Page 125 of Callen's Captive
“First, I didn’t agree to blood-bond him.”
Hayden looked up, the mirth gone from his eyes. “Forced bonding isn’t allowed.”
“Extreme circumstances,” she explained.
“Callen, I need to talk with Kate in private,” Hayden said, his voice suddenly commanding.
“Damien knows the circumstances. I’ve kept nothing from him.”
“Then humor me and let me catch up, without worrying that you’re going to cut my throat from behind.”
“Asshole,” Callen mumbled as he walked away.
“I heard that,” Hayden called after him.
“Good.”
Kate laughed and quickly put her hand over her mouth, before Callen took it the wrong way. Hayden raised a brow. “Fine, screw it,” she said, taking her hand away. Callen would have to learn to deal. She was done hiding who she was. “I’m sorry I shot you.”
“Yeah, well, you only did what some would like to do.”
“I can’t imagine that. Maybe you haven’t seen the way they look at me, or the comments. They all hate me because I shot you.”
“Doubtful. If they hate you, it’s because you’re human or that you failed to kill me. It can go either way.”
“I doubt that. Has to be the human thing.”
“For some. Not many here trust humans. I think Anna’s the only one they trust, and that’s because of what she’s done to help shifters. Shooting me gave them an excuse to be open about their hatred of you and what you represent, nothing more.”
“Why do you make it sound like they don’t want you here either? You’re one of them.”
“I’m from another pack. Generally speaking, the shifters here are good, fair even, but they can be rather guarded when it comes to outsiders. It made them nervous when Damien chose me as his second. I think most of them expected that job to fall to Callen, someone they’ve known since he was a kid. They know everything there is to know about him, unlike me.”
Pack politics. Tess had tried warning her that politics in a pack and between packs could get as messy as in the human world. She glanced over at Callen. “He doesn’t want your job.”
“Oh, I know that. I don’t want my job either, for that matter, but we don’t get to choose our jobs in a pack. We serve according to our strengths.”
“Is that why you left your own pack?”
Hayden’s eyes narrowed. “You can be rather direct.”
“Not one of my finer qualities.”
“I disagree. One word of advice, Kate. Don’t change who you are for this pack or even Callen. If you can’t be true to yourself, then they’ll know it, they’ll feel it, and it will feel like a betrayal.”
“Is this you being friendly to the new gal or just avoiding answering my question about why you left your pack?”
“A bit of both. As for my history, it’s a long story, one I think ties into your parents’ murder.”
She dropped the plate she was holding. “Were you there? Is that why you seem so familiar to me?”
Hayden paused before answering. “No, I wasn’t there, but something you said the other day struck a chord with me. You mentioned the hat man.”
“Just a memory. I’m not even sure he was real.”
“Tell me everything you know about him.”
“Why?”
