Page 106 of Blade's Battle
“It doesn’t matter now. Those men today were after her, but when they saw you, they didn’t pass up the chance to take you,” Callen said.
“They’re going to kill her, Blade. We have to find her.”
“I’m sorry about your friend, Anna, but our location’s been compromised. My priority is you and the pack. There’s no choice. We need to leave, tonight.”
Callen was right. They had to leave as soon as possible. If they encountered any more mercenaries, there was no guarantee Blade could stop himself from shifting—or that Callen wouldn’t be forced to kill him. She still hadn’t recovered from thinking Blade was dead.
“I’ll give you two hours to get what you need from the bunker, Anna,” Callen said, still ignoring Blade. “There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom. Have Blade bind your ribs and then escort you to the bunker. Frank and I will run perimeter while you get everything you need packed and ready to go.”
“Come on, Angel. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Blade said, helping her stand.
“What about Katy? She’s still out there. If they catch her. . .”
Never had she seen Callen so expressionless, like a statue. “We don’t know how long ago she left the note. Or if the WSSO’s already caught her. There’s nothing we can do for her. I’m afraid your friend is on her own.”
* * *
CALLEN
Your friend is on her own.Even as Callen said the words, they felt wrong. The very idea of leaving a woman to face those merciless cowards grated against his soul. The woman—Katy—was on the run, being hounded by deadly men who would stop at nothing to kill her. He’d seen the beating they’d given Anna, a woman who any one of them could easily have restrained without injury. These men played by their own rules, and they didn’t care what damage they did or who they brutalized.
This Katy. . . Callen couldn’t let the thought of her go. Something about her scent, her tangy, tantalizing scent, had placed him on edge when he’d first crossed her trail a month ago. Ever since then, he’d been taking wider and wider perimeters, hoping to pick up her scent trail, but it always ended the same. Empty.
He had a job though, to keep Anna safe. At this point, that meant getting her back to the pack. He’d screwed up today, falling into a false sense of security because they’d been here over a month without any sign of hunters, Drake’s shifters or even bears nearby. Instead of searching for that one delectable scent he couldn’t get out of his mind, he should have been setting up tripwires, doing more to keep Anna safe.
His search had taken him too far from Anna. He’d let his need to find the person behind that delectable scent distract him. He’d become too confident in Blade’s ability to keep his wolf under control instead of using his head, his knowledge of how quickly shifters could turn feral. His friend hadn’t shown any signs of going feral since they’d been here, mostly because Anna had a calming effect on him. They were good for each other, and he knew eventually they’d get past whatever needed to be smoothed out between them and blood-bond. Or so he had hoped as he searched the woods for that elusive scent.
Callen had uncovered a partial set of small boot prints when he’d heard Blade’s pained howl through the woods. Callen had shifted and run as fast as he could, but not fast enough to save Anna from the beating she’d taken. Nor had he been fast enough to save Blade from himself. He couldn’t care less how horrifically the WSSO mercenaries had died. They’d deserved to be shredded for what they’d done to Anna. Had Callen arrived sooner though, he would have stopped Blade from going down that dark path, from fully giving control to his wolf.
As Blade shredded the two men, the sad truth weighed on Callen—he would have to put down his best friend. At that moment, he went into full enforcer mode, even using Anna as she lay on the ground, terrified and in pain. By talking to Blade, she had unknowingly distracted Blade from seeing him approach. He was a bastard for how he’d used her against Blade, distracting Blade while Callen slipped into position and took him down. And it had been a brutal takedown, right before her eyes. That’s not what he had wanted for his friend or for Anna, but he’d had no choice.
With his jaws clamped down on Blade’s throat, Callen had blocked out Anna’s cries and Blade’s growling. He’d been one bite away from ending Blade, and he’d only waited because of the promise he’d made to his best friend. No, it had been more than waiting for Frank to take Anna where she wouldn’t have to watch or hear Callen put Blade down.
Callen had hesitated, questioning himself and the universe. He had done put feral shifters down before—too many times in his life—but this time was harder. It was Blade, a shifter who’d saved him several times, who Callen had always been able to count on. Even when Blade had doubted himself, he’d never let Callen down.
Lying there on the ground, beaten and injured, Anna had been watching, pleading for him to spare Blade’s life. It wasn’t right what he had to do, but someone had to do it. Frank couldn’t seem to get her away fast enough, which drew out Callen’s agony as well as Anna’s and Blade’s.
As soon as Anna disappeared from sight, Blade had grown still beneath him, as if he knew this was the end and he refused to make things harder for him. It made Callen question for the thousandth time why he was the one doing this, but always the answer came back the same—someone had to.
As Callen had started to bite down, Anna had screamed out for Blade. That’s when the seemingly impossible happened. Blade had managed a howl, from deep in his throat, despite Callen’s tight grip on his friend’s throat. He’d felt the vibrations, heard the agony in that howl,feltthe life of his friend about to be extinguished by his jaws. And that howl—that hauntingly familiar howl—was a mate calling out to a mate, saying goodbye.
His friend was still in there, not fully lost to his wolf. Not yet, or so Callen had hoped when he’d let go.
Releasing Blade had proved Callen’s weakness. Blade’s wolf had run off and Callen had stood there, wondering how he had misjudged, missed seeing what Anna had seen inside the wolf—that Blade was still there, fighting to live.
When Anna returned, Blade emerged from the trees, once again in his human form. Bloody and cut up from the takedown, butin controlof his wolf.
Callen had almost put his best friend down.
He’d. Almost. Killed. Blade.
And if that hadn’t been the lowest of lows, they returned to the cabin and there it was again. That tangy scent that had filled Callen’s dreams, consumed his every thought. He’d let her—Katy—slip through his hands, and now she was on the run, alone, trying to survive against highly trained, sadistic killers.
Chapter Sixteen
BLADE
Before heading out with Callen, Frank helped Blade tape Anna’s nose. His friend had left prison with a lot of unusual skills he didn’t have when he’d entered, but Frank was glad to be able to help Anna. After Blade helped Anna packed up her research, he insisted she lay down while they waited for Callen and Frank to return. He noticed every twinge, every awkward movement she tried to hide. Her cheek and the areas under both eyes were black and blue. Her nose was swollen, and her smile was forced. Blade thought he had rid her of the need to hide from him, but apparently not.
