“What, are you psychic now?” he asked.
Calder looked so disgruntled I had to laugh. “No, I just know you well.”
“So I’ll send someone from the pack with you to help,” he stated.
The smile faded from my face. “No.”
“Chloe,” Calder warned. “I’m still your alpha.”
“I’ll leave the pack first,” I argued.
“Lone wolves don’t last long in this world and you know it.”
“I won’t be completely alone,” I stated. “My grandmother is helping me. She’s the one who’s setting everything up and she knows where I’ll be.” I paused. “Right now, she’s the only one I can trust with this, Calder. Well, other than you and Ricki. But this isn’t pack business. It’s family. My family. Rogues may have killed my parents, but there’s something more to the story and I intend to find out what it is.” I had other reasons for leaving, but there was no way I was going to drag Calder into my crushed dreams of mating and family. I had to handle it on my own. It was best to keep that little secret all to myself.
“Why now? Why not when you came here two years ago?” he asked, his tone exasperated. I knew then that he was going to give in.
“Things were heating up with the Faction at that time and that was more important.”
The Faction, which no longer existed, was a group of vampires, shifters, and warlocks intent on purifying the supernatural races and taking control of the humans. Their leader, Cornelius the Slayer, had been a powerfulanimavore. A devourer of souls, and he had been stronger than any being I’d ever met. Maybe even powerful enough to achieve the goal.
We’d lost several pack members and Calder had nearly lost his mate, but we had prevailed in the end. Rebuilding the pack and chasing down the few remaining members of the Faction had been our priority for the last eighteen months.
Then there was the matter of nursing Lachlan back to health. He had been alpha when we battled with the Faction…until his mate was murdered, a witch named Belinda. When she died, we’d nearly lost him. Calder had taken over as alpha and I had bullied, cajoled, and even once pinned Lachlan to the floor to make sure that he ate, drank, and slept instead of pining himself to death. There were some shifters who would have considered what I’d done cruel, but my wolf and I couldn’t allow him to die of grief.
“So now it’s time?” Calder asked, pulling me back into the present.
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “It’s time.”
“Well, you’d better say good-bye to Ricki or she’ll hunt your ass down.”
“I will,” I murmured.
“And Lach.”
I looked away from those knowing green eyes. “I doubt he’ll care.”
“Maybe he’ll surprise you,” he stated.
“Maybe.”
Though Calder might have been right, I didn’t intend to find out. Facing Lachlan’s indifference was more than I could bear. There was only so much pain I could take and I had already reached my limit.
Chapter Two
Lachlan
The nearly inaudiblesound of a light step on the kitchen floor snagged my attention. I blinked rapidly, wondering why my vision seemed dim. Then I realized that night had fallen.
Moving slowly, I pushed myself to my feet, rolling my shoulders and straightening my spine. I’d been sitting on my couch for the last few hours, unmoving.
I knew who was in my kitchen just from his scent. As I entered the room, I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the lights. Calder turned from the counter where he was spooning food onto a plate and studied me.
“You look like shit,” he stated before turning back to what he was doing.
“Thanks for pointing that out,” I replied.
The scent of the food hit my nostrils and my stomach growled loudly.
