Page 122 of Callen's Captive
Courtesy. Damien gave him courtesy, but he wasn’t sure any others would, besides those present here. Damien, Blade, Frank, and Pryce—hell, even Hayden—were trying to find a compromise, for his sake. The rest of the pack wanted her blood.
Damien motioned toward Hayden lying in bed. “Do you recognize him?” he asked Kate.
Her eyes widened as she finally took in Hayden’s presence, his chest still wrapped. She backed away from him, as far as she could get in the room. Her breathing hastened, now uneven and frantic.
“He killed my parents, tried to kill me!”
“That was twenty-one years ago, Kate. This is Hayden,” Damien said in his usual calm voice. “Whoever you saw kill your parents, it wasn’t him, it couldn’t have been.”
“Shifters live longer than humans, they don’t show their age,” she said, looking at Damien to confirm her belief.
“That’s myth. Hayden’s the same age as Callen, thirty-one.”
“But he gave me a picture, said you were the one who killed my parents,” she said, now staring at Hayden.
Bit by bit, Callen watched the tenants of her beliefs unravel, and it was heart-wrenching to see her slowly but surely realize she had made a huge mistake.
Damien took out the drawing of Hayden. “Who gave this to you?”
“Drake.”
“Hayden was ten at the time your parents were murdered. Drake used you, Kate. He wants Hayden dead, and he used you to accomplish that.”
Her eyes snapped up to Callen. “This is the shifter I see in my nightmares, Callen. It’s him, I know it is. He was there.”
“He couldn’t be the shifter in your nightmares,” Damien argued, until Pryce cleared his throat to gain their attention.
“The picture Drake gave her may have supplanted her memories, altering them. Drake could have been grooming her for a long time, gaining her trust so that one day he’d give her the killer she sought. In Hayden. Her finding her way to Callen and getting involved with him could have been a fortuitous opportunity that Drake simply used to his advantage.”
“I’m not crazy!” Kate said, her hands fisting at her side. “I got a good look at him, but he looks different now.” Her eyes scrunched together as she scrutinized Hayden’s face. “From a distance, I was sure. I mean, I thought you were the shifter who killed my parents. But now, up close, you look more like the hat man.” Her hand went over her mouth, tears filling her eyes. “I’m sorry! I was so sure!”
Her bottom lip was trembling, and she looked at Callen, silently pleading for his help. Callen pushed past everyone and pulled her into his arms. Damien had kept him from his mate long enough. Callen wouldn’t let her face this situation alone.
“It’s going to be fine, Princess. You’re tired and stressed. I promise, we’ll leave the woods soon.”
“Don’t make promises you may not be able to keep,” Damien warned. “We have yet to decide what to do.”
Callen growled but said nothing. He’d let them decide, but he’d already formed a plan of how to get her out of here, should Damien decide to punish her.
“Let her go, Damien,” Hayden said. “My brother used her.”
“Your brother?” She said, as she turned out of Callen’s arms. “Drake is your brother?” Her voice was high pitched and filled with disbelief.
“I bet he didn’t tell you that part, did he?”
She shook her head.
“I guess I should be apologizing to you then,” Hayden said, as he leaned back in the bed, already looking tired. “You’ve been sucked into a long and bitter feud that spans generations.”
“Are you sure about this, Hayden?” Damien asked.
“Now that she knows about Drake, I don’t think she’s a threat, Damien. I’m fine with you letting her go, provided she doesn’t get the gun back. I wouldn’t want there to be any other misunderstandings.”
