Page 146 of Callen's Captive

“Where did you go?”

“North, then east, then south. Then I ended up in a treehouse. Not our treehouse, just a random treehouse. I don’t even remember climbing the tree. Blade found me eventually. I returned with him, resumed patrols, slept, ate. That was my routine until earlier this week. I had to leave, to be anywhere except with the pack. Damien sensed it, so he sent me on small ops, always with another shifter. He wouldn’t let me be, Princess. He knew how lost I was without you. The pack will always be my family, but you were—you are—my home, Kate. No place will ever feel right without you.”

“Then you wouldn’t mind returning to your pack?”

“You’re my world, Kate. I won’t let you walk away from me again. Now that I have you back, I’m not going to lose you again. I don’t care how long it takes to convince you, but you are mine! I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it if I have to.”

“Is that what you think I did? Walked away from you?” She struggled to sit up, so he lifted her and slid her into his lap, mindful of the IV line.

“I didn’t walk away from you, Callen. Not exactly. I mean, the way I left you was wrong. I knew you might be mad. I expected it even, but I couldn’t stand to lose someone else I loved. My parents, Janie, everyone I’ve ever dared to love has been killed because of me. You promised to keep me safe, and it was a nice promise at the time, one that meant more than anything to me, but I made a promise to you too, and to your pack, though I never told you about it.”

“What promise?” he asked, the yellow in his eyes starting to swirl. She’d once mistaken that for anger, but with Callen it was a sign of intense emotions. She ran her hand along his neck and shoulder.

“I wasn’t going to let the WSSO hurt anyone else, not when I had a way of stopping them. Even if it was a slim chance, I had to take it. Valerie and Max’s blood were on my hands, not yours. The WSSO never would have been there if they hadn’t been after me. Briggs would have found a way to use you, all of you, against me until he had what he wanted.” She gnawed on her lip. “You never thought I trusted you.”

“You don’t trust easily, Princess.”

She relaxed in his arms. “You don’t see it, do you? I’ve trusted you from the start. That’s what has been so scary, that I trusted you and was falling for you. One more person in my life who’d get hurt because of me.”

He pulled her close, and she breathed his scent in, letting it calm her. She threw the bond open, and he inhaled sharply at the suddenness. His eyes locked on her. A wave of love struck her at that same moment, spreading through her entire being.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of having Callen fill that part of her that had been empty for so long. It was warm, passionate, loving. Callen.

When she opened her eyes, he was still watching her, the hard lines of his face gone, replaced by a softness he reserved just for her.

“I want to be with you, Callen, and I don’t care where. We can go back to your pack. I’m getting better with the trees, maybe because of my wolf. I’d like to learn how to be a shifter, but if you don’t want to go back, because of the trouble I’ve been, I’ll understand.”

His mouth slammed down on hers, and every part of her melted into him. Desire and need surged through the bond. Callenneededher. She could feel his need, his desire for her, down to her soul. His pack held a special place in his heart, but he was incomplete without her. She understood that all too well.

She pulled back and stared into his eyes. Bright yellow, intense, full of passion and life. “You really want me?”

“Hell, Kate, when are you going to stop doubting me?”

She smiled, that tingly feeling spreading all the way down to her toes. “Actions speak louder than words, shifter.”

“Back to shifter, again, huh?” he said as he rose and locked the door. “I guess I’m going to have to show you how serious I am then.”

“She needs to rest!” Mila shouted from the front room.

“Damn, keep forgetting about shifter hearing,” Kate said.

“Don’t worry, Princess. You won’t have to lift a finger for what I have in mind.”

Kate laid back as her shifter slowly stripped her bare. With that glow in his eyes, he planted kisses starting at her ankles and working his way up. With his shoulders, Callen nudged her legs apart. It was as if nothing had changed since she had left him, except that glow in his eyes was mirrored by the glow of the bond that once again flowed between them. Finally, Kate was home.

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To readthe epilogue to Callen’s Captive, click here. I’m forewarning you. . . the epilogue is slightly different from what you’ve read for Damien/Tess and Blade/Anna. This one will answer some questions and raise others. . .

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