Brief silence stretches between us as I stare up at him, and he doesn’t look away. Instead, his gaze is so infuriatingly steady.
“If you’re going to be working, then I want to make damn sure I don’t lose what little ground I’ve gained with you,” he says, nearly knocking the breath right out of me.
It shouldn’t affect me, but it does. It worms under my skin and settles there, almost mocking me in a way. Reminding me that, regardless of my old pain and of every way he has tormented me, I can’t completely resist him.
Instinctively, I want to refuse him just to prove I can, and to stay angry for as long as possible.
But the longer I think about it, three nights doesn’t seem like much in the grand scheme of things, especially compared tothe benefit of reclaiming that part of my life. An old rhythm I’ve been craving.
Finally, I exhale, making a point of it. “Fine. Three nights.”
At my acceptance, an immediate grin moves across his face, looking all too pleased with himself for getting me to cave.
“Good,” Caleb hums, continuing past me into the living room. “Then you can go back next week.”
Even if the subtle smugness in his words irritates me, I find myself nodding anyway. I’m just surprised he isn’t pushing for more or trying to control every detail.
More surprisingly, he actually heard me out.
As he walks away, his subtle movements send another wave of his scent my way, and, to my slight dismay, it leaves me feeling warmer than before.
I won’t say that everything is fixed now, but this might just make our whole arrangement a little more bearable.
And worst of all, I don’t hate it.
Chapter 16 - Caleb
Something about this whole thing irks my inner wolf, even if it feels irrational.
Letting Lila work again feels more like ungluing her from my side and giving up that instinctive hold I have over her. Even letting her anywhere outside of my reach puts me on edge.
Such a loud voice in my mind is screaming at me to keep her stowed away at home, where I know she’s safe, and where nobody can look at her wrong, where no Wraith Peak bastards can even get close. I know I shouldn’t, but that urge is so demanding that I almost can’t drown it out.
But if I cage her, she’ll retreat within herself, and she’ll hate me all over again, throwing our progress right out.
Lila survived years of relying only on herself, not me. She doesn’t forgive easily, and half the time, I’m not sure she forgives at all.
I want her trust, and to gain even a sliver of her respect, I have to earn it.
Doing that requires making sacrifices, which also means swallowing back the need to hover and to snarl at any male who even glances in her direction. My inner wolf never used to be this trigger-happy over the most minute things, but I have the bond to blame, along with all the unresolved issues between us.
Just keeping her locked up in the house until things cool down with Wraith Peak is tempting, but I can’t.
It’s terribly humbling. Infuriating, even, but I’m trying.
“Earth to Caleb,” Jack says, waving a hand in front of my face. “Are you still with us?”
I’m not, but I grunt back a response anyway. I glance between him and the few guys nearby, surveying the woods around us. “Yeah, I am.”
He gives me a pointed look as if he doesn’t fully believe me, but he moves on. “We were going over the reports from last night. There was more activity from Wraith Peak on the Northern border.”
“Not surprising,” I mutter, willing myself to stay present in the moment regardless of how difficult it is not to drift back to Lila. “They haven’t exactly been trying to keep a low profile.”
The forest is quiet around us, almost to the point of eeriness. Light filters through the trees and the fog, making the air look thick. I listen for every rustle, every snapping twig, and I pull in every shifting scent on the wind.
Nothing is out of the ordinary here, away from the general public, but even knowing the northern pack has grown braver makes my jaw clench anyway.
Luke, Hunter, Zane, and Dominic are around, some patrolling deeper into the woods while the others linger around, growing curious about the pack for their own reasons. If need be, they might have information to relay back to their own packs when they decide to head back.
