by Cecilia Lane
“You’ll both see soon enough. You won’t be able to save them all. Gonna knock you both off your high fucking horses and cover you in the filth you deserve.”
Leah’s blood ran cold.
Chapter 21
Secrets and lies, that’s all Leah had in her past, Callum thought sourly. It never seemed to end with her. One mystery revealed ten others, and none of them were any fun to consider.
He’d probed about Jamin during his babysitting of the rest of the fae delegation. They, too, were full of secrets, lies, and contempt for the shifters of Bearden. Callum didn’t know if they held hatred for all shifters or his people in particular. Either way, he’d be glad when they left and became someone else’s problem.
But Jamin, he was more than a simple delegate for their court and queen. He’d picked and pried at Quincy until the fae dropped a tiny nugget of information. Jamin was new to them. He spent a considerable amount of time outside their enclave and amongst the humans.
Callum raised his lips in a snarl. Outside the enclave was where he met Leah.
And then he was back to trying to puzzle her out. Texas teen on the run, stealing her way from city to city. It was easy enough to see how she fell in with the wrong crowd during her decade of living rough. Desperate times, desperate measures.
The vamps found a set of lock picking tools in their tunnels.
He slammed a hand against his thigh. She had much to answer for and explain, just as soon as she arrived. It was almost enough to make him call up Gideon and send her on her way immediately, but he didn’t want to rouse her suspicions in case she was working for the fae. He wanted answers, not to see her running right into the arms of her puppet masters.
His bear rode him hard and wouldn’t give him a moment of peace. His inner monster didn’t want to believe Leah was bad. His bear wanted her as a mate.
Fuck you, too, bear. Doesn’t look like we’re getting what we want. Callum grimaced. Hope stirred somewhere in the back of his mind and that was as far as he allowed it to grow. Outsiders never stayed. He should never have let her get so close to him. He’d set himself up for disappointment and blinded himself to whatever tricks she played. He’d endangered the enclave and let himself be led around by the dick.
The sound of a truck rolling to a stop outside his cabin made Callum turn his head away from thoughts of Leah. He frowned. She didn’t have a car. Had someone given her a ride?
None of the clan, that was certain. He’d told them they weren’t needed at the bar to watch over her. Petty, he knew. But if she wanted to rile up trouble, she could handle herself.
“Callum!” Bruce roared.
Callum flicked his curtains aside and watched Bruce jump out of his truck, then yank open the back door of the cab.
“Callum!” he shouted again.
A growl eked out of Callum’s chest when he spied what Bruce hauled from the interior. The other man had Leah tied up and held in front of him like some meat shield. He wrapped a hand in her hair and marched her forward with tiny, mincing steps.
Blood pounded in Callum’s ears and he nearly tore his front door off the hinges in an effort to get outside quicker. He made it to the top step of his porch when Bruce threw him a triumphant grin and stopped dead in his tracks.
Callum spared the man a single, hateful glance, then turned his attention to Leah. He checked her quickly for any visual signs of injury. He scented the air and came back with no blood. Her eyes cycled between anger and fear.
Other feet approached, but he couldn’t do more than flick his eyes toward each new sound before dragging his gaze back to Leah.
“What’s going on?” Cole asked, running a hand through his hair. The others soon descended from their own cabins in various states of undress. Jeans here, boxers there, even Hudson appeared fully clothed.
Funny, the things that seemed important when the rest of the world started to burn.
“Let her go, Bruce.” Callum tried to keep the growl out of his voice and failed. No matter what Leah might have done or the secrets she kept, she didn’t deserve whatever Bruce had planned. The need to protect innocent lives, and her in particular, surged forward right along with the need to put Bruce down.
“Like I was telling the missus on the drive over,” Bruce twisted a hand in Leah’s hair and arched her head back, “your head is too damn big, Callum. You think you know what’s going on all around you when, really, you don’t have a fucking clue.”
“Let her go. That’s not a request.” His bear pushed forward, and Callum had a hard time not letting the beast take his skin. Bite, snap, tear, that’s all Bruce was good for. He’d look perfect limp and still against the ground. Need to protect Leah. Need to keep his mate safe.
“This cunt has you distracted,” Bruce taunted with lips twisted in a taunting grin. “Bet you don’t know how she even got here or what she stole from those fae bastards. Don’t worry, I’ll dig out all her secrets, one strip of skin at a time.”
Callum jumped down the steps and strode forward with murder in his eyes. Bruce shoved Leah to the side where she toppled to the ground. Callum swung his fist hard at the other man and connected with his face. He was vaguely aware of Cole stepping forward and dragging Leah out of harm’s way, claws slicing through the ropes holding her bound.
Good. Callum flexed his fists and prepared to unleash hell on every inch of Bruce. Then, and only then, would he let his bear out to finish the job. He wanted Bruce to suffer.
Bruce wiped at his mouth and raised his eyes to Callum. Blood covered his teeth, and he laughed. “That bitch played us all. The fae sent her here. She was the leak, she was the one who set town hall to go up. Kill her, or I’ll do what needs to be done just as soon as I cull the weakness from the town, alpha. Maybe I’ll taste that sweet snatch before I rip her throat out. See what all the fuss is about.”
