Chapter 10
CALDER
I’d spent the night circling the Ravenspell estate, mapping the perimeter, testing the wards, and trying to get a read on the magic protecting the vault entrance Wren had described.
Knowing where it was and actually getting past it without triggering every spell on the property were two very different things.
By dawn, I’d figured everything out, but I was downright exhausted.
I’d caught an hour or two of sleep in scraps—resting against a tree outside their property line—but it hadn’t done more than take the edge off. My body was tired. My mind was worse.
Tomorrow night. That was my deadline. One more day to get inside the estate, get the artifact, and get it the hell out of Eternity Falls.
In most cases, I preferred to wait until the day of for extraction—it avoided me sitting around for hours on end with the artifact in hand before meeting with my clients.
And as much as I wanted this job done asap, Evander wouldn’t be at the lumber mill until tomorrow night.
Which meant I had a day to kill before extraction. That gave me time to return to the inn, shower, change clothes, and maybe bank a few more hours of sleep before heading back to the estate tomorrow for one final look around.
Except I’d only made it three blocks before my damn wolf picked up Thorne’s scent and tracked her all the way to the town square like a man possessed.
I hadn’t even realized it’d happened until I found myself standing smack dab in the middle of the green square, staring at her and her vampire friend by the tower.
Logic didn’t hold a candle to the beast pacing in my skull—the little shit.
My wolf didn’t care about plans or responsibilities or obligations.
So, here I was. Standing on the cusp of the town square, lurking like a gargoyle with poor impulse control, tracking the last person I should have been tracking.
It was quite pathetic, really.
At least my wolf was happy now.
I, however, was not.
Even from back here, I could see just how exhausted Thorne was. The last few days had clearly taken a toll on her. Her shoulders were too tight, her stride too rigid. And she kept rubbing her temples as if she was nursing a headache.
Once, I would have been the one to fix that for her. I would have massaged every tight muscle until she melted in my hands. Now, I was the cause. And that realization was a punch to the gut.
A selfless, kinder man would have turned around and slipped out of sight before she noticed me. Done the noble thing. Except five years ago, I’d done exactly that, and what had it gotten me?
Nothing.
In fact, it’d cost me everything. My mate, my family, the only place I’d ever truly felt home. Doing the right thing had landed me right here—standing in the town square, loathed by all, and watching the woman I loved from afar.
Thorne stopped abruptly near the fountain, ignoring the music and the couples swaying nearby. She tilted her head back, her focus locking onto the Luminara Clocktower rising above the square.
I frowned, my gaze flicking to the stone structure. It looked the same as it always had—ancient, imposing, and humming with the wards that kept the town hidden. But Thorne was staring at it with a furrowed brow.
She pointed something out to the woman beside her, but she wasn’t looking at Thorne—she was looking at me.
Shit. I’d been so consumed by Thorne, I’d forgotten about her friend.
She stared at me, her expression cool and unimpressed. I held her stare, curious what she’d do now. Would she tell Thorne, or would she take her by the arm and lead her away?
As though to answer my silent question, the vampire’s mouth moved.
I knew exactly what she’d said the moment Thorne’s spine stiffened and her hands curled into fists.
She tore her gaze away from the tower, turned, and instantly clocked me.
The anger that bloomed across her face was beautiful to behold.
But then, I’d always thought Thorne was beautiful, even when pissed at me. Perhaps even more so then.
I half-expected her to flip me the bird and storm off in the other direction.
Instead, her friend kept talking while Thorne held my gaze. My hearing was good—thanks to my wolf—but sadly, not good enough to pick up on their conversation from so far away. And I’d never learned how to lip-read. So, I just stood here, watching like a fool, waiting to see what she did.
My brain screamed at me to leave, go to the inn, take that shower, and sleep. Follow through with my plan. I had an artifact to reclaim and a deadline to hand it over by. All important things.
I might have even listened to myself had Thorne not started walking. And not away from me, like I expected, but toward me.
My wolf immediately took notice and sat up like a dog expecting a treat.
Me? I was a bit more hesitant. Our last conversation hadn’t exactly gone well.
For all I knew, she planned on ripping me a new asshole and kicking me out of town.
She’d already kicked me out of her bar and home.
What was one more place? Still, I couldn’t convince myself to walk away.
I had to know what she wanted. And hey, at least my humiliation would give the townspeople something new to laugh at.
She marched across the square, cutting through the mid-morning crowd with singular purpose. People scattered out of her path, clearly sensing the oncoming storm, but I didn’t move. Because apparently, when it came to Thorne, I was a glutton for punishment.
Three feet in front of me, she stopped and stared at me. Fuck, she truly was beautiful. From her halo of dark curls to those soft, pouty lips of hers that I’d never lost interest in kissing.
“We need to talk,” she stated, her voice flat and hard.
I raised a brow. That was unexpected. “I thought you didn’t want to speak to me.”
“I don’t,” she snapped. “But Isadora told me to hear you out before making any decisions about you. I decided she was right. I should have all the information before deciding whether to skin you myself or let my brothers do it for me.”
I blinked at the ferocity in her words, then lifted my gaze over Thorne’s shoulder to where Isadora stood by the clocktower.
She watched us, her mouth lifted at the corners in a silent challenge.
Little did she know that I wanted to tell Thorne the truth.
