked into the trees. Once we were hidden enough, Keegan stopped. I watched as bones cracked noisily and the tail retracted. His pores seemed to suck all of the magnificent black fur away until he was just bare skin. I watched as he completely transformed until all that was left was Keegan the human. I could only stare in shock. I knew he was a werewolf but watching him was something like I'd never expect. He smiled sheepishly at me. I looked down and noticed that he was naked... completely naked. I gaped at how big he was. No way was that going to fit in me It was a good thing he stopped me earlier.

"Clothes on, now," I said, snapping out of my daze. I turned and covered my eyes to give him some privacy. Okay, so really it was so I didn't stare at him the whole time but whatever. He chuckled and shuffled around for a moment before I felt a pair of hands on my arms. I slowly uncovered my eyes to see him standing right in front of me, smiling. He just had some basketball shorts on. I took a moment to really look at his body again. It was toned and athletic and smooth. His muscles bulked slightly in all the right places; causing deep ridges and veins to stand out all over his chest. His basketball shorts were hanging dangerously low; giving me a good view of his muscular v-line that veered into the shorts. When I looked back to his face, he held an amused expression.

"No, no, please continue. I don't think you've thoroughly checked me out enough," he joked, making my cheeks flame. I looked to the ground to try and mask my embarrassment. I felt a finger under my chin before I was looking at Keegan again. He was very close. My hands reached up and rested on his hips as we stared at each other. Keegan smirked. "You know, watching your mate transition is very intimate... pretty much magical. You treat it as if it was a chore," he said with a slight pout. I looked up at the hovering stars. They were sharp and beautiful from this forest. I sighed.

"What time is it?" I asked Keegan. He only shrugged.

"Let's go back inside. I'm sure dinner's ready," he said. I nodded and he pushed my hips forward and out of the woods. We entered the warm house and the smell of cooked meat and vegetables hit my nose. My mouth started watering instantly and my stomach grumbled loudly in protest of not having any of that delicious smelling food. I immediately went to the kitchen. Lena was bustling around.

"Anything I can help with?" I asked. She looked up and me and smiled. She brushed the back of her hand along her forehead as she let out a breath.

"Yes actually, can you make the bread rolls? The dough is over there and there are spices in the cabinet. The pan is on the counter over there. Go nuts," she said, pointing out the ingredients. I smiled and immediately thought of my mom's famous sweet rolls. And for once, I wasn't sad thinking about my mom; at least, not with Lena right here and Keegan in the next room. I washed my hands quickly and strapped on an apron. I grabbed a stick of butter out of the fridge and the milk. I set that and other things on the counter. I put the dough in the bowl and set the whole stick of butter in it. I sprinkled a little salt and an unhealthy amount of sugar in it. I kneaded it over and over again until it was all blended evenly. I made a hole in the middle of the dough and squirted almost an entire bottle of honey and some olive oil inside before I kneaded it again. Once the whole thing was covered in honey, I made them into intricate little rolls. I added a small design by pinching and twisting a small piece of the middle on the top. I set the rolls in the available oven-there were three almost industrial sized ovens!!-- and took the liberty to make another batch. The first batch made about 30-some-odd rolls but I knew that wouldn't be enough. Lena and I bustled around the kitchen quietly as we worked. While my rolls were baking, I mixed up a block of butter with honey. I mashed it into plastic wrap and formed it into a black before putting it in the fridge. I went ahead and made a Chinese cabbage salad with involved shredded cabbage, chicken flavoring powder, olive oil and sugar also. I also made my mom's special punch. It was a simple fruit punch with lots of diced fruit, orange juice, ginger ale, and passion fruit punch mix. I also made some homemade mashed potatoes. By the time I finished the salad, punch and mashed potatoes, my rolls were ready. I pulled them out and smiled as I saw that they were perfect. The golden brown rolls were steaming and perfect. I still remembered it perfectly. I pulled my honey butter out of the fridge and unwrapped it on to a butter plate. Once the rolls cooled down a bit, I put them in the cloth covered bread basket and set my makings on the dinner table. I sighed and wiped the sweat from my forehead on the back of my hand. I leaned against a chair and watched as Lena started setting her food on the table. She made chicken, ribs, sloppy Joes, roast beef, broccoli, sweet corn, and sweet iced tea. I smiled at the spread on the table. Except for my Chinese salad, this was a great Southern meal.

"Dinner!" Lena yelled. All at once, Karma, the guys, and Keegan rushed in and took a seat. "Nobody touches the food until after I make Wes a plate," Lena said sternly. Their eyes bugged as they watched her slowly make a plate for her husband. I chuckled and pulled off my apron, sticking it back in the kitchen. When I came back out, everyone was staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I told them to wait until you told them what you made," Lena explained with a motherly smile. "You were a real help today, thank you," she said. I smiled back and went to sit in the empty seat next to Keegan, who was sitting at the head of the table.

"Thanks for letting me help," I said back. I looked at the expectant faces and laughed. "I made the mashed potatoes, fruit punch, cabbage salad, and sweet rolls... oh and the butter is for the sweet rolls, though I doubt you'll need it," I said. I grabbed my basket of rolls and set one on my plate before I passed it to Keegan. It was a family-style dinner and everybody took what they wanted and passed it to the person next to them. The guys all had their plates piled high. I had a good amount of food on my plate also. Keegan bit into my sweet roll and froze. In fact, after everyone took a bite, they froze and looked at me. So now, no one was eating anymore or even moving. They were all looking at me.

"What?" I asked confused before took a bite of my roll. I smiled and chewed it slowly. It was perfect. The ratio was heavenly, and now I understood. If I wasn't mistaken, Asher had tears in his eyes. It was quiet for a really long time before someone finally spoke up.

"Caroline, you have to give me this recipe," Lena gushed.

"I didn't think it was possible to love you even more," Keegan smiled lovingly.

"Please marry me," Gregg sighed as he took another bite. Keegan growled at him.

"I want to marry these rolls," Trevor said dreamily.

"I want to have sex with these rolls," Nick muttered. I laughed heartily as Lena scolded Nick.

"Have y'all tasted her mashed potatoes? They're insane," Asher said with a mouthful. Thus, everyone at some of my mashed potatoes and the cycle started all over again. By the time dinner ended, they still weren't done gushing about the food I made. Keegan couldn't keep his hands off of me. Literally, he had to be touching me in some way, but I didn't mind. He finally hung out with the guys and I started wandering around the house. I went into the kitchen to help Lena clean up. Afterwards, she pulled a plate out of the over with food piled high.

"I'll be back, I'm just going to give this to Wes," she said.

"May I?" I asked hesitantly. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, he hasn't seen you in a week. Go for it," she said handing me the plate. I thanked her before I took the familiar way to Wes's hospital room. I knocked lightly before I opened the cracked door. There was a scruffy graying man visiting with Wes. I looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Is this a bad time?" I asked. Wes only smiled and shook his head. He had his oxygen tubes on today so they restricted his movements a bit.

"It's never a bad time for you, my daughter," he smiled. I blushed as a warm fuzzy feeling filled my stomach at hearing him say that. It was safe to say that I loved this man. Not in the same sense as Keegan, but in a fatherly way. I held the plate up a little.

"I brought you dinner," I said, setting the plate on his hospital table and rolling it in front of him.

"Perfect! I've been waiting to taste these rolls that you guys have been talking about," he said, picking it up. He took a bite and groaned as his eyes closed. "Holy mother of Jess... if I were catholic, I would feel the need to confess to eating this roll. It tastes like pure sin. Marcus, you have to taste this," he said, handing the man his other roll. Marcus took a bite and practically fell out of his chair.

"This is extraordinary," Marcus breathed. His eyes snapped to me. "Where did you learn to cook like this?" he asked baffled. I hesitated as my smile fell a tiny bit.

"My, uh... my mom taught me before she died recently," I explained softly.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said sympathetically. I shrugged and fiddled with my hands as I shuffled closer to Wes.

"It's okay," I dismissed it.

"How did your father handle it?" he asked curiously. I sighed and held my chin up. I refused to be pitied this much in one day.

"He died also. We were in a car accident and my dad managed to get me out, but it was too late for them," I explained softly but surely. I was sure of myself about for once in my life. Maybe I was finally over my mourning period of what happened. Wes reached over and squeezed my hand gently. I gave him a soft smile before I reached over and gave his cheek a quick kiss. "Wes and Lena are the closest thing to parents I have now," I added.

"We are your parents," Wes said towards me. "You'll be our daughter in law in just a little bit anyway," he added with a wink I laughed as my cheeks heated.

"Well, I-I should probably start heading home. Danny has to work tonight and Keegan and I are watching Preston. Well, Keegan doesn't know that he's helping me yet," I said with a soft smile. Wes laughed as best he could before he started coughing. He was so carefree most of the time; it was hard to remember that he was sick. Wes finished coughing and I handed him some water. His eyes wandered over to Marcus who was sitting quietly.

"Danny is her older brother who she lives with and Preston is his son," Wes explained. Marcus only nodded quietly. I sighed and rubbed Wes's arm gently.

"You have to take it easy. I want you around for as long as I can keep you. That can't happen if you're laughing yourself to death," I said gently. Wes only rolled his eyes.

"I will always be here for you, even when I pass," he said with a small smile. I sighed and hugged him gently.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I said softly. He nodded and I left. I trudged back up the stairs and to the living room. Keegan was sitting on the couch with the guys. I sighed as he pulled me onto his lap. "We should get going. Danny has to work tonight," I said. His hand rubbed up my leg and I stopped it before it went too far, even though I really didn't want to.

"Okay," he said quietly before he kissed my gently. We stood and I said goodbye to the guys before we left. When we finally reached my house, I turned to Keegan. I looked at him curiously.

"Do I know everything yet?" I asked. I wasn't going to lie, I wanted him badly, but he said we couldn't go there until I knew everything. He shook his head as we walked inside.

"Not yet," he answered.[]

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