Wolves' Bane (The Order of the Wolf, #3)(28)

“That whole night at the carnival was strange. I still don’t know what started the panic, but I got swept up in a massive crowd and lost you. Then I fell and someone stepped on me—actually a few people stepped on me—and I broke my arm.”

I nodded. Yes, just as Jimmy had told me, but Rach couldn’t know that. “Oh no!” I said instead.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. So Jimmy, the bastard, never went over to check on you?”

I shook my head, forcing myself to stay calm. I didn’t want Rachel picking up on anything in my voice that would hint at Jimmy’s actual fate. “No, he didn’t. I haven’t seen Jimmy, since…well for a while.”

“That f*cker, when I see him again, I’m going to kill him.”

I chuckled uncomfortably, the lump in my throat coming back with a vengeance.

“Oh well, maybe he saw you with your long lost love and thought better of introducing himself.”

My stomach roiled. “Yeah, maybe.” I continued my mindless wandering, head down, eyes watching my feet move over the impossibly green grass.

“So, tell me about this guy. He must be something pretty special to get you to take off.”

I snapped my head up at the sound of a door slamming shut. I was farther away from the house than I’d realized and Cal was on his way toward me, his face set in a storm of anger, his eyes locked with mine. I grimaced as I glanced over my shoulder and realized that I was only a few feet from the edge of the forest. A chill ran through me. For some reason, the forest seemed more foreboding now that I was near it.

“Listen, Rach, I’d love to tell you all about him.” I rushed my words, knowing by the look on Cal’s face that he wouldn’t sound at all nice or pleasant to Rachel if she heard him just now. “But we’re on our way out for a bite to eat. I’ll call you back in a few days and fill you in, ’kay?”

“Sure, hon, no worries. Just keep in touch this time, okay?”

I nodded, watching with wary eyes as Cal approached, his jaw clenched and eyes blazing. “Yeah, will do. Oh, and could you tell my work that I won’t be back for a while. I understand if they need to let me go.” I left out the part about having to fight a werewolf in a few weeks and possibly dying in the process.

“Okay, it was a shithole anyway. I’ll get you a job at my work when you get back.”

“Thanks, Rach. Talk to you later.” I clicked the phone off just as Cal descended on me.

“What the f*ck do you think you’re doing?” His breathing was ragged, his body actually shaking with anger.

I looked up at him, casting the most innocent look that I could muster. “What? I needed to make a call. I couldn’t get any service in the house so I came out here.”

Cal grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me to face the forest. He braced his forearm around my chest and pointed forward with his other hand. “They are waiting for you just beyond this tree line,” he whispered menacingly.

The chill that had raced through me before was back, gripping my stomach and making me tear up. “They?”

“Lazarus and his pack. They can’t get past our boundaries so they wait. Now that you’re here they’re watching for any opportunity, waiting for you to screw up and give them a chance to get you.” I was shaking by the time Cal spun me back around, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders and his eyes boring into me with such intensity that I didn’t dare look away. “He wants you, Morgan. You are the only one who can give him his powerful heir. The Huntress who has been marked as his bride. You are the only one who can breed for him, and the only one who can kill him.”

“Why me?” My voice trembled, anger, frustration, terror, everything boiling to the surface. “Why is this happening to me?”

Cal’s face softened, his anger draining from his eyes. “I told you, you’ve been chosen.”

I shook my head and pulled away, raising my hand to cover my face as I did. Cal released his hold on me. “I don’t want this.”

Cal sighed as he draped his arm around my shoulders and slowly began to lead me away from the forest. “I know, Morgan. I’m sorry. I wish this wasn’t so difficult for you.”

I wiped my eyes and looked over at him. “I think I’ve reached my limit, Cal. You need to help me understand all of this craziness.”

Cal opened his mouth to say something but then closed it just as quickly, and I knew he had been about to tell me what he’d been saying for the past few days. It would all make sense to me if I would just bond with him.

I stopped walking and turned to face him, resting my hand on his chest. “Can’t you just help me understand why this is happening to me? You said it was part of my DNA. Then why is it that no one ever told me before?”

Cal stared into my eyes, contemplating my request before finally covering my hand with his and pulling it from his chest to link our fingers together. “Okay, let’s go over to the gazebo and I’ll tell you what I can.”

I nodded as I let Cal lead me toward the side of the house, conscious of the fact that he hadn’t released my hand, getting a pathetic thrill from how his massive palm cradled mine.





Chapter Fourteen





Folktales


Cal positioned himself next to Morgan on the porch swing under the gazebo. The sun had finally set, casting the hush of darkness all over the property. The border, the edge that marked the forest, was alight with the flames of hundreds of magically enchanted lanterns, which cast a warm glow over that part of the lawn. They were well enough removed from the tree line that Cal wasn’t worried about any of the pack catching sight of them, but even so, he leaned back and dropped the shades on the opening directly behind them to give them more privacy.