22. Caleb

TWENTY-TWO

Caleb

The woods around us were silent, broken only by my harsh breathing as I crouched over Willow, who lay unconscious below me. I hadn’t seen her fall, a fact I was furious with myself for. I was supposed to protect her, and I hadn’t seen her fall .

I could guess what happened though from the way her body lay on the blanket she’d been sleeping on when I woke her earlier. I’d investigated the cause of her fall and felt the egg-sized lump on the back of her head. She wasn’t bleeding, but given the proximity of the log behind her, I could guess she fell over her own feet and landed via the log on the way down.

Exhaling long and low, I tried to shake off the remaining tendrils of adrenaline that still pulsed through my veins from the fight. Willow lay so still, her normal pallid complexion looking ghostly in the pale moonlight.

I was grateful she was okay, but I was selfishly relieved she hadn’t been awake to see my shift. I felt an unfamiliar twist of guilt in my belly as I studied her prone form .

A part of me wished she had seen, and then I wouldn’t have this sickening apprehension every time I thought she’d figure my secret out. But for now, I praised Luna that she had intervened one more time to keep the truth from my companion.

Standing, I searched the trees for any more unwelcome guests . From my backpack, I pulled out a pair of jeans, a crumpled tee that I’d relegated to laundry, and another flannel shirt. I’d ditched my jacket as I got ready to shift and kicked off my boots, but the rest of my clothes had been shredded in the shift.

I could feel the tension in my bones as my wolf still lingered beneath my skin, eager to be loose once more. I wanted to run, I wanted to finish this journey in my wolf form, but I couldn’t do that to Willow. She would never understand, and I shuddered as I thought of her finding out by seeing me shift in front of her.

Tonight had been close, too close. If she hadn’t fallen, well, there would be a lot of explaining to do. She would have seen what I was, what I really was. A shifter betraying her trust by not being honest with her. Not telling her that I was the same as the very monster that made her scream with fear.

Looking around, I took note of the signs of the violence that had happened here. Blood stained the ground, and more than turf had been in danger of being unearthed as we fought. I didn’t know the shifters that had attacked. There had only been two of them, but two was too many when I had Willow with me.

Both had run from the fight when they knew they were bested, and I didn’t chase. I didn’t believe in the slaughter of our kind. Hopefully, the lesson had been taught to these two not to cross me again .

I wouldn’t be as lenient the second time.

For now, I had to get out of here before she woke up and saw the evidence of a fight no man could survive. We needed to get to Cannon’s pack. Stooping, I lifted her, careful of her sleeping form, cradling her close as I once more checked the lump on the back of her head. The fact she weighed practically nothing set my teeth on edge. She was so incredibly fragile and so completely out of her depth that the urge to return her to Whispering Pines and walk away was stronger than ever.

I knew she wouldn’t be safe there. Willow had caught more than my interest with her drawings, and I had no way to know yet how that was possible.

A howl in the night made me hold her closer. The two shifters had run, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be back, even though I hoped they knew better. That didn’t mean there wouldn’t be others who thought they could fight me, and I knew we couldn’t be here when they arrived.

Holding Willow close, I picked up the paintings, juggling them both until I got a balance that suited me. With swift feet, I made my way through the forest, my steps sure and steady as I moved faster carrying her than I had when she walked beside me. My wolf sight allowed me to check on her as I moved, and she looked to be sound asleep.

Pausing, I lowered the paintings, not caring that they were on the forest floor. I checked her pulse. She’d taken a blow to the head, but I suspected it was exhaustion that kept her in its clutches more than anything to do with her being knocked out. She’d pushed her body today. Exertion like that was foreign to her, and I had admired her determination to keep up.

A few times I’d wanted to suggest I carry her, but I knew her pride would have resisted. So I took advantage of the opportunity now. Satisfied she was okay, I grabbed the bundle and resumed walking.

About an hour later, she stirred in my arms, a soft moan escaping, and I ignored the way my breath hitched at the sound of her soft sigh of contentment. Focusing on the fact that she was waking up, I prepared myself for the thousand questions she would wake up with.

I made my way faster, hoping to close the distance to where we needed to be.

As quickly as I walked, I knew I wouldn’t be quick enough to avoid the questions. Willow was smart and tenacious. She possessed too much of both qualities if I was honest. She seemed to have that moment of clarity about me before we were attacked, and I hoped that her fall had knocked that revelation from her head.

