Page 72 of Before the Bond
Or was there the chance something was being hidden from me once again?
The evening settled in slowly.
The fire was already lit when I got there. Same chair. Same blanket folded over the arm. His chair across from mine. Only now, it was empty.
I sat anyway.
The fire crackled softly. A log shifted, sending a brief spray of sparks up the chimney. It should’ve felt familiar, yet it only made me feel lonelier than ever.
I thought about the story Caleb told me in this room, weeks ago now, when the fire burned low like this and the chairs were the same distance apart. When we were closer, somehow.
He told me that story to tell me who he refused to be.
I let my head fall back against the chair and closed my eyes. I waited. He never came.
After a couple of hours, I finally retired.
Chapter 15
Caleb
Sleep rarely found me these days.
The Voss pack's renewed pressure justified the shortened nights and the doubled sweeps. That was the excuse.
I was accustomed to not resting when needed. The cost, however, was a split in my attention. Everything blurred together.
I hadn't spoken to Olivia properly in days.
I would catch her glances as I passed by her in the hallways. Sometimes she would approach to say something, then stop.
The disappointment in her face told me everything. I didn’t have the time to process it. Not now. All that mattered was keeping her safe.
This morning was different. I settled on a ridge overlooking the estate. I smelled it. Elias’s scent was stronger than ever.
I didn’t wait.
The ground came up fast under my paws. The trees rattled as I brushed past them.
As I cut through the woods, I looked toward a Douglas fir along the edges of Olivia’s jogging route. A silhouette leaned against the stump.
It was him.
All I could see was red.
My wolf surged forward. My claws and fangs bared. I wanted him dead. I wanted to tear him right then and there.
I flew through the air, ready to pounce.
The fates have a strange way of being merciful. I stopped short. Mid-air, my body shifted, and I landed only a foot from where Elias was standing.
Elias turned, but I gave him no time to respond. I grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the tree.
The Douglas fir shook violently.
Elias’s surprise lasted only for a second before his infuriating grin re-emerged.
“Goodness, I forgot how quiet you are,” Elias said. “A hello would have sufficed.”
