Page 76 of Callen's Captive
Kate wrapped her arms around herself. “Why would shifters kill my parents?”
His wolf was biting him, trying to get him to approach her, to hold her. He didn’t like hearing or seeing her stressed, and neither did Callen, but she wasn’t ready for him to approach. Maybe this could be a good thing. He could start to distance himself from her, slowly, so when it came time to leave her, it would be easier on her—maybe him, too.
Now he was lying to himself. He had found the one he wanted to blood-bond; he just couldn’t have her.
“I don’t know.” Callen kicked dirt onto the fire and made sure there weren’t any embers that could re-ignite. Neither one of them was going to get back to sleep, and the moonlight lit the forest enough to help her see.
She’d retreated into herself again, keeping her distance as he packed up the sleeping bag and clipped it to his backpack. Her bag was already packed, ready to go. She was always ready to go.
“Come on, Princess,” he said, holding his hand out to her.
Kate started walking down the trail without him. Callen lowered his hand. She’d rather stumble in the dark than hold on to him. She was distancing herself. Perhaps it was for the best. He and his wolf would be leaving soon enough.
* * *
Within three hours,shortly after dawn, they reached home, or what had been home for his entire life. They stopped at his house long enough for him to grab a few items, a picture of his family, another pair of jeans, and a knife. Still, Kate said nothing. He missed having her to talk to, but he didn’t know what to say. Hayden and Blade were the smooth talkers, not him.
As they neared Damien’s house, the overwhelming sense of loss struck him. How many times had he, Damien, Blade, Hayden, Pryce, and Frank hung out together in that house, kicking back with some beers and laughing over the stupidest things? How many planning sessions and informal meetings had Damien held there, always preferring the comfort of his home to some sterile meeting room in the lodge? Damien had always treated them like brothers, and they were always there for one another through the good and bad times.
That was all gone now. If he and Hayden couldn’t find a way to bring Drake down, he’d return to the pack, work alongside Damien to protect the pack and keep the virus contained. How many of his close friends had been ordered to leave and never return? Hayden for one. Callen hadn’t taken the time to ask Damien about Frank, Pryce, or Blade. The fear of having Kate so close to shifters infected with a deadly virus had distracted him. All he could think about at the time was getting her the hell out of there. Wherever his friends were, one thing was clear, life had irrevocably changed for all of them.
“Why are we coming back here?” Kate asked as they entered Damien’s house.
“To get some canned food and cash.”
“Cash?”
“We have cash for when we go to town to buy supplies. I’ll take enough to get you set up with a nice apartment somewhere. I’ll leave the rest for those shifters who couldn’t return to the pack.” He set his backpack down inside the door. “Any idea where you want to go? And don’t say Riverview. You need to stay away from your old haunts, anyplace the WSSO would search for you.”
She plopped onto the sofa and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where I go. Eventually, they’ll find me.” She’d gained that disinterested air she’d had when he first met her.
“Talk to me, Kate.” A low growl surfaced, despite his intent to keep things neutral. Apparently, his wolf had other plans.
“About what?” she said as he moved the heavy wooden coffee table off the square red rug with cave drawings of animals along the blue edge.
“Your thoughts about all of this. Or something else. It doesn’t matter, just don’t shut me out, please.” He still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of leaving her. It was possible she was struggling with it as much as he was.
“It’s too much to process,” she said, as she sank deeper into the sofa.
As Callen approached her, her eyes flared.
“I don’t want to break my promise.”
“You just have no choice, right?” she said with enough petulance that he winced.
Callen cupped her cheek. “You’ll be fine, Princess.”
“You don’t get to call me that anymore.”
That hurt more than a kick to the balls. He hated that he couldn’t scream at her to wake up and be the Kate he knew, the one that fought for what she wanted and didn’t take any shit from anyone including him.
A full-on, pissed-off growl from his wolf escaped, and her brow rose. At least she didn’t run or back away from him this time. Right now, all he could think about was giving in to his wolf’s desires, taking her upstairs and claiming her so no one and nothing could tear her from him, including his sense of duty to the pack. His alpha hadn’t ordered him to return, as he could have. Damien knew Callen enough to know he wouldn’t turn his back on the pack.
Callen couldn’t turn his back on Kate either. Except he had to. There were too many lives at stake, shifter and human, to sit back and ignore the threat. He needed to put some distance between him and Kate before he changed his mind and ran off with her instead.
“I’ll be back up in a few minutes.” Callen lifted the trapdoor in the wooden floor and peered down to make sure the ladder was still there. He thought of telling her about his idea of assassinating Drake, but that would complicate everything. There was no guarantee he’d survive it, if Hayden and Liam even gave him permission to try.
“Grab whatever canned foods you want, a few days’ worth. We’ll be taking a different route, one that avoids Drake’s territory.”
