Page 78 of Wolf's Chance

And now, here I was, stuck between a rock and a hard place. If the rock was the truth and the hard place was admitting that I cared for her well-being.

Her well-being? Thoughts of it being anything else were shoved away quickly. I didn’t need to look at that too closely.

It was just a kiss.

I was worried about her. There, that was it. It was my responsibility to keep her safe and protect her. The alpha had trusted me with this, and I had accepted it. It didn’t matter that I resented the responsibility; a good shifter protected those weaker than them.

Willow was definitely weaker. In strength. I was still on the fence about her mental strength. Despite her reservations about me, she had still trusted me. Still come with me. Sure, I hadn’t given her much choice, but I knew I didn’t want to lose that.

The thought of her seeing me as something other than the man she thought I was, the man she had trusted to keep her safe and take her to where the answers were, filledme with dread.

I didn’t want to see the betrayal in her eyes when she found out the truth.

I didn’t want her to hate me.

It was so stupid. Her opinion should have been so irrelevant to me. But it had been a long time since I was entrusted with the welfare of someone other than myself. Was that what this was? My need to prove I could keep someone safe?

If that was the case, then I was more pathetic than I’d previously thought. I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone, least of all Willow. She’d hate me anyway.

Cannon? He didn’t know me, and I didn’t need his approval. He wasn’tmyalpha.

Long buried emotions threatened to surface, and I angrily pushed them down.

“Caleb?”

Her voice drew me out of my inner thoughts, thoughts that lingered too close to old rage.

“Caleb?”

“I hear you,” I told her gruffly, seeing the sign for the diner ahead. I hadn’t even registered that I’d taken the exit for the highway. I’d been driving on autopilot. Giving myself an internal shake, I tried to clear my head. “Must have zoned out.” She didn’t hide her reaction quickly enough, and I cursed myself for basically telling her I’d stopped listening to her.

She doesn’t matter.You don’t care about her.

I repeated the mantra, feeling worse within myself the more I said it.

Pulling into the diner, I saw a few cars parked. Lowering the window, I sniffed the air for any trace of a shifter,but all I could smell was fumes, cooking grease, and trash from the overflowing dumpster.

I parked the truck, and the two of us sat, neither of us moving.

“I feel like if I open the door, something bad will happen,” Willow admitted into the quiet night. “It’s been a cocoon of safety being in here, and I don’t know if I’m brave enough to leave.”

She didn’t know how brave it was for her to admit that. Swallowing hard, I reached behind us for my jacket.

“You want to wet the seat, or do you want to go inside and use the facilities?” I pulled my jacket through the space between us, catching her eye. “I’d rather you went inside; we’ve still got a long drive.”

Willow gave me a look of exasperation before she turned away, reaching for the door handle. “You’re a regular Prince Charming,” she grumbled.

Catching hold of her arm, I pulled her back gently. “Wait until I am out.”

Willow said nothing, but her eyes widened with alarm as she understood my unspoken caution.

Once I knew it was safe, I took a moment to enjoy the welcome stretch of my legs. The truck was a good enough seat and a comfortable drive, but Willow was right, we’d been cooped up in it too long. The quick walk to her door was the best my legs had felt in hours.

Opening her door, I helped her down. She stayed close as we walked into the diner.

“Toilets are at the front,” I told her. “We’ll go first and eat after?” She nodded her agreement. “See youin a few.”

In the stall, I rolled my head on my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension in my body. I wanted to run and loosen up all the knots and aches, but it would be a while before I was in my wolf form again.

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