Chapter 8
CALDER
I’d kept Thorne in sight all last night. And this morning, when she slipped out to head to the bar, I’d tailed her at a safe distance. Wren and Adrian’s threat still rang in my skull, and until I handed Evander the artifact, I refused to take any chances with her safety.
When Ricky, Felix, and Cassian showed up, I finally let myself breathe. She was safe with them. Safe enough, at least, for me to slip away for an hour or two to scout the Ravenspell estate. The sooner I accomplished that, the better.
I was just about to do exactly that when Thorne exploded out of Love Bites in wolf form, head down and moving fast.
She tore past a handful of townspeople, her long legs barely keeping up with her momentum as she ducked and cut around everyone without breaking stride. I froze a few streets away. I hadn’t expected her to come blasting out like she was fleeing someone.
Clearly, something was wrong.
I didn’t stop to think. I just took chase, falling in behind her as she angled for the forest at the edge of town. By the time my paws hit the dirt path, my pulse had kicked up, and my blood had gone hot. Panic and fear bled through her scent, and I snarled. I hated that scent.
She was running hard.
Not the steady, meditative pace she used when she was grounding herself.
This was a burn-it-out run, the kind meant to scrape the inside of your chest raw until there was nothing left but breath and muscle and motion.
She wasn’t trying to be quiet either. She was tearing through the woods like she wanted to feel it.
My wolf insisted I speed up and make her stop if only to figure out what’d happened, but I shook my head. I needed to read this properly before I acted. Charging in half-cocked would likely only make matters worse. And I knew without a doubt she wouldn’t be happy to see me.
Damn it, she was fast. I’d almost forgotten.
I quickened my pace just to keep up with her, but without blatantly advertising my presence. I truly did want to give her space, but I couldn’t leave until I knew what was going on. Her frantic pace and wild scent told me she wasn’t okay.
She could protect herself—I knew that. But my brain kept replaying the sight of her scars, telling me she wasn’t at her strongest right now. What if her instincts failed her and she took an antler or hoof to the gut?
Half a mile in, her stride stuttered and her ears flicked back as she finally clocked me behind her. She veered slightly off her original path and pushed deeper into the trees, not blindly bolting now, but testing me. Maybe to see whether I would follow or peel off.
I followed, but I didn’t close the gap.
She poured on more speed, her panting breath echoing through the trees.
Then she cut a hard left, leaped over a fallen log, and landed in a spray of leaves and dirt.
I followed a beat later, my paws hitting the same ground hers had just torn up.
She shot me a quick glance over her shoulder, then skidded to a stop and spung to face me.
I slowed and approached without a hint of aggression. I kept my head high, my stance loose but grounded, my weight evenly distributed. I perked my ears up and opened my mouth, letting my tongue hang free.
Without warning, she lunged.
The impact knocked the breath from my lungs as her weight slammed into my shoulder, momentum carrying us both into the dirt. She went for my flank first, teeth flashing as she snapped and clamped down with enough force to sting through fur and muscle—but nowhere near hard enough to do real damage.
I let her bite me and dig in and shove, because that was the point. She practically vibrated with pent-up energy. And there was a heat to her eyes that didn’t speak of anger but agitation. Frustration.
She was so tightly wound, her muscles practically quivered for release, and she wanted to tussle.
Fine. If she needed an outlet, I could be that for her.
She tore free and struck again, this time raking claws down my furred side. Not hard enough to draw blood, but I still felt it. I absorbed the blow and shifted my weight just enough to keep us from tangling, rolling with the hit so it bled off energy instead of turning into a grapple.
Dancing back, she stared at me for a moment, her eyes blazing gold. She paused then, her ears flicking back as her gaze slid past me toward the trees. I saw the calculation cross her wolfish face.
She could leave and run back into the trees. Or she could stay and burn off her loaded aggression. But staying meant engaging with me, the one person she likely loathed the most in the world.
I made the decision easier.
I rolled to my feet in one smooth motion and backed away, widening the space between us without breaking eye contact. I gave her room. I gave her an opening. Then I turned and ran.
If she needed to chase something, she could chase me. And I didn’t know of a single werewolf who could resist a hunt.
Barely a second passed before I caught the sound of her pursuit.
I let her gain on me slowly, adjusting my pace so she could close the distance without feeling like I was letting her win. When she finally lunged again, I twisted just enough that she clipped my hindquarters instead of taking me down outright, tumbling past me into a pile of undergrowth.
She came up snarling and spun back toward me, but this time I caught her without resisting. Our bodies knocked together hard enough to jar us both, and I held my ground, giving her something solid to push against while her breath sawed between us in sharp, angry bursts.
An instant later, we jumped apart and stood before one another, chests heaving.
Thorne’s sides rose and fell too fast, breath steaming in the cool shade of the trees, but her stance had changed. The wild edge had drained out of her posture, leaving not fear, but something wary behind it.
Her ears flicked once, then flattened again, like she was listening to something I couldn’t hear. Or maybe she was listening to herself. To the part that had let go long enough to run with me, to use me to ease the pressure.
Her eyes still burned gold, but the heat in them changed. A flicker passed behind, quick as a heartbeat.
Regret.
I didn’t move, afraid I might scare her off.
Thorne took one slow step back. Then another. Her paws sank into the leaf litter, quiet, controlled. Just like that, she was erecting the wall between us again. Whatever moment we’d just had was gone. Her sanity had returned—and she remembered who I was beneath the fur.
My wolf pressed forward, pushing me to close the distance between us. To claim her like I was meant to.
I kept those instincts muzzled.
But I did take a step toward her, careful and slow, like she was a skittish rabbit.
Thorne’s ears snapped back, and she shook her head, drawing that invisible line between us.
