Page 107 of Callen's Captive
“How about sewing things too tight so they’re uncomfortable?”
“Tried it.”
“Putting rhinestones and pretty unicorns on?”
Aloe’s soft brown eyes lit up. “Ooh, I like that idea! You’re wicked.”
“It’s a gift.” Kate smirked, then accidentally stabbed her finger with the needle for the thousandth time that day. It was all she could do to clamp her mouth and keep from swearing. Everything here made her want to swear, and that was all because Callen had dragged her into his pack. Alright, carried, but he’d still done so without her consent.
The worst part was that he’d trapped her here by exposing her to the virus. She had yet to wrap her head around that. At least she really liked the shifters here. She had nothing against them personally, which is why she needed to direct her foul mood away from them and solely at Callen. Except he’d been avoiding her for the past two weeks. She missed him, which made her mad at herself on top of already being mad at him.
She had had one day with him, most of it spent sleeping and healing, before they’d taken that ill-fated walk through the woods where he confessed everything he’d done. Blood-bonding. Infecting her with the virus by bringing her here, condemning her to a life surrounded by trees. Kate glanced over at the trees and felt the blood rush from her head. Closing her eyes fast seemed to help, but she couldn’t do that forever. Thinking of Callen—which had always calmed her in the past—now only brought more pain. Part of her wished he’d never told her about the blood-bond. At least then she could have had more time with him in blissful ignorance.
“You’re thinking about Callen, aren’t you?” Tess asked, her knowing look grating on Kate.
Kate didn’t want to like these women or be drawn into girl talk. She hadn’t had that since Janie, and she wasn’t ready to replace Janie, with anyone, not even Callen.
‘Protect you, save you’His words repeated over and over in her head. She didn’t need saving or protecting. She’d been doing fine on her own.
“You’re nosey,” Kate replied, trying not to be too offensive, but honest enough to get Tess to butt out.
“But I’m right.”
“I don’t belong here. And I’m not staying.”
“There’s nowhere to go.” Tess’s light green eyes lost a bit of their shine in that moment.
“You won’t get past the patrols,” Aloe added.
“Oh, you’d be surprised at some of the tricks I know. Even against shifters.”
“You do realize Damien’s my mate and her brother-in-law,” Tess said. “Even if we weren’t related to him, we’d still be obligated to tell him what you just said. He’s the alpha here.”
“So, it’s a police-state here? No different than back home.”
“He leads, but we all work to help the pack. Letting you leave when we could have prevented it is the same as standing by and watching a man die of a heart attack even though you know how to perform CPR. You’re not obligated to save him, at least not legally. But morally, you’re guilty of murder if you don’t try to help.”
“I don’t care who you tell. It won’t stop me.”
Aloe slowly lowered her sewing as she watched the exchange between Kate and Tess. Tess didn’t appear the least bit riled by Kate’s tone or words. Nor did she back down. Tess put the pants she’d been sewing down and walked over until she was standing over Kate.
“Unless you plan to live life as a hermit somewhere, if you leave here, sooner or later you’ll come into contact with a human. This virus spreads wickedly fast, Kate. Are you ready to infect and kill thousands, millions?”
“Crap.” She’d forgotten that not-so-minor detail.
Tess returned to where she’d been sitting on a log next to Aloe and resumed her sewing. “Callen said you can be headstrong.”
“Did he also tell you he can be a conniving bastard who takes away a person’s choice of how to live her life?”
“Actually, yes,” Tess said, tossing her reddish-brown braid behind her. “Callen’s not one to use people or run from his mistakes. He’s driven to protect those he loves, so I’m guessing that’s what happened here. He made a choice for both of you, but he did it to protect you.”
“Double crap.”
“Then, you see what I’m saying?” Tess asked.
“No, I mean I sewed the damn jeans to my shirt.” She did see what Tess was saying. She just wasn’t ready to admit it.
“Oh,” Tess said, her face crestfallen. “I thought perhaps you might be willing to forgive him.”
