“Morgan. You aren’t supposed to be here. It’s a girls’ night.” Even as she admonished his presence, she reached to wind her arms around his neck.
He stepped into her arms and pressed his cheek to hers. He was warm and comforting. She could sink into him and never come up for air. As it was, she rested her forehead against his shoulder.
“I screwed up,” she confessed.
Morgan held her, wrapping his arms around her back. He gave her the room she needed to speak, to work things out by herself. She was glad for his presence.
“I was teasing Aimee because I thought it would make me feel better. It was dumb and rude and all the things I never want to be again. I want this all to end. It’s not like…it’s not like I want anything to go back to the way it was.
“All I want is to not feel like I’m the one ruining everything all the time.”
“You haven’t ruined anything,” Morgan whispered in her ear.
His words should have settled her. She should have found solid ground under her feet. Instead, she pushed back and gaped at him.
“You can’t tell me that I didn’t ruin things when I told Dad I didn’t want to go back. He never would have ambushed the group if I’d gone home. If I went home, none of this would have happened.”
Morgan’s grip on her tightened. She saw the pulse on his throat as his jaw clenched. When he spoke, it was from between clenched teeth. “Going back to the people who hurt you is never an option. Do you hear me? I’d rather we struggle through this now than let you fall back into the hands of the Den.”
Callie wasn’t convinced. So much hardship could have been avoided if she’d only listened to her father. He would make everyone’s life a living hell until someone stopped him. What would they lose in the process? Callie had already lost the trust of the group. She was also losing Aimee now.
Her beast tried to tell her that she was exactly where she needed to be. Callie knew her beast would always say that in the presence of Morgan. It had never given up on him. All the years of doubting her beast made her question it’s convictions now. She knew she shouldn’t. The beast had been right. It had known that Morgan was their mate.
Yet, she still couldn’t find it in her to listen to the beast. If her presence caused this much turmoil, how could this be the right place for her?
“Listen to me,” Morgan said as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back. He looked into her eyes and helped her ground herself again. “Just because we are supernatural creatures doesn’t mean we aren’t human, too. We all understand that you’ve had the rug swept out from under you. Nothing feels right. Everything is up in the air.
“It’s going to take some time to adjust to a new life. It’s going to take even longer to heal what’s going on in here.” He tapped her temple and let his fingers trail down her cheek. “I know what it feels like to lose your world. I can tell you that there will come a time when you realize you’ve made a new one for yourself.”
“What if…” Callie hesitated to put her fear into words. She gripped Morgan’s jacket sleeves like she feared she might drift away. “What if I don’t know how to make a new one? I’ve never known anything other than the Den. I’m afraid that I’m not my own person.”
Morgan sucked in a breath through his nose. She could tell he hadn’t expected her confession. Truth be told, she had only just realized it herself.
“I don’t want to be the person Boomer thinks I am, but I was that person. How do I change?”
Morgan swallowed. “You were never that person. You can believe me because I would never love someone like that. You would never do the things your father did. In your heart, you believed that the Den was good. You believed it could make life better. That was why you held onto it.
“The moment you realized it was a lie, you let it go. Because that’s the person you are. You want the best for everyone. From here on out, you’re going to stumble. You’re going to make mistakes. The only thing we need to remember is who you are. If we hold onto that, then we’re going to make a whole new life filled with everything you could ever want.”
Callie snorted. “You sound like you’re screwing with me now. Don’t tell me things just because you think I want to hear them.”
“I’m not trying to comfort you. I’m making promises.”
Her heart clenched. She didn’t know what she did to deserve him. After what she’d done, she knew she didn’t. Yet, Morgan was by her side through thick and thin.
“As for convincing Boomer that you can be trusted, keep helping Emmy through this. As long as you stand beside his mate, Boomer will have no reason to treat you the way he has.”
Callie offered a half-grin. “If he keeps it up, can I knock out a few of his teeth?”
“How about you start with telling the others his real name? Hit him where it hurts and let him keep his teeth.”
Callie snorted in her laughter, tears beading in the corners of her eyes as she clung to Morgan. She clung to him while the wave of emotions hit. One by one, she worked through them. The feeling of being lost, of having lost. Her fear of hurting those she loved.
Instead of going back to the girls’ night affair, Callie and Morgan went back to his cabin. She spent the night in his bed, hugging him tight and waiting for the world to end. The world kept spinning, lives kept moving forward, all while Callie waited for her father to send someone else after her.
Chapter Nineteen
The day started like any other. Callie nervously glanced around before stepping into the shower. She slowly worked her way through a bowl of cereal, as if it might explode in her face. It had been three days since her father’s attempt to bring her home. She met Morgan’s eyes over the kitchen counter and felt his own tense fear.
He hid it better than she did, but he hadn’t spent his life beside Richard Stone. Behind each disarming smile was a core of steel. The man had never been refused before. Not long enough for it to make a difference. Callie’s open rebellion was the first.
