Page 47 of Blade's Battle
“There were no others. But there would have been had they tried to take her.”
“You’re making a case against yourself. You’re not thinking objectively. You never should have been sent on this op.”
“Damien ordered—”
“Not my point. He didn’t realize how close you were to going feral. No one was. You’ve been hiding it from everyone. From me even.” There was a note of hurt in Callen’s voice.
Blade had been hiding it, but it didn’t change the fact that he had saved Anna. He would never apologize for killing to protect her, especially after what Drake’s pack had done to her.
“Drake demanded Liam hand you over,” Callen continued. “Not clean in the least.”
Callen was right. Blade had failed Damien, just like Blade had failed his birth pack.
“It’s my job to make sure you get back home, to our territory where you’ll be safe. Drake won’t start a war over the four shifters you killed because he’s focused on the girl.”
“Anna. Her name is Anna.” He wouldn’t have anyone, especially Callen, talk of her as if she was nothing but a passing acquaintance. God help him, Blade had left her behind, just like he’d left his pack so long ago. They’d fought and died without him. He hadn’t been there to save them.
Callen stopped. “You’re thinking about them again, your birth pack, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“You’re a terrible liar. Always have been. Stop thinking about the past. There was nothing you could have done that day.”
“But I can do something about Anna.” Blade shifted. Before he could run back toward Liam’s compound, Callen’s wolf pinned him to the ground with the brunt of his weight coming down on Blade’s legs. He hated that Callen was so much faster than him, that he outweighed and outranked him—that he’d made Blade leave Anna behind.
Callen shifted back to human form and stood over Blade, with a foot on his chest. “I don’t care what your wolf is saying, or how guilty you feel, you’re too close to her to see the big picture.”
Blade’s wolf was growling at Callen, thinking of ways to rip the shifter’s throat out. Blade found himself shrinking back, giving in to his wolf bit by bit. He should be fighting his wolf, maintaining control, for the sake of his friend and Anna.
When Blade shifted back to human form, Callen offered him a hand up. It took Blade another moment to accept his help, as he had to force his wolf down.
Callen frowned. He hadn’t missed Blade’s hesitation. “If we were to bring her back to our territory and Drake finds out, he will throw everything he has at us until he gets her back. You know the bastard is relentless. Ravirez may have given Liam the cure, but he delivered a message from Drake too. ‘Give the human back or suffer.’ ”
“You bastard!” Blade said as he swung and clipped Callen on the jaw.
“Enough!” Callen roared as he yanked Blade’s arm behind him and forced it up toward his shoulder blades.
“You left her there so Liam could give her back to Drake!”
“He’s not giving her to Drake!”
Blade stopped fighting him. “Liam is keeping her?”
“No, for the same reason we aren’t. His guards left with her soon after us. I don’t know where they’re taking her. Liam wouldn’t say, to protect her and us.”
“If they take her home, Drake will take her again.”
“I’m sure Liam thought of that. He’s not a fool, Blade. Have some faith.”
“But he has no reason to protect her. Drake will find Anna, and then he’ll kill her.”
* * *
ANNA
Watching Blade leave was hard, really hard. He took a part of her heart with him, but it was for the best. As Liam had so eloquently pointed out, Drake would stop at nothing to get ahold of her, including attacking Blade’s pack if she went with him. For that same reason, even though she was comfortable with Liam and his pack, and they accepted her, she couldn’t stay with them.
Griff and Daaven were escorting her home to grab a few personal items and her money. Then she had to disappear into civilization somewhere beyond Drake’s reach. When she had asked Liam how far that was, he had answered, “The farther, the better. And change your appearance.” The alpha cut a few inches off her hair, and then sent two of his shifters in different directions with her hair, to lay false scent trails in case Drake had trackers out searching for her.
