Page 115 of Callen's Captive
“Anna found the cure!” Callen said as he pulled Kate into a tight embrace, lifted her off her feet, and swung her around. She smiled and playfully swatted at him to put her down. That’s what he wanted for his Kate. . . smiling, with nothing weighing on her.
“Seriously?” Kate said as Tess ran off to greet Blade and Anna.
“A simple shot, then a waiting period, and retesting to make sure the infection is gone. Anna said something about the cure being easier than expected because of human vs shifter physiology. I got lost on the technical stuff. The point is that Alex and Anna already tested the cure on Damien several days ago. They just retested him. He’s virus-free.”
“And you didn’t tell me what was going on?”
“I didn’t know. I don’t even think Tess knew. Just Damien. Knowing him, he wanted to be sure before getting anyone’s hopes up.”
“I can finally get out of here!” Kate jumped with joy.
Callen’s wolf reared up at the same time. “With me. . . You mean ‘we’ can get out of here. Together.”
Her smile faded. Callen felt like his world was going to crash down around him until she swatted him again and another smile bloomed on her face.
“Of course, ‘we’. I need to get out of these woods for a bit, so I can breathe. How about we split our time between a town on the edge of the woods and here, going back and forth? Tess gave me the idea. Well, she suggested a bonsai tree on my desk, but I think as long as I have you, I can deal with real trees. In small doses. Instead of small trees that I’m not even sure are considered real trees. Maybe bushes. I’ll have to look that one up, when I get a WiFi connection. God, I miss WiFi! And now I’m rambling. I guess I’m nervous you’ll say ‘no’. The idea is that maybe I can get used to being out here in time. You know, like desensitization therapy. At least I won’t feel so trapped if we’re not stuck in the woods.”
Callen was grinning like an idiot and he didn’t care who saw him. He’d never seen her go on and on like that, but it was nice to see. She was relaxed and excited and making a real effort to be with him. It was a good idea, too. Splitting their time between their worlds could work. As long as they were together, they’d make it work. He lifted her again and kissed her. She wrapped her legs around him.
“Get a room,” Blade said from behind.
“Can’t. Only tents around here.”
“Then get a tent.”
“Great idea.”
* * *
KATE
They were almost done with the shots. Kate was brimming with excitement; a few days, maybe a week or two max, and then she’d get to go home! Even with Callen’s arms wrapped around her each night, the nightmares had increased in frequency and intensity. She told him she couldn’t remember the dreams, but she did. Always the same. Three men chased her through the woods. Then they caught her and carved her chest. Traitor. She ran her fingers over the scars, wincing as the skin there was still tender.
Last night she’d pushed Callen away from her entirely. He hadn’t said anything, but she knew she’d hurt him. That hadn’t been her intent, but his body heat had become too much added to her own. She felt like she was on fire. She no longer cursed being in a tent, surrounded by snow. The cool air of being outdoors and not in a stuffy cabin felt good, but the only thing that was going to truly help was getting the hell out of the woods.
Thank God for Anna. Her cure couldn’t have come soon enough. After the shots were complete, there was a four day wait period, and then the testing began. Once Anna cleared Kate and Callen to leave, they’d go.
While Anna worked with Alex on administering the shots and assessing each shifter, Damien sent Blade out to track down their missing shifters.
Over the past week, four had found their way to the makeshift camp, all directed here by Blade. The problem with Drake remained. Even though Damien’s pack could no longer spread the virus to humans, Drake could. Damien wrestled with whether or not to forewarn the U.S. government and give them the cure, thereby making all shifters a target. It was a cure, not a vaccine, after all, and Anna had had no way of testing it on humans to see if would save them or how long after contracting the virus a human would have to receive the cure in order to survive.
Kate sat in the middle of camp, on one of the logs near the fire, sewing some clothes, pondering what if anything she could say to Drake to convince him to destroy the virus. He hated the WSSO, but to kill millions of innocent humans? Despite what everyone said about him, Kate simply couldn’t envision Drake doing such a thing.
“Ow!” She pricked her finger for what felt like the hundredth time today. When she popped her finger into her mouth, she glanced up at the trees. Every time she looked up at those trees, the images from her past returned. She couldn’t get the face of the killer or her parents’ shredded bodies out of her mind. Her pulse raced and every nerve in her was firing up again. Callen had left to train the teens who had shown an interest or aptitude as becoming a guard, and Tess and Aloe were off doing who knew what. Sitting in the middle of the camp, watching shifters come and go as she sewed, was probably the best distraction Kate would get out here until Callen, Tess or Aloe returned.
Loud voices across the way caught her attention. Blade was back, with another long-lost shifter from the look of it. Someone handed them pants and boots, but no shirts. These shifters didn’t seem to mind the snow and cold. This latest shifter had dark hair and dark eyes, similar to Drake’s. The scars down his chest and arm looked like they were from a fight with a wolf that had never healed. It was unusual for a shifter to have such prominent scars. . .
Kate dropped the jeans she’d been sewing. Her body grew cold, and a chill went down her spine. Her heart raced. It was him, the shifter who had killed her parents.
* * *
CALLEN
Patrol had been relatively uneventful, except for Jason’s two left feet. The teen tripped over everything, even in wolf form, when he had four legs to stand on, literally. There was no question Damien would have to find another job for Jason. The kid was bright and a hard worker, but not guard material.
“Don’t worry,” Callen said to Jason as he squeezed the back of the teen’s neck and turned him toward the center of the camp. “Your dad is still proud of you. I am too. You gave it your best shot. We’ll figure out your calling.”
“But Valerie—”