If word of it spread around the Den, then his reputation would begin to spiral out of control. Others would whisper about her father and wonder what kind of leader he was if he couldn’t even control his own daughter. He could spin some tale and paint her as the villain, but it would still stand as a failure on his part.
The door burst open. Callie jumped and sloshed cereal milk onto the counter. When she turned to look, she found it was only Orion. The shifter made a grand entrance, only wincing when he noticed the fear in Callie’s expression.
She watched him throw down a duffle bag and pull the zipper. With the bag spread open, Callie could see the wires and cords buried within. She turned back to Morgan.
“What is he doing?”
Morgan was wiping up her spilled milk when he responded. “Orion offered to help set up better security. Montana has been troublesome for everyone, and he had some left-over cameras and alarms. I asked him to bring them over.”
Callie waited for Orion to turn toward her with animosity on his face, but the shifter quickly lost himself in his work. If he held the recent events against her, she couldn’t tell. Callie knew that she was a burden on the group. Yet, her mate’s words finally sunk in.
“Leftover cameras and alarms?”
“You aren’t the first woman to walk into our lives and cause a stir. Honestly, I think it’s a curse that follows Emmy. Everything that has happened recently has started with that woman. Did you know Boomer found her in a bush? A bush!”
Callie shook her head, barely able to believe anything her mate was trying to tell her. He was joking. He had to be.
“I’m dead serious,” he said when she pressed. “Emmy had fallen down the hill while hiking and knocked her head on some rocks. Apparently, she’d been hiding in the mountains from her ex-husband. Once the guy figured out where she was, he hired a hit man to kill her and Boomer.”
Callie’s brows rose. Behind her, the quiet hum of electric tools filled the air.
“A bear trap?” Callie cocked her head. “This was before he turned her. Wasn’t it?”
Morgan nodded, lips pressed tight. “Now, Emmy and Boomer decide to have a kid and it draws the attention of the Den. In comes you. While I’m not complaining, I am pointing out that the root of all evil is Emmy’s curse.”
The room grew quiet. The reality of what was happening slowly set in. This was not trouble brought upon them by some imaginary curse that a woman carried around. It was Callie’s fault for believing in lies. She waited for Orion to gather his stuff and storm from the cabin. She wouldn’t blame him. This affected so much more than just her life. It was affecting everyone.
Instead, Orion spun on his heel and swaggered toward the kitchen counter. He offered up a lazy grin and grabbed Callie’s forgotten cereal bowl, downing the milk in one long gulp. Wild and reckless Orion didn’t seem to care that Callie brought a war in her wake.
“I’d much rather rig a shotgun to the door, but Morgan said no. I’d probably fill Dom full of lead, anyway.”
Callie had seen his type before. Sometimes changed shifters had trouble balancing the voice of an animal with their human side. When the human was already well established, adding the animal threw everything off kilter. Especially when the animal leaned toward a violent nature. Last winter, her father had put down a shifter who couldn’t find the balance between the two.
The final straw had been an outburst. The changed shifter had fought with the grocery butcher over a cut of meat. The fight ended with the shifter releasing his animal form. Had it been anywhere other than the Den, the shifter would have given away what they were. Her father said it was clear the man would never find the balance. He’d told her that putting him down saved not only their people, but years of torment for the shifter.
Now, Callie’s stomach filled with cold dread. She was ruining the place that shifters could live openly, could explore their animal side while they came to terms with what they’d become.
“Where is Dom, anyway?” Orion leaned forward on his elbows.
Would this shifter find the balance he needed in order to survive? Or, would he be the one to expose shifters to the world? While Morgan and Orion guessed where Dom might have gone, Callie’s mind worked overtime. Fear sliced through her when she realized that Orion might have been put down like an animal.
She pushed her stool back and leaned her head against the cool surface of the counter. With Morgan, Boomer, and the others, Orion found a support group that stood by him while he figured things out. They cared for him and helped him vent the pent-up energy that his beast accrued.
The Den wouldn’t have done anything for him. Not like these men did.
“Hey,” Orion said, gently touching her back. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m sure your old man realized he couldn’t take you from us and went back home with his tail between his legs. He’d rather save face, right?”
“I’m surprised you don’t hate me.” She spoke to the floor, but Orion heard her.
“I hate the man who attacked me while I was out hunting. I hate the voice inside me that wants me to do stupid things. There isn’t enough room in me to hate you, too. Besides, I understand. You just want to find a home, too.
“Here, with us, you have one.”
Callie’s chest clenched as her heart swelled. She wanted to drag Orion into her arms but knew it might set off Morgan’s beast. Instead, she pushed back her tears and nodded.
“Thank you,” was all she could manage to say.
Not everyone in this group hated her. Not like she hated herself. She realized the fear that had been gnawing at her was self-inflicted. Boomer was afraid and lashed out, feeding the fear that she’d given birth to herself.
Callie had left the only thing she knew. It put her in an unfamiliar position, but there were people around her that would hold her up.
She glanced at the loft above them. Aimee hadn’t spoken to her since the girls’ night. Callie had drowned herself in Morgan, choosing to ignore what she’d done. She’d been selfish and stupid.
