I shook my head, eyes glued to my bare feet. “I’ve gotta go.”
He tried grabbing my hand as I turned to leave, but I snatched it back. I didn’t know what story was written in his light brown eyes at that moment, and I didn’t wait around to find out. I needed to leave. To get somewhere safe where I could release the anguish threatening to burst from my seams.
I didn’t care who might be around to see when I wrenched the door open and took off running. Wyatt called for me, but I ignored him as I sprinted up the stairs to the third floor. I made it to my bedroom with only seconds to spare before the tears I’d kept bottled inside for weeks poured out of my eyes and down my face.
I wrapped my arms around myself, and when I couldn’t stand anymore, I fell to my knees on the plush carpet. The warm tears dripped down my cheeks and off my face as I worked to get myself under control. But every time I thought I’d gotten past the worst of it, another thought would enter my head and send me right back to where I’d started.
And I couldn’t blame anyone but myself.
Wyatt hadn’t done anything I hadn’t asked for. Hadn’t pushed any boundary I hadn’t moved aside for him. I just hadn’t imagined giving myself to him would hurt this bad.
I’d only been with a few men in my life, and each one of them had earned my complete trust until today. Until Wyatt.
He’d jerked me around so much in the past few months, I didn’t know which way was up anymore, and I’d still slept with him. Still let him have me in the most intimate way. I’d never felt so stupid in my entire life.
When I finally cried all I could cry, I picked myself up off the floor and stumbled into the bathroom. I purposely avoided the mirror and stepped right into my shower, turning the water to the hottest setting in the hopes it could burn away all the mistakes I’d made.
The problem was, I didn’t think the water could ever run hot enough to do that.
Chapter 27
Wyatt
Me: Hey, can we talk?
Me: I’m heading to Raleigh for a week. I’d like to talk to you before I go.
Me: Callie, please.
Me: Can you at least let me know you’re okay?
Me: I missed you while I was gone. Even though you’ve been dodging me for two weeks, at least when I was in Asheville, I knew you were close. Being so far away made it harder somehow.
Me: We figured out the killer must be an enforcer so I’m on guard duty for the foreseeable future. I’ll be going to Raleigh every week, but I’ll be back on the weekends. I’d like to talk to you when I get back.
Me: You might not have anything to say to me, but I’ve got a lot to say to you and I’d rather do it face to face.
Me: I’m on my way back from Raleigh. And I’m done with the silent treatment. Don’t you think three weeks is long enough to punish me? Whether you like it or not, we’re talking this weekend.
I shoved my phone in my jeans pocket and loaded the rest of our bags into my Jeep. Thankfully, Elizabeth decided to leave work early so we got to get on the road to Asheville sooner than usual. Which was perfect. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this silence between Callie and me.
As I drove the long miles toward the mountains, my mind wandered to Callie as it usually did. I missed her so much, it physically hurt. Like someone had taken a life-sized hole punch and used it to carve out a spot in the middle of my chest. Except that someone was Callie and it wasn’t a round hole, it was a Callie-shaped crater.
“Do you think Charlie’s better yet?” Elizabeth asked.
Honestly, I’d almost forgotten she was in the passenger seat beside me.
She’d been having a rough time of it lately too. On top of being bitten and worrying about making it through her first moon, she also had this serial killer stalking women in the woods who looked like her and murdering them. Then, to pile onto that, someone in the lodge poisoned her cat, Charlie, last week. It was clear she wasn’t safe anywhere right now.
When we’d figured out the killer had to be an enforcer, Abraham assigned me to guard Elizabeth around the clock. Since Wes and I joined the pack well after the murders started, it was obvious we couldn’t be responsible and that was the only reason he trusted me to take care of her.
The thought that one of our enforcers was the serial killer made my stomach turn, but it made sense. Who else would know these woods well enough? Who else would be able to avoid the patrols we had running constantly? It had to be someone with insider information.
I was honored the alpha trusted me with Elizabeth’s safety, but it wasn’t great timing for me.
I couldn’t make Callie talk to me from hundreds of miles away, even though I’d been trying my damnedest. Which made for a frustrating week and a lot of sleepless nights.
“You know the alpha’s kept tabs on him. He’d tell you if something was wrong.”
She turned in her seat and pursed her lips. “Would he though?”
I kept my mouth closed because I didn’t think she’d like my answer. Abraham would do anything to protect her, even if that meant lying. So, with nothing good to say, I kept quiet and let the miles continue to pass us by.
When we finally reached the lodge, we found the alpha and all his sisters outside
