Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Icurl my fingers into Caleb’s arm, letting him help me up the stone walkway leading to the front entrance. My steps are slow, and fire licks up my ribcage every time I lift my leg, but I’ll survive.
Caleb is patient. People are watching us, but he hardly seems to care.
Does he not see me as a weakness? He’s the infamous Alpha Knox.
Surely, having an injured human mate is a liability, something to be ashamed of.
He probably hoped to be paired with a shifter woman, one with a wolf dominant enough to match him.
He’s good at hiding his disappointment.
Caleb reaches across me to push open the oak exterior door, his earthy scent hitting me in the process. I hate myself for my instinctive, immediate inhale. He smells so good, his scent alone causing my nerve endings to fire.
I’m sure Caleb likes my visible attraction to his scent.
It perfectly fits the character I’m playing.
I’m a weak, scared human who knows nothing about the shifters other than the rumors I’ve heard.
Caleb is my mate, though, and the pull is impossible to resist. I see him as my savior, as the strong male who saved me from the humans who were torturing me in the woods.
Caleb’s lips brush against the hair covering my ear. “My people will be upset with me for taking you out of the house so early in your healing. They worry for you.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. Thankfully, Caleb doesn’t wait for me to as he guides me inside the foyer. This place is cute. The entryway is quaint, with an old wooden staircase immediately on the left and a reception desk directly across from the door.
The brown-haired, tall, clearly shifter woman behind the desk shoots both Caleb and me a wide smile. “Welcome!”
She hurries around her desk, her hand outstretched to grab the ugly, orange coat Caleb already has halfway off my shoulders. I slide my casted arm out of the sleeve, still looking around.
This place feels too normal for my liking. The similarities between the shifters and humans are uncanny. It makes it hard to mentally treat them as violent animals. I expected them to spend most of their time in their wolf form, running through the wilderness with bloodied paws and drooling mouths.
Caleb hands the woman my coat. “Morning, Rosy.”
She returns to her desk, hanging my coat on one of the hooks behind her.
There’s a hallway to her right. It leads to the back of the building, but the lights are shut off.
I spot a few cracked-open doors, but I don’t get a good look inside the rooms as Caleb guides me to the wooden staircase on our left.
“I’m on the third floor,” he says. “I’ll carry you.”
“Oh. That’s not necessary. I—”
I squeak, my words cut short as Caleb scoops me into his arms. He holds me bridal style, the same way he did when he carried me through the woods, and I try not to wiggle as he begins up the stairs. They creak beneath his weight, the wood warped and faded from years of heavy use.
HPAW prefers large, sprawling office buildings. They’re cold and sterile, with white walls and cement practically everywhere. This place couldn’t be any more different. The walls are a soft beige, and the interior is almost entirely made of dark wood.
“This building is…” I pause, searching for the right words. “It’s not what I expected.”
Caleb hums. “This used to be a bed and breakfast, but my father had it converted to his office building when I was young. He felt that if he was going to spend most of his time within one building, he might as well make it comfortable.”
I agree with that sentiment. The facility was cold. I hated it.
Caleb’s grip on me is sturdy, and his face is only inches from mine. I try to avoid looking at him, but it’s impossible not to. He’s so fucking beautiful. It’s no coincidence that I think so. We’re fated mates. I’m meant to find him stunning.
Does he find me equally attractive? Judging by the way he touched himself while bathing me, I believe he does.
We reach the third floor, and Caleb carries me into the first office on the right.
It faces the front of the building, and large windows overlook the busy street.
A desk sits to the right of the door, facing the windows, and full, floor-to-ceiling bookcases line the wall behind it.
There’s a small couch directly below the windows.
“Was this your dad’s office, too?” I ask.
“No. He found the street noise distracting and preferred the office in the back.”
Caleb carries me to the couch. He’s slow to set me down, lingering with me in his arms. I try my best to remain unaffected, but my heart flutters nonetheless.
My butt makes contact with the soft cushion, and my heart only continues to betray me as Caleb brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.
I know he can hear it. His ears are built-in heart monitors.
“Are you comfortable?” he asks. “Is there any pain?”
“I’m okay.”
My pain is manageable, and I really should save some of the pills for HPAW. The medical team will want to test them. The pills might teach us something about the shifters.
“Well, let me know if the pain becomes too much,” he says.
He retreats to his desk. The wooden surface is clean, nothing of interest capturing my attention.
A laptop sits in the center, but I assume it’s password-protected.
My assumption is proven correct as Caleb opens it and types.
I can’t see his fingers or the screen, but it’s obvious he’s inputting a password.
I need to get in there. It’s only a matter of time before the shifters begin infiltrating the human lands, and we need to know when and how they intend to do it. Surely, Caleb has something useful saved.
The American borders are heavily guarded, but it won’t be enough. The wolves are too strong, and they have a natural advantage during the winter months. Their wolf forms are resilient to the cold.
“Would you like to use my computer?” Caleb’s question catches me off guard.
I stiffen, resisting the urge to panic and look away. I’ve done nothing wrong, nothing to feel anxious about.
“Really?” I clear my throat. “You’d let me use it?”
Caleb pulls his eyebrows together. He’s confused. Not ideal. I count to three and breathe, calming my outward appearance.
“I just didn’t think you’d let me use it,” I say.
“Why wouldn’t I?” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You aren’t a prisoner, Evelyn. Do you feel trapped? Do you want to go home?”
