Page 52 of Wolf's Fate

“Done that a few times myself.” He heard my gasp of outrage, and his head dipped. “That came out wrong, honest.”My eyebrows must have been climbing into my hairline, because I heard his sigh. “I know they broke in, and I know you’re scared, and I know we need—Ineed—to put a stop to it.”

“Wait until I get out. I was coming to findyou. Now you’re here, please wait for me to get out.”

Caleb looked me over, and I hated to think how bad I looked in the hospital bed. What did he see, a weak and broken woman who didn’t have an ounce of strength?

“I can’t keep you safe if I’m dragging you into danger with me.” He stood from the bed. “And I can’t fight if I’m standing still.”

“Fine.” My voice was sharp. Angry. “Go. Do what you want. You’re going to anyway.”

“I’ll check back with you. Stay alert.”

I heard him move, but I refused to look at him. I couldn’t. I knew I was going to cry, and I refused to let him see me even weaker than he already thought.

I felt the bed dip, and strong fingers caressed my jaw, turning my head. Caleb looked down at me, a hint of affection in his gaze that warmed the chill of his earlier words. “So stubborn,” he murmured, a teasing tone to his voice that didn’t echo the tension between us of only a moment ago.

Dipping his head, his lips brushed mine—gently, tenderly—causing a flutter of warmth low in my belly. The uneasiness between us faded, and the anger and unresolved feelings melted away as he kissed me again, a little deeper. His mouth caught mine so easily, claiming it as his. He nipped my bottom lip before he pulled back.

As he broke the kiss, reality returned, and I struggled to regain my composure and control my racing heart. “Caleb?”

He looked so conflicted, his eyes closing briefly, and I wondered if he needed to take a beat too. “I shouldn’t have done that; it wasn’t fair.”

“Why? Because you’re leaving anyway?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why kiss me?” I itched to reach out to him, but I kept my hands on the bed linen.

“It felt like the right thing to do.”

There was that honesty again, truth laced with something else. “Or an easy play to make me shut up, you mean?”

“I’m not playing.” His voice was stronger, steadier. “You mean something to me, but I can’t stay here with you when I know I need to be outtherefinding out who wants to hurt you, and why.”

“And if something happens while you’re gone? If something happens toyou, how will I know, how?—”

“Willow.” His voice was firm but gentler. “You are stronger than you think, and you need to trust me.”

Trust? It tasted as bitter as the wordsafe. But I couldn’t deny the look in his eyes, the commitment he had to protect me, and hadn’t he just said I meant something? Surelythatmeant something? Maybe therewassomething here, between us, that I could hold onto. Something that I could drive myself insane over when he wasn’t here and my brain overthought every word and look between us.

“Okay,” I finally relented. I didn’t miss how his shoulders dropped slightly as he relaxed at my acceptance. “Don’t do anything reckless,” I warned him. “Don’t leave again without coming back to tell me.”

“I won’t.” He turned swiftly, and his footsteps soundedloud as he walked to the door. He didn’t look back, and I didn’t call out for him to stay, because he wouldn’t, and I knew that.

The door clicked shut, and I sat in the sudden stillness of the room, thinking of everything that had been said. He was gone, but the link between us, I knew it was still there. I could feel it. A fragile thread that tied us together no matter the distance.

Looking around the hospital room, I was suddenly faced with my reality. Someone had run us off the road.

They’d tried to kill us.

They were following me.

I had no idea if Doc was okay, if Ned had him, or even if either of them was alive. I’d been so focused on Caleb and him being here I hadn’t demanded he go and find out if they were okay. He said he would, but what good did that do if he wasn’t coming back right away?

Were they safe?

There was that word again. How long had it been since I was safe? It felt like such a distant memory. A past life, before Caleb, before shifters, before their world crashed into mine.

Each time someone told me I was safe, it felt less convincing, and now I was sure it was just a lie. No one believed we were safe, because it was just something you said but held little reassurance.