Page 117 of Callen's Captive
Clumps of bloody gauze and towels littered the ground near Hayden. Pryce was leaning over him, holding pressure on his belly. Alex was suturing another wound, lower, near the intestines. Hell, she’d hit him twice.
Before Callen could ask, Pryce said, “I don’t know anything yet. One of the bullets ripped through his liver. Alex has the other bullet wound taken care of, but this one is too massive without a hospital. Either his wolf will repair it or. . .” Pryce’s voice fell flat. “We have to wait to see if he survives.”
“Callen.” Damien again, calmer now, motioned him to follow. “Come with me.”
There was nothing Damien or he could do to help Hayden. Pryce and Alex had removed the bullets and sutured the tears they could access. Healing the most severe internal damage was up to Hayden’s wolf.
Callen shifted and followed Damien. He didn’t know where Damien’s wolf was leading him, but the run felt good. Bit by bit, Callen was starting to calm down enough to focus. By the time Damien’s wolf stopped by the lake and Damien shifted to human form, Callen had a list of questions in his head for Kate.
“I don’t know why she shot him, but I’ll find out,” Callen said before Damien spoke. Damien was still angry, as angry as when his brother Zach had been murdered. Hayden was as much a brother to Damien as Zach ever was, despite the fact that Damien and Hayden weren’t biological brothers.
“I meant what I said before. You’re not to go near her. I’ll interrogate her.”
Interrogate? Not question?“I know this looks bad, Damien, but she’s not the enemy.”
“We all heard her earlier. She supports Drake, and now minutes after Hayden returns, she shoots him. That’s not a coincidence. This attempt on Hayden’s life was ordered by Drake.”
Callen understood everything Damien was saying, but he knew Kate. She wouldn’t shoot an innocent person without reason, except she had.
“She’s not working for Drake. And your assumption biases you against her. You can’t question her and maintain a neutral stance.”
Damien surged forward, his gray eyes swirling with blue, a sight Callen had not seen since Damien blood-bonded Tess. “Neutral? I’m so fucking far from neutral right now. She shot Hayden! Gunned him down!”
“Let me speak with her.”
“You’re her mate. You’ll believe anything she says.
“It’s because she’s my mate that I’ll know if she’s lying.”
Damien stalked toward him. “I get that your wolf is driving you to protect her at all costs, but you don’t know her as well as you think you do, or you would have known she planned on killing Hayden.”
“Watch it, Damien.” Alpha or not, he had called Kate a killer. “Don’t say something we’ll both regret.”
“I’m already regretting letting her into our pack. She’s loyal to Drake. She’s said as much several times. We’ve all heard her.”
“She’s allied with him, no different than you.”
“Or that’s what she’s told you and her true mission has been to get close enough to Hayden to kill him.”
“That’s ludicrous.” Callen growled, letting his wolf show his displeasure.
“You watch your tone with me. I’m still alpha here, unless you’re prepared to challenge me.”
He could challenge Damien and win. He’d always been the better fighter, but he didn’t want to kill Damien. Taking over as alpha wouldn’t save Kate. Her name had to be cleared in the eyes of the pack, or they’d turn on her.
“Let me talk to her, Damien. There must be an explanation.”
“Oh, there’s an explanation, and I’m sure it starts and ends with Drake.”
“You afraid I’ll hide the truth from you, to protect her?”
“If it were anyone else locked up, I’d say no. But she’s your mate, so of course you’ll say and do anything necessary to protect her. I’d expect nothing less of you. Which is why I’m ordering you to keep away from her. You won’t go near, speak, or in any way communicate with her. Not even a howl from a distance, Callen, and I mean it.”
Callen’s wolf was snarling, ready to take Damien’s head off. Callen needed to think, to be calm and rationale, because if Kate was working for Drake, he’d have to go rogue to save her.
