Page 135 of Callen's Captive
Chapter Twenty-Seven
CALLEN
Kate was gone from Callen’s bed again. Waking without her made him grumpy. One of these days, he’d have to lay down the law about that or find a way of waking before her so he could give her the motivation to stay in bed with him. As he dressed, relief and nervousness crossed their bond and a sense of doom spread through Callen.
He found her sitting at the central fire, drinking coffee, and talking with Damien, Blade, Tess, and Hayden. There was an easiness in how she sat and talked with his friends, as if she belonged. She was finally becoming part of the pack.
Damien handed her a cloth. She opened it. Her gun. Callen released a deep breath. They trusted her again. She’d earned it too, the way she’d stepped out from behind that table, surrendering to Briggs to save the shifters he had threatened. Apparently, the pack could get past the fact that she was related to Drake, probably because they had already accepted Hayden, at least most had.
Her head turned at that moment, the largest smile blooming on her face. Kate shoved the gun into her backpack and ran up to Callen, throwing her arms around him.
“You left my bed again.”
“You were tired.”
“Never too tired to kiss you.” To prove his point, he pulled her close and captured her mouth. The kiss was long and passionate. Love flowed across the bond, but it masked another feeling. As his hands moved down her back, settling on her hips, the feeling intensified. Regret.
“What’s going on, Kate?” he said as he broke the kiss. His wolf’s hackles were up as well. That’s when he realized the others had disappeared, giving them privacy. Only Tess and Damien remained, and they were trying to avert their eyes. Something was definitely going on. Kate took his hand, trying to lead him away.
“I’m not moving until you answer me.”
“I’m leaving,” she said.
He could see the nervousness in her face. Nervousness turned to determination before he could reply, as if she knew he’d say ‘no’ and give her a million reasons to stay, which is why he wouldn’t do that. He had always known she wouldn’t stay forever. They had even talked about splitting their time between the pack and the human world. When she shifted and learned the truth behind her history, most of her anxieties had disappeared. He had thought it was the start of a new beginning for them, that she wanted to become part of the pack, learn how to access and control her wolf, but apparently he was wrong.
“Fine. When are we leaving?”
“I’m going alone, Callen. And I’m not returning.”
Numb. His entire being was numb. His mate was rejecting him. It didn’t make sense. She had to be joking, right? Except she wasn’t. Her soft eyes showed her empathy for what she was doing to him, but her face, her body showed a resolve, commitment to her decision. Even the bond—that magical bond that would link them forever—said she was being fully open and honest with him.
“But I love you, Kate.” The words spilled from his lips, and he wondered if he had ever told her that before. Maybe he hadn’t shown her how much she meant to him, how she was his world, the one who held his heart, the one who completed him. He’d been nothing more than a shifter with a pack before, but she was his home, the one he thought of the moment he woke up, the one who occupied his dreams, the one who warmed his soul while he was on patrol, cold and lonely. From the moment he had scented her in the woods two months ago, he knew his life would never be the same, and he had been right. Despite all her wariness, her trouble with trusting him, she made him feel alive and needed. . . wanted.
Kate kissed him again, then leaned her forehead against his. “I love you, Callen, which is why I have to leave.”
No, this wasn’t happening. She wouldn’t leave him if she loved him. That’s not how the blood-bond worked. Mated couples stayed together, no matter what. Their souls were connected.
He took her face in both his hands. “We’re stronger together, Kate. I’ve been trying to tell you that for a long time.”
“Of course, we’re stronger together, bear! I know that.” She was beaming at him, and he was stroking her cheek with his thumb, hope blooming in his chest.
“You do? Then we go together. I don’t care where, as long as we’re together.”
She shook her head, biting back a cry. “You have to stay.”
“I’ll renounce my pledge to Damien and the pack. He won’t stop me from leaving. I won’t let him.”
Her hands gripped his wrists as tears trailed down her cheeks. “You’re making this harder than it has to be.” She pulled his hands off of her.
“It should be hard, because it isn’t right. Mates stay together.”
“Your pack needs you here. Doesn’t what happened to Valerie and Max prove that?”
“Hayden or even Frank can finish training new guards. Mason can take over as Damien’s enforcer.”
“It’s not just them, Callen. You need them, you always have and always will. They’re part of you, and I’m a danger to them, to you. Briggs came looking for me and me alone. When I gave him a choice of retrieving the necklace or me, he went after both. He wants me as badly as he wants those files, perhaps more. He’ll never leave your pack alone if I stay with them. Two shifters died because of me.”
“They died because it’s part of life. There are risks in a pack, risks in running patrol and they knew that. That doesn’t make it easier, but there is no blame. I blamed myself at first, and you were right. I’ve changed how we do things, to keep it from happening again.”
