Page 83 of Wolf's Providence

My heart was breaking for his loss, and I could never know what it was like to face that pain, but still, I needed to speak in Caleb’s defense. “But he wasn’t there, Eamon,” I told him gently, resting my palm on his arm. “Neither of you were.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Which is probably why they struck when they did.”

“I know,” he grumbled. “And then, not only did the prick kill them all before I got back, he tortured that bastard Jonah for days and wouldn’t let me near him.”

He tortured him?I shuddered at the thought.

“And now.” Eamon was still caught up in his anger. “Now you’re telling me the spirits of those bastards are fucking pulling him over to losing his shit completely? And he’slettingthem?” He glanced at me in question. “He’s doing it to himself,” he spat. “Always did have too big a heart, too big a conscience, too much fucking guilt to carry.” He thumped his hand off the steering wheel in frustration. “It drove me fucking insane. Gave our rations to beggars every other fucking day.” Slamming both his hands off the wheel, he didn’t notice he made me jump. “Goddessdamnhim, I will rip him a new asshole if this fucker goes dark because of guilt for those bastards.”

I watched the bundle of fury beside me and felt a glimmer of hope. “You should be careful, Eamon, you sound like you care very much for your alpha.”

“Fuck you, Harper.” He glared at me and saw my small smile. “Fuck you and fuck him.”

I was openly grinning, and Eamon saw it. Leaning over, he punched my leg, none too gently. “Ow!”

“I’m going to kick his ass,” he warned me. “You have an issue with that?”

Leaning back in my chair, I tipped my head back and smiled. “Nope. You go right ahead, my friend. You do what you need to, to help me bring him back.”

I had an ally I could trust. Someone who cared about Caleb as much as I did. Luna had sent her alpha help, and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

TWENTY-FIVE

Caleb

Standingat the foot of Shadowridge Peak, I looked up at the mountain, the ridge too high to see from here. The sun had long since set, and even with wolf sight, the Peak looked ominous in the dark.

I could feel them advancing on me. They knew I was alone, they knew I knew who they were, and like the scavengers they were, they were coming in numbers to take on a sole shifter. To get theirrevenge.

Let them come.

The woods rustled as I stepped onto the ground at the bottom of Shadowridge Peak. I felt the earth below my feet welcome me home. Making my way through the dark woods, I climbed with steadiness and familiarity. I could walk this in my sleep. Ihadwalked it in my sleep. My mother had found me many a time as a young pup, curled up at the base of a tree somewhere in the woods, far from the packlands.

I had faint scars on my body from the cuts and falls on this mountain, cuts that I was too young to shift to heal. My father had told me they’d make me stronger. I wasn’t sure what he would say if he saw me now.

The outcasts had been following me since I left her. Just as I hoped. They were pissed I’d killed their friend. Well, I was pissed they targetedher.

My only focus should have been on them—the shifters who had kept Willow in their sights far too long. Eamon would keep her safe while I put an end to this threat. I knew he would. We had our differences; I knew he blamed me for what happened to our pack, and I knew he resented the fact the blood of our enemies stained my hands only.

But he would keep my girl safe because she was innocent in all this. Like his sisters had been when the Cristone Pack had come to my lands with murder on their minds. Eamon would keep her safe so that I could focus on what needed doing here with no distractions. And when it was over, she’d be free from threat…and maybe, free from me.

I pushed down the ache of leaving her behind. She’d been so willing to stand beside me, but this was not her fight. I snorted at the thought. She couldn’t fight even if she wanted to. A shifter would overpower her in seconds, and she’d be dead. The thought chilled me to the bone.

A shifter’s world was no place for someone as frail as Willow.

The sound of branches cracking underfoot brought me back to the moment. The subtle rustling of leaves beyond the clearing indicated movement, and I tensed, scenting the air and adjusting to the darker part of the forest, every muscle wound tight. They were close, closer than they should have been.

My mind went back to Willow for a heartbeat.Eamon would keep her safe, I reassured myself. I’d left her with a shifter who knew exactly what was at stake. He understood how to keep her hidden, to keep her out of this.

I pushed on ahead, my wolf itching to be free, but I wanted to make sure the fuckers were following me, thinking they were clever enough to herd me to my packlands where they wouldhope that my rage and grief would rule my emotions. But I’d seen what my inner turmoil did when I let go and lost control.

I’d felt it when Willow bled out in my arms.

The fact that they still followed when I was making a beeline right for the clearing confirmed they were stupid.

Careless.

In human form, Shadowridge Peak was treacherous in the dark, but my mountain seemed to grip a little firmer underfoot as I climbed it, irrespective of the snow. I relied on the strength of my memory and body as I made my way up it. I thought I heard a couple of muffled curses the higher we climbed, and the thought they weren’t fairing as well as I was made me smile grimly on the climb.

Stopping, I started to pull off my clothes. I could go no further as a human. I’d been carrying a canvas tote in my jacket pocket. It was one of Willow’s. I doubted she’d notice it was missing. Black with gold print, it wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, but it served its purpose. Folding my clothes, I packed them into the soft tote, ensuring the handles lay spread out so that when I shifted, my wolf could pick them up. It took a few attempts, but once I had hold of them, my wolf took off running.

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