Page 72 of Wolf's Chance

“When?” I pushed.

Caleb cursed savagely, and I saw that he wasn’t just tense—he was on edge as if expecting something to leap out of the surrounding trees at any moment. The man I had known for weeks, who had been cool, composed, and sometimes apathetic, was no longer present.

In his place was someone different, someone dangerous, someone I wasn’t sure I knew anymore. Had I ever really known him though?

I was going crazy, and I needed answers and I’d been put off too many times.

“Please,” I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

His eyes flicked to me, softening just a fraction,but the tension was still there, coiled tight like a spring ready to snap. He took a deep breath as if steadying himself for whatever he was about to say.

“There are things in this world,” he started, his voice deliberately low and slow, “that many people never lay eyes on, things they think are a figment of someone’s imagination. Yet, they are undeniably real. And…well, they’re not exactly human.”

I blinked, trying to process his words, but my brain was struggling to make sense of what he said. “What do you mean, ‘not human’? You’re talking about that guy back there, aren’t you?”

Caleb nodded, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. “They’re shifters. They can…change. Become something else.”

The words sounded wrong. Shifters? Like something out of a movie or a TV show? I felt the urge to burst out laughing and mock his insanity or hit him for trying to insult my intelligence, but the expression on Caleb’s face made it clear that he was deadly serious.

“That’s crazy,” I said, my voice shaking. “Are you serious?” He nodded once. “That’s… How is that even possible?”

“I know it sounds insane,” he admitted, his tone softening. “But you saw it, didn’t you?” He looked over at me briefly, seeing me hanging on his every word. “You felt it—that instinct, that fear, that there was something different. You knew something wasn’t right.”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the rising panic. What he was saying wasn’t right, yet…hewas right.

Ihadfelt it at the B&B, that irrefutable sense of fear that told me something was off. That there was almostsomethingsupernaturalhappening. And this time, I didn’t mean a TV show.

But…to hear it being said? Out loud. It was…Jesus. This was too much.

Nausea swept over me. I felt like my world was being turned upside down in a matter of minutes, and I didn’t know if I would be able to keep up.

“Why you?” I asked, my voice sounding small and frightened. “Why were they after you?”

Caleb glanced at me quickly, and the squeak of the leather protesting as he seemed ready to crush the steering wheel made me steel myself for what he said next.

“I don’t think it’s me,” he said, a note of regret creeping into his voice. “At least, notjustme.” One hand finally let go of the wheel, and I watched as he smoothed back his hair. “They’ve been tracking for a while now, keeping their distance. But…” He cleared his throat.

“But?” Fear was clutching at my throat, and I didn’t recognize my own voice. “But something happened?” I guessed. At his curt nod, I felt the overwhelming urge to cry. I almost knew the answer, but I asked anyway. “What?”

“Willow…”

“Me?” I wanted to run from his answer, but there was nowhere to go. “How is it me, Caleb?”

His sigh was long and filled with regret. “You know why,” he spoke quietly. “What you paint.”

Suddenly my artwork that he’d stored in the back of the truck felt like it was looming over me. “My paintings?”

I sounded skeptical. Hell, Iwasskeptical.

“You sound surprised,” he murmured, and I saw his frownas he drove. “I know a lot of what I’m saying is a shock, but surely the fact your drawings are involved isn’t one.”

“Gee, Caleb, you’re right,” I snapped at him as I slapped my forehead. “The fact I’ve been drawing you for weeks and missed the fact that there arefucking werewolvesin the world is so stupid of me.”

“I didn’t say werewolves,” he grumbled.

“Call it an educated guess.” My voice was so full of scorn that he met my anger with his own heated glare. “You and wolves and thenshifters.Wolfshifters? Am I right?”

“Yeah.” Caleb’s shoulders were drawn tight. They had been for most of the drive, but it was like the fight suddenly left him, and I watched them droop as he exhaled loudly. “You can’t tell anyone.”

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