Chapter 10 #2
“Kallum?” I called, unable to take it anymore. Immediately the door opened. Kallum stood there, his hair a shaggy mess down to his shoulders, a morose expression on his face. I hadn’t seen him since the night I was taken. Of all the Maclays, he was the one I’d had the least contact with.
“You don’t have to yell,” he grumbled.
“I didn’t.”
“Wolf hearing, remember? You almost deafened me.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, the Maclay’s trademark green eyes scowling at me. “What do you need?”
“A shower.”
“Fine. But there are rules.”
The rules consisted of leaving the door unlocked and throwing all of my clothes through the door before I showered. So, unless I wanted to throw myself out of a locked window butt naked, I wasn’t escaping tonight.
I took my time scrubbing Kole free from every inch of my skin, finally emerging clean and in a towel. Kallum sat in the window seat, immediately turning his back when I entered.
“Dress quickly.”
“Don’t need to tell me twice,” I muttered, grabbing sweatpants and a t-shirt from the dresser and throwing them on. “Done,” I announced. He turned, picking up the cuffs again. “Uh, can I at least brush my hair first?”
“Fine. But I have to stay and watch.”
“Whatever.” I shrugged and set about brushing every knot out of my hair.
I took my time, wanting to delay being chained up again for as long as possible.
While Kallum was here, I might as well try to get to know him a little.
The more I knew about these people the better.
“Where were you tonight? I didn’t see you at dinner. ”
“I ate alone.”
“Why?” I asked. His eyes were on me, making sure I didn’t try anything, but he looked distant, like he wasn’t really seeing me. He hesitated before answering.
“My wolf doesn’t like being around people much anymore,” he said finally.
“Hence the night shift?”
“Hence the night shift.”
I nodded, realisation dawning on me. Dinah had told me during our little prison chat that wolves without a mate sometimes sank into a depression before losing themselves to their wolf. I wondered if this was what was wrong with Kallum.
“Is that a side effect of not having a mate?”
He shrugged. “I suppose. He just isn’t interested in life anymore.”
“That’s stupid,” I scoffed and again, he just shrugged. Too apathetic to care that I had just insulted him.
“Humans are born whole. We aren’t.” I didn’t know what to say to such dense sadness. A sadness so deep it was beyond rage or tears. It had reached acceptance. Which was worse. He’d given up. “Being around others too much makes him angry. So, the night shift is easier for us. Him and me.”
“Konnor seems okay…” I said, pointing out that the youngest Maclay had yet to show any signs of difficulty.
“Konnor is younger than me.”
“And Kara? She’s older than you.”
“And female. It hits her differently. Less violent, more…erratic. Besides, temperament affects things. She’s a doctor. She’s patient, calm by nature. Her wolf craves a mate as much as mine does. She’s just better at hiding it.”
That was interesting information. Kole wasn’t the only unstable one around here. All four of them were, which meant they could be manipulated. I moved to sit at the small table, hoping Kallum wouldn’t cuff me again just yet.
“How come you and Kara and Konnor don’t have mates?”
He flinched. “That’s not a polite question to ask our kind.”
“It’s not polite to hold people hostage either,” I retorted and again, he just shrugged.
“Not my call, but I’ll answer your question. When a wolf doesn’t find their mate within their own pack, they have to tour?—”
“Kole told me about that. He couldn’t go because of the war.”
“Right, and neither could we. Wolves could come here to meet with us and see if we’re a match but no one wants to with the war going on. It’s too dangerous.”
He and his siblings had been stuck in limbo all this time, just waiting for their lives to start. Except for Kara who I presumed had gone to medical school and was protected by being surrounded by humans. “So, you couldn’t leave until Kole…”
“Found you,” he finished.
“And now that he’s found me?”
“Now, the Gulfs are still a problem. They vandalised another of our construction vehicles tonight. Attacked one of our guys, he’s lucky to be alive.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why attack your vehicles I mean?”
“They’re just trying to weaken us any way they can.
Construction is our best source of income.
We’re stronger than humans, we can work quicker than any human construction crew so it’s very lucrative for us.
If they attack enough of our sites then work gets delayed, we become unreliable and humans are less likely to offer us more work.
We suffer financial losses as a result. Plus, its psychological welfare.
We can’t relax. Can’t breathe for one fucking day. ”
Ten years they’d been living like this. Ten years. I’d spent my entire childhood feeling unsafe. For the first time, I found myself being able to relate to one of these creatures.
“They’ll keep coming until the two of you are solid.
Konnor will probably tour when that happens.
Kara will stay here as the pack doctor but we’ll be flooded with unmated males looking to see if they’re her mate.
” He trailed off, his green eyes glazed over, as if he wasn’t really here. It was painful to watch.
“And you?”
“My wolf is too unstable to travel.” His jaw twitched as if to prove his point.
“But unmated females could come here to meet you? Like with Kara?”
“Maybe,” he said but he didn’t sound sure.
“You think they won’t? Or does it just hurt too much to hope that they might?”
Kallum arched an eyebrow at me. Finally, a sign of life.
“So, do you have an escape plan yet or are you still working on it?”
I flinched but didn’t speak. There was no answer I could give that would end well for me. Kallum snorted, a derisive look on his face.
“If you want my advice, don’t go on foot. Steal one of our vehicles. You’ll have a much better shot at getting away.”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his face full of apathy.
“You can hike to the nearest town but it’ll take you at least a day and there’s a lot that can kill you between here and there.
” He paused, chewing the inside of his cheek.
“Or you could head straight into Yellowstone, but I don’t recommend it.
We’re far away from tourist spots here, so your chances of happening across someone are tiny.
Sure, a park ranger might find you if you get far enough, but my brothers will find you first, and if they don’t, a grizzly will.
” He gave a short laugh that made me shiver.
“Though I think I’d take the grizzly over a half-crazed Alpha with a runaway Luna. But that’s your choice.”
I was stunned. “Why would you help me?”
“The way I figure it, my siblings and I have got two options ahead of us. One, our wolves go insane and our pack has to put us down. Two, the Gulfs attack us and we go out fighting. Either way, we’re dead.”
Well, that was mighty pessimistic.
“You forgot the third option.”
He nodded. “The mating ceremony.”
“Right. Kole claims me, his wolf is happy, and everyone lives happily ever after.”
I expected words of encouragement, of excitement, but instead all I got was a disgusted sneer. “You think I would follow an Alpha who would rape his own Luna?”
The venom in his voice surprised me. Not for the first time, I wondered if Kole was going to suffer a rebellion from forcing me.
From everything I was seeing so far, his pack was split on whether forcing me was a good thing or not.
Some seemed excited, others seemed disgusted. But they all agreed it was necessary.
“So, you aren’t going to watch?”
“I have to be there. But just so you know, I’d rather rip my own eyes out than watch that.” He shrugged again. “Maybe you’ll escape before then.”
His tone bothered me, as if he didn’t really believe it would happen, or he was too deep in his depression to care.
Was he lulling me into a false sense of security?
Trying to make me believe that he was on my side?
It would be smart of Kole to have someone pretend to have my back.
I would talk to them, tell them my escape plan if I had one, they could report it to Kole and then…
It was so tempting to trust Kallum, to ask him for help getting out of here but I knew that I couldn’t. The only person I could count on was myself. Just like always.
“You really aren’t worried about what will happen to Kole if I get away?”
His eyes found mine and that deep sadness shone out brighter than ever. “You won’t get away, Iona. Your fate is sealed. Just like mine.”