Chapter 31

“We did it!” I shouted as I clambored down the vines on the side of the building, finally landing in front of Caleb.

“It’s all thanks to you,” he said, grabbing my face with his calloused hands. His excitement was contagious, and I thought I could feel his fingers trembling behind my ears.

He brought me closer to him, pulled me up on my toes, but stopped just short of a kiss. I inhaled deeply, my eyes going wide as I tried to get my bearings. I could feel the warmth of his breath tickling my lips, and all I could see was the brilliant green of his eyes.

“Caleb?” I asked. I felt dazed, the chaos of the scene moments before completely lost.

His smile faltered, and he let me back down to the ground, releasing his grip on my waist. “Sorry,” he muttered under his breath, so low I wasn’t sure he had whispered anything at all.

What was that?

Before I could say any more to him he turned his back on me and began sorting out the arrests with Joseph and the guards.

I stepped back, sparing a glance at Killback laying facedown on the ground with Preston holding his wrists behind his back. His hair was longer than the last time I had seen him, and he looked a little disheveled. Killback had never exactly been known for hygiene, but it made me wonder how much work Lucas was forcing him to do now that Caleb’s claim to the throne was becoming more legitimate.

Killback was a key piece in Lucas’s network of agents and killers, and without him Lucas’s covert operations would be taking a huge blow. Has he already been overworking Killback because he was afraid of us? We would need to interrogate him to find out more about Lucas’s plans, that information would be critical to taking him down.

All at once, my thoughts stalled as he twisted his neck to look at me, the full force of his gray-eyed stare boring into me like he could set my skin on fire. A smirk slowly spread over his face, and he winked at me with an expression like a cat.

I watched in horror as his body morphed, expanding into his wolf form. Preston shouted in surprise, losing his grip and falling off into the mud beside them.

Killback reared on his hind legs and roared, the dozens of needlepoint teeth in his mouth glimmered dangerously. I had never seen him in his shifted form before, but it was instantly clear to me why Lucas had picked him as his right hand man. There was enough raw power in his limbs to shred a man apart.

I opened my mouth to scream as he crouched, ready to pounce with his eyes still locked on mine. I realized where he was going, but there was barely time for me to run before he was already leaping in the air. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the fall never came.

The air dazzled with a brilliant gold glow, and Caleb knocked Killback to the ground with his Alpha power. There was no fight, with the single blow Killback was slammed head first back into the mud, and his body instantly went still.

I puffed out a breath, staring at the two men in shock. Joseph ran beside me, kneeling down to check my head for injuries. “I’m fine,” I said, waving him away.

“He’s not.” Caleb said somberly, “He’s dead.”

Joseph nodded, “We’ll get this cleaned up. You two go home.”

The car ride home was quiet, and all I could think about was how in a few short minutes we had gone from collecting an important opponent who might have valuable information, to no more leads. Still, with Killback’s death, we managed to put a stop to the poisons being funneled into the castle through Killback’s schemes, which was what we had set out to do.

The Alpha Ball was safe from Lucas’s plans to spike the food, but we still had to be on guard for whatever else he had in store for us.

I walked to the front door of my apartment and had already unlocked the door before I realized Caleb was following me.

“Thank you,” I said. “For protecting me.” I hadn’t felt the pressure of his gaze while he was driving, but now that we were face-to-face, our interaction felt charged with a nervous energy.

He bent his head towards me, and for a moment I wondered if he was going to try to kiss me again. Would he? Would I want that? I didn’t pull away.

But then he reached for the ground behind me to pick up a few pieces of loose mail. “You really should start taking these inside. It’s going to rain tomorrow.”

I shrugged, “It’s almost always junk.”

“You did well, for tonight.” Caleb said, leaning back against the railings. “You’re a valuable member of the team, the rest of my supporters will be happy to see what you’ve helped us do.”

I smiled, “Does this mean you finally trust me now?” I laughed, trying to play it off as a joke.

Caleb’s expression hardened, his brows setting in a way I hadn’t expected. “I trust you, but until the Alpha Ball is behind us, we can’t take risks.”

“What, are you saying I’m a risk?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Caleb sighed, starting to get irritated. He had an infuriating habit of tapping his fingers when he was getting annoyed, and I could see the shadows moving from around his waist. “That’s not what I said–”

“That’s what it sounded like.” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. “If it wasn’t for me, you and Joseph would still be allowing poisons and dangerous acids to flow freely into the castle for Lucas’s plots. I saved your Ball.”

Caleb shook his head, “Nothing is saved until it happens. I’m still expecting you to impress me with the food shopping and the catering–”

“Impress you?” I said, incredulous. “You want me to impress you after my information led you directly to the person who was sabotaging you?”

Caleb groaned, looking around like he was at a loss for words. “I want you to do your job.”

“Don’t worry, I can do my job. I just hope once we get you on the throne that you’ll be able to do yours.”

For a moment he looked genuinely hurt, like I had struck a nerve he had been keeping hidden. But the emotion crossed quickly from his face, and suddenly I was looking at the playboy who had tormented me in my past life. “Oh my sweet fiance, you can take my word for it. But, if you won’t respect my mouth, maybe you’ll respect my cock.”

“You’re so immature!” I said angrily. “This is important!”

“And you, little creature, are not. So stop whining about things you don’t understand.”

I slammed the door behind me, resting my head against the wall. He wasn’t always like this, I knew there was kindness in him. He saved my life just an hour ago.

But how could I look past the exterior persona he put on? I scoffed. How could I really trust someone who put on different faces so easily? And what more did I have to do to prove I could be trusted, too?

It wasn’t worth it to let myself stay tangled up with him personally. I had gotten too close, after the moments we shared on the couch and the proximity to his lips I had felt tonight. If he wanted to talk to me, it had to be about official business. I wouldn’t engage with him otherwise.