Page 22 of Soul Fated

"Yeah. I've got my truck parked a couple clicks that way." I motioned over my shoulder. "If we stay on two legs, it’ll take forever."

Callista shook her head. "I can't." She looked at Lana, a plea in her eyes.

I frowned. "What do you mean you can't?" I sensed her wolf, so she had to be strong enough to do it.

It was Lana's turn to shake her head, this time with a touch of frustration. "Callista’s wound. We don’t know what will happen to it in wolf form."

I grunted. "It’s not hurting now, is it?" In the woods with her alpha, she’d made it sound like when Lana held the dagger, the pain subsided. “It should disappear anyway.”

Callista nodded. "Exactly. Our wolf form heals. Which is why I’m more worried about the shift back.”

We needed to move. I wasn’t interested in hypotheses about injuries during shifts. "Maybe shifting will help."

Callista’s eyes flashed. "I’m not willing to risk my wolf being permanently injured. Plus, who knows where this wound will end up? I could have a partially severed artery in my wolf form. Do you know how dangerous that could be? I could bleed out before I even shifted back, and then what?"

I held up a hand. "Okay, okay. I get it." We were going to have to do this the hard way. I pulled out a length of rope and started to measure it. "Do you ride?”

Callista blinked. “Ride what?”

“Cats.” I stared at her blankly until I realized she thought I was serious. “Horses, sheep, I don’t give a shit. Something bigger than you?”

Callista shook her head. Great. We were going to do this the really hard way. I pulled a switchblade from my pocket, cut through the rope, and threaded it through a carabiner. I set the knife between my teeth as I tied a knot with one hand, then looped the rope around my neck to pull it taut.

Both of them stared at me. I looked up as the rope slid from my shoulder. “What?”

"Nothing." Lana’s eyes dropped, and I held back a grin. It was always the same. People were curious as hell as to how I managed with only one hand, but they weren’t willing to ask questions.

I finished the knot, then repeated the process with a second length of rope, making a loop out of the carabiner for it to thread through.

“What is it?” Callista asked.

"Your chariot." I finished the knot, and that time, Lana and Callista didn't gape as I used my mouth.

"You’re going to carry her? How?" Lana crossed her arms over her chest.

"Like this." I slipped the harness over my shoulders, setting the loops.

Lana raised a brow. "And you expect her to get onto your back?"

"That's the plan." I turned to Callista, who was staring at me, and a warmth sparked in my chest. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced in a long time. A feeling I didn't have time to dissect. "You okay with that?"

Callista's eyebrows shot up. "Do I have a choice?"

"Guess not." I started unbuttoning my shirt, then stashed it in my bag.

Callista’s cheeks flushed crimson, and Lana snorted. “Can I use that, too?” She pointed to my bag.

I nodded. The idea of Callista watching me undress flooded my skin with heat, but I ignored it, reaching for my belt and yanking it open. As shifters, we didn’t particularly care about modesty. Maybe these pack wolves were bigger prudes than I thought.

I kicked off my boots, then shucked my pants and underwear. I stashed everything in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Callista was turned away from me, and part of me was disappointed. One part in particular.

I let out a growl and shifted, my bones snapping and muscles shifting as my wolf form took over. I shook out my fur, then stepped into the harness.

Lana’s eyes widened. “You can carry her on three legs?”

I barked and motioned with my head for Callista to climb on. My three legs were a hell of a lot stronger than Lana’s four.

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