Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
CAELAN
Isat on the steps of the Keep waiting for the familiar rumble of my Second’s truck. An hour ago, I sent two wolves to Thalia’s to relieve him of duty.
The telltale purr of the engine sounded before I spotted Garrett’s vehicle. My Second pulled up close and slid out of the vehicle.
“I knew you’d be out here,” Garrett said, a sour note in his voice.
“You threatened to kill Evie.” I’d stewed on it for hours, wanting to let it go. But a wild possessiveness toward her hummed in my veins, and I knew I couldn’t let it stand.
Garrett’s face turned wary. “So?”
“You haven’t liked her from the moment you met her.”
“Why would I? She’s dangerous.”
“We’re both dangerous.”
Violence bloomed in my blood, the urge to push Garrett into a fight almost overwhelming my good sense.
“Yes, but she’s dangerous to every shifter in this territory.” Garrett leaned against his vehicle and crossed his arms. “What’s this about, Caelan?”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “I’m in love with her.”
No surprise on his face. My Second wasn’t stupid. “Doesn’t mean you have to take us down with you.”
He and Simone were the only ones I’d allow to speak to me this way. We had years of history between us and rarely pulled our punches. “I’ve no intentions of doing any such thing.”
Garrett snorted. “You damn well granted that woman liberties in our Pack, Caelan.”
“Because she will be our Lady.” A gold haze rolled over my vision. “Watch your tone when you speak about her.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened. “Every time you go to see her, every time she wakes up here, you lose a little bit of a grip on this territory. You need someone as invested in this as you are.”
“A shifter, then.”
He shrugged. “A shifter would love our Pack as much as we all do. As much as you do.”
The thought of anyone else other than Evie warming my bed made fury heat my blood. “I don’t want a shifter,” I gritted out.
“Maybe not, but are you sure Evie wants you?”
I squashed the urge to punch Garrett, but his words left me uncomfortable, itching to shed my skin.
His question was right on the money. Evie might want me, but did she want me enough to fight for what we could one day have?