Page 25 of Wolf’s Providence (The Shadowridge Peak #3)

TWENTY-FOUR

Willow

I double-checked the bag I’d thrown together, nerves tightening in my stomach as I pulled it over my shoulder. My phone chimed just as I came out of my bedroom, and walking into the living room, I wasn’t surprised to see Lily standing there, her brows knitted in concern.

“A voicemail?” she asked, her arms folded tightly against her chest. “You left me a fricking voicemail?”

“You didn’t answer…”

“So you call again. You do not leave your best friend a voicemail.”

“Understood,” I murmured. “I take it you listened to it?”

The flat look was warranted. “No, I picked your message out of the air with my psychic abilities. No, wait, that’s your trick, right?”

“I’m guessing you’re pissed off?” I asked with a sigh, dropping my bag to the floor. Lily watched the descent of the bag with far too much interest.

“You’re leaving whether I listened to the voicemail or not?”

I took a deep breath. It had been such a good voicemail. Clean, concise, and compact. Boom, boom and boom. Now I had to do the messy in-person stuff. Only one hour ago, I was telling myself I wasn’t weak. Staring at Lily right now, I did feel a little bit like a coward.

“I need to meet Caleb,” I told her, trying to make it sound like no big deal. “He’s, um…gone ahead. I have someone who is helping me catch up.”

“Someone?” Her eyebrow quirked in that knowing way, meaning she could smell a rat, and I could see worry threaded into her gaze.

I swallowed hard, debating how much to say. I couldn’t share their secret, but I hated lying to her. “An old friend of Caleb’s.”

“That man has friends?” Lily asked doubtfully. “Mr. Talk-A-Lot?”

“Lily, be nice.” I suspected her dad told her he had reservations about Caleb, and Lily valued her father’s opinion.

“So…you’re being cryptic on purpose?” she guessed. “Which means that it’s this thing that you can’t tell me more about, but it’s why your places were broken into, and it’s tied to Caleb, right?”

My eyes closed briefly. I was so tired of being confused. “Yeah,” I answered truthfully. “It’s tied to Caleb and me. We’re linked, Lily, and even if we weren’t, I would be going.”

“Because you love him.”

Just flat-out put that out there.

“Um…” My face was burning. I knew Eamon was listening. I knew Lily wasn’t expecting to be told otherwise. I…what was I waiting for? Squaring my shoulders, I nodded. “Yes. I do.”

She watched me her expression softening. “And this friend? Is he crazy? Can he be trusted? What if he’s like a serial killer or something? Is he hot?” She seemed to think about the order in how she’d just listed off her questions but then shrugged. When she looked at me, her eyes widened in understanding. “He’s in the house, huh?” I bobbed my head slightly. “Of course he is.”

“I’m not crazy.” Eamon’s low voice came from behind her, and she nearly jumped. “Depends on who you’re asking me to trust, not a serial killer, but probably not your typical good guy. And I can hold my own in the looks department.”

Lily spun to face Eamon, who was leaning against the wall with the faintest hint of a smile.

I moved a little so I could see both of them, and I saw Lily look him up and down, clearly unimpressed with his silent entrance. “And you’re…?” Her voice was sharp with suspicion, and I could see her sizing him up.

“Eamon,” he replied with a simple dip of his head. “I’m taking Willow to Caleb, depending on how hard she snores. Well, that determines whether she’ll be added to the body count.”

I saw Lily’s mouth drop and I shot Eamon an exasperated look. “That’s not helping!” I scolded him, but he was already laughing.

She turned back to me, concern marring her beautiful face. “What is going on with you?” she asked quietly, not caring Eamon could hear her. “You meet Caleb and you’re not the person you were. The woman I know, the Willow I know, would never ever be running after a guy, no matter how good he looked or how well he did in bed.”

“Lily!”

She ignored my wide-eyed look.

“Don’t Lily me, Willow. What the heck is happening? You told me some of it, and you promised if things got crazy, you’d tell me it all.” Lily glanced at Eamon. “Girl, things got crazy a while ago, I’d say. Tell me everything.”