Just like that, disappointment cooled my veins. The moment had passed and there’d be no reliving it.
I eased back, giving her the space she’d asked for without saying a word.
As much as I wanted to fix this between us, I knew it wouldn’t happen immediately.
But at least I was here, standing in front of her.
And she’d engaged with me rather than run from me.
It told me there was a good chance her wolf still saw me as her mate.
Her gaze held mine for another beat. Then she turned and disappeared into the trees.
I had to force myself not to chase after her again. She’d made herself clear. She didn’t want me to follow her, and if I did, that would only piss her off more.
It was the middle of the day. Surely, Wren and Adrian wouldn’t be stupid enough to attack her in the open.
And I had to trust they’d give me those three days.
Two now. I also couldn’t keep following her.
I had a job to do. The best way to protect Thorne was to get it done, to get Evander the damn artifact, so that he’d take his lackeys and leave us the hell alone.
I stood there until my breathing slowed and my wolf settled.
He didn’t agree with my decision, so it took longer than I liked to settle my nerves.
I listened to the woods for far too long, straining for the fading rhythm of her paws.
But she was gone, and the only sounds left were birdsong and the smaller creatures moving through the underbrush.
Eventually, I tired of standing there like an idiot, so I shifted back. Bones flowed and reformed, fur receded, and my clothes settled over me, the fabric chasing away the cool forest air.
The walk back to town took a lot longer thanks to my two legs. I used the time to get my head on straight. Wren and Adrian’s threat last night had unsettled me and sent me into overprotective mode. I needed to scale that back.
The most important thing right now was completing my task. Once I did, I would be free to live my life how I wanted. Free to fix things with Thorne, if she allowed it. Free to just be. But none of that would happen until I acquired the artifact and handed it over.
Time to focus.
By the time the trees thinned, and the first buildings came into view, the sun had dropped lower.
Light slanted through the streets in long gold bands, illuminating the cobblestone road and the shops that lined it.
I spotted Love Bites in the distance and instinctively headed toward it, eager to check if Thorne had returned.
After a few steps, I stopped and shook my head.
Had I not just told myself to focus explicitly on retrieving the artifact?
I was about to head for the Ravenspell estate when I stopped. The hair on the back of my neck prickled in a way that told me someone was watching me.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Ricky leaning against Love Bites’ outer wall near the entrance, his body half-shadowed and posture loose.
He had one foot braced against the building and his arms crossed.
Sunglasses hid his gaze, but he’d angled his head toward me with perfect awareness.
It looked as though he’d been waiting right there for me to return, as though he’d known I’d gone after Thorne.
For a moment, we just stared at each other.
Then Ricky lifted a hand and tugged his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, his eyes flashing gold even as his upper lip curled.
My wolf stirred, bristling at the challenge, but I didn’t move. I didn’t rise to it. I didn’t bare my teeth or square my shoulders like I was ready for a fight.
Ricky held the stare another beat, then slid the sunglasses back into place like he’d decided I wasn’t worth the energy.
He pushed off the wall and strode away without a word.
He hadn’t needed to speak for me to recognize the threat.
Werewolves read body language and scented emotions better than we heard words.
The door to Love Bites cracked open.
Felix stepped out like he owned the sidewalk, wearing that familiar grin that made most people underestimate him. He glanced down the street in the direction Ricky had gone, then back at me.
After a moment, he strode toward me.
Oh great, another Wolfe confrontation.
“Wow,” he said, voice light and cheerful, like we were discussing the weather. “You’re really committed to making enemies. I respect the hustle.”
I didn’t answer.
Felix’s smile didn’t budge, but his nostrils flared as he scented the air. “Went for a little run with Thorne, did ya?”
I still didn’t speak. Nothing I said would help matters.
Felix tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle. “Here’s the deal, Calder. You’ve been back in town for, what, five minutes? And you’ve already managed to upset Thorne and piss off Cassian. You’re lucky Ricky decided to walk away right now.”
I sighed. “Your point?”
His grin thinned, just a fraction. “You’re persona non grata. In case no one’s said it clearly enough yet.”
Oh, I’d gotten the message. A few times now. Which made my refusal to get the hell out of Dodge pretty damn comical, really.
“So, here’s a friendly suggestion from the town’s favorite menace,” Felix continued. “Leave.”
My gaze immediately strayed past him to Love Bites.
The door hung open, and the scent of bleach, citrus, old wood, and magic permeated the air.
Beneath all that came Thorne’s scent. It was almost as strong in there as it’d been at the condo, telling me she spent a good majority of her time at the bar. With Isadora. A second home.
Felix followed my gaze, and his smile vanished entirely. “Don’t,” he said, the single word sharp. “Whatever damage you’re planning to cause, just don’t.”
Our gazes clashed once more. I’d never seen this side of Felix before, but I saw the threat now. Read the violence in his posture. In his coiled muscles. Thorne’s brothers had zero intention of letting me gain any ground here.
But my eyes strayed to the bar once more. Damn it.
Felix watched me another moment, weighing whatever he saw in my face. Finally, he exhaled and leaned back again, the grin returning like a mask. “Cool. Great chat. Ten out of ten. Would threaten again.”
Without waiting for my response, he strode off after his brother.
I turned away before I did anything else stupid. As I walked, my mind strayed to the forest. To the way Thorne had looked at me like she couldn’t believe she’d let herself interact with me. To the firm shake of her head when I tried to close the distance.
Focus, Calder.
But that was difficult to do when my wolf kept howling in my head, pushing me to seek her out.
He didn’t understand our emotions. All he understood was the mate bond, and he wanted her nothing more than to go to her.
I got it. I wanted that too. But none of this mattered if I didn’t take care of business first.
That was the goal here. The job.
And I needed to get it done.