I’d been careful around her. I knew she was suspicious of me, but after this, she’d be relentless. Coming to another fallen tree, I took care not to jostle her too much as I set her down on the trunk. I easily jumped the obstacle and, with care, picked up my fragile cargo. I held her close as she stirred again in my arms, only loosening my hold when she nuzzled into my neck, getting comfortable once more.

Looking down, I noticed how peaceful she looked when she was sleeping. She had an uncanny knack for bringing my protective instincts out of me, instincts I thought I’d left behind a long time ago. My wolf prowled close to the surface too often when she was near.

Shaking my head, I knew I had no right to feel that way towards her. She may have dragged me into her life with her drawings, but that didn’t mean I had to drag her into mine. She would have been better off never drawing.

She had no idea who I was. What I had done.

I intended to never let her find out.

Looking up, I saw the tip of Blackridge Peak looming ominously in the night. Cannon’s pack was close and, hopefully, so were the answers we sought.

As I walked through the night, we encountered no others. The terrain began to change. The forest thinned to open foothills as I began the hike, the incline steadily becoming steeper the further I got.

I knew she was awake, but she hadn’t spoken, and I left her to her pretense of sleep, as she took the aid I gave her by carrying her.

The wind picked up and, with it, brought the familiar scent of pack territory. My fingers flexed and I heard Willow’s sharp gasp of pain as they dug into her. “Sorry.”

“You knew I was awake.”

I wanted to shake my head at her. She was unbelievable. She was happy I was carrying her but pissed off that I knew she was happy that I carried her.

“Figured you could use the break,” I said instead.

“What happened back there?” She drew a shuddering breath as she squirmed for a better position in my arms. I held her tight, denying her the movement she sought.

“A simple skirmish, was over before it began.” That wasn’t really a lie.

“A skirmish?” She was staring at me, eyes wide and steady. “With what ?”

“Shifter. ”

Look at me, being honest and all.

“You fought it?” Willow looked doubtful. I tried to keep the blow to my ego in check.

“Had a little bit of help,” I lied.

Willow looked around. “Where did the help go?”

“Ahead.”

Was that a lie? Technically, help was ahead, so…I guess it was the truth.

Willow turned her attention from my face and looked ahead, taking in the peak. “We’re going there?”

“Not all the way up it. The place is further ahead, but not as far up as the actual peak.” She was back to staring at me. “We aren’t that far away.” Glancing down at her, I moved her slightly in my arms. “Try to sleep more; you’re going to want to feel as refreshed as possible when we get there.”

Willow looked down at her hand, which was cradled in her lap. “I can’t sleep while you carry me, Caleb.”

“Why?” She’d been sleeping halfway up the mountain. “You were managing it perfectly.”

“It’s not right,” she whispered quickly.

Ah, it was her pride talking. “Willow, you’ve done more than I thought possible. Take the chance to rest.” I saw her head dip lower. “I can move quicker with you like this.” It was a harsh reality, and she would be offended that I said it out loud, but it worked. She stayed where she was, and soon the slow rhythm of me carrying her lulled her to sleep.

We would be in packlands by early morning, and I hoped Willow was ready for what was coming.

She knew more than most humans, and that knowledge came with a price. Guarding the shifter secret was given to few, and it came at a great cost. Her life would never be the same. She would be watched going forward, and some shifters would always be suspicious of her, doubting her.

But to get her answers, she had to be exposed to shifter life. There was no way around it.

I just hoped she was ready.

“We’re close,” I told her, my voice steady, breaking the silence that had followed us for most of the morning as we climbed the peak.

Willow was walking beside me. I was strong, but some parts of the mountain made carrying a human in your arms nearly impossible. The unforgiving slope of the mountain made it a natural deterrent to most humans.

She’d been on my back for some of it, to let me carry her and her artwork, but when the ground evened out, she’d wordlessly dropped her legs and slid off.

I hadn’t argued. She was stubborn and I had too much on my mind to argue with her.

I could feel the tension in my body getting tighter and tighter with every step we took. It had been a long time since I had stepped into packlands, and it was something I had promised myself I would never do again.

“Their home is just beyond this next ridge.”

She didn’t need to speak to tell me how nervous she was feeling. I could read her easily enough. Her breath was coming more rapidly, her footsteps slowed, and she looked between me and the ridge with growing uncertainty .

Her whole body language screamed unease, and I could smell her fear.

“You’ll be okay,” I assured her.

“Will you?”

The question surprised me so much that I turned to look at her. “Why would you ask that?”

“I’m scared,” Willow admitted, coming to a stop. “But you? You’re terrified .”

“Wil—”

“I can feel it, Caleb,” she whispered. She tapped the side of her head. “I don’t have my pencils or sketchbook in hand, but I am still drawing it in my head.” She looked away. “ You , in my head…and I can feel how scared you are.”