I shake my head. “I don’t feel trapped.” How can I salvage this? “I’d love to use it. Thank you.”
Caleb wordlessly rises, scooping his computer into his arm as he does so. He’s walking around his desk a second later, and I forget how to breathe as he opens the lid, types in a password, and sets his unlocked computer onto my lap.
Holy fuck. I shoot Caleb a small smile, careful not to look too excited.
I can only imagine what’s in here. The files, the details. Maybe even medical records. Everything. My heart pounds, blood pumping through my veins. This is unbelievable.
I can’t rush into anything nefarious, not until I know Caleb isn’t monitoring the device.
“Can I use the internet?” I ask.
“Of course.”
I search for and find an online game. Something easy I can play in the browser.
Daniel let me play on his devices sometimes, and I’ve developed a love for solitaire.
I want to look up the news, but I don’t want Caleb to associate me with politics.
I’m staying far away from anything related to HPAW or the American government.
I’ll build Caleb’s trust, and when the right time comes, I’ll go digging.
Caleb clears his throat. “I need to meet with Logan and a few others.” He jerks his thumb toward the door. “I’ll just be down the hall. Holler if you need me.”
Should I ask to join? Probably not. I practically begged him to bring me here, and I can’t also beg him to let me sit in on his meeting. Baby steps.
Caleb leaves his office door open, then disappears through a door on the right side of the outside hallway. Logan appears at the top of the stairs two minutes later. He peers into the office, his calculated gaze sweeping the space before settling on me.
“Good morning,” he says.
This is the first time I’ve seen him wearing clothing. No amount of fabric hides his muscular frame. He’s a few inches shorter than Caleb, but he more than makes up for it in bulk. He fills the doorway, his shoulders brushing each side.
I force a smile. “Morning.”
What is Logan to Caleb? He must be important. He came by the house today, and now he’s here to meet privately. Is he the second-in-command?
Logan crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re looking better.” The corner of his right lip twitches upward. “It’s good to see you with some color in your cheeks.”
I open my mouth, then shut it. Is he trying to seduce me?
The HPAW soldiers only complimented me with the hopes that I’d invite them into my bedroom, but Logan is mated. He’s not flirting with me. He can’t be.
Especially not with Caleb just down the hall. Surely, Caleb wouldn’t stand for another man trying to bed his mate. He can undoubtedly hear this conversation, too. If he can hear my heartbeat from a bedroom over, there’s no way Logan’s compliments are going unnoticed.
I drag my fingers over the computer trackpad, not wanting the screen to go dark and lock me out.
“Uh, thank you,” I say, finally responding to Logan. “I feel better.”
“Glad to hear it.” He beams, knocking a knuckle against the doorway and backing up into the hallway. “I’ll see you around.”
Two more shifters walk upstairs. Both pointedly avoid looking in my direction as they vanish into the room with Caleb and Logan. I’m desperate to know what they’re talking about.
I mindlessly play on Caleb’s computer. His files are calling to me, a seductress nearly impossible to turn away, but I resist. It’s damn hard.
Almost an hour passes before Caleb and the others emerge. Caleb walks ahead. He looks angry, his lips thinned and nostrils flared. The two shifters who avoided looking at me hurry down the stairs, but Logan follows Caleb into his office.
Caleb drops into his chair. He’s ignoring Logan. Logan doesn’t seem to care.
“Alpha,” he starts. “We should—”
Caleb shakes his head. “Leave it.”
“But—”
“I said to leave it,” Caleb repeats. His gaze meets mine, then returns to Logan. “See to it that the Lockstone pack has all the support they need.” He glances at his watch. “Maverick doesn’t take kindly to tardiness, even coming from you.”
Maverick. The Lockstone pack.
Logan blows out a breath, then storms out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose.
I wait exactly three seconds before speaking. “Who is Maverick?”
Caleb drops his hands to his desk. “He’s the alpha of the Lockstone pack.”
Details. Details. Details.
“Where’s the Lockstone pack?”
Caleb stares at me for a long moment. His gaze is too intense, too calculating. I swallow, keeping my expression open. Finally, Caleb moves, opening the top drawer of his desk. He pulls out a pen and paper.
“Come here,” he orders.
I practically sprint to him, his computer long forgotten as I drop into the chair opposite his desk. Caleb draws a rough outline of the Canadian border, then begins filling in the space.
What was once Ontario and Quebec is now one large territory. The Knox pack. That’s about all the detail HPAW knows. Caleb continues drawing. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are now the Lockstone pack.
Alberta remains unchanged. Caleb points to it. “The Aubert pack. King Aubert is the alpha.”
I blink. “You have a king?”
“Hardly.” Caleb snorts. “King is his first name. He had opportunistic parents, and he was raised accordingly. He’s insufferable, but he’s a good alpha.”
Caleb points to what was once British Columbia. “This is the Allard Pack, led by alpha Everett Allard.” He taps the paper with his pen. “These are the main four packs. The other territories are scattered with smaller packs, but they mostly keep to themselves.”
I don’t know what to say. I review every detail of the map, committing it to memory.
“Why is Logan going to the Lockstone pack?” I ask. “Is it because of the border disputes with HPAW?”
Caleb nods. “Unfortunately. They—”
His sentence is cut short by a knock on the door. Two women come barreling inside a moment later, the pair tripping over one another with loud, giddy laughs. I’m going to fucking kill them.