Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Ihave twelve scans done, all at my request.
Caleb stands by my side, his patience unwavering as I look over every X-ray, searching and scanning for anything that could potentially be a chip. I pause every fifteen minutes to give him his eye drops, but that’s the only break I give myself.
Caleb sighs, trailing a hand down my back. “Ev…”
I lean closer to the scan of my ribcage. Doctor Greg already looked these over, as have three additional doctors Caleb has on call. I just want to make sure.
“I love your persistence,” Caleb says. “But it’s getting late. It’s time to go home.”
I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “They know where you live.”
Caleb’s fingers rest against the bare skin between my gray sweatpants and white T-shirt. Adam took it upon himself to infiltrate Caleb’s home and bring us clean clothing. I still don’t know who he is to Caleb.
“I know,” Caleb admits. “But I have several shifters monitoring the area. We’ll be safe there tonight.”
I pull out the glass eye dropper. Caleb frowns, but he doesn’t put up a fight as he crouches and tilts his head back. I suspect the drops burn, but he won’t admit to any pain. Still, I feel horrible as I put in three drops. There’s no blood, which I’m taking as a good sign.
“Come on.” Caleb takes my hand, leading me out of the imaging room.
Doctor Greg abandoned us in here the moment he realized I was being irrational in my concerns. It didn’t take him long to come to that conclusion.
Caleb and I have been kept in a secluded area of the hospital. Moving out of that area is jarring. Doctors and nurses are flying around, most of whom I’ve never met. I assume they’re from neighboring cities, maybe even from the other packs.
Almost nobody looks our way. They’re too busy tending to the injured.
Caleb hurries me down the corridor. He’s trying to keep the aftermath from me.
I imagine the hospitals closer to the border are in significantly worse shape. A shifter would have to be relatively healthy to make it all the way here.
A shifter enters our path. It’s a hulking man with bushy eyebrows and straining muscles. There’s a smear of blood on his eyebrow, and he’s not wearing shoes. His pants are two sizes too small, too. They’re borrowed.
When the man’s angry gaze cuts toward me, Caleb snarls. “Don’t.”
The man sucks his cheeks into his mouth. He’s contemplating, and he’s clearly upset. About me? It sure seems so.
“Walk away,” Caleb orders. His voice is lethally calm.
The man’s throat bobs, but he doesn’t leave. He points a dirt-stained finger at me. “She did this. My brother is dying because she couldn’t fucking—”
Caleb explodes. He’s usually so composed, but today has him on edge.
He grips the man’s jaw, his fingers digging into the muscle. It must be painful, and the man exposes his teeth as he rears his head back. He’s unsuccessful in shaking off Caleb.
“You know nothing,” Caleb spits. His eyes shine and his shoulders jerk, his animal side pushing through. “This was voluntary, and your brother chose to join us today. He places his blame where it’s deserved, not on innocent women.”
The man sneers, finally ripping himself from Caleb’s grasp. “She told them everything. She tried to kill you, Knox. She hates everything we stand for, and you know it. All she does is lie. How can you ask us to sacrifice for her when she won’t do the same? She’s probably still working for them.”
I step forward. “Are you kidding me?” My voice cracks. I’m angry. So fucking angry. I yank down the front of my shirt, not caring that I’m exposing my chest in the process. “I didn’t tell HPAW a damned thing. They chipped me like a fucking dog.”
Caleb shifts, standing behind me with his hands on my hips. He’s squeezing me just a little too tight, but I don’t think he can control that.
He’s on the verge of losing control, and I don’t imagine it’s easy for him to step back and let me speak to an angry, aggressive shifter. Still, I appreciate him letting me defend myself.
I want to do this.
I release my shirt and rip the bandage off my hand.
“I cut off my own fucking mark. I let Adam slime around in my mouth for hours. HPAW murdered my parents. They tortured Adam—my best friend. They tried to kill my fucking mate.” I draw in a shaky breath.
“They raped me. I was a thirteen-year-old girl being fucked by full-grown, adult men. I can assure you that I hate them.”
My voice cracks. Caleb tightens his grip but doesn’t intervene.
The man has the decency to look uncomfortable, staring down at his shuffling feet.
