Page 98 of Wolf's Fate

“You carried out the justice you deemed fit,” the shaman replied to him, not cowed by the level of anger directed at him. “You acted before anyone else could.”

“I didn’t get here untilthreedays later.”

“And how was anyone to know what happened in so short a time?” the shaman asked him reasonably. “You knew. You had three days to alert the Pack Council, but in your hate, you came here, you acted, and your enemies’ blood is on your hands.”

“My father’s blood was on theirs!” Caleb roared at him. I saw his eyes become that murky purple, and so did Cannon, who took a step towards Caleb.

“Your wolf is too close,” Cannon warned him, his voice calm and steady. “We’re not all shifters here.”

Glancing at Doc, I saw he had taken a step back, and the rational part of me knew I should do the same, but I had already hurt Caleb with my thoughtless words, and the guilt was already gnawing at me. The sting of seeing his expression when I spoke was enough to take every word back. But I couldn’t.

Quickly, I looked at all of them. Royce stood straight and solid. He looked like he was ready to pounce at any given moment. Doc had stepped back, closer to the porch of the cabin.Helooked ready to duck into the house at any moment. The shaman, the smallest of them, stood in the middle, serene and composed, and I envied him the grace. Cannon was tall. Imposing. His stare hard. Like Royce, he looked ready to react. Only from Cannon, the intent was far more lethal looking.

And Caleb looked…agitated.

He was standing still, but I could see how restless he was. His eyes prowled over the three of them, Doc not worthy of his attention. He was barely looking at me, his attention fixed between the shifters in front of him. Tension radiated from him, from the tightness of his jaw to the closed fists at his side, and all around him, the shadows swirled.

My heart squeezed painfully as I watched him. He’d been so strong for so long, but whatever it was that surrounded him here, the dead or otherwise, it was pulling him deeper than I realized. It was dangerous. I could feel that now, and from a glance at the shaman, I could see he saw it too.

I’d told him I was scared of him when he was already teetering on the edge; I may as well have just pushed him right over.

Andthatwas why I would not step away from him.

No matter how much my brain was screaming at me to get back, to run down this mountain and never look back, I knew I would not move. No matter how much my instincts told me to go home, back to Whispering Pines, to safety, I would not turn my back on him.

He’d been alone too long. He needed me. Whether he wanted me or not, I was staying right where I was.

Looking at him now, I could see what isolation had done to him. Causing him to doubt everyone, even himself.

His paranoia was blinding him. What could I say without making it worse?

His eyes were more purple than brown now. I wasn’t even sure that was possible, but I heard Cannon’s low warning once more to get his wolf under control.

Letting out a shaky breath, I wrapped my arms aroundmyself, feeling the chill in the air despite the fire. Caleb’s eyes burned brighter, the shadows thickening, making him appear a blur of darkness and muscle.

“They hold too much power over him,” the shaman said softly, the sadness heavy in his voice. “Cannon, it may be time.”

Time?

“Time for what?” Scared, I stepped forward, towards Caleb. “What do you mean it may be time?” Looking between them, I took another step. “Answerme.”

Caleb’s laughter caused me to spin around and almost fall backwards, as I realized how close he was to me.

His eyes glowed with a power I would never comprehend. Dark lavender, they shone with malice. There was a wildness to him, something dangerous and entirely unpredictable.

“Willow, get away from him,” Cannon warned me, his voice tight with control.

Fear glued me to the spot, and something else. Something deeper. Images flashed through my mind, again and again, seeing his family killed, seeing their corpses, hearing his howl of pain. Witnessing his revenge as if I were there.

The need to stay by his side was almost crippling. I knew he needed someone to stay with him.Believein him. He needed someone to let him know he wasn’t alone. He needed me to stay.

I hoped I was enough.

Stepping forward, into his space, facing him as he stared down at me with the eyes of a stranger, I reached up, my hands gripping onto his shoulders, and I jerked him roughly down to my height. Before he could react, I surged upwards on my toes, and I kissed him full on the mouth.

I wasn’t sure when it happened, but somewhere in all the crazy, I’d stopped seeing him as the man who’d pulled me into this world of shifters and danger. Somewhere between then and now, I’d fallen for him. Completely, and that maybe scared me more than anything else.

But it still wouldn’t make me leave him.