Page 113 of Callen's Captive
“Forget it.” Callen interlaced their fingers.
“You haven’t even heard my idea.”
“If it involves Drake, then it’s too dangerous. You don’t know the things he’s done.”
“I’ve heard stories from some of the shifters here.”
“And yet you don’t believe any of them. Will you believe me when I say he’s an opportunistic bastard that would, excuse me,hassold out his own family?”
She ground to a halt. “And would you believe me when I say he’s never said or done anything to me personally and has always been helpful?”
“He’s using you,” Callen said, the yellow of his eyes flaring as his frown deepened. She could see why most of the pack didn’t approach him. When angered, Callen could be quite intimidating.
“And how is he using me?” she asked, intentionally removing the sarcasm that would have otherwise crept into her words. Callen was right; they needed to work together, not fight.
“I haven’t figured that out yet.” His tone softened, as if he were following her lead. Maybe this whole communication thing wasn’t going to be as hard as she had thought. It’s not like they would agree on everything. In fact, over the past several weeks, they had agreed on very little. Yet she didn’t want to be anywhere except by his side. Out of the damn woods, of course.
“I’m your best shot of talking to him. To convince him to destroy the virus before anything happens that will result in a war between shifters and humans.”
They reached the table the kitchen crew set up each morning for breakfast, which usually consisted of coffee and smoked fish. Tess, Damien, Frank, and a few other shifters were milling about, talking and eating.
Callen unexpectedly grabbed her arm and swung her around. “You need to trust me on this. Drake is dangerous. There’s nothing you can do in this situation.”
“You don’t even know Drake’s side in this. I was the one who spent hours talking to him while you helped Blade, or have you turned a blind eye to that too?” So much for leaving sarcasm out of their conversation.
“I see past the facade, to the shifter beneath,” he said, lowering his hands.
“You see what you want to see.”
“And you’re still deflecting instead of telling me what happened when you were with him.”
“You never asked!”
“I thought you’d share on your own!”
“That makes two of us!”
Callen fell completely silent. Yeah, he remembered how Drake had exposed him as Damien’s enforcer, something that shouldn’t have happened considering all the opportunities he’d had to tell her himself.
Kate wrapped her hands around his neck. “You’re touchy and mad at me because I brought up Drake. He’s a hot button for you, but he’s not for me. I can appreciate that you’re worried about me going near him, but you can’t shut me down every time I have an idea, Callen, even if they’re dangerous, even if they involve Drake.”
His hand brushed over her shirt, the section above the scars. She could see the torment and guilt in his eyes.
“That wasn’t your fault. I left you and ran into a lot of bad luck.”
His forehead leaned against hers. “You left because you knew I need to return to my pack. You know me better than I know myself in some ways, Kate.” He nuzzled her neck, breathing her scent in and kissing her right behind her ear. Her eyes rolled back in her head. He really didn’t fight fair.
“Believe me, bear, if I had grown up with a pack like yours, I wouldn’t want to leave them either. Janie was my pack. She’s been gone a long time, and yet I still feel as if I have to fix things for her. I’m afraid to walk away from her. I’m afraid I’ll forget her.”
“You won’t forget her. I won’t let you.”
Kate pressed herself against him. She needed to feel his warmth, to feel his strong arms and body surrounding her, protecting her, reassuring her that she was no longer alone. “I understood how important everyone here is to you. I really do.”
He stared at her with such intensity shefeltit within her soul.
“Nothing’s more important to me than you. You need to understand that.” As he leaned down to kiss her, a howl ripped through the camp. It came from the woods to the east.
“That’s Valerie,” Callen said, shifting and sprinting off within seconds. Damien, Frank, and two other shifters followed, only a few feet behind him.
