Page 28 of Bitten, Marked, Obsessed

Callum is the one rolling in.

And I have no idea if I’m meant to run from it… or right into it.

Callum nods once. His voice, when it finally comes, is low. Rough. “Hi.”

I blink.

“Hi?”

His friend snorts.

Callum clears his throat, eyes flicking toward my father. “Didn’t expect her to be... this young.”

“And alive?” I shoot back.

His eyes snap to mine again. There’s something there, not quite a smirk but still makes me want to rub it off his face.

“Both,” he admits.

I glance at my dad. “So? Is he safe?”

Dad looks at me, then at Callum. Then nods. “He’s not with PEACE. And like I said, he’s not his father.”

Something tightens in Callum’s jaw.

“That supposed to be a compliment?” I mutter.

“It’s supposed to mean I trust him,” Dad replies evenly.

Callum nods once. “Then let’s get to work.”

12

CALLUM

I’ve trained rookies before.

Run drills. Given patrol routes. Broken down survival tactics like it’s just another language, one anyone can pick up if they’re not too full of themselves to listen.

But this isn’t that.

Kendall moves like she’s trying not to shake apart. She’s sharp-eyed, alert, instinct-driven as hell—but everything in her posture screams tension. Not the scared kind. Thebarely-holding-it-togetherkind. It’s in the set of her jaw. The way her shoulders twitch when the wind shifts.

And I can’t stop watching her, which is a problem.

Abigone.

Because Edmund’s leaning against the far wall of the tunnel, arms crossed, gaze heavy on both of us like a lion watching rival cubs circle.

And Elias is gone—off to patrol solo so we have a believable cover story to bring back to the pack. He won’t blow my cover. He never has. But it means I’m alone with her.

Andthiskind of alone? In this cold, quiet space?

It’s dangerous.

“You’re staring,” Kendall says, breaking the silence.

Her voice is low, annoyed. But there’s heat underneath it. The kind that burns slow.

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