Calum groaned and waved his hand. He didn’t care about all the intricacies. All he cared about was the woman in front of him. He should be as frantic as Fredrick looked, but he wasn’t. For some reason, Calum knew that everything was going to be okay.
When he looked around at the faces that were looking towards him, he was acutely aware that not everyone felt that way. It was tragic to see, but he tried to ignore it. They were looking at Ali as if she were just another vampire, but she wasn’t. She was his, and when he looked back at her, he started to see the wear on her.
Ali’s face was a lot paler than before, but that wasn’t because of the change. Her eyes weren’t as bright, and her smile was lacking the luster that it once had. Something had happened while she was gone, and he wanted to talk to her before the meeting was called and he was going to have to speak in front of everyone. He wanted to get some things straight, and he just had to touch her, every inch of her to know that she was okay.
“Set up the meeting for later in the night.”
Fredrick wanted to balk. That was too much time to pass without an update, but Calum was liable to make it later because a few hours wasn’t going to be enough time. He may need all night, though Ali didn’t look like she was going to be up for it.
“I will be down there when I can be. Everyone is staying close but tell Michael that Ali’s back. She brings news of an ambush tomorrow night at my house. We will have to make sure that we have something ready for them. I will await ideas when I get there.”
He’d said it in a way that left no room for argument. This was how it was going to be. Calum took Ali’s hand and started towards the house. She walked slowly, and he realized then that she was that tired. Had she run there? He had so many things to ask, but now they needed to get her laying down. She needed rest, that much was clear. It didn’t matter how badly his loins throbbed for her. He had to take care of her first and then he could tend to his own needs.
It was going to be harder than he could ever imagine.
