The man across the street straightened, clearly recognizing Callum as trouble.
Callum crossed with deliberate steps and called out, “You got business here?”
The shifter didn’t respond. Just slipped his phone in his pocket and squared his stance like a challenge.
I felt sick. “Please, don’t escalate?—”
“Because if you’re watching one of mine,” Callum continued, still calm but sharp as glass, “I’d like to know why.”
The goon’s lips curved in a faint, mocking smile. “Just waiting for someone. Relax.”
Callum took a single step forward, menace in every line of his body. “Try again.”
And the guy caved. He turned and ran. Bolted down the sidewalk like he’d been lit on fire. I didn’t even feel relief, just a sick, twisting dread that settled low in my gut.
I turned toward Callum. He was still staring down the street, shoulders rigid, mouth tight.
Then he looked at me.
His disappointment hit like a punch to the chest.
“Inside,” he said, voice low.
I followed like I was walking to my own execution. My feet felt like bricks. My lungs barely worked. I felt like a glass cup balancing on the edge of a high shelf. One wrong breath and I’d shatter.
I’d worked so hard to keep this secret from them. From Callum. And now it was all falling apart, right here, in the open. Because Avery had crossed the line.
He hadn’t just sent warnings to my door, or creepy voicemails in the dead of night. He’d invaded my place. My pack’s place.
We went back into the kitchen, where Rowan and Cyrus were finishing prep. One look at our faces, and they cleared out fast, promising to take their lunch early.
Callum folded his arms and leaned against the stainless steel counter. “Talk.”
I hesitated.
He raised a brow. “Now, James.”
I felt sick. “It’s… not what you think.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
I swallowed hard. “That shifter… he’s one of Avery’s. The loan shark. I’ve been paying off a debt. It’s not mine, not really. It was my brother’s.”
Callum’s jaw tightened. “Joel?”
I nodded.
“I didn’t know Joel owed that kind of money.”
“Yeah, well,” I said bitterly, “neither did I. Not until after he died and one of Avery’s guys showed up at the apartment with a contract. Apparently Joel forged my name.”
Callum blinked. “He what?”
“I’ve been paying it off every month,” I said quickly. “I didn’t want to drag the pack into it. I thought… I could handle it.”
His brows drew together. “You’ve been dealing with this alone?”
“I didn’t want to be a burden.” The words felt like glass in my throat. “You already took me in. You gave me a job. A home. I didn’t want you to think I was using you.”
