Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

Callista

K ael dressed fast enough to qualify for a world record. It was barely past nine in the morning, but I felt like it was six. How much sleep had we actually gotten?

Kael paused to give me a last look that set my blood on fire, then headed for the window. I leaped out of bed, smoothed the sheets, and tossed the pillows back into place. Because somehow I thought that a mussed bed would prove I'd been tangled up all night with Kael rather than simply sleeping.

The sheets weren't the problem. Kael's scent was everywhere . All over the bed. All over me. Kael was already halfway out the window, his muscles flexing as he braced himself against the frame.

"Bye!" I yelped, then clapped a hand over my mouth. Bye? What the hell kind of send-off was that after the night we had?

I was such an idiot.

Kael gave a terse nod, then disappeared from view. I took a deep breath, then continued my frantic tidying. Clothes scattered, sheets in a tangle, and my adrenaline spiking higher than a CPU clocking into overdrive right before a system crash.

I froze mid-swipe when a sharp knock sounded at the door. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn't open that door. Not smelling like him.

"Hey, I was just getting in the show?—"

Lana pushed the door open, and I skittered back behind the bed. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she took in the scene.

I forced a smile. "Good morning."

She didn't answer immediately, her eyes scanning the room one more time. "Rowan and Jasper are here."

My heart skipped a beat. Rowan and Jasper? I immediately panicked. "I'll be right out, but I'm a mess. I need to put myself together and…take care of things. Down there." I waved my hands over my crotch.

Lana frowned, but she moved out of the way as I grabbed my clothes and toiletry bag, then rushed past her into the washroom.

I threw a quick, horrified glance in the mirror. My face was flushed, my hair a mess. I looked like…I'd just had sex. A lot of it. Excellent.

I stripped off my clothes, tossing them into a heap on the floor, then turned on the shower. The water cascaded down, and I jumped in, scrubbing furiously. I needed to get rid of Kael's scent, to erase any evidence of what had happened between us.

Even though I didn't want to. Not yet, anyway. All morning, I'd waited for the embarrassment and self-loathing to hit, but it was disturbingly absent.

After washing my hair and rinsing, I stepped out of the tub. Realizing I'd left my towel in the other room, I used the hand towel to dry myself, then wrapped it around my hair as best I could and got dressed. These clothes didn't smell like him, and I was beyond grateful I'd chosen to throw in an extra set.

I pulled on the shirt and pants, then ran a hand through my damp hair, hoping to look at least a little bit composed. Lana must've informed Rowan about my situation. If he said a damn word, I'd have a free pass to send a snarky reply his way.

I walked out into the living room, my senses on high alert. Bill was already in the kitchen, cracking eggs into a pan. Rowan and Jasper were standing near the front door.

It only took a second for them to pick up on my scent, and the shift in their demeanor was immediate. Rowan's piercing eyes locked onto me, and I could see the storm brewing behind them. Jasper's usually relaxed posture went stiff, his gaze darting between the room and me.

"Where is he?" Rowan's voice was low, his anger barely contained.

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. "Kael. Where is he?"

I forced myself to meet their gazes, even though every instinct told me to back down, to look away. "I haven't seen him."

Lies. I never lied to my alpha. The words twisted in my gut.

Rowan took a step closer, and the air seemed to thicken. "Callista?—"

"I said I haven't seen him. Am I the one on trial?" I planted my hands on my hips.

Rowan's nostrils flared. "No. I'm sorry. For everything. We need to get you out of here. Away from?—"

"With all due respect, that's not happening," Lana stepped forward. "Not for at least another day."

Rowan's eyes flicked between the two of us. "Why not? It's not safe for you here. We can protect you better at the pack house?—"

"I know, but . . . " I avoided his gaze, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts. I didn't want to go. Why didn't I want to go? I didn't relish staying here at Bill's, but the idea of returning to our pack made me cringe. "Not yet. We need to figure out how to break the bond."

Rowan frowned. "We can do that at home. We can go to Lyra?—"

"When I was a pup, I heard legends about the Shadow Pack relics. Stories that most dismissed as fairy tales." Bill stalked out of the kitchen.

Rowan exhaled sharply. "Who is this?"

Bill put out a hand, and Rowan shook it. "The name's Bill." He adjusted the waistline of his pants. "That dagger is growing stronger. You can't just pluck her out of here and hope for the best. It will fight back. If it's growing in power, it won't let her go without a fight."

Rowan looked to Lana. "You said you had it under control."

She nodded once. "I do. For now." Her eyes dropped. "There's no precedence for this. We don't know why it's responding to me, and we don't know what to expect."

Bill nodded. "The stories say that it will work on any soul it comes in contact with. I—" He stopped, glancing up as Kael sauntered down the hall. He stopped when he saw all of us gathered ahead of him.

His hair was damp, and he wore a clean T-shirt and jeans. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. Rowan ground his teeth.

Bill seemed oblivious to the tension between them. "Kael, you're taking the wind out of my story."

"Which one?" He leaned against the wall, and my ovaries twitched.

Bill cleared his throat. "I was working up to it. Giving a little mystery before I gave the full meat of it."

Kael grinned, then glanced up at me before steeling his expression.

"Can we get on with this? Please?" Jasper snapped, and Kael looked like he'd be glad to put a fist to his throat.

"Jasper." Lana shook her head.

Bill motioned for them to take a seat. They reluctantly took off their shoes and moved into the living room.

When they were settled, Bill dropped into his chair and started with a deep breath, his chest expanding under his flannel shirt. "Alright, here's the gist. The Shadow Pack was a group of shifters from way back when, tasked with guarding the veil between the living and the Shadow Realm. They were descended from a forbidden union, giving them unique spiritual and shadow abilities. They were entrusted with powerful relics, but internal conflicts led to their downfall. Despite their end, their legacy and the relics they guarded became the stuff of legend."

Rowan nodded. "I've heard the stories."

There was a twinkle in Bill's eye. "Good, good. Then you know that if the relics reappear, it means something. Something big."

Lana frowned. "Big, how? Big as in restoring the Shadow Pack?"

"Or destroying it for good, depending on who gets their hands on 'em," Bill replied, his voice low and grave.

"The Shadow Pack doesn't exist now," I said.

Bill raised an eyebrow. "They surely do." He turned to look at Lana. "They're hidden among us. Descended from that ancient line. Sometimes we know who they are before they do."