“I made mistakes, but I’m trying my best to make up for them,” I continue. “I’m sorry that I lied to you all. I really am, but I’m trying to make up for it.” I must look pitiful as I wipe at my cheeks. They’re wet with tears. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what else to say or do to show you—”
Somebody brushes past me, bumping into Caleb and me from behind. It’s Nurse June. Her shirt is suspiciously damp, and several strands of her hair have come loose from her hair tie. Like Adam, she sports deep gashes on her arm. Bells.
Today has been a rough day for everybody.
She slams into the man. She’s only half his size, but she knocks him halfway across the room.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” she spits, her voice traveling through the busy room. We’ve drawn a crowd. “We’ve come to a consensus, Don, and you’ll do well to respect it. Evelyn didn’t know what a fucking library card was.”
I frown. “A consensus?”
She ignores me, continuing to yell at Don. “And it’s my brother who is dying, not yours. I don’t care how long you two have been friends. He’s my blood. Yours doesn’t do anything but bitch and moan. Evelyn is a confused little girl with severe—and I mean severe—trauma. You have no right to tell—”
“All right.” Caleb pushes against my back, nudging me forward. He guides me out of the room before I hear the rest of Nurse June’s rant.
I let him lead me outside, my mind reeling. “Was she defending me?” I can’t quite tell. “I think I’m offended.”
Caleb chuckles, but it’s strained. “You should be. She called you a confused little girl. That’s quite offensive, if you ask me.
” He’s trying to lighten the mood. “Listen—” He pauses, moving in front of me.
“Don doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he doesn’t speak for the majority.
The pack cares for you, Evelyn. We’ve all made mistakes, and they understand your pain.
The shifters who came to your aid today… they were volunteers.”
“They came for Adam.”
“They came for you both.” Caleb cups my cheeks. “And the blue-haired one, I suppose.”
“Her name is Bells.”
Caleb shrugs. “I don’t like her.”
“I don’t, either.”
Caleb smiles, his swollen eye a little leaky. He turns, leading me outside before I have the opportunity to pull out his drops. Cold hair smacks me in the face. The parking lot is full of cars—transport for the injured.
His fingers intertwine with mine.
The drive to his house is silent, and my mouth grows dry when I notice the sheer number of shifters patrolling the area. Dozens.
“What’re you going to do about HPAW?” I ask.
Caleb has to do something. HPAW has taken too much from us, and I refuse to live in fear. HPAW’s new weapons are dangerous. They’ve found a way to prevent the shifters from taking their animal forms, using sound waves that hurt shifter ears.
It’s too much of an advantage.
Caleb curls his fists around the steering wheel. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to be the alpha. So many people are relying on him.
“I’m meeting with Adam and Logan tomorrow to discuss that exact question,” he says. “We were working through some ideas before the attack, but they went out the window when you and Adam were kidnapped.”
I press my lips together. “What, exactly, is Adam to you?”
Caleb chuckles. Crust is developing in the corner of his eye. I fish the glass dropper out of my pocket.
“It’s complicated,” Caleb eventually says. “Adam’s wolf is comparable to mine. He should be my second-in-command.”
“But he’s not?”
“Adam has never been interested in leadership,” Caleb says. “When I took over the pack, I allowed him to pursue other options. It’s untraditional, but we’re under the agreement that he’ll step in should something ever happen to me. Logan fills Adam’s rightful position as my second.”
Caleb pokes at the dark bruise under his eye before continuing. “Adam is kept up to date, but he doesn’t take an active role in pack leadership.”
It’s hard to imagine Adam as a leader. It doesn’t seem like something he’d enjoy.
Caleb reaches across the center console and grabs my hand, his touch light. “Let’s go inside.”
Inside. I peer out the window, my throat tight. We’re home, a place I was beginning to fear I’d never see again.
Thanks to my chip, I assume HPAW knows the location of Caleb’s home. It explains why he has so many shifters patrolling the area. I count eleven, but I’m sure there are more slinking about.
I chew on my bottom lip, still a little nervous. What if HPAW attacks again?
Caleb squeezes my hand. “We’re safe. I promise.”
My throat remains tight as I step out of the car. I trust Caleb. The gravel driveway crunches underneath my shoes, and I shift my weight side to side before heading inside.
We’re safe. Caleb isn’t going to let HPAW lay a hand on me again.