Wolves' Bane (The Order of the Wolf, #3)(10)

I shuddered. Those eyes of his had turned stormy, determination set within. He was serious. “The police—”

“Will not believe you.”

His words hit like a rock. I knew he was right. No one would believe me. The fact that he and his men did said something.

Yeah, it screams crazy house.

“You saw one friend die tonight. You ready for that to happen again?” Caleb said, his tone cold.

I flinched. It was a low blow when only moments before he’d said Jimmy’s death wasn’t my fault.

Caleb held out the cloak. I looked at it, shifted my gaze to Lance and then back to Caleb. It sounded crazy. It was crazy. Wolves, hunters, protectors. But something in my gut told me he wasn’t lying. It was insane, stupid, for me to trust him so easily, but there was something about him that drew me in.

I nodded as I reached for the cloak. “Fine,” I sighed. “But I need to call my friend Rachel and let her know I’m okay.” Warn her away from the woods or something.

Caleb nodded, ignoring my outstretched hand, instead wrapping the cloak around my shoulders himself. He clasped it at my neck, once again grazing my skin with his fingers, sending a jolt of something through my body. This time I shivered, craving more.

“We’ll call once we get on the road.”





Chapter Five





The Boys


Cal pushed himself into the backseat next to Morgan and grunted as he practically had to fold in half to fit.

“Why don’t you take the back, stretch out, and I’ll sit up front?” Morgan offered, moving as if ready to jump out of the truck on the other side.

He shook his head, his gaze shifting to the passenger side as Ken—another member of his team—opened the door and peered in. “Any room in here for me?”

He motioned to the front and Ken nodded, looking from Cal to Morgan.

“Morgan Stills,” Cal said. “This is Ken Perkins.”

Ken smiled one of his signature smiles as he reached into the backseat to shake Morgan’s hand. Cal clenched his jaw, his body pulsing to knock the other male’s hand away and claim Morgan for himself. Instead, he pushed himself farther back into his seat, shifting to the side toward her. He knew that Ken meant no harm, but all the same, this woman was Cal’s and he felt an urgent need to stake his claim.

“Hi, Ken.” Morgan smiled then turned to face Cal again as his knee brushed hers, a benign touch that had him craving something more intimate. “They don’t make these SUVs with such a big guy in mind, do they?”

“Cal’s bigger than most.” Lance chuckled from the front as he revved the engine. “Ready folks? We’d better get out of here before the king and his pack come back.”

“The king?” Morgan’s eyes were wide again, a look that Cal was slowly learning meant more than fear or curiosity. It meant she was thinking, and that seemed to be a dangerous thing.

“King Lazarus,” Cal said, and he cleared his throat. She turned those beautiful brown eyes of hers toward him and his pulse sped up, despite his bone-crushing exhaustion. “Pack alpha and king of the wolves,” he added.

“But not just any wolves,” Morgan said. “That wolf, King Lazarus, spoke to me. He said that I was his bride.”

Cal’s gut clenched at her revelation, but he schooled his reaction and shifted his gaze to meet Lance’s in the rearview mirror. Ahhh, shit. The Oracle hadn’t prophesied this. Damn it! This was a twist he wasn’t even remotely prepared to handle.

“I mean, I’m not going crazy, right?” Morgan asked. “That wolf did speak to me, he can do that. And you.” She pointed at Cal. “You were doing some kind of magic spell in the house. I mean, you did say that we humans don’t believe in certain dangerous things…things like magic and talking wolves, right?”

He caught the edge to her voice. She was riding a fine line between calm and hysteria. Morgan had witnessed a lot over a short span of time—things a normal person would have fainted dead away over. And considering she’d been thrust into this strange new reality without the usual upbringing of a Huntress, she was holding up quite well. She was a fighter, feisty as all hell, and he liked it. It boded well for her and what was to come.

Her body trembled slightly as if she was reining in her emotions. He figured he was the only one who knew because he was wedged up next to her, making sure every part of his right side, from his shoulder to his knee, was touching her in some way.

“Yeah, he can talk, and yeah, I was casting a protection spell to keep the wolves out.”

“A spell,” Morgan whispered, her eyes wide once again. “So now what? We’re adding witches to the madness?”

He licked his lips, unsure how much he could tell her without sending her off the deep end. “We all have different abilities. I can cast spells through symbol tracing, which is what you saw me doing.” Which is what you will be able to do once we are bonded. He motioned toward Ken and then Lance. “They have other talents.”

Lance chuckled as he looked at Morgan in the mirror.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Lance cut her off. “You’ve heard of werewolves before, right, Morgan?” Lance’s gaze moved from Morgan to Cal, then back again.

Morgan frowned. “Is that what Lazarus is? A werewolf?”