Page 37 of Marked by the Pack (Crooked Point #2)

Thursday

Emma

“Hey, buddy,” Zoey said. She stood up and punched Callum’s arm. “Funny seeing the two of you here of all places. What a coincidence.”

“Were you spying on me from behind this bush?” Callum asked.

“That doesn’t sound like something we’d do.”

He raised his eyebrow at her. “It sounds exactly like something you two would do.” He turned his attention to me.

Shit. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my knees.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Zoey said. “We were just on a walk and I dropped my necklace and we were looking for it.”

“The necklace around your neck?”

“Yup.” She put her fingers against her choker. “We…um…found it.”

“Emma,” he said, his attention turning back to me. “What’s going on?”

“I…” my voice trailed off. “I just…” We’d already talked about this. A few times. I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t shake this jealousy thing. Callum was going to think I’d completely lost it. But I didn’t have to think of what to say. Because Zoey cut in.

“ I thought maybe Kebe had a crush on you. So I convinced Emma to come with me on a stakeout,” Zoey said, taking the hot seat. “And clearly I was right.”

Oh God. This was already awkward enough. I didn’t want to add in this awkward confrontation too! But I was grateful Zoey said it was her idea. Because even though she’d recommended it, there was a high probability I would have been doing this on my own anyway.

Kebe laughed. “So you followed us? Why didn’t you just ask me? Callum is like…the little brother I never had.” She elbowed him in the side and Callum laughed.

Little brother? I stared back and forth between them. I was pretty sure she was younger than him. Especially if you counted the whole him being alive for hundreds of years thing.

“Then why were your hands all over him?” Zoey asked.

Great question! I could feel Callum’s eyes on me. But I kept mine trained on Kebe.

“We were just having a personal conversation,” she said. “And I’m a touchy feely person. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Your hand was on his face,” Zoey said. “Friends don’t touch friends’ boyfriend’s faces, Kebe.”

That was bad. But my mind stuck on the “personal conversation” part of her response. Callum found it easy to talk to her. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he was talking to her about something he didn’t feel comfortable talking about with me.

Kebe pressed her lips together. She looked guilty. “I’ve lived so many places, it’s always hard to remember what’s okay where. I’m sorry, Emma. We were just talking. I swear. ”

“What were you talking about?” I asked. I had to know. I had to know what he could only talk to her about. And why he wouldn’t just come to me.

Callum sighed. “Apparently the two of you told her my secret last night. Even though I specifically asked you not to.” He gave me a stern look.

Oh, shit. Yeah…we had done that. I needed to stop drinking so much wine with Zoey. God, that’s what this was about? He was going to think I was completely nuts.

I had thought their conversation looked intimate. But I knew how Callum felt about being a vampire. He thought he was a bad person. A monster. She was probably just comforting him. Telling him the same things I always did.

“I was just telling him I understood,” Kebe said. “Since my daddy is a professor. He’s studied all these things.”

“I thought you said he was a curator?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. He has tons of interests.” She shrugged like what she’d just said was normal.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t hitting on Callum. But there was still something off about her.

“And I wanted to make sure that Callum knows that he’s perfect exactly the way he is. And that he doesn’t need to change.”

What the fuck, Kebe? She knew the plan for tonight. We were breaking into the bank to steal a cure for Callum. Why was she trying to convince Callum to stay a vampire when she knew I was hoping to convince him to do the opposite? Kebe was the freaking worst!

Kebe put her hand on Callum’s arm again.

This time he just smiled down at her .

And it felt like a knife in my chest.

“Well good,” Zoey said. “I’m glad we cleared all that up.”

What? I stared at her. I didn’t think we’d cleared up anything. Kebe was still touching Callum!

Zoey leaned closer to me. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “We’ll get to the bottom of what she’s up to. But in the meantime…look. He’s not staring at her the way he stares at you. With stars in his eyes.”

I looked back over at them. Callum had shrugged away from Kebe’s touch again.

And maybe he was smiling at her as more of a sibling than a potential lover.

He turned toward me and right away I could see those stars in his eyes.

Yeah, I could see the difference. I could.

Because it was the same way I looked at him.

