Page 91 of Wolf's Chance

“Of course.” He moved towards the door. “I’ll get you the cable to charge in case it loses juice.” He hesitated in the open doorway. “Don’t think we all need to stay for this, do we?”

It was a not-so-subtle hint to tell his companions to leave, and I was surprised when they all filed out, which left me alone with Caleb.

I hated how he was acting. He had been distant, as if a wall had come between us the moment we entered this territory, ashe called it. The easy companionship that we had as we traveled was gone.

I tried to catch his eye, but he avoided my gaze, his jaw clenched tight, so I turned my attention to the laptop. I’d never really been good with awkward silences, and as I clicked “edit site” on the page, I couldn’t stop myself. “You came back? What’s going on? You’re angry and I don’t understand why.”

“I don’t like it here,” he said with a grunt. “I didn’t want to bring you here, and I wish I hadn’t.”

“Then why are we here?”

“I had no choice,” he muttered. He was pacing the small room, agitated and restless.

Standing, I reached out to touch him, trying to center him. “Caleb, can you just stop?”

He came to a stop in front of me, unnaturally close, bearing over me. Looking down, his eyes flashed with anger. “Why can’t you understand it’s not a simple case of stopping? This Peak, these people, I hate it. I hate being here.”

“Then we’ll leave.” The only sign he had heard me was the small frown that appeared on his forehead. “I don’t know what’s going on with you. You’re shutting me out and acting like I made you come here, but I didn’t. We don’t know each other that well, but I like the person you are away from here.”

His frown smoothed a little as he listened to me. “You like me?”

“Since we got here, you’re making it very difficult to think pleasant thoughts about you, but yes. I don’t think we’re enemies, are we?”

He turned his head from me with a slight huff, and I wasn’tsure if I’d pissed him off again or if he was amused by my honesty. “This Peak,” he began, “it changes you.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Never.” His voice was tight and filled with emotion, and I sensed that this subject was very raw for him.

“Will it be better if we leave?”

I expected him to agree, but instead, he shook his head, surprising me. “You’re already involved.” Stepping back, he dug his fingers into his hair, shaking the locks loose in frustration. “I should never have brought you here.”

“Then let’s go!”

“To where? Whispering Pines?” he scoffed. “You can’t go back. They know about you now. I should have kept you away.” Walking over to the bed, he sat down, his head down, eyes on the floor. “I should have never met you.”

The harsh words cut deep. It wasn’t the words themselves but the way he said them. He truly believed this, and at first, I was too stunned to say anything. “You could at least sugarcoat it when you say you wish you’d never met someone,” I grumbled, trying to mask the hurt.

His grunt could not be interpreted as an apology, I tried not to stare at him, but something had been bugging me. “You’re not from here,” I guessed, he didn’t look at me, but the way his body suddenly stilled let me know he was listening. “So…where’s your mountain? The one I draw, is it close?”

“No.”

Ever the conversationalist. “Does it have a name?” I prodded. “One I’d know?”

He gave me a look, the one that told me he knew what I was doing, and he didn’t want to play. “No.”

“Fine.” I gave up. “Keep all your secrets, it’s not like I won’t ask anyone else.” I rubbed my fingers across my forehead.

Caleb raised his head, his eyes meeting mine, and I saw the conflict in his eyes. “Have you been sleeping?”

The abrupt change of subject confused me for a moment. “You’re changing the subject?” I asked him wide-eyed.

“The last one was redundant.” Caleb turned his attention to the laptop. “Once you’ve done that, you should rest.”

“Who died and made you the boss of me?” I snapped at him and his demanding ways.

He opened his mouth to say something witty I was sure, but he shut it quickly. I almost saidwise move, but I saw his hands clenched at his sides, and I decided not to push.

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