“I can’t.” It was the hardest two words I’d ever said in my life.

Lily’s gaze flicked to Eamon once more, before she turned back to me. “Willow?”

Her look of disappointment tore at my heart, but I knew right then that I could never tell her all of it. She must have seen the resolve in my eyes because after a long moment, she nodded her head.

“Alright, listen to me,” she said, moving closer to me, but her words were for Eamon. “Willow’s my best friend. I don’t care who you are to Caleb, friend, or friend of a friend, if you don’t bring my best friend back in one piece, you’ll have me to deal with.” Reaching out, she grasped my hand, squeezing tight. “There’s some very weird, funky shit going on here, and I don’t like it. But Willow…” Her hand was gripping mine tightly. “Willow is loyal, and if she loves Caleb, well…she’s too stubborn to listen to reason. So, you bring her back to me in one piece, understand? No more accidents .”

“Lily,” I whispered in protest, but they both ignored me.

Eamon’s eyes were brimming with amusement as he watched my fiercely protective best friend lay down the gauntlet. “No more accidents, got it.”

Reaching out, I tugged at Lily’s coat sleeve. “Hey, come with me.” Turning to Eamon, I gave him my best behave look and pulled Lily to my room. “I’ll be two minutes,” I told him.

“Day’s wasting,” he muttered, scooping my bag off the floor. “I’ll be in the Jeep.”

With the door closed behind her, Lily turned to me with her hands on her hips. “You’re really leaving with him ?”

“Caleb got a lead on the guys who broke in, he went after them, and I don’t want him to be alone.” All of this was true, so it felt better than being evasive.

“Why didn’t he tell the police?” Lily snapped in frustration. “It’s why they’re here, to protect us!”

“He’s taken it personally,” I murmured.

“Men! Idiots.” She glared at the door. “This is so unlike you,” she grumbled. “It scares me that you won’t tell me.”

I shook my head slowly. “It’s not for me to tell, Lil.”

The look I received was warranted. Lily thought it over and then rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t tell me that the hunk of the season was standing behind me?”

“You think he’s a hunk?”

Lily looked at me as if I were insane. “I know you’re all caught up in Caleb, but you’re not blind! The guy is ripped.”

“He’s wearing like three layers of clothing!” I protested, desperately grabbing onto the olive branch she was offering me. “How can you even know?”

“Girl!” Lily rolled her eyes again. One day, they’d roll right out of her head. “You need to imagine taking the clothes off .”

I burst out laughing. “And you had the cheek to ask me if he was insane…”

We shared a look and a smile before she sobered. “You told me you’d tell me if it got dangerous…and I know, I know what you said before, but…” Lily took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say next. “You were in a bad car accident. Where was Caleb then? Nowhere, that’s where. Are you sure you want to run after him?” she asked me, doubt heavy in her voice.

“He would do it for me, and yes, even if he wouldn’t.” Which I knew he would, but I didn’t have time to convert Lily to his cheer squad. “He needs me, Lily. Trust me. Please.”

She stared at me, searching for something in my face before nodding. “Fine,” she muttered. “Just…text me when you get there?” She saw my frown. “Fine! Text me when you can?”

“Promise.” I looked around my room, feeling the tears threaten. “Hey, um…will you water my plants?”

“Ugh, do you even need to ask?”

A sharp rap of knuckles against the door made both of us jump. “Harper, let’s move.”

With another eye roll, Lily opened the door, leading the way back into the main living room. My keys were already in the door, waiting to lock up. On my front step, I hugged Lily. I knew she’d be worried until she heard from me, and I knew she hated letting me go.

“Stay safe,” she instructed.

“Always.” I hugged her again. “I love you.”

She pulled me in tight. “I love your crazy ass too.” Standing back, she looked me up and down. “He better be worth this,” she muttered.

“He is.”

Once in the Jeep, I rolled the window down so I could speak to her as Eamon got ready to drive. “Love you, thanks for coming to talk.”

“Voicemail,” she muttered. “It’s so two-thousands.”

Eamon huffed out a laugh, and I caught Lily checking him out again. He noticed and didn’t seem to mind. With the Jeep in drive, I waved as he pulled away.

Once we were a safe distance from the house, I glanced at him. “Thanks for helping with that. She can be protective.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

I didn’t say anything further, merely focusing on the streets as we passed. I was eager to be with Caleb and make sure he was okay.

“You’re worried about some mutts taking out your alpha?” Eamon asked, and I could hear the underlying curiosity in his question. “You’re sighing a lot and fidgeting,” he explained.

Honestly? I wasn’t worried about them at all. I worried about Caleb on that mountain without someone by his side adding some reasoning in his ear.

Right now, he was alone with only the darkness to listen to, and I had no way of knowing how bad it was.

The hum of the engine was the only sound between us as Eamon drove, his attention fixed on the road ahead. Outside, the last light of day began to fade, casting a deep purple over the sky. I fidgeted, unable to ignore the knot of nerves that had grown since we’d left town.

“Have you done this kind of thing before?” I asked, glancing over at Eamon.

“Depends on what you mean by ‘this,’” he replied, his hands steady on the wheel, eyes still trained on the darkening road.

“Finding Caleb?” It felt wrong when I said it, and my body hummed with a low awareness of the link between Caleb and me. “Not finding,” I mused. “Watching him…watching over him?”

Eamon’s lips twitched with a faint, almost hidden smile. “Caleb’s very good at keeping people at arm’s length. Watching over him? You’d need to be good.”

“But you do,” I murmured. Twisting in my seat to face him, I studied him. He was shifter bulky. I’d now come to expect all shifters to have toned physiques. Even the old shaman, while clearly not lifting weights at the gym, was still toned and lithe. Eamon had dirty blond hair, hidden beneath a backward cap, and blue eyes that seemed to hold a hint of amusement. Scruff covered his jaw—not like Caleb’s, which was carefully maintained—Eamon’s just looked like he couldn’t be bothered to shave today. I saw why Lily would call him a hunk. “Does he know?”

Eamon’s huff could have been amusement, it could have been irritation, I wasn’t sure. “Caleb’s who he is. It takes a certain kind of patience to deal with him sometimes.”

Even though it was a non-answer, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I noticed.”

Eamon’s expression softened as he glanced over, reading something in my face. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” When I nodded, he thought for a moment before speaking. “About the rogues? Or something else?”

I didn’t know how honest to be with this man whom I didn’t know. But I knew Caleb had trusted him enough to get him to watch me while he went after the shifters threatening me. Threatening him.

“Something else.” I hesitated, staring out of the window. “There’s a darkness on that mountain, and it calls to him.” Turning back, I saw Eamon’s frown. “Have you been to Shadowridge Peak?”

His face was carefully smooth as he answered. “Been there? It was my home.”

I knew I was gaping at him in surprise. “Your home? You were Shadowridge Peak Pack?” I asked him incredulously. “How?”

The amusement was back. “How? Mom and Dad lived there, Mom popped out a few kids, I was one of the kids.”

“But how did you survive what happened?” My hand flew over my mouth. “Sorry, that was insensitive.”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s been ten years. Grief never leaves, but it fades.” He cleared his throat before he continued. “My mom, dad, and two sisters were home the night it happened. We found them in their beds, so chances are they never even woke.” I saw his fingers clench on the steering wheel. “That’s what I hope anyway.” He glanced at me, his eyes shielded. “I wasn’t there. I never knew until I came back.”

“I’m so sorry.” I hadn’t thought about how many there would have been who may not have been on the mountain the night of the massacre, how many people had to return home to find their whole lives ruined. “No one should have to return to that.”

Eamon didn’t say anything, and we were quiet for a while, both lost to our thoughts.

“What’s this darkness you mentioned?” he asked suddenly, making me jump a little. “You said there was a darkness that calls to him. Expand.”

“Expand?” I asked him, smiling at the order. “Don’t tell me, you did military training too?”

Eamon looked at me curiously. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh…” I struggled for something to say. “Well, I thought not all male shifters went to the services.”

“They don’t. I did.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who follows orders,” I said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood.

He was staring right ahead, his eyes on the road, so I couldn’t read his expression well, and in turn, he couldn’t see mine, which may have been a good thing because what he said next stunned me. “I went where my alpha went.”

And it all made sense.

This was why he still watched him and followed him. “You’re his beta.” My heart rate picked up. “You were with him when he returned?”

Eamon shook his head. “Not his beta, he wasn’t alpha of Shadowridge Peak then . I knew, we all knew, he would be when Amos stepped down.” He cleared his throat. “But no, I wasn’t with him when he returned. He left in the middle of a training day. By the time I found out he’d gone, I was sixteen hours behind him.”

“His revenge?”

Eamon’s eyes were hard when he looked over at me. “Was his revenge. He never let me get mine.”

Oh.

He snapped himself out of his dark mood. “Tell me about this darkness?”

“Did Caleb tell you about my…ability?” It sounded so ridiculous when spoken out loud.

“Told me you’re human, he cares for you, and some pricks want to use you to draw him out.” He checked the rearview. “No mention of anything other than you’re human.” I watched him think about it. “He said you’re tied to something, but he doesn’t understand what it is.”

“I’m tied to him,” I told him quietly. “I started drawing scenes, paintings, sketches, and in them were places I had never seen, a man I had never met. Until one day I did.”

“You drew Caleb?”

“I did.” My voice was shaky. “And dear Lord, was he pissed about it,” I added with a small smile of remembrance.

“So that’s what she meant by psychic?” he asked, referencing Lily’s jibe at my tie to Caleb.

“Yes.” I nodded. “I’m not though. I’m just linked to Caleb.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” I wanted to tell him the theories, but I didn’t believe them myself to tell someone else them.

Eamon was quiet as he thought about it. “And this darkness? Are you linked to that?”

“No!” Shaking my head, my hands curled into fists. “No, that’s his past and the…the spirits of the dead.”

He looked at me, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “I knew he’d gone mad,” he muttered. “Fucking dick always was wrestling with his demons.”

“What do you mean?” I turned again to face him in my seat. “He’s done this before?”

“What? No.” Eamon shook his head. “He’s just, Caleb’s a powerful alpha, okay. I dunno how much you know about us, as in know about us, but alphas have varying levels of strength. The Goddess likes strong-minded alphas. I don’t mean that they’re opinionated—though Goddess knows she has a fair few of them too—but inner strength. You’ve met Alpha Cannon?” When I nodded, he continued. “His father was an absolute bastard, cruel to the bone, but his Will was strong. He believed in what he was doing, so because he did, he had a strong pack. He just beat them down because he was stronger.”

“Cannon isn’t like that.”

“No, absolutely not. I mean, he’s overbearing with all his righteousness sometimes, but he inherited a strong pack because his father made them strong—for the wrong reasons, but the way they mold you is the way they mold you.”

“Caleb’s father was good?”

“Amos? Yeah, he was the best,” he said with a fond smile. “But Caleb is very powerful,” he added, the smile fading. “He had a lot of power to control. It was why we went back for the third tour; he felt he just wasn’t ready.” A flash of bitterness crossed his face. “It cost us everything.”

“Do you think you’d have made a difference if you were there that night?” I asked gently.

“The new alpha of the Shadowridge Peak Pack walked into our community hall where the bastards were gathered, celebrating their victory, and used his Will to tell them all to not move—that’s his Will on shifters who were not his pack —and then walked through them, one by one, and cut every one of their throats.” Eamon’s face was like stone. “He killed them all, and he never lost his hold on them . Not one of them managed to fight his Will. That’s how strong he is. How powerful he is.”

Jesus Lord.

“It’s a lot to get your head around.” My voice was barely a whisper. “You resent him for that?”

“I resent him for the third fucking tour I went on, the sand in my ass crack for months that I couldn’t get out, the sunburn on my face I couldn’t shift to heal, and the fact he was fucking ready and too weak to admit it . If we hadn’t been fucking about in the desert, we would have been there, and with one word, one word , he would have held them all in place as they tried to kill us, and my little sisters wouldn’t have had to die.”

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’s letting them?” 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. “Goddess damn him, 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.