Wolf's Soul (10 page)

101

He couldn"t help the surge of happiness in his system knowing that she accepted him. Callum lifted her hand, kissed her palm and inhaled her scent that drove him crazy every night.

Marisol lifted her free hand to move the lock of hair that fell on his left eye.

“Your eyes are blue. My wolf has blue eyes. He comes here every day but snubbed the food I left in his bowl.”

“Maybe if you tried cooking the meat, he might have eaten the food. He likes Starbucks Cappuccino also.”

Marisol smiled a big smile. “What if I put the food in the dog dish? Would he like that?”

Callum grinned. “If it"s cooked. Maybe.”

Mark was right when he said Marisol possessed charm. The kind that was so strong it hit the oomph factor. She had pizzazz and damn him for noticing.

Marisol didn"t belong in his league. She and her kind was what the Midnight Howl stood for—protect the humans but avoid them at all cost. That was rule number one. A rule that he broke. How could he not. Any man would lose their heads once they look at Marisol. He knew the moment he laid eyes on her that he"d protect her no matter what. Even if it meant breaking more codes. He"d do anything for her.

102

“Sheriff Davis and Deputy Smithers didn"t find my wolf. Instead, they found you. Because you shifted. The wolf that often visits me, you are him, aren"t you?”

“Baby, your wolf and I are one and the same. I am your buddy.”

Marisol was having difficulty breathing. She couldn"t tell if the wild beating of her heart was due to his shocking revelation or the slow caress that he was doing on her hand. Her reaction to Callum was of course understandable. After all, he was handsome with amazing blue eyes. She"d been in love and very much attracted to her old boyfriend before, but she couldn"t remember acting like this—

staring at Callum as if he was his favorite Oreo cookie. And another thing, Callum wasn"t exactly a man. He just said so himself. Boy, she should run as far away as Timbuktu and never come back. But for the love of her, she felt differently. She wanted to purr, lick his skin, and rub herself all over him. Good god, she must be nuts. Callum was a Shape-shifter for crying out loud.

Use your good sense, Marisol. Think hard. He could be lying to you. Yup. He could be.

“I should call the police.”

Callum raised an eyebrow. “But you"re not going to,” he said in soft tone.

“No.”

“Because you truly believe me now?”

103

“No. Because you"re too pretty to go to jail. Most likely you"ll escape anyway.”

When Callum laughed, she knew he didn"t buy her reason. Deep down, she didn"t believe herself either. God help her, but she like him enough to keep the police out of this.

Once again, Marisol tried to pull her hand from his grip. He was quick though and wouldn"t let go. She stopped pulling away.

“For a human, you are so calm. Others would be screaming like crazy.”

“Believe me, I am screaming inside.”

“Mari, listen.”

“Yeah?” She saw the moment the smile left Callum"s face.

“Now that Atos knows that you exist, it"s only a matter of time before he finds out where you live. So I want you to pack your clothes.”

“What?”

“It"s good to be ready. It will save us time if you pack now.”

“I never thought about leaving this house. Callum this is the only home I"ve known. I can"t leave this place. My only memories of my parents are here.”

“I understand, baby. Pack, just in case.”

She shook her head at him. “I"m not going anywhere. If Atos wants me then he"ll face me here. I won"t run away from him.”

104

“Baby, leaving this house doesn"t mean we are running away. It is to keep you safe.”

“I can and I will fight him. Thank you for your offer, but I will not leave. I"m quite safe here. Besides, I want to see his face. And I want him to see me before I kill him.”

Callum didn"t argue with her. He just smiled and raised a brow. She was sure they were both thinking the same thing—that her remark was ridiculous.

The house was old and penetrable. Wolves could get in just as how Callum did without her knowing it. Lord, how could she pack memories, the sound of her father"s voice that still lingered around the house, the scent of his tobacco? What about her first cat, goldfish, parakeet all buried in the backyard?

“How are you going to keep me safe?”

“In any way I know how.”

A flash of lightning that lit the room followed by a rumble of thunder had them both looking at the kitchen window. Rain was still coming down hard.

“Listen, the Blood Robbers are fools. Since rain hasn"t light up, they might want to stay dry and forget about hunting tonight. But, like I said, it would be best if you pack. In human form, they can mingle with people and ask around. It wouldn"t take long before—”

105

Marisol pulled her hand from his grip, grabbed his hand with both of hers then placed it on her chest. “This home is my life. I want to grow old here and maybe raise my own family here. I"m not leaving unless we have to, Callum.

Callum?”

He didn"t say anything, but his smile had disappeared from his lips. In fact his face had turned hard. She could see his jaw muscles twitch and his nostrils were flaring. Darn man. He didn"t like the idea of her staying. Of course he wouldn"t understand why she didn"t want to leave. Wolves travel from place to place. They were used to moving around.

