Page 105 of The Wolf in My Tavern

“So, your actions are not ruled by your beast, then?” Gray challenges back. “And I was not blaming the Goddess. I blame myself for not listening to her.”

Callum grunts.

My fuzzy mind is not sure exactly what that means.

At least they are talking. Talking is good.

I fidget, feeling suddenly bold and sorrowful for Gray. My hand reaches under the table to touch his thigh—he jolts.

Callum growls.

I snatch my hand away.

“The lass was only offering comfort,” Gray says brusquely.

“I can’t fucking help myself,” Callum says. “You kept me chained to a wall for a week. While you... “

Gray clears his throat and reaches for his ale, drinking deeply. “Happen we are all a little tense.”

“We cannot change what has happened,” Drake says, bringing the conversation back to all. “But we can take steps that will offer hope to those suffering. And we must focus on that. Your father was a well-respected pack leader. It guts me that he fell to treachery.” His hand reaches to settle on the back of Arlo’s neck. Lizbeth likewise turns her sad eyes to the young man who is her mate.

In the short time since I have known Drake, I have more often known him smiling. His words touch me. I take Callum’s hand in mine even as I crawl my way onto Gray’s lap.

I feel the tension in Callum… and in Gray, before it leaves him in a rush, and he begins to purr.

The sound is like a balm over us all. The tavern is quieter now, as most patrons have left to return to their homes.

Drake’s words move me. I think about how I would feel if something happened to those I care about. I would be devastated; I would not rest until I had done whatever I could to help them and free them if they were suffering. I have been a slave, if briefly. I cannot imagine the poor mates and children who are hostage, nor the torment it brings to their loved ones, needing to fight for a pack they hate at the risk of losing them.

“They will not prevail,” Gray says ominously. “But we shall not win this war tonight. Time we took our rest and rise early on the morrow to continue our journey again.”

He means it is time for bed. I gulp and make a dive for my ale.

This time it is Callum who slides it aside.

The nodding proprietor shows us up narrow wooden stairs to the guest rooms. Saul and Don take one room. Drake, Lizbeth, and Arlo go to another.

He stops at the end of a long corridor where a single door waits. He pushes it open before presenting the key to Gray.

“We are all in the same room,” Callum says, his voice cool and clipped.

“Of course, we are in the same fucking room,” Gray says, “unless you wish to sleep elsewhere?”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” the proprietor says, beating a hasty retreat.

“Why would I want to sleep somewhere else?” Callum says, swinging me up into his arms and stepping into the room. “I was merely hoping you might take the hint and fuck off.”

My eyes go straight to Gray, worrying that he might… I don’t know what he might do when Callum has an enormous beast and would clearly be the one who came out on top.

I catch Gray smirking as he follows us in and closes the door. He drops the latch with an resonating click and tosses the key onto a small table beside the door.

It is a pretty, rustic room dominated by a large bed. The shutters are already drawn, and a single lamp provides soft illumination. Callum is already striding toward the bed.

“These clothes the captain gave her are a fucking test,” Callum mutters as he drops me in the center of the bed and comes down after me, caging my body beneath his.

We stare at one another, both of us breathing unsteadily. I feel a familiar quickening sensation shooting through my core.

This is Callum, my Callum, who is no longer merely an apprentice blacksmith but a powerful shifter.

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