“You won’t touch her,” Callum snarled and grabbed a fistful of Bruce’s shirt. His arm pulled back for another blow, but Bruce socked him in the stomach and pushed himself several steps away.
He cocked his head and pointed a clawed finger at Callum. His eyes churned silver with his bear. He was close to a shift, close to losing his damned mind.
“The old man isn’t long for this world and there will be big changes here soon once Jamin gets his way. I challenge you for alpha!”
Callum closed his eyes for a split second. He’d put the battle off for too long. He let Bruce have his way for too long. He’d let the poison in the clan simmer until that moment because he wasn’t ready for the responsibility he already shouldered.
No more. He fought for his clan. He would keep them from the danger Bruce posed to them and the entire enclave. The man had no control, and the bear had even less. It wouldn’t be long before he wound the clan up and roamed them outside of the enclave. How many innocent lives would be lost because of him then?
He snapped his eyes open and locked them on Bruce. “I accept your challenge.”
“Stop this. Stop it now!” Leah struggled against Cole.
Callum shot them both a look and Cole dipped his chin to his chest. He knew what would need to be done if he fell. Bruce couldn’t be allowed to have Leah.
His bones snapped and popped to reform for the animal ready to burst through his skin. Fur slid out of his pores, thick and black. Callum dropped to all fours, then pawed his front claws into the dirt while he waited for Bruce’s shift to complete.
A strange satisfaction settled over him. He had the edge of a faster shift. He needed the edge of sharper claws and stronger muscles. Bruce was of a similar size to his massive bear.
“Can’t. Not now. It’s an alpha challenge,” Cole explained, not taking his eyes off the circling bears. “No one shift. They fight alone.”
Bruce opened his mouth wide and roared the start of the battle. Sharp fangs glistened in the moonlight and he ran straight for Callum.
Callum met the bear stride for stride, ground churning beneath his paws. He couldn’t let
Bruce poison the clan. He couldn’t let anyone but a Strathorn take alpha.
A feminine scream tore through the night just as his body crashed into Bruce. A wave of power rippled away from them with the force of the blow.
The world narrowed down to panted breaths and whirling movement. They stood on hind legs and smacked one another with huge paws as often as they ripped with their fangs. Roars of fury and grunts of sliced flesh were the only noises that existed.
He couldn’t lose, and Bruce was more of a fighter than he thought.
The battle edged closer and closer to one side. The circle of men moved with them, trying to keep the distance even as the fight grew bloodier. They stood as witnesses to the future of their clan. Whoever survived would rule them as alpha. If anyone tried to flee, they would be there to all watch the shame.
The fight kept inching further away from the clearing center. Cole and Leah were forced to abandon their spot in the circle and let his cabin become a boundary. Attention divided between seeing them to safety next to Sawyer, Callum missed Bruce’s charge.
Bruce raked sharp claws down his back in an attempt to climb to his neck and deal him a killing blow. It was a sloppy move; he didn’t sink his claws in deep enough and couldn’t reach his throat.
Callum swung his massive head around and caught one of Bruce’s legs in his mouth. His fangs sawed through fur and he clamped down until bone snapped.
Bruce roared into the night and slipped off Callum’s back. Callum whirled, ready to end the battle and claim his rightful place as Strathorn alpha.
Then the sure win changed to something deadlier in the blink of an eye.
A jumping hobble to the right was all it took. The rules of an alpha challenge meant no others could interfere, and the challengers wouldn’t step outside of the circle. Clan members weren’t allowed to shift until the very end, so no one could give aid to one side or the other. But Bruce didn’t fight with honor.
The massive bear shoved his head between Cole and the others before they had a chance to shift or do more than put themselves between him and Leah. He landed a bite on Leah’s leg before Callum could sink his fangs into his thick hide and drag him away.
She struggled against the attack and landed a kick in Bruce’s face. The scent of metal hit the air, different from his own or Bruce’s. The damage had been done.
Fury grew in his middle and renewed strength entered his limbs. He ripped and tore at the other bear, dragging him away from the screaming woman and growling, snarling men around her. They closed around her in a protective circle and Callum ended the fight.
He sank his fangs into Bruce’s throat and savagely shook his head until the bear stopped moving.
Releasing the bear, Callum whirled and roared. No one else moved around him. No one dared challenge him.
He pulled his beast back, and the animal didn’t fight him. The scent of blood was thick in the air, but the only scent that mattered came from behind the wall of men.
Unmated men.
Standing far too close to Leah.
His chest heaved with harsh breath as he pushed himself upright in his human form. He could feel his skin slowly knitting back together. The longer, deeper marks on his back would take longer to fully heal. Hours, maybe. He might even bear the scars for life. A fitting reminder for what he fought to keep.
He looked each one of his clan in the eye. They all lowered their gazes before him. They knew they’d fucked up and they knew who they answered to. There would be no more confusion for them and no more strain from having no one to lead them. They accepted him as their alpha.
He could already feel hooks in his head that lead directly to each of them. He had power over them, but they had their claws in him, too. It was the proper way of a good leader and he wouldn’t let his father down.