“You want me to pack and leave. Is that it?”

Callum nodded then shook his head no.

What the heck is the matter with him?
“Callum,” she squeezed his hand.

Callum responded with a sharp intake of breath and he grimaced, too.

“Uhm, babe,” he began. His eyes lowered then raised back up again to stare at her.

Marisol finally understood. She let go of his hand. “Sorry,” she made a move to leave her chair, but Callum stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Pack, okay?”

Understanding her situation, she nodded. “You really gave your promise to Dad that you"d protect me.”

106

“Yes. The night before he was killed. Mark knew his fate was inevitable. He must have felt it coming.”

“Thank you for giving him the promise. It must have made him feel a little better.”

“Perhaps.”

“I"m glad you weren"t a member of the Blood Robbers. I wouldn"t think twice killing you if it had been you who robbed me of two beautiful people I love the most. Sorry for hurting you.” Could she do it, really? Kill someone? Marisol felt her shoulder slumped. God, she was tired. She"d been working all day. The load of information about her family history was so heavy to carry that she didn"t think she"d be able to stand up at all. “There"s nothing about what you told me that is easy to accept. But I have to, don"t I?

Callum held her chin and forced her to look at him. “I would change everything if I could. Believe me, baby, nobody wants this war. We hate it. And I particularly hate the fact that humans are caught in the middle.”

“We are in the middle and we don"t even know it. Really, it sucks to be human.”

Callum leaned forward until their faces were only inches away. “Now that Atos has learned about you, yes, being human indeed sucks. But your life ahead 107

will be easier if you listen to me. When I say sit, you sit. When I say we go, we go.

No questions ask.”

“You sound like Dad.” Marisol stopped breathing all together. If she moved her head even a quarter inch, her lips would touch his.

“He told me you"re quite Miss Contrary. One answer isn"t enough for you and you always question everything.”

“Good. Now that you know that part about me, your life ahead will be easier if you accept that I don"t like being told what to do.”

Callum grinned. “Baby, you
will
do everything I tell you to do.”

“And if I don"t?”

A shiver of excitement ran through Marisol"s spine when Callum moved his thumb to touch her lips. “Try me and you"ll find out.”

108

Marisol stood in the middle of her father"s study. After Callum branded her lips with his thumb, it took her a while before she finally able to breathe normally again. Lord, all the man had to do was grin and she turned into a melted butter right in front of him. She couldn"t believe she acted like a silly schoolgirl. Gah!

She rubbed her temples. Her mind hurt. Boy, she couldn"t recall the last time she used her brain this much. Repeating everything Callum had told her was tiring. In the end, she found no reason to doubt him. Still it was hard to grasp the idea that her mother was a descendant of a Shape-shifter. Who would believe that? Why couldn"t she be King Henry the VIII"s duchess or mistress? More glamour there. But a wolf"s descendant? Geez.

Scientists believed that humans shared common ancestors that existed five or eight million years ago with modern African apes like the gorillas and chimpanzees. Well, they should look into the genetics of wolves deeper. Man, if they get the gist about humans sharing ancestors with wolves and war gods, they"d go nuts.

109

Callum mentioned powers. Aside from her being able to hear Callum"s voice, which to some people wouldn"t think as power but a sign that she was schizophrenic, she doubted she possessed a power at all. She would have known by now if she had it. Man, any power would be nice. If she were given a chance to chose, she would ask for the power to stop the war between the two clans and spare the humans from being victimized and the power to chain Atos for the rest of his miserable life.

Phew! Who was she kidding? Peace was something people dreamed of for so many years. It would never happen so long as greed, mistrust, betrayal, corrupt politicians and all that nasty stuff, exists. She bet the Tibetan monks never stopped praying for peace, but it had taken them nowhere.

Callum had already told him a lot. Still more questions bounced around her head. Later, after her nerves calmed down, she"d talk to him again. Right now, she needed a break. Marisol sighed. Who would have guessed that a drool worthy man like him could change forms?

She walked toward her father"s deep red mahogany table. Running her hand on the edge, she looked up heavenward. “Why did you keep a secret from me, Dad?

Did you think hiding the truth would hold the danger at bay? Well, looks like danger is coming this way anyway. Atos is looking for me. You"re friend, Callum, told me everything. Well, enough to make my head hurt. He showed up as a 110

wounded wolf and near death and then he shifted into a naked man when Sheriff Davis showed up. Glad he did, otherwise happy trigger Smithers would have shot him. Thank you for sending your friend though.”

“You have a funny habit of talking to yourself”

Marisol jumped at the sound of Callum"s voice. She turned around to look at him. “I know.”

“I took a quick shower. Hope you don"t mind.”

“No, not at all.” His hair still dripping water on his shoulder. He must have finger-combed his messy hair, which only made him look so scrumptious.

Marisol wondered if his lips tