Page 63 of Soul Fated

But Kael had made it clear he didn’t want my help. He didn’t want my attachment. What was I supposed to do with that?

I slid into the passenger seat and rubbed my arm. Clean. Healed. I could go back to normal life, now. I wasn’t part of pack leadership. I didn’t need to worry about the Alliance or the dangers they posed to the British Columbia packs. I could go back to my regular life if I wanted to.

Work. Friends. Family. Wasn’t that what I wanted?

The sun dropped low on the horizon as we raced down the gravel road. There was an empty pit in my center, but no matter how deep my breaths, it never seemed to fill.

Kael had made his choice. He’d taken the dagger and left me behind. Just like he said he would.

I can’t take a mate.

I pressed my hand to my chest, clutching the fabric of my shirt. It would fade, wouldn’t it? This bond I felt with him?

Tears pricked my eyes because I didn’t want it to. He was a rogue alpha. A rejected wolf. He had no pack, no home base.

None of it mattered to me. He was good. He was kind. He was strong.

My wolf pawed at the ground, pressing against my mind with urgency. You weren’t wrong. About any of it, I whispered.

She yipped, and, though I didn’t think it was going to make any difference, I let her do it her way one last time.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Kael

Igripped the steering wheel, the leather cracked and worn beneath my palms. My truck rumbled like a beast beneath me down the gravel roads.

I couldn't lose another friend. Not after Bill. The thought of Destin alone in whatever hell hole the Alliance was holding him in twisted my insides. I had to save him.

I glanced at the dagger in the passenger seat. Would it still work? My jaw worked as I sorted through all the possibilities. I could take it back. Tell them what happened and explain about the Shadow Pack.

That would likely require me to give Lana’s name. Possibly not. I could give them Bill’s. He was gone so at least they couldn’t hurt him like they could Lana. But would they release Destin for information? Or would they force me into a task that was worse?

My mind drifted to the price I'd have to pay. The things they could make me do to get him out of there. My grip tightened on the wheel. I wasn't a stranger to violence. To death. But now it was different.

If I didn’t take the dagger back, I’d would have to kill two pack members to save Destin.

The thought settled like a stone in my gut. I'd have to rip their throats out. Two men who had probably done nothing but protect their pack. Two shifters who had mothers and fathers and possibly mates. Did they have pups? My stomach churned at the thought of them waiting for their fathers to come home, only to be told they never would.

I passed a small town, its wooden buildings weathered and worn. A couple of cars were parked outside a diner, and a few people walked along the sidewalk. It was a simple life, one that I'd never known. One that I'd never wanted. Until now.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts, but my mind wandered back to holding Callista against my chest. To feeling her lips on my skin. To the sound of her quickened breathing as I touched her.

Then to hovering in Callista's tent. I could feel the fabric between my fingers as I pulled it aside. The way the moonlight had shifted, illuminating her sleeping face. She'd looked peaceful, oblivious to the world outside. Oblivious to me standing there, ready to take her life.

I skidded to a stop on the side of the road and threw open the door of my truck, then stumbled into the ditch and threw up in the grass. My heart beat in my throat. My hands were cold and clammy.

I was a different breed of monster, now. Try as I might, I couldn’t get myself to that cold, dead place I used to go to. Not after holding Bill in my arms. Not after Callista said I made her feel safe.

I couldn’t kill them. I couldn’t do it, and that meant I couldn't save Destin. I let out a cry of rage that echoed through the trees and slammed my fist into the side panel of my truck.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

My wolf jumped to attention as a voice suddenly echoed in my head.

You don’t have to do this alone.

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