Callie slid off her stool, brushed a kiss onto Morgan’s cheek, and went to do something she should have done days ago. Fear was no excuse to be mean to a friend that had stood by her for so long. Aimee hadn’t deserved the things Callie had said. It might have seemed harmless on the surface, but it’d still hurt Aimee, and she couldn’t leave it at that.
At the top of the staircase, she saw Aimee still curled on the bed. She climbed into the bed and curled around her smaller friend. Aimee smelled like freshwater and clean sheets.
“I’m an asshole.”
She felt Aimee’s snicker, even if she didn’t hear it.
“I’m sorry for what I said. It was mean of me.”
Silence was deafening. Callie could hear the soft sounds of Morgan and Orion in the kitchen below them. Morgan’s steps led him toward the stairs, climbing them one by one. She knew he was listening to their conversation—or lack of one. It left her chest aching and a hollowness opened inside her. Callie was doing her best, minute by minute, day by day. Every step forward was into unfamiliar territory and she desperately wanted her friend beside her.
Aimee rolled over to face her, sending a spark of warmth zinging through Callie’s chest. Her friend didn’t look particularly happy, but it was a start. Callie waited for her to say something. There was something bothering Aimee, and Callie wanted to do it right this time. She would be patient. She would listen.
“I like Dom…” Aimee hesitated. “And I think he likes me. It’s just that the Den has gotten in the way. To him, I’m a pawn—a spy. It’s like we both know the truth, but doubt has put a wall between us. It hurts. I don’t know what to do with what I’m feeling. It’s not like he will talk about it with me.”
Callie knew what it felt like to stand on one side of a wall, but the wall she encountered had been built by her own hand. It felt like the one between Aimee and Dom had been erected by Callie, too. If Callie could have seen the lies for what they were, then maybe Aimee and Dom would have an easier time exploring what they felt for each other.
“Do you think… Is it my fault?” Callie held her breath. She wasn’t sure she wanted an answer.
Before Aimee could respond, the cabin shook. Dust fell from the rafters. Callie hugged her friend tight, sheltering Aimee with her body. Shouts of alarm rose up the stairs. She heard Morgan’s pounding steps as he bounded up toward her.
“We’re alright!” She sprung away from the bed.
Aimee followed suit. Both looked around for the source of the sound. The cabin seemed to be in one piece. There was no cold draft that beckoned them toward a hole in the ceiling, even if it had felt like a bomb had been dropped on their heads. Callie didn’t smell the blossoming scent of smoke.
They looked between one another as their hearts slowly calmed.
“Ah, guys!” Orion shouted from outside, a wary note in his voice warning them. “You should come out here and see this.”
All three of them raced down the stairs. They didn’t need to go outside to see what happened. The nose of a familiar rental truck stuck through the wall. Drywall and wood crumbled around it. The engine revved, tires still spinning. The smell of oil and gasoline filled the air until Orion marched toward the truck.
It lurched just as he stepped in front of it, startling the shifter, but it didn’t move. He yanked open the driver’s side door and disappeared for a brief moment. The tires stopped spinning when he threw a stone to the floor. His shoulders drooped.
Callie saw a slip of paper in his hand as he stepped
back toward them. The frown on his lips told them it was nothing good.
***
Morgan’s rage burned. It left him hot and restless. He stormed toward Orion, ripping the note from his hands before he kicked the grill of the truck. The beast of a vehicle jerked back, out of their living room. Dust and splinters rained down. The November wind blew the debris inside with a cold gust of air.
Only then did he look at what the note said.
The rage turned into a ball of fire, sitting in his stomach. Richard Stone had taken Dom. They were to bring Callie to the work-site if they wanted to see Dom alive again. He roared. The sound shook the cabin around them.
Callie stepped up to him. She touched his back and shoulder. The simple gesture banked some of the explosive heat building inside him, but it didn’t douse it altogether. Morgan still burned. He still wanted to rip Richard Stone’s head from his shoulders.
He looked to his mate, but didn’t say it. The man was still her father. Richard might have betrayed her, but Morgan would hurt her even more if he killed her father. He crumpled the note in his hand.
“What did it say?” Callie reached to pry his fingers from around the note.
He held on tight. His voice was trapped in his throat. He didn’t know how to tell her to stay here. Instead, he looked to Orion and hoped it was enough.
“Let me come with you,” Orion pushed. “I can help.”
“No.” Morgan’s voice was flat. No one was going to argue with him. “I’m going to call Reid. You stay here with the women. Keep them safe for me.”
Callie shoved him. “Do not talk about me like I’m not here. I am through with others making decisions for me. If you can’t treat me like my own person, then I don’t know why I’m bothering to stay.”
Her words were water on the fire. He opened his mouth to explain but realized nothing he could say would make the situation any better. All he wanted was to know she was safe. It wasn’t too much to ask. At least, he didn’t think so. The ire that turned his mate to steel said differently.
To Trust A Bear Page 12