Almost as one, they shuffled aside and he laid his eyes on Leah. Purple and brown hair knotted together from being grabbed and thrown around, but her eyes flashed with a hint of silver. He wanted to growl that she’d forever have a piece of Bruce in her instead of him. But he could still mark her as his in other ways.
If she wasn’t a traitor. If Bruce’s words weren’t true. If he didn’t need to put her down immediately for crimes against his people.
He didn’t think she realized the significance of the bite she’d taken. He didn’t think she even noticed. Rivers of blood streamed down her leg, but the flow slowed even as he watched.
It’d be days still until she shifted, but her body was already preparing for the change.
No matter the secrets she kept or her willingness to leave, she was stuck in Bearden until she could control her inner bear.
Callum shoved his finger at Cole and saw his brother flinch. “Find Jamin and the other fae. Now!”
Chapter 22
After giving the order to Cole, Leah expected Callum to say something to her. Anything. Even another look. Instead, he stomped up his porch and into his house. He came back only seconds later, untied boots on his feet, jeans low on his hips, and dragging a shirt over his head.
He stopped right in front of her. “Can you stand yet?”
She glanced down with surprise. The bone-deep pain from before had worn off. Shock, she assumed. But in a town full of people who could shift into animals and an ex-boyfriend with unknown magical abilities, she shouldn’t have assumed anything.
“Am I going to be like you now?” Her voice quaked and, for once in her life, she didn’t mind.
“No,” Callum said roughly. His voice was still thick and sounded like rocks on gravel. “You’ll be like Bruce. His colorings. His eyes. He changed you.”
She swallowed hard and dashed away the sudden tears that wet the corners of her eyes. Her stomach turned uneasily. “I don’t want to be like him.”
“You will stay you. Your bear...” He glanced away and rubbed a hand over his head, mussing the dark strands of his hair. His jaw set and he met her eyes again. Gold looked back at her. “You’re a shifter now. And you’re most likely going to have a difficult time controlling your bear because she was given to you without your knowledge or consent. You have to understand that there’s no possibility of leaving Bearden for you now. I can’t let you go into the human world and do this to others through accident.”
“I don’t want to leave,” she mumbled. “I was going to tell you that tonight. I was going to tell you I saw Bruce and Jamin together, and that Jamin was the one to set the explosion. I was going to tell you that I helped him because I was scared. I was going to tell you that I’m still scared, but I’m not running anymore. And then Bruce grabbed me.”
She didn’t know what to expect when she dared to glance up. Satisfaction, maybe. Anger, definitely. Not the stone cold blank look he gave her.
“We’ll talk later,” he said and stepped around her to the middle of the clearing.
The others were all exiting their homes. Fully dressed and carrying themselves like they were well-armed and well-trained, they waited for Cole to join them a second later. He jogged down the steps of his home with his phone pressed to his ear. Cole spared her a glance, then focused entirely on Callum. She never felt so dismissed in her life.
Leah poked at her leg. Her jeans were ripped and still wet with her blood, but there was no pain and no open wounds. From what she could see, her skin looked a little silvery along the bite mark circling her calf. Feeling strong enough, she stood and tested her weight. It was like the wound never existed.
Cole nodded and ended his call. “Judah is sending some of his crew to the guest houses the fae were given. His patrol didn’t report in when they should have. We can meet him there.”
“What about her?” Nolan asked.
She froze and glanced up, finding all eyes staring at her. All but Callum, anyway. His back faced her and he took his time turning to regard her silently.
“She can’t be left alone. She comes with me,” he finally said and each of them nodded like it was the best damned decision in the worl
d.
Everyone was silent as they loaded into their trucks. Engines turned over in the night, but they waited.
“Come,” Callum ordered.
With nowhere to run or hide, Leah loaded into Callum’s truck. He circled the clearing and was the first to leave, but the caravan followed closely behind.
Silence stretched between them. It was only a short few minutes from his cabin to the main road in the town. He made a turn, not toward the center, but away. Closer to where Jamin rolled her over and her entire life changed, she noted.
The further they drove, the longer they stayed silent, the heavier the air felt around her.
It began as a prick against her skin, then grew until she felt like she’d entered a humid rainforest. The air pulled her down, wanting her to sink into her seat, then bend herself over into something small and compact.
Leah fought against the feeling. She dug her nails into her thighs and palms. She rolled down the window and stuck her head out. It didn’t help nearly as much as she hoped. The pressure seemed to build up from inside her middle.
“Why does the air feel so heavy?” she gasped.
Callum slid his eyes to her, then back to the road. “Because I’m stronger than you. Because I took alpha tonight. It’s animal and pack mentality. You haven’t truly felt it before because you weren’t one of us.”
His words cut off sharply and settled back into the oppressive air. Tentatively, Leah raised her eyes to his face. She was surprised he hadn’t cracked a tooth with the tightness of his jaw. “Are you pissed?”
The spark of anger she felt around him ignited and he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “Fuck yes, I’m pissed.”
His anger was a living creature and wanted to strangle her. She fought against that invisible force, tried to smack it away from herself, tried to tame it, but nothing worked. She was choking on his power and that just made her want to defend herself.