Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

Kael

O nce I was sure we were far enough into the woods, I stopped, the pine needles crunching under my boots. I reached into my pack for a knife but decided against it. I didn't want to scare Callista, so I opted to untie the knot without tools.

My fingers slipped between Callista's skin and the fabric of the gag, and I unfastened it from the back of her neck. I pulled the fabric from between her lips. She gasped, her eyes snapping up to meet mine just as Lana stormed through the trees to stand next to us.

I didn't want her there, but I knew she'd go straight to Rowan if I forced her back. She'd probably already contacted him through their pack bond, but since he hadn't arrived with guns blazing, she must have sent some kind of a message to keep him away. That was good enough for now.

"Sorry, I—" I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck. "We need to shift."

Lana worked to catch her breath. "Shift?"

"Yeah. I've got my truck parked a couple clicks that way." I motioned over my shoulder. "If we stay on two legs, it'll take forever."

Callista shook her head. "I can't." She looked at Lana, a plea in her eyes.

I frowned. "What do you mean you can't?" I sensed her wolf, so she had to be strong enough to do it.

It was Lana's turn to shake her head, this time with a touch of frustration. "Callista's wound. We don't know what will happen to it in wolf form."

I grunted. "It's not hurting now, is it?" In the woods with her alpha, she'd made it sound like when Lana held the dagger, the pain subsided. "It should disappear anyway."

Callista nodded. "Exactly. Our wolf form heals. Which is why I'm more worried about the shift back."

We needed to move. I wasn't interested in hypotheses about injuries during shifts. "Maybe shifting will help."

Callista's eyes flashed. "I'm not willing to risk my wolf being permanently injured. Plus, who knows where this wound will end up? I could have a partially severed artery in my wolf form. Do you know how dangerous that could be? I could bleed out before I even shifted back, and then what?"

I held up a hand. "Okay, okay. I get it." We were going to have to do this the hard way. I pulled out a length of rope and started to measure it. "Do you ride?"

Callista blinked. "Ride what?"

"Cats." I stared at her blankly until I realized she thought I was serious. "Horses, sheep, I don't give a shit. Something bigger than you?"

Callista shook her head. Great. We were going to do this the really hard way. I pulled a switchblade from my pocket, cut through the rope, and threaded it through a carabiner. I set the knife between my teeth as I tied a knot with one hand, then looped the rope around my neck to pull it taut.

Both of them stared at me. I looked up as the rope slid from my shoulder. "What?"

"Nothing." Lana's eyes dropped, and I held back a grin. It was always the same. People were curious as hell as to how I managed with only one hand, but they weren't willing to ask questions.

I finished the knot, then repeated the process with a second length of rope, making a loop out of the carabiner for it to thread through.

"What is it?" Callista asked.

"Your chariot." I finished the knot, and that time, Lana and Callista didn't gape as I used my mouth.

"You're going to carry her? How?" Lana crossed her arms over her chest.

"Like this." I slipped the harness over my shoulders, setting the loops.

Lana raised a brow. "And you expect her to get onto your back?"

"That's the plan." I turned to Callista, who was staring at me, and a warmth sparked in my chest. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced in a long time. A feeling I didn't have time to dissect. "You okay with that?"

Callista's eyebrows shot up. "Do I have a choice?"

"Guess not." I started unbuttoning my shirt, then stashed it in my bag.

Callista's cheeks flushed crimson, and Lana snorted. "Can I use that, too?" She pointed to my bag.

I nodded. The idea of Callista watching me undress flooded my skin with heat, but I ignored it, reaching for my belt and yanking it open. As shifters, we didn't particularly care about modesty. Maybe these pack wolves were bigger prudes than I thought.

I kicked off my boots, then shucked my pants and underwear. I stashed everything in my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

Callista was turned away from me, and part of me was disappointed. One part in particular.

I let out a growl and shifted, my bones snapping and muscles shifting as my wolf form took over. I shook out my fur, then stepped into the harness.

Lana's eyes widened. "You can carry her on three legs?"

I barked and motioned with my head for Callista to climb on. My three legs were a hell of a lot stronger than Lana's four.

After a moment of hesitation, she moved. "Fine, I'm coming." She climbed onto my back and wrapped her arms around my neck, her legs gripping my sides. Pressure and warmth spread against my fur, and I shivered.

Keep it in your pants , I sent to my wolf. He was far too pleased with himself.

Lana shifted, her wolf form resembling more of a coyote than a true wolf. She was smaller, sleeker. She let out a huff, then turned and started trotting through the forest.

Callista's grip tightened as I snapped up my bag with my teeth and moved into a lope, my paws crunching against the pine needles. Lana's footsteps sounded behind me, her breath steady and even.

I focused on choosing a path through the trees, but I couldn't ignore the way Callista's heart pounded against my back, the scent of her filling my nostrils. I almost sideswiped a redwood. Pay attention, idiot.

"Wow, okay." Callista stiffened on my back.

What did she say? It sounded like a direct response to my frustrated command to my wolf, which was impossible. I slowed to descend the river bank and tentatively pushed another thought. Hold on.

"Don't you want to add, "idiot" to that?" she sniped.

My mind spun. She could hear me. How could she hear me? Speaking in wolf form was reserved for pack mates and…

Blood rushed in my ears. She is not my mate. She is NOT my mate.

I bolted through the woods, trying to outrun what had just happened and trusting the harness to keep her steady. The rope bit against my belly as she jostled, but the sting kept me centered.

It wasn't until we reached the clearing where my truck was parked that I slowed. I waited for Callista to slide off my back, then shifted back into my human form and dug in my bag for my clothes.

I threw Lana's things to her and turned as she shifted and changed, then motioned for them to get in the truck. I slid into the driver's seat, and Lana took the passenger side as Callista slid into the back.

My wolf whined, but I ignored him and turned to face the two of them. "We'll be back by morning. Your alpha won't even know you're gone. Happy?"

Lana rolled her eyes. "Ecstatic."

I started the engine and pulled out of the clearing, the headlights cutting through the darkness. Callista shuffled in the back seat, and I caught a glimpse of her in the rearview mirror. Her eyes glinted, and she bit her lip. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry.

I didn't want to think about how her hand had slipped from my neck when she slid off my back. I didn't want to think about how her breath had hitched when she felt my muscles tense under her. I didn't want to think about any of it, but the more I tried to push it away, the more it lifted to the surface.

I needed to break her bond with the dagger. Fast.

I clenched the steering wheel and sped. There was nobody on the roads at that time of night, and the drive to Fraser Lake was a blur.

We pulled up to the run-down house an hour later. "Here we are." I cut the engine and took it in. The paint was peeling off the siding, and the porch looked like it would collapse the second someone set foot on it.

Bill's son was probably using again. Not giving him any help.

Callista put a hand over the seat, and her thumb brushed my shoulder. "This is it?"

I nodded, then pushed open my door and dropped to the gravel drive.