Huxley and I took off through the woods back towards pack lands. When we got closer, we broke apart. He headed straight for the lodge while I veered toward my house and the pile of clothes I’d left near our back fence.
Once I was shifted and dressed, I left behind my bed that was calling my name and turned toward the lodge. Every step that brought me closer to where I knew she had to be was more difficult than the last.
I’d worked really hard these past few days to make sure I was too busy to miss her, but it wasn’t working. It felt like I’d lost a limb. Something vital to my survival. It didn’t matter how busy I was, or how exhausted I was, or how many extra shifts I picked up. I missed Callie and there was no denying it. Even to myself.
I stepped through the sliding glass door and found the kitchen surprisingly empty. Figuring they must be up in Abraham’s wing, I climbed the stairs and reached the third floor just as Callie and Del were coming out of Abraham’s room.
Callie froze in place, her hand still on the doorknob, but Del didn’t seem to notice.
“How you doin’, tall, blond, and handsome?”
Despite my efforts, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. “Hey, Del. How are you? How’s the human?”
She cocked a hip and placed a hand on it. My eyes darted from Callie to Del and back again as one took over the conversation and one looked like she was trying to disappear into the wallpaper.
“I’m doin’ better than that poor girl is, but then again, she’s doin’ better than the other women we’ve found out there, so I guess it’s all relative.”
Most of my attention was still focused on Callie. Her chin was tipped in the air and her face was pointed away from me, but this was still the first time I’d seen her in days, and I was soaking it up. My gaze raked across her face and down her body, wishing I could memorize her with more than just my eyes.
“Wyatt?”
I shook my head and glanced at Del again, who was looking between Callie and me, suspicion all over her face.
“Yeah. Relative. Right. Do we even know her name?”
“Abey said it’s Elizabeth, but he didn’t get much else from her.” Del’s eyes narrowed further. “Anyway, I wouldn’t try to get anywhere near her right now. Abraham’s being extra protective for some reason.”
“Okay, yeah. I just wanted to see if there was any news.”
Del shot one more glance over her shoulder at her sister before shrugging and walking past me. “I’ll leave you weirdos to be weird together.”
Callie stumbled forward a step, her hand reaching out for her sister. “No, wait. I’m coming with you.”
“Actually, could I talk to you for a minute?” The words fell out of my mouth without my permission, but I couldn’t take them back now. Not that I wanted to.
Despite knowing how Callie felt about wolves like me, I couldn’t deny I still wanted her. I would have thought knowing she was just as prejudiced as all the women before her would curb my desire, but it didn’t even dent it.
It turned out I didn’t care as much about her opinion as I did about spending time with her.
It turned out I still wanted her any way I could have her.
Callie met my gaze for a moment, and it was enough to blow me back a step. “No. You can’t,” she growled as she stormed past me. “Del, wait up.”
“Nope! Y’all can keep your drama to yourselves,” she said as she started running down the stairs, taking them two at a time in some places.
Callie was standing at the top of the staircase, her shoulders heaving and her hands in tight fists at her sides. I was almost afraid to call out to her for fear she’d turn her blistering gaze my way again.
Finally, she spun around and fixed me with a glare. “Fine. You wanna talk? Let’s talk.” She marched past me, a low growl rumbling in her chest.
“Where are you going?”
“Abraham’s office. I think I deserve a modicum of privacy for this conversation.”
I followed her, trepidation slowing my footsteps. When I walked past her into the office, she slammed the door behind me and stood in front of it, arms folded across her chest.
“Talk.”
I looked around the room, then down at my shoes, then over her head, before finally getting the courage to meet her eyes. With a fortifying breath, I opened my mouth to speak.
“I–”
“No,” she interrupted. “You know what? It’s my turn to talk. I think you said plenty during the full moon.”
I reached up to scratch the back of my neck. “Listen, Callie–”
“No,” she repeated, more forcefully this time. “You listen. I’ve had it with your crap. I’m done.”
My stomach sank, but it turned out she wasn’t done.
“I’ve practically got whiplash just trying to keep up with your mood swings. Are we friends? Are we more? Are we nothing? Which is it, Carter?!”
“I–”
“No,” she interrupted me again. “Don’t even speak. You had your chance to talk to me the night of the full moon, and instead you sent me away. I just came to keep you company and make sure you were all right, and not only did you treat me like crap, you sent me away so you could talk to Aubrey instead. Do you know how humiliating that was? Do you know how disrespected I felt?”
I hadn’t thought I could get any lower, but the more she talked, the worse I felt. I’d been so worried about feeling