I had since my first night in town. But fear had held me back.
Telling her about Evander meant dragging Thorne into this whole mess.
And that frightened me more than anything.
Evander already had Thorne in his sights.
I didn’t want her attracting any more attention to herself.
It was a brutal choice: tell her now or wait until I’d sorted this entire mess out. If I waited, I risked losing her forever—I could see the truth of that in her eyes, staring up at me. If I told her now, I risked her life if she decided she didn’t want to sit on the sidelines anymore.
“You really want to do this?” I asked.
“Do I really want to finally learn why you left me? You bet your furry ass I do.” The fire in her eyes dimmed just enough to reveal the hurt beneath.
“I want to know why,” she demanded. “Not the ‘it’s better if you don’t know’ vague nonsense you gave me at the condo.
I want the truth, Calder. The real truth. ”
She took a breath, the tremble in it cracking my chest wide open.
“We were happy. We were home and everything was fine. So yes. I want to know why you left me after three years of peace.”
I held her gaze, feeling the weight of her need pressing down on my shoulders. Alright. This was happening. Right now. I hadn’t expected this when I first followed her scent year, and I had to admit, I didn’t feel the slightest bit prepared.
“You aren’t going to like it,” I warned. Understatement of the year.
“I don’t have to like it,” she shot back, her chin lifting in that stubborn tilt I’d missed every damn day. “And I don’t need you to make me feel better, Calder. What I need is for you to be honest. For once.”
I winced. I’d never been dishonest with her, except for this.
I’d imagined this moment more times than I cared to admit, and none of those versions looked anything like this.
I’d always thought that once Thorne knew why I’d left—why I hadn’t come back—she might at least understand that I’d never stopped loving her.
But now that the moment was finally here, all I felt was dread.
This conversation would change everything.
I just didn’t know if it would save us or destroy us for good.
“Okay,” I said. “But not here.”
When she raised a questioning brow, I cast a pointed look around the square.
Truly, all eyes were on us. Across the town square, Mrs. Pomphrey was pretending to water her petunias, but the water had already spilled over the pot and now ran down the sidewalk in rivulets.
Next to the clocktower, the violinist had stopped playing and appeared to be “tuning” his already tuned instrument.
“Half the town is listening,” I murmured. “What I have to say is for your ears only.”
Thorne scanned the perimeter, her glare deepening when she clocked all the eavesdroppers. A few had the good grace to look embarrassed, but not enough for my liking.
She sighed. “Fine.”
Then she gestured for me to lead the way and immediately fell into step beside me as I led her down Main Street. I could think of only one place to take her, and that was the inn.
We walked in silence, which felt like a strange kind of torture all by itself. My body remembered the rhythm of us together and missed the close contact of holding her hand in mine. It felt unnatural not to be touching her. Like I was missing a limb.
It didn’t take long for us to reach the inn, and I held the door open for Thorne. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then swept past me, storming inside.
An empty lobby, save for the innkeeper sitting behind his desk, welcomed us. Silas, a badger shifter with a temper shorter than his legs, looked up from his ledger as we entered. His eyes widened when he saw Thorne, then narrowed into dangerous slits when he spotted me.
“Good morning, Thorne,” Silas grunted, his glare still locked on me. “How are you today?”
“Fine. Thank you, Silas.” She spared me a glance and shook her head. “Just… handling some business.”
“Need any help handling it?” he asked while cracking his knuckles.
I grinned, purposely showing Silas my teeth. Because everyone in Eternity Falls knew that werewolf trumped badger any day of the week. If he wanted to test me, I’d show him who could handle what.
“I’ve got it, but thank you, Silas,” Thorne assured him.
Silas grunted again, his gaze lingering on me with the promise of violence before he returned to his books.
I tilted my head toward the hallway and led Thorne to my room. I stopped just outside it and pulled out my keycard. A quick swipe and the light flashed green. I turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.
Thorne didn’t move.
I waited a moment, but when she still didn’t move, I frowned and glanced inside.
“I’m not going in there,” she said flatly.
I studied the interior once more. Admittedly, the room was rather small, but other than that I didn’t see anything wrong.
“Why not?” I asked.
“It’s a bedroom,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Your bedroom.”
“Fair enough. Where would you rather do this? Privacy is all that matters.”
Sighing, Thorne leaned into the room and scanned the four walls and double-sized bed.
“We could go back to the town square if that makes you feel better,” I offered. “But the pixies will hear every word and spread it all by sunrise.”
I studied her, taking in her defensive posture and the way her pulse fluttered visibly in the hollow of her throat. She wasn’t afraid of me—Thorne Wolfe feared nothing on two legs or four. But maybe she was afraid of our shared history. Of the intimacy that would always linger between us.
“Let me go ask Silas for a different room,” I said. “I’ll be right—”
“Ugh, it’s fine,” she snapped. Then, with an annoyed huff, she marched past me and into the room.
I followed and closed the door behind us. She didn’t like it, I could tell. But privacy mattered more than comfort now.
The room was simple—a bed, a desk, two armchairs near the window. My scent was everywhere, and her nose twitched as she took it in. She walked to the far side of the room, putting the armchairs between us, and turned to face me.
“Okay,” she said, her voice tight but steady. “We’re alone. No more excuses.” She pinned me with her relentless stare. “Talk.”