Page 89 of Wolf's Providence

“But it was aboutyou!” I shot back, desperation clawing at my throat. “Why do you think that doesn’t matter? You shut me out every time I try to get through to you, and it’s driving me insane!”

Caleb’s expression flickered for a moment, the fire in his eyes dimming as he considered my words. But then, just as quickly, his resolve hardened again. “I’m not risking your safety, Willow. Don’t you get it? They wanted you to useyouagainst me, and I won’t let that happen.”

“Oh my God, Caleb! I can take care of myself!” I insisted, stepping closer. “You can’t just make decisions for me. You think isolating me and leaving me will keep me safe, but it’s only going to push me away.”

Eamon shifted slightly, sensing the tension was about to explode. “Look, let’s just calm down, okay? Emotions are running high. Caleb, we’re all on the same side here. Remember?”

“You stay out of this!” Caleb shot back, turning his intense gaze on Eamon. “You brought her here. Why the hell would I listen to you?”

“Because you’re a dick,” Eamon said calmly, holding Caleb’s stare. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m helping you keep her safe, and instead of pushing her away, you should be holding on to her with both hands and asking what you did to deserve her.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened, and I could see the war raging inside him. I took a breath, trying to ground myself, to find the right words that might reach him. “Caleb, please. If you just listened, you’d hear what I’m saying. I’m not scared of what they might have done to me. I’m not scared of what you might do to me. I’m scared of losing you.”

The words hung in the air, and for a moment, Caleb’s expression softened, but then I saw his head tilt, so slightly, that I knew he was listening to the shadows that wanted to cling to him.

“Caleb, don’t listen to them!” I felt the heat rise in my voice, frustration boiling over. “I don’t care what they’re whispering. You haveme. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

He looked at me then, really looked, as if searching for something in my eyes. But instead of breaking through the wall he’d built, he turned away, his hands running through his messy hair in agitation. “I can’t do this,” he murmured, his voice strained.

“Caleb, wait—” But he was already moving back toward the trees, frustration radiating from him like heat off a flame. I stepped after him, my heart pounding. “You can’t just leave!”

He paused, glancing back at me, eyes filled with something I couldn’t quite place—pain, maybe. “I have to. You’ll be safer if I’m not here.”

“Safer?” I echoed incredulously, my voice rising again. “Caleb? No, that’s not true, I don’t believe that.”

His gaze flicked away, jaw set in a stubborn line. “We’ll talk later.”

He melted into the shadows of the woods, leaving me standing there, wondering when would be the next time he’d come back. I could feel the frustration and fear swirling inside me.

Eamon stepped beside me, the silence stretching thick again, his presence a sudden reminder that I wasn’t alone. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“No,” I whispered, feeling the weight of everything I was losing.

“Who’sthey?” he asked. “The darkness you mentioned?” he guessed. When I nodded, he bit out a curse.

Despite my outbursts that I was strong and not weak, I wanted to cry. “He doesn’t see it, does he? He doesn’t see how much he’s losing by listening to them.”

Eamon shook his head, a hint of sympathy in his eyes. “He’s always been a stubborn bastard,” he murmured. “Hopefully, he’ll think about what you said, and he’ll come around.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, tilting my head backwards to look at the sky. “Or he’ll wait us out until we have no choice but to leave.” I looked at the dead men in the snow. “I don’t really have to help, do I?”

He laughed out loud. “No, princess, you go find a cabin that doesn’t reek of death, and I’ll find you when I’m done.”

“Is…” Oh God, how did you ask that question without reminding him what he’d lost? The atrocity that happened on this mountain happened to Eamon, too, and I’d been so wrapped up in Caleb I’d forgotten he wasn’t the only shifter who lost their family. “Is your family’s cabin nearby?”

Eamon shook his head, his head lowered so I couldn’t see his eyes. “No. I burned our home when I realized the alpha of the pack gave up.” He looked up at me, his eyes bright with pain. “There was nothing left here for me.”

“I’m so sorry.” It didn’t feel like enough, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me as the surge of adrenaline that had got me up this mountain drained from my body. “I was in Nell’s cabin last time I stayed here. Caleb turned the generator back on. I can go back there?”

Eamon watched me, his expression closed once more. “Okay, you know how to get there?” When I nodded, he bent back down to the dead shifter. “Good. Go get warm. I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”

I hesitated. “And Caleb?”

Eamon looked between me, the trees, and the dead shifters. “If he’s not back by tomorrow, I’ll go after him, okay?”

“Thank you.” And with that, I turned and headed to Nell’s cabin. If Caleb wasn’t back by tomorrow, we’d both follow wherever the path led.

I ignored the voice in my head that was asking me if I was tired of chasing down the man who had stolen my heart.

---