Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Callista

I 'd slept for barely an hour when my body woke me up to go to the washroom. I was just curling back up in my sheets, trying not to think of how much I wanted Kael back in them when a slight creak made me sit up.

A shadow flickered against the curtains. There was someone outside my window. My heart leaped, but as I rushed forward and pulled the fabric from the glass, the excitement seeped out of me.

Lana dragged herself over the sill and slid to the floor, motioning for me to hurry and shut it.

"What the?—"

Lana put a finger to her lips and waved me down next to her. She was breathing hard. "I heard him. Talking to someone on the phone."

"Who?"

She shot me a look. "Who do you think? Kael."

I rubbed my eyes, trying to push through the fog in my brain. "You were eavesdropping?"

She nodded, her expression deadly serious. "I couldn't hear every word, but he was talking about his next target."

I blinked. "What?"

Lana nodded. "He said he'd be out of here in a day or two." A pit opened up in my middle. I swallowed hard. "I don't know who he was talking to."

I bit the inside of my cheek. Had he said that? Why was I surprised? He'd never pretended he wasn't going to continue with whatever job he'd signed up for. He'd only said he wanted to break my bond with the dagger.

Lana watched me, and I straightened. "What?"

"You know what."

I tensed. "No, I don't know?—"

"Is he your mate?"

My eyes widened. "How could you even ask that?"

She didn't take the bait. "I heard what Rowan said. Can you speak to him?" She tapped her temple.

My throat was dry. "He thinks it's because of the dagger?—"

Lana groaned and dropped her head against the wall. "Why the hell didn't you say something?"

I scoffed. "Here, let me see how that would've gone over." I turned and plastered a smile on my face. "Hey, Lana, you know the guy who tried to slit my throat? I want to bang him."

Lana laughed out loud. "How could anyone argue with that?"

I rolled my eyes and slumped over my knees. "I think we both hope it disappears when we sever the connection with the dagger." My wolf whined, making her dissent known. Noted . I patted her head.

Lana looked skeptical. "If there's a bond?—"

"There's not a bond." I looked up, resting my chin on my arms. "It's nothing."

She watched me a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Good. Because it sounds like he's moving on." She stood and stretched out her lower back. "It's confusing."

"What is?"

She strode toward the door. "He was so calm today. So good with Marissa. I almost forgot for a moment that he kills for a living."

That pit expanded inside of me as Lana walked out into the hall. I rushed to the washroom and leaned on the counter. He kills for a living.

How could I reconcile that with what I'd seen that morning? With how careful he'd been with the baby's head? With how careful he'd been with me…

I splashed water on my face and padded back into the bedroom. I glanced out the window. Clouds were rolling in. Nothing ominous, just gray slowly coating the blue and blocking the sun.

I turned toward the bed, and that's when I saw him. A figure standing at the edge of the yard, half-hidden by the shadows. I frowned. What was he ? —

My throat constricted as he reached for the hem of his shirt. He pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the ground. Just like he had outside the campsite, he took off his pants and boxers and set everything on the ground at the base of a tree.

Kael's body was a work of art, sculpted and powerful, but I couldn't fully appreciate it because my brain was short-circuiting. What was he doing? Why was he shifting in the middle of the afternoon? After apparently talking about using the dagger again. Did he just need to blow off some steam?

My blood heated.

Then, before my eyes, his body began to change. His limbs elongated, his spine curved, and thick fur sprouted from his skin. No matter how many times I'd seen it, shifting still seemed like a dream, surreal and impossible.

As I stared at him, a deep ache settled in my chest. The last time he'd shifted, I hadn't been able to take him in like this. Now he stood against the trees, regal and strong. Three legs. After everything he'd done with one hand, I wasn't about to underestimate him like Lana did.

I wanted to run my fingers through his fur, to feel the warmth of his body against mine. My wolf was at attention. I know, girl. She wanted to shift so bad, it ached. I looked down at my arm. The wound was nearly healed. Since Lana held the dagger, my skin had been slowly knitting back together, and now all the angry red and oozing was gone.

Kael's wolf form stood still for a moment, his ears twitching. Then, with a flick of his tail, he turned and bounded into the forest. My heart sank as I watched him disappear between the trees, his form swallowed by the darkness.

My wolf pushed so hard against my consciousness I stumbled forward toward the window. Go , she pleaded, and with Kael's body fresh in my mind, it didn't take much convincing.

It was my turn to go out the damn window.

I took off my bra and T-shirt, opting for a more easily removable sweatshirt, then opened the pane and lowered myself over the sill.

I kept to the house until I reached the rose bushes, then crouched and ran to the trees. Unlike Kael, I didn't stand where anyone could see me from the house. I moved well into the shadows before pulling off my clothes.

If you're wrong about this, girl, you might not recover.

My wolf growled, impatient. I couldn't blame her. She'd waited too long for his. With a final glance down at my arm, I closed my eyes and let go.