20. Caleb

TWENTY

Caleb

We had lapsed into silence as the miles lengthened between us and the B I’d given her reason to.

I needed to confess it all. But how the hell did I tell her? How did I tell her that the monsters she feared were the same as I was? That the gift of Luna ran through my blood as much as it ran through theirs. The pack that was hunting us was my kind.

The only consolation was that she hadn’t put it together herself yet. I didn’t doubt that she would. She was clever. The one thing I told myself was that when she asked me, I wouldn’t lie.

For now, she hadn’t asked, and I decided it was best not to offer. Even so, the weight of my secret hung heavy around my neck. All it would take would be one slip, one careless word, and the truth would be unavoidable.

Would she look at me with the same fear that she’d had in her eyes when I told her about shifters? I wasn’t ready to see that.

So for now, I would keep my silence. Hopefully, a bathroom break, some coffee, and food at the diner would distract her for long enough. As long as the threat to her safety remained behind her, I could keep her safe without her realizing what I was.

Nodding to myself, I assured myself that I was doing the right thing. Still, I could feel the walls closing in on me. The sooner we got to Cannon, the sooner she would understand that not all the monsters were the same, and then maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t matter that I was one of them.

Blowing out a low breath, I tried to clear my mind and focus only on the road. Now that I’d alerted my brain to the possibility of a comfort break, my bladder wanted to let me know it would welcome some relief. My empty belly reminded me it had been a while since it was full.

“Are you hungry?”

Willow had been looking out the window at the darkness, seeing nothing beyond her own reflection in the glass, I would guess.

“Maybe?” she answered softly. “Maybe I don’t know if I will ever eat again. My stomach keeps rolling every time I think of men being wolves and wolves being men.”

“It’s a lot to process.”

“Is it only werewolves?” she asked me suddenly. “Are there other monsters out there?”

“Shifters,” I corrected. “You’re imagining men walking on two legs, a cross between wolf and man.” I didn’t need to see her nod to know I was right. “Shifters are men or women that?—”

“There are female ones?”

That did earn her a look from me, and she instantly flushed. “Of course there are.”

Willow immediately went on the defensive. “Don’t ‘of course’ me. How am I supposed to know? This is brand new information!” Her attention flicked to my hands on the steering wheel. “You’re going to break that thing,” she snapped. “You’ve been strangling it since we left the B a good shifter protected those weaker than them.

Willow was definitely weaker. In strength. I was still on the fence about her mental strength. Despite her reservations about me, she had still trusted me. Still come with me. Sure, I hadn’t given her much choice, but I knew I didn’t want to lose that.

The thought of her seeing me as something other than the man she thought I was, the man she had trusted to keep her safe and take her to where the answers were, filled me with dread.

I didn’t want to see the betrayal in her eyes when she found out the truth.

I didn’t want her to hate me.

It was so stupid. Her opinion should have been so irrelevant to me. But it had been a long time since I was entrusted with the welfare of someone other than myself. Was that what this was? My need to prove I could keep someone safe?

If that was the case, then I was more pathetic than I’d previously thought. I didn’t need to prove myself to anyone, least of all Willow. She’d hate me anyway.

Cannon? He didn’t know me, and I didn’t need his approval. He wasn’t my alpha.

Long buried emotions threatened to surface, and I angrily pushed them down.

“Caleb?”

Her voice drew me out of my inner thoughts, thoughts that lingered too close to old rage.

“Caleb?”

“I hear you,” I told her gruffly, seeing the sign for the diner ahead. I hadn’t even registered that I’d taken the exit for the highway. I’d been driving on autopilot. Giving myself an internal shake, I tried to clear my head. “Must have zoned out.” She didn’t hide her reaction quickly enough, and I cursed myself for basically telling her I’d stopped listening to her.

She doesn’t matter . You don’t care about her.

I repeated the mantra, feeling worse within myself the more I said it.

Pulling into the diner, I saw a few cars parked. Lowering the window, I sniffed the air for any trace of a shifter, but all I could smell was fumes, cooking grease, and trash from the overflowing dumpster.

I parked the truck, and the two of us sat, neither of us moving.

“I feel like if I open the door, something bad will happen,” Willow admitted into the quiet night. “It’s been a cocoon of safety being in here, and I don’t know if I’m brave enough to leave.”

She didn’t know how brave it was for her to admit that. Swallowing hard, I reached behind us for my jacket.

“You want to wet the seat, or do you want to go inside and use the facilities?” I pulled my jacket through the space between us, catching her eye. “I’d rather you went inside; we’ve still got a long drive.”

Willow gave me a look of exasperation before she turned away, reaching for the door handle. “You’re a regular Prince Charming,” she grumbled.

Catching hold of her arm, I pulled her back gently. “Wait until I am out.”

Willow said nothing, but her eyes widened with alarm as she understood my unspoken caution.

Once I knew it was safe, I took a moment to enjoy the welcome stretch of my legs. The truck was a good enough seat and a comfortable drive, but Willow was right, we’d been cooped up in it too long. The quick walk to her door was the best my legs had felt in hours.

Opening her door, I helped her down. She stayed close as we walked into the diner.

“Toilets are at the front,” I told her. “We’ll go first and eat after?” She nodded her agreement. “See you in a few.”

In the stall, I rolled my head on my shoulders, trying to loosen the tension in my body. I wanted to run and loosen up all the knots and aches, but it would be a while before I was in my wolf form again.

Outside the men’s room, I waited for Willow, and she emerged not long after me. I noticed her face was wet and she was rubbing her hands on her jeans. “Splashed my face to hope I looked less like death warmed over,” she told me as we waited to be seated.

I hadn’t and now I wished I had. “Good call.”

When we were seated, armed with menus, we fell into silence again as we surveyed the menu.

“What’s good here?” Willow asked, looking up. “You’ve been here before. What do you recommend?”

“I always take the all-day breakfast.” I pointed to another dish on the menu. “Or chicken and waffles.”

Her nose wrinkled at the suggestion. “Nope.” She perused the menu for a moment longer, looking up just as the server appeared.

I ordered the breakfast and coffee. Willow ordered an egg white omelet, a side of fresh fruit, and toast. She had her usual pot of tea and asked for a glass of orange juice too.

She saw my look as the waitress walked away, and reaching over, she took a straw from the holder, not meeting my eye. “It’s definitely my turn to pay.”

I wasn’t embarrassed that I didn’t have the means to pay for the food. Money had never really bothered me, but I knew enough about human men that some would be disgruntled that the woman was paying.

Those men, I called stupid. For Willow, I merely dipped my head in acknowledgment. Let her interpret that as she would.

It didn’t matter what she thought of me. It wasn’t important at all. Because if it did matter…then I was already in too deep.

And that kind of danger I couldn’t afford. At all.