Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

Kael

T he alpha gripped Callista to his side as we pushed past the trees, his chest heaving with barely contained rage. Asshat. He was the reason Callista was bleeding. My wolf growled.

Yeah, I want to kick him in the nuts, too. I mentally put a hand on his muzzle. There would be time for that later.

I followed him and his two lackeys into the underbrush.

Callista walked a few paces back, her eyes glued to my back. The weight of her gaze was like a physical touch, and it took everything in me not to turn my head and meet her eyes. I couldn't draw attention to her. To the way my wolf stirred at the sight of her. That feeling was nothing. A distraction I couldn't afford.

My jaw clenched, and I ran a hand through my hair. I didn't want to think about it. The idea of having a mate was ludicrous. I didn't belong to a pack, and I didn't want to. I traveled solo, and the fact that I was here in British Columbia proved that relationships were only a weakness in my line of work.

"Rowan, I think this is far enough," the Catwoman from the tent said.

The alpha slowed but didn't stop for another thirty seconds or so. When he found a small open circle between the trees, he handed Callista off to his brutish second and wheeled on me. "Explain."

"Explain what?" I shot back, my muscles tensing. I could barely hear my own breath above the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Anger. Anxiety. Fear. All of them swirled together into a toxic concoction.

The alpha growled, pointing at the dagger in Catwoman's hands. "Let's start with that."

I opened my mouth to respond, but she stepped in. "Let me give you the play-by-play, shall I?" She shot me an exasperated look. "I set a trap, he fell for it. Had the dagger in his hand, ready to stab Callista, and then I don't know what happened. He stopped, and Callista?—"

My fists clenched at my sides, the muscle at the base of my jaw twitching. I wanted to shift. To let my wolf out and end this right here, but it was suicide. That didn't mean it wasn't tempting to go for Rowan's jugular. I didn't have a pack to leave behind. I didn't have anything to lose. But one look at Callista slumped next to him, and I held my ground.

Sweat trickled down my brow, and I wiped it away with my shoulder. The action instantly drew the others' attention. Their eyes snapped to the empty space beneath my T-shirt sleeve. I was used to people gawking. Curious or judgmental, I didn't care.

Still, I was ready to fight. Ready to tear into anyone who came at me. I didn't know what this alphas plan was, but I wouldn't back down.

I couldn't.

Rowan's piercing blue eyes bored into me, and I wanted to melt into the ground. The alpha was a mountain of muscle, his frame taut with barely restrained fury. The man wanted to kill me. Wanted to tear me limb from limb, and I couldn't even blame him.

Catwoman stepped between us. Her eyes flicked to me, then back to her alpha. "Really, Rowan? Going full Hulk smash isn't going to solve anything."

"Back off, Lana." Rowan's jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared. The veins in his neck pulsed, and for a moment, I thought the alpha was going to shift and lunge at my own throat. But Lana didn't move, and Rowan finally stepped back, his muscles still coiled like a spring.

The younger wolf beside him stepped in, placing himself between Rowan and me. "We need him alive, Rowan. Killing him won't get us the answers we need."

Rowan's eyes narrowed, his lips pulling back in a snarl. "He threatened one of our pack. And he's got the relic."

Lana crossed her arms, her dark hair falling over her shoulders. "We need to know why. We can't afford to lose that information."

Rowan's chest heaved, his breath coming in ragged gasps, the internal battle playing out on his face. Instincts warring with reason. It was a struggle I was all too familiar with, and I half wanted the beast within him to win out.

Rowan fought for control. "Start talking, or I end you right here."

I didn't say a word. The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. What was there to say? My past was irrelevant. My intentions were irrelevant. I couldn't give him the information he sought, and I wasn't about to give Rowan or anyone else the satisfaction of hearing me plead or explain myself.

Rowan's frustration grew with each passing second. His nostrils flared, and his breathing became more labored. The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed, his jaw working as if he were grinding his teeth to dust.

C'mon asshat. I clenched my fists.

"Who are you?" Rowan's voice was a hiss, barely a breath.

I remained silent. My gaze didn't waver. I could see the flicker of doubt in Rowan's eyes, the hint of uncertainty. It was enough to give me a sliver of satisfaction.

Then Rowan took a step forward, his nostrils flaring, his eyes blazing with fury. "I won't ask again."

I wanted him to hit me first. I couldn't make sense of what had just happened, and if I didn't let the frustration out, it was going to eat me alive. A fight was exactly what I needed.

"Rowan, stop!" A woman ran out of the trees, her eyes glinting in the moonlight.

Rowan turned so fast I knew exactly who she was. His mate. He put out an arm, warning her to stay back.

"That's him. He carries the scent I struggled to track." She pointed at me, panting.

Rowan stepped closer, his fists clenching at his sides. His eyes narrowed, and I could practically feel the anger radiating off him like heat from a forge. "You killed them, didn't you?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "Those wolves in Kitimat. You were there with Nathan."

