Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Callie

H e found me. I don’t know how but I know it’s my ex. There’s no one else who would think to do something like this. He’s a narcissist. Cruel. For Jeremy, it’s a game. So, when I opted out of playing and fled my hometown, moving as far across the country as I could, I figured he would eventually give up.

Sadly, I was wrong, and since Kodiak was seen, he’s going to be dragged into the hell I thought I’d escaped from. As tears stream down my face, sobs erupt from somewhere deep in my gut as his arms wrap around me. I know he has questions; I can see it in his very demeanor, but I’m afraid that if I open my mouth, I’ll projectile vomit the bile that is steadily advancing up my throat.

That’s how much Jeremy terrifies me.

One possible thought that he’s found me and I’m a quivering, anxiety-filled mess. I reach for the coping skills my former therapist taught me, but they’re just out of my grasp. Kodiak isn’t, however, and he pulls me closer then lifts me into his arms and carries me back to the pallet, where he sets me down, covers me completely, then says, “I’ll be right back and we’ll talk, Sweetheart.”

I nod, still unable to utter a word. How do I explain that I was young and foolish? That I bought the lies Jeremy was selling until I accidentally overheard something I shouldn’t have even though that wasn’t my fault whatsoever? I know when he and his goons beat me, they didn’t expect me to survive, but I did and then I ran. The question remains, how did he find me?

I mean, I changed my name from Calliope James to Callie Jones. It was close enough so I wouldn’t forget, plus the people who helped me escape got me all new documents; a driver’s license, social security number, and even a passport, although the likelihood of me ever traveling overseas is slim to none. I basically fell off the grid, although enough of a paper trail was created so it didn’t look like I was ‘just born’.

Long before I’m ready, Kodiak has restocked the wood inside and has the fire burning hot once again. When he returns to the pallet with two bottles of water and a box of tissue, I know my time is officially up. If nothing else, before the interest goes any higher on my part, I need to tell him who I really am so he can decide for himself if I’m even worth it.

He pulls me into the shelter of his legs, his arms cocooning me as he settles me against his chest and pulls one of the blankets around us. I’m warm and toasty and have zero desire to ruin the mood but know I must.

“I think that Jeep was either my ex or someone he knows,” I whisper. “But I don’t know how he found me.”

An attack of the shivers hits, which has Kodiak running his hands up and down my arms as he murmurs nonsensical things that soothe a broken part of my soul. I like him so much already, a definite oddity considering I tend to take my time when it comes to trusting others.

“Tell me about him, Callie,” he replies. “And before you start stressing about what you’re going to say, know that I’ll never judge you for your past. Ever. ”

He’s so emphatic that I find myself relaxing even further, despite the present topic. “So, as I told you, I ended up aging out of the foster care system. The state I was living in at the time offered two-year scholarships to the local community college as a way to help foster kids get a good start. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I decided on a business degree. I figured it could be used in a lot of different ways, of course. Anyhow, I met Jeremy when I went to a job fair right before graduation. He was a company headhunter and seemed interested in me as a person, not as a potential employee. I hadn’t really dated because I was ashamed of my meager beginnings. I didn’t have the fancy wardrobe a lot of girls my age had, you know?”

He nods, although he’s probably like a lot of men who don’t understand that a woman needs more than a few pair of jeans and some shirts. I have a respectable wardrobe now, but I’ve worked my ass off to achieve everything I have.

“He asked me out several times, but I wasn’t sure about him, so I kept saying no. Eventually, he wore me down and we began dating. He always portrayed himself as a gentleman, however, he treated waitstaff and anyone he considered beneath him with disdain. He was often mean to them, then he would play it off as a joke.”

I hear a rumble at my back as though Kodiak is growling but that’s not possible, is it? Turning, I quirk a brow at him, but he shakes his head as if to tell me I need to wait for any explanation he’s going to give me. Shrugging, I turn around and stare in the fireplace as I continue my story.

“About four months into dating him, he started pressuring for us to become intimate, but I wasn’t ready to go there. I was going to break up with him but honestly, I was scared to since there had been a few times where he pushed me when he didn’t like what I said to him.”

This time I know I hear a growling rumble at my words. “Kodiak, are you okay?”

“No one touches my mate,” he rumbles out, his voice hard to understand. I try to turn to look at him, but he tightens his arms so I’m not able to do so.

What does he mean ‘mate’? I push that thought back and sally forth, as one of my foster mothers used to say, just wanting to get this over with.

“One night, we were out for dinner and a man came to the table wanting to talk to him. I tried not to listen, but it sounded like they were discussing a drug deal or something like that. When I tried to ask Jeremy about it when he was taking me home, he became enraged and nearly crashed his car. Instead, when we pulled up in front of my apartment complex, he practically beat me to death while screaming that I better keep my mouth shut or he’d come back and finish the job. A neighbor found me and called 911 and I was taken to the hospital.”

The big man behind me trembles and I have a feeling it’s with a mixture of disgust and fury. It’s weird I can sense that from him, but I know he isn’t thinking those thoughts about me. Kodiak is upset that I was hurt. It makes what I’m saying a little easier to share.

“What happened then?” His voice is still gruff, but I can understand him again.

Sighing, I find myself stroking his arms, which is oddly soothing. His skin is warm and the tense muscles beneath my fingertips begin to relax which also releases some of the anxiety I feel. It’s as if he has a magical essence or something, maybe pheromones, that are exuding a calming scent, because any other time I’ve either discussed what happened or thought about it, I end up having the mother of all panic attacks.

“I spent a week in the hospital because I ended up having to have surgery to remove my spleen, and also repair the damage he did to my left arm, hip, and face,” I admit. “The police officer who came to take my statement is the one who helped me file a restraining order, and she also knew of an organization who would help me disappear.”

“Why did she offer that if it was his first offense against you?” he asks. “Not that he should’ve laid his hands on you at all, but that seems kind of extreme to me. Just break up and go on with your life, right?”

“Because it wasn’t the first time Jeremy had physically assaulted someone he dated. One girl was permanently injured and is now in a nursing facility in a vegetative state,” I whisper. “Officer Bowlden was worried it would happen to me. Since I really had no ties to the area, it wasn’t a difficult decision to make, Kodiak.”

“Your instincts were warning you,” he replies, kissing the top of my head.

“I believe so. Jeremy wasn’t a good person or nice at all,” I tell him. “Officer Bowlden also told me that he was involved in the local drug trade, so he had a lot of sketchy friends who came around, which scared me.” Especially since they made sure I saw them when I was initially released from the hospital while I was regrouping to flee.

“You’re safe now,” Kodiak states, tightening his embrace to prove it.

“I just don’t know how he could’ve found me,” I muse. “Like I said, all my legal documentation was changed to my new name, and I moved as soon as I was able to drive. Officer Bowlden is the one who told me about Yukon Bluff. She said that it was one of the safest towns in the country.”

“We keep it that way,” he advises. “Well, we as in the club, that is. Callie, there’s a reason it’s one of the safest places.”

“Really? Why does Yukon Bluff carry that distinction?” I ask.

“Because the club is made up of shifters.” He swallows loud enough that I hear it. “People who can shift into animal forms and back again,” Kodiak clarifies.

My jaw drops and I start laughing. Surely, I misheard him, right? “There’s no such thing as shifters,” I manage to say between my giggles. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors in town, of course, but just figured they came from someone who had imbibed a little too much.”

When he doesn’t say anything to contradict my words, I sit there in silence, trying to wrap my head around his words. Shifters. Real.

No. That’s impossible. Right?