Page 38 of Blade's Battle
Callen’s eyes were cold as he drove the base of his palm into Blade’s shoulder and pinned him to a wall. Damien’s enforcer was pissed, and it took a lot to get Callen pissed. Blade had to endure another long stretch of silence, watching the yellow of the shifter’s eyes overshadow and absorb the brown before Callen dropped him—none too gently—to the floor.
“You were given one job, Blade. Rescue the girl.”
“There were complications.”
“There are always complications, which is why Damien sent you. You’re the expert at infiltrating, stealing, and getting away,clean.”
“I had no choice. It’s not like I went in intending to kill any of Drake’s shifters.” Blade didn’t hesitate in telling Callen what he had done. Callen would have his back, no matter what. Now, Blade could get Anna out of here.
“Seriously, Callen, I had no choice.”
Callen took a deep breath, then shut the door to gain what privacy they could. “Forget about Drake for the moment. We’ll deal with that problem later. Explain why you attacked Liam and his guards.”
“I attacked Liam too?”
“You didn’t know?”
“It’s still a bit fuzzy. I thought I attacked Ravirez and two guards.”
“Five.”
“Five guards? Really?” That wasn’t good. Taking on that many shifters, one of which was an alpha was crazy. Apparently, Blade’s wolf had a death wish.
Callen stepped over to the window, glass crunching beneath his boots. “Hell, Blade, if you were this close to going feral, you never should have accepted this job. Damien would have sent me or someone else.”
“I’m not close, at least I wasn’t.” He was close now. If he couldn’t remember taking on an alpha and five of his guards, then that meant his wolf had been in full control, not him.
“Lose the shirt,” Callen ordered.
Blade stripped off the black t-shirt. Callen’s face softened as he inspected Blade’s torso, front, and back.
“They did a number on you, but you’re lucky they didn’t put you down.” Callen touched one particularly deep wound that was still healing. Blade sucked in air. Most of the bites and claw marks had already knitted together, but he still needed a few days before the pain and scars would disappear. He hadn’t even bothered counting how many bites the guards had left on him. Nothing had mattered these past few days, except healing and gaining his strength so when the time came, he and Anna could escape.
“Can you shift and run if necessary? Can you keep your wolf in line?”
“I can shift without letting my wolf take over. I’ll do whatever it takes to get Anna out of here.”
“I’ll say this once, Blade, and only once. You’re not to take her and run. You stay put until I say so.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand more than you realize, including how pissed off Liam is, how Drake has already called for your head, and how Damien is trying to figure out why there are so many WSSO combing through the woods around our territories, not to mention why the virus is spreading to areas where shifters have remained isolated. You, my friend, are in serious shit, which is why I’m here.”
“I don’t need you to bail me out.”
“No? Fine. Then I guess I’m done here.” Callen headed out the door.
“Callen!”
Callen kept walking.
“I’ll do whatever you say,” Blade shouted after him, even as Daaven stepped in Blade’s path, preventing him from leaving the cabin. Blade was stronger with Callen at his side, and right now he needed his friend’s help. “As long as you get her out of here.”
Daaven quickly stepped aside as Callen returned, shoved Blade back inside and slammed the door behind him. “Tell me about the girl.”
“Anna’s. . .” Blade stopped to focus on his wolf who was snarling inside, determined to escape. “I haven’t seen her since they took me down. I don’t know what’s happened to her.”
“You’re on edge, Blade. I can see it clear as day. How many times has your wolf seized control?”