My mouth quirked, but I didn't bother responding. Rowan's body trembled with the force of his barely contained fury, his eyes boring into me, demanding I cower.

Just another alpha wanting to get into a pissing match. I'd seen it before, and I'd see it again. The silence that followed was heavy, pregnant with anticipation. The rest of the pack looked between Rowan and me, their expressions a mix of confusion and fear.

Rowan's jaw set in a hard line. "You need to explain yourself."

My heart hammered in my chest, and I inhaled for seven seconds to force it to slow. "There's nothing to explain. I followed the dagger."

"To kill us," the second added, his tone flat.

"I didn't touch your wolves." They wanted me to submit, to show my throat like a good omega, and it wasn't going to happen. I didn't kill anyone in his pack. Not yet, anyway.

"You just happened into the wrong tent then, eh, bud?" Rowan's second glared at me, his arms crossed over his chest so his muscles bulged. Very intimidating.

"Simple mistake." If my wolf wouldn't have surged, she'd be dead. I could've stopped her heart there in the tent, even with Catwoman's trap.

Rowan's jaw worked, but before he could spout out some other bullshit, Lana walked up to us.

"He had this." She held out the dagger, and Rowan took it from her. Instantly, Callista launched forward, feral and savage.

I spun, wrapping my arm around her and hoisting her off the ground. "Give it back!" I growled, and Rowan thankfully didn't have his head up his ass. He shoved the dagger back into Lana's palm.

Callista's body collapsed, just as it had before. She buried her head into my chest, whimpering, and my wolf surged to the surface.

"Get your hands off her." Rowan yanked my shoulder, and his second caught Callista before she dropped to the forest floor.

What was this? The burning inside my chest, the pull toward this woman I'd barely laid eyes on?

In the tent, I'd been sure it was a trick of the dagger. It wanted her, so I wanted her. Simple. Now, standing in the clearing, I wasn't so sure.

My wolf paced, growling low in his throat.

We were both confused. Addled by dark magic. The dagger had made me believe I had a mate, just like it had made me stay in this campground for the night. It was a powerful relic, capable of manipulating my thoughts, my desires. I would be glad to be rid of it.

"Please don't let go." Callista turned, still propped up by Bicep Boy. "When you hold it…" She exhaled, and her whole body moved with her breath. "It's the first relief I've felt since that night."

Lana blinked, turning the dagger over in her palm. "I don't understand."

"Did you ever touch it before?" Rowan's mate asked.

Lana shook her head. "But neither did any of you."

"I did." I shot Rowan a smirk, and his jaw flexed. "Just for research purposes."

A sharp pain exploded across my left temple, and I whirled to find Lana gripping the dagger backward, the hilt still facing me. "Looks like the dagger isn't partial. You know, for research purposes."

Blood dripped down the side of my face, but I didn't reach up to wipe it off. The cut would heal. I could wash my face when this shit show was over.

"Why did you go after it?" Rowan turned to Callista.

Callista looked at the dagger, and her reaction was immediate. Her body tensed, her breathing becoming more labored. "It's like... I don't know how to explain it. It feels like a magnet. Like I need to?—"

She stopped short, and I knew the end of her sentence. I'd felt it. The blade called for blood. For death.

Lana frowned. "But you don't want to…harm yourself, right?"

Callista shook her head. "No. I don't want to touch it again, but every time you let go, my body is screaming at me to pick it up."

Rowan turned to his second. "Lyra said it wanted sacrifice."

Callista held out her arm and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a gauze wrapping. "It gave me this wound." She kept her eyes trained on Rowan. "I think it wants to finish the job it started." She pulled away from the man holding her. "Thanks, Jasper. I can stand now."

Lana shrugged. "I don't know. But it's the only thing that makes sense. There's something about you that's connected to this dagger." She turned to me and held up the dagger. "Do you know how this works?"

My throat tightened. "No."

Jasper scoffed. "Convenient."

Lana shot him a look. "He might be a dickbag, but he kept Callista from grabbing it and stabbing herself." She turned back to me. "I want to know why."

I exhaled for seven. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be connected to these people, to Callista. I was there to finish the job and give the damn relic back to the alphas so Destin could go back to doing whatever the hell he did in Monticello.

Rowan crossed his arms. "I don't care about answers right now. We can get those from Lyra. I want to make sure he's not a threat."

The alpha posturing made my blood boil. It was always the same with alphas. They had to prove they were the biggest, the baddest.

Evelyn stepped closer, her eyes locked on me. "How do you mask your scent?"

I shrugged. "I've always been able to."

Evelyn's eyes narrowed. "Are you psi?"

"I'm nothing. Omega. I'm a thug for hire."

Rowan dragged a hand through his hair. "Jasper and Will, take the first watch. I want you and Lana on shifts. Two hours each. Don't let him out of your sight."

Jasper nodded, and Lana's mouth tightened into a thin line. They didn't like their babysitting assignments.

After an hour with me, they were going to like it even less.