Chapter 10

Chapter

Ten

Callista

I pushed aside the tent flap, and my heart hammered against my ribs. My hands shook as I fumbled with the zipper. The tent felt both too small and too vast. He'd come in while I was sleeping. The dagger had led him right to me.

Every sound was magnified in the stillness. The rustle of leaves in the wind, the creak of the trees as they swayed. My eyes darted around, searching for threats that my logical mind told me weren't there.

But my logical mind had been wrong about a lot of things lately.

The wound on my arm was so still it was eerie. It had been calm before I slept, but when Lana held the dagger, I almost felt whole. That knot buried against my spine had loosened for the first time in weeks. It was almost more terrifying than the pain.

I squeezed my arms tighter around my knees, trying to ground myself. The dim light filtered through the tent fabric, casting ghostly shadows across my sleeping bag.

The tent flap rustled, and I gasped.

"It's just me." Evelyn's voice. "Okay if I come in?"

"Mmhmm." I swallowed, my heart in my throat.

She slipped inside and, after zipping the door closed, dropped to her knees beside me.

"Hey." She reached out to touch my shoulder. Her hand was warm, and I leaned into her touch. "You okay?"

"Trying to process what just happened."

Evelyn nodded, her auburn hair falling over her shoulder like a curtain. "You don't have to. Not right now." She shifted, sitting cross-legged next to me. "You don't have to make sense of anything."

I closed my eyes and rolled onto my back. "I thought I was going to die."

Evelyn twisted a loose strand of my hair in her fingers. "Remember when I was little, I was terrified of thunderstorms?" I nodded. "I thought the lightning was going to strike our house and burn it down. My parents used to tell me that the thunder was just the moon goddess and her mate having a wrestling match."

I forced a smile, for the first time able to plant myself back in reality. Evelyn's parents. She'd been worried about them accepting her after returning and staying in Black Lake. I didn't know whether she'd talked with them yet. "Did it work?"

"Yeah, it did." She grinned, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I still think of that whenever there's a storm. Wrestlemania in the sky."

I blew out a breath. "So what you're saying is, I should imagine the man who snuck in here with a knife is actually?—"

"Yeah, okay. Terrible comparison."

I laughed. "Kind of the worst."

"I just meant forces are working beyond us that we don't understand. That's comforting."

I grimaced. "Is it? Because I was happy living my mostly mundane life." I didn't rely on my wolf-like Evelyn always had. It wasn't that she wasn't there. I could feel her, and I never had any problems shifting, but comforting?

Evelyn lay back on Lana's pillow, and we stared up into the darkness in silence for a moment.

"You remember when we were kids?" I whispered. "How we used to sneak into each other's beds during those storms?"

Evelyn smiled. "Yeah. And how we'd pretend to be asleep when your mom or my dad came to check on us."

I nodded, the memory bringing a warmth to my chest that I hadn't felt in a long time. "Maybe it wasn't the worst comparison. This kind of feels like that."

I didn't even know I was asleep until suddenly I wasn't. One second, I was curled up next to Evelyn, and the next, I was gasping for air. A rough hand clamped over my mouth, and I couldn't scream. Couldn't breathe. My eyes flew open, wild with panic, and I tried to struggle, but something held me in place.

Fabric replaced the palm across my lips, and the tent fabric parted beside me. I was yanked out of the tent, my sleeping bag still wrapped around me. I wanted to cry out, but my voice was trapped behind that gag. The world spun, and I flailed, trying to get my bearings.

There was no scent, and that's when I knew who it was. A second later, I made out his face in the moonlight.

Kael.

He loomed over me, his eyes cold and calculating. I barely had time to register what was happening before he pulled me from my bag and threw me over his shoulder. I struggled, but it was like fighting a steel beam. How the hell was he this strong with only one arm?

Kael didn't waste time. He took off, his strides long and purposeful. The motion jarred my senses, and I squeezed my eyes shut, praying this was some messed-up nightmare. It had to be.

Kael's grip tightened, and I cried out as his shoulder dug into my ribs. I looked back at the tent as he carried me away, and my heart clenched. Evelyn was still asleep in there, wasn't she? I had to get her attention before we moved too deep into the trees.

Where was Lana? Jasper? I tried kicking and pushing against his back, but it was like trying to move a boulder.

My lungs burned, and my breath came in short gasps, my body fighting for air as the cold night air stung my skin. The pounding of Kael's footsteps punctuated the hiss of air from my wheezing lungs.

I struggled, my thoughts a whirlwind. Why was he doing this? What did he want? My mind raced back to that night at Nathan's. How he looked at me. How he ran his thumb over the hilt of the dagger.

The dagger. My arm didn't ache. I didn't feel anything, which meant Lana still must have it. That or he'd figured out some other way to keep the dark magic quiet. What would he want with me if he didn't have the relic? I shuddered at that question.

Then, out of nowhere, a figure shot out from the trees, barreling into Kael with a force that sent him stumbling. I hit the ground with a thud, the wind knocked out of me. I gasped, my vision blurring. I forced my head up and caught sight of a familiar profile.

Lana. My heart surged.

Kael growled, his forearm snapping out to block Lana's next attack. She was a blur of motion, her fists and feet flying. I'd seen her in action before, but never like this. She was a force of nature, and for a moment, I thought Kael would be overwhelmed.

But then, with a snarl, Kael's body shifted. He moved with a fluid grace, his muscles rippling under his skin. His eyes glowed, his wolf pressing so close to the surface, I thought he might burst forth.

Lana didn't back down. She pressed forward, her movements a dance of calculated strikes and feints. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fight, even as my mind screamed to run. To get as far away from this madness as possible.

Kael wasn't fighting. He was…but he wasn't. Not the way he should be if he were a hired killer. He was on the defensive, but he wasn't striking back. Lana stumbled, her back hitting a tree with a sickening thud.

Kael pulled me up from the ground as she stood there panting, her breath visible in the cold night air. I wanted to scream, but the gag still made it impossible for me to do more than grunt.

"Leave us if you want her safe." He held me effortlessly. I didn't have the strength to fight him after I saw how useless it had been.

Lana laughed. "You fought the dagger in the tent. I saw it. You're not going to hurt her."

Kael's jaw clenched, his breath hot against my cheek. "You don't know what I'm capable of." He shifted his weight, his body pressing against mine.

Lana didn't flinch. "You think I won't call your bluff?" She took another step, her voice steady. "Let her go."

Kael's grip tightened. "The dagger has a claim on her. I need to break it."

"Why?"

"It will help both of us. Callista will be free, and you won't see me again."

My wolf stood at attention when my name came out of his mouth. I'd forgotten he knew it.

"How do you plan to do that, considering we have no leads on this?" Lana pulled the dagger from her boot. She'd had it there pressed against her skin and didn't once reach for it.

So. They were both holding back.

Lana's voice was like steel. "I don't care what you think you have to do. You touch her, and I will end you."

Kael's eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I thought he was going to snap. But then he exhaled, his body relaxing slightly. "I know someone who understands the relics. But I take her alone."

Lana's eyes narrowed. "And why should I trust you? You came here with the dagger knowing as much as we do."

Kael's eyes darted to the darkness behind Lana. He flinched at a distant snap of a branch. "Because I have no choice. I allowed you to keep the dagger. That should be all the proof you need."

Lana didn't move, her expression unreadable.

Kael's grip tightened, and I winced. His breath was hot against my skin. "I don't have time to convince you."

I'd barely processed the words before being yanked deeper into the forest. The last thing I saw was Lana, her eyes wide as she cursed under her breath and followed after us.