Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Callista

W e ran as wolves through the woods in silence. When we got closer to the house, I dropped back and found my clothes. Kael didn't have that option. His were next to the house, and by the time I saw why he shouldn't rush out into the yard, it was too late to stop him.

"Taking a mid-day stroll?" Lana stood next to the backdoor, her hands on her hips.

Kael hesitated, then walked to his clothes and started dressing.

"Where is she," Lana barked.

Kael didn't answer, and I rushed to pull on my underwear.

"Answer me, asshole."

"Lana!" I ran out of the trees, my sweatshirt on, but no pants. "Stop. It's not what it looks like."

"Yeah? What does it look like, do you think?"

I shoved my feet through the leg holes and pulled up my pants. "It looks like we were mating in the trees." I panted. "But we weren't."

My response took her off guard. She glowered at the two of us. "What were you doing then? Alone. And naked ."

"I shifted, Lana." I straightened, tossing my hair behind my shoulder. "My wolf was fine."

Lana ground her teeth. "And you expect me to believe he just stood there? Didn't even notice you were still in heat?"

Kael's jaw tightened. "I don't give a shit what you believe."

Lana's eyes flashed. "You think you can just do whatever you want, don't you?" She took a step closer to him, her arms tensing. "You think you can come into our territory, threaten our pack, and then?—"

"Nothing happened," I blurted out. Which was technically true. Even though my heart felt like it had an ice pick jabbed in the middle of it. "I was trying?—"

"Just stop." Lana cut me off, her eyes boring into mine. "I don't care what you were or weren't doing. What I care about is that he thinks he can waltz in here and disrupt everything." She turned back to Kael, her voice dripping with disdain. "You're not even part of a pack. You don't get to break our rules."

Kael's eyes darkened, and my stomach twisted. "Lana, stop."

"You're trying to what? Prove something?" Lana scoffed. "You've already proven you can't be trusted. That you're a threat."

I gaped at her. What was she talking about? She hadn't said a word of this to me, and now she was acting like this?

Lana pointed a finger at him, her eyes blazing. "And if you think for one second that I'm going to let you?—"

"Enough!" Kael's voice thundered against the house, and I jumped. He took a step forward. Kael straightened his T-shirt. "You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do."

Lana's eyes narrowed. "This is our territory?—"

"Like hell it is. This is neutral land."

Lana ground her teeth. "We're only here because you forced us?—"

"I forced her." Kael pointed at me. "You're here by choice."

Lana's hands shook with rage. "I'm third in command of the Black Lake Pack. I can tell you whatever the hell I want."

Kael's eyes darkened, his breath coming in shallow bursts. "I'm not part of your pack. Remember?"

Lana's nostrils flared as Kael stalked past her up the steps. He walked into the house and slammed the door.

Before I could catch my breath, Bill stumbled out onto the porch holding his shotgun. "You girls okay?"

"I could've used that a second ago," Lana muttered.

Bill looked back at the house. "For what?"

Lana huffed a breath. "I'm done with this." She stormed past me into the trees.

We had to leave. If Kael and Lana had to spend another night trapped in this house, they were going to combust, and my heat, though still uncomfortable, was manageable.

"All that commotion was the two of them?" Bill pointed between the house and the trees.

"It's not like her," I said.

Bill scratched his beard. "It's not like him. But, then again…" He fixed his eyes on me.

"What?" I crossed my arms.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked to the steps. I wanted to rush in after Kael and apologize for what Lana had said. You're not even part of a pack.

Something wasn't right. I hadn't known Lana for long, but she hadn't been cruel even when Kael had a knife to my throat. "I don't think we can wait any longer. We need to leave for Swan Lake."

I sat on my bed, threading my thoughts between that afternoon with Kael and my worries about what we might find at the pools.

I wanted him. I wanted to be safe. I wanted him to give up the dagger. I wanted to go back to my normal life. I wanted…

There was no easy answer. After tonight, I would hopefully be free of my wound. But despite all the reasons why I should want to be free of Kael, I couldn't make it sink into my heart.

I ran my hands through my hair, then padded down the hall to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, then walked into the hall. The door to Lana's room was open. She was stuffing her duffle bag.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Hey."

She looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. "Hey."

"We should probably get moving. Bill said it was a bit of a drive to the lake."

Lana nodded. "I'll be ready in a minute."

I left her to it and headed back to my room to grab my own things. When I was packed, I walked out to the living room where Kael and Bill were waiting.

"Ready to go?" Bill asked.

I nodded, trying to keep my eyes from sliding to Kael. "Yeah, just waiting for Lana."

Bill grunted. "She's probably packing up her emotions. Those are harder to fold."

Kael's lip twitched.

I turned toward the door. "She's fine. Just tired."

"Seems to be going around." Bill gave Kael a sidelong glance. I searched for my boots.

Lana emerged from the hall with her bag slung over her shoulder. "Ready."

We all filed out the door and got into the trucks. Bill and Kael in one, Lana and I in the other. I buckled my seatbelt and glanced at Lana. "You good to drive?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

I settled back in my seat. My thoughts were so thick, I couldn't wade through them to find a superficial bit of conversation. Instead I wandered through everything I'd learned over the past two days.

One weekend. It was laughable how different it had been compared to how I'd envisioned it. How much better.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Lana scoffed. "For what?"

"For holding the dagger. For making me feel so much better."

Lana clenched the wheel. "It wasn't hard."

"Well, I'm grateful."

She nodded once, and we slipped back into silence. The trees blurred by. The drive to Swan Lake was winding, and I had to train my eyes straight out the windshield to keep from getting woozy.

After we passed a small sign that announced ten kilometers to Swan Lake, I turned to Lana. My mouth opened and closed. Her fingers were clenched on the steering wheel, her hands at ten and two. Her eyes were glassy, and she clenched her teeth.

"Lana—"

"I don't feel well."

I searched for the water bottle I'd put on the floor. "Here, let me?—"

"No, Callista, I think something's wrong."

I held out the water. "Are you sick?"

Lana didn't answer. She followed Kael's truck onto a narrow road that led up a hill through dense forest. The trees were so thick, they created a canopy over the gravel road. "It's hard to breathe in here."

I frowned. "Do you want to pull over and get some fresh air?"

"No. I want to get to the lake." She shot me an irritated look.

My heart started to pound. This wasn't like her . My eyes dropped to her waist where the dagger sat. "I think we should pull over."

Lana's breathing grew more labored. "No, I don't want to stop. I just need to—" She winced, and I reached for her arm.

"Lana, what?—"

She gasped, and her hand wrapped around the dagger's hilt through her shirt. "I don't know!"

"Let's pull over, Lana. Put your foot on the brake."

Lana's voice shook. "We're almost there."

I reached out, but before I could touch her, she let out a guttural growl and the car swerved off the road.