It was my turn to look away, and I focused on the ridge ahead, a rocky slope that marked the boundary of a town that I’d grown up nearby. My home had never been here, but this was the closest I’d been to home for a long time.

I didn’t know what waited on the other side, but I knew having Willow here didn’t make it better. Maybe she was right, maybe I was scared because I didn’t know what to expect once we passed that boundary.

There would be questions. From Willow. From the pack. About her. About me.

I didn’t have any answers.

As we’d walked closer to the point of no return, the urge to tell her everything had lessened, but here, now, it was back stronger than ever. She should hear it from me first.

Right?

I knew it was right, but still, the words stuck in my throat.

Breaking my stare from the ridge, I looked back at her, seeing she was studying me again. There was concern in her eyes, nothing else. No suspicion. No wariness. I wondered when she had lost that.

Or had she just seen enough to piece it together? She wasn’t dense. She’d been with me for days. She’d seen the way I moved through the trees, the way I’d known when we were being watched.

She’d seen the wolf at the edge of a waterfall.

Had her questions fallen silent because Willow already had her answers? She held my stare with no fear, no judgment. Licking my bottom lip, I turned my head away again. “You know.”

I turned back to see her pushing her hair behind her ear. “I suspected.”

I nodded. “How long?”

“Truthfully?” I nodded again. “Now.” She plucked at the sleeve of her hoodie. “I saw it.” She once more tapped the side of her head.

“And you have no questions?”

Willow gave a low chuckle. “I have so many questions,” she told me.

“And you kept your silence?” I mocked. “How unlike you.”

“Don’t be mean,” she scolded. Her voice was low, but I could hear her perfectly. “I have two questions you can answer now.”

“Only two?” My voice was a low murmur.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You must have known I was suspicious?”

Of course she was; I’d been lying to her from the outset. “I didn’t think you would take the news as well as you seem to be.”

Willow’s lips turned down as she thought over my answer. “You’ve protected me,” she said softly. “There are things out there I wasn’t expecting. Things I would never dream of to be true.” Burrowing her hands in the front pouch of her hoodie, she didn’t look up. “I’ve been painting things I can’t explain. It made sense to me that the two extraordinary things would be linked.”

“Okay.” I saw her surprise at my simple acceptance. “We should keep moving. You’re cold and they have tea and coffee.” Rubbing my stomach, I added, “And food.”

“I’m too scared to eat,” she admitted. “And I haven’t asked my two questions.”

Frowning, I looked back at her. “You asked two.”

“They were related questions. I have two separate questions.” Her bottom lip pouted petulantly.

“Of course.” I sighed and she moved closer to me eagerly. “Ask.”

“Why are you so scared to go in there?”

My wolf surged upward, and I took a step away from her as my anger lit within me. “There are some things you don’t need answers to.” Without waiting for a response, I walked towards the ridge, my pace steady and deliberate.

I knew she followed me. She had nowhere else to go except the pack. She was in too far now.

As I crested the ridge, I was met by three males, two that I knew.

Cannon took a step forward when I came to a stop. He looked at me with sympathy and understanding in his eyes as he looked over both of us. “Welcome back to Blackridge Peak. It’s been too long, Caleb.”

I heard Willow come to a stop behind me. I saw the male that had too much human in his scent study her, and I guessed he was the doctor she’d met before.

I ignored the alpha in front of me, and I spoke to the doctor. “She hit her head, knocked her out. We were attacked on the way here. She’s barely eaten, hasn’t had enough fluids, and I’ve carried her for most of the journey.”

He waited until Cannon had turned to give him a nod to go ahead, and then he hurried forward to his new patient. I ignored Willow’s muttering about me being an ass and turned my attention back to the alpha.

“I don’t want to be here,” I told him bluntly. “This isn’t my life, not anymore. I brought her here.” I dropped the paintings between us. “I brought these. There are notepads in the packs.” Cannon stayed still as I spoke. “There’s a box or three back in the truck. I hid it, but you’ll find it. As soon as you figure out how to stop her, I’m gone.” I looked between him and his beta. “Am I clear?”

Cannon watched me silently. His eyes flicked over my shoulder and then back to me.

I had a fleeting feeling of regret when Willow walked past me slowly, the doctor hovering protectively beside her.

“I think we all heard you make yourself very clear, Caleb,” she said bitterly as she came to a stop in front of Cannon. “Hi, I’m Willow. I’m really hoping you can finally tell me what the fuck is going on?”