He smiled at me. “I was calling you to see if I could pull you away from the house renovations for a few minutes for lunch. But I think we should probably go talk now.”

Well, that sounded ominous. He probably wanted to talk about my jealous ways. But I was just happy he was still speaking to me at all. “Yeah, of course.”

He put his hand out for me. I slid my hand into his. My heart beat better when our fingers were intertwined.

“See you tonight,” Zoey said. She turned to Kebe. And I was pretty sure Kebe was about to be reprimanded.

Callum didn’t say a word as we walked back toward Main Street. And the silence was slowly killing me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “We didn’t mean to tell Kebe your secret. She overheard us talking.”

“It’s fine,” he said .

But I wasn’t sure it was. He looked distracted. Or…nervous maybe? Something just seemed off.

“And I’m sorry about spying on you. I trust you, I do. I just so easily get in my head about these things. I honestly didn’t even realize I was a jealous person until you came back into my life.”

He finally turned to look at me. “You’re not wearing the earrings.”

“What?” I touched my fingertips against my ear. I’d taken them out last night before bed. And for some reason I didn’t put them back on this morning.

“Why aren’t you wearing them?”

I swallowed hard. “I told you, Callum. They’re too much.” They were too expensive. Too perfect. “They’re just…not really me.”

“Because you think they’d look better on Kebe?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I thought he’d look upset, but he smiled instead.

“You’re wrong. They look beautiful on you . And only you. I gave them to you because I want you to wear them. I want you to wear them and think of me.”

I was pretty sure my heart melted a bit.

He squeezed my hand as we turned off Main Street toward his house. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our conversation last night.”

Fuck. I needed to apologize about this too.

I couldn’t believe Kebe was all over him telling him he was perfect just the way he was.

Right after our conversation when I’d asked him if he was willing to change back into a human.

It made it seem like I didn’t accept him how he was, and that wasn’t the case at all.

“I don’t think you need to change, Callum.

I love you exactly how you are. It’s one thing I actually agree with Kebe about.

I asked you if there was a cure because I was curious, not because I think you need it.

I don’t mind that you’re a vampire. I only asked because you refuse to change me into a vampire.

I’d much prefer that. We’ve been over this a million times and you always tell me no… ”

“Not that part of the conversation,” he said.

“Oh?” What else had I said last night? I’d been very distracted by the coin I was searching for. And by him. Mostly by him. We walked down the sidewalk toward his house while I thought. “Are we talking about how I asked you to bite me again? Because I really liked that.”

He tried to hide his smile as he unlocked his door. “I was actually still talking about you being jealous of Kebe.” He stepped to the side so I could walk in first.

I hurried past him so he couldn’t see me cringe. God, why were we still talking about this? I was a little mortified that I’d felt compelled to spy. Especially since he’d just tried to reassure me last night. And I didn’t really know what to say.

He started walking up the steps.

Apparently he didn’t know what to say to me either. Where was he going?

I followed him up the stairs and toward the room that was an exact replica of the room we’d first met in. He unlocked it and walked in. And then he sat down on the couch.

I just stood there, awkwardly staring at him.

“I get it, Emma,” he said.

Wait. “You do?” I sat down next to him.

“Do you have any idea how jealous I was when you moved to town and immediately started dating Bennett? ”

I nodded. I had a good idea. “Probably about as jealous as I feel now.”

“Except you reciprocated his feelings. You let him kiss you. Touch you. It felt like my heart was on fire.”

“You were pretending to be someone else, Callum. What was I supposed to do?”

“So you dated him to make me jealous?”

I shook my head. “You’re infuriating.”

“I’d say the same about you, Emma. I think you dated Bennett just to torture me. To push me. To find out how I really felt about you. To see if the memory of us haunted me as much as it haunted you. You were testing me. But we don’t need any more tests.”

“I know, I’m sorry about Kebe. I don’t know what made me follow you…”

“I’m not upset with you.” He grabbed my hand.

“I kept thinking about our conversation because I wanted to find the root of the problem. I want to prove to you that you have nothing to be jealous of. And I think I know what’s wrong.

It’s not even about Kebe. I think you’re scared.

Because I left you once. And you’re worried I’m going to leave you again. ”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. Just thinking about that moment ten years ago when he’d disappeared… He was probably right. I was terrified of him leaving me. “The thought of losing you makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”

“Emma, I’m never going to leave you again. Ever.”

I felt my bottom lip start to tremble. I didn’t even know I was still holding on to that pain. That was the problem. Right there. Because I fell in love with him ten years ago and he’d disappeared on me. I couldn’t do that again .

“I need you to trust me,” he said and put his hand on the side of my face.

“Those ten years we were apart? You were on my mind the whole time. I was trying to learn how to control my cravings. So that it would be safe for us to be together. All I did was think of you. The love I have for you isn’t something that just stops. You’re in my veins, Emma.”

I nodded as I blinked through my tears.

“We have different definitions of forever. But I want to be on the same page from this moment on. I don’t want you to ever think I’m choosing to leave you. I’ve put a lot of thought into this. There is no cure for me.”

I wasn’t so sure about that…

“But if you still feel the same way in another year…I’ll change you.”

“Really?”

“I’ll show you every side of what changing will mean.

You’ll have all the information you need to make a decision.

I really don’t think you’re going to want to turn.

But I trust you’ll make the right decision for you.

For us. Our definitions of forever should be the same.

And if you want it to be an actual forever… I’m not going to prevent it.”

I threw my arms around him. He was agreeing to change me.

In a year. I wasn’t sure he’d need to change me, or if he’d want to change after I found the cure.

But I wanted to be on the same page. He was right about everything.

The worry of our forevers not aligning. The worry of him leaving me again.

It had all made my stomach twist into knots. And he’d just untangled all of it .

He kissed the side of my neck. “There’s one more thing. Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“You’re terrible at following instructions,” he said with a smile. “Close your eyes.”

I was smiling now as I closed my eyes.

The couch cushion shifted slightly as he rose. I listened to his footsteps. There was a squeaking noise. And then his footsteps returned.

“I want you to know how serious I am about us,” he said.

“I gave you those earrings, hoping that you’d wear them and think of me.

That people would see you wearing them and know that you belonged to me and only me.

I didn’t realize how important that was until I saw you not wearing them.

Because I’m just as possessive as you. I’m just as jealous as you. ”

I laughed.

“But I think I have something that’s a better fit for you.

I was trying to plan out the perfect moment.

But I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to give you a reason to have any doubts in your head.

I don’t want anyone else to think they have a chance with you.

Because you’re mine. Open your eyes, baby. ”

I opened my eyes to see Callum down on one knee in front of me. Oh my God. My heart started beating against my chest. Was he… He wasn’t about to…

“Emma, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

Tears started streaming down my face as I dove into his arms.

He laughed as he held me tight. “Is that a yes?”

“A million times yes.” We’d talked about forever so much. But I’d been waiting for this exact moment. And he was right. I didn’t need some over the top proposal. This was perfect. Right in this replica of the room where we’d first met. Realizing our fears and dreams were perfectly aligned.

“Don’t you want to see the ring?” he asked.

“I didn’t even realize there was one.” I pulled back.

“Who proposes without a ring?”

I laughed. “You’ve been talking like we were engaged for weeks. I kind of thought we’d just talk about it like we already were all the way up to our wedding day.”

He smiled. “No. I want everyone to know you’re mine.” He opened up his palm to reveal the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen.

The golden band was thin and twisted in a way I’d never seen before. It almost looked like a tree branch. The metal swirled around the beautiful diamond in the center. The ring looked so delicate, I was almost scared to touch it.

“It belonged to my mother,” he said. “I was going to get it reset. But I know how much you love old things.” He lifted my hand and slid it onto my ring finger.

I looked down at the ring. “Callum, it’s perfect.” I pressed the side of my face against his chest.

He grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to his. “You and I are forever.”

“Forever and always.” He’d agreed to change me.

He was going to give me what I wanted. But he might want the cure instead.

I knew he wanted me to live a normal life.

If he took the cure…our forever was going to have a time limit.

And I wasn’t going to waste another se cond of it.

I was done doubting. Done questioning anything. I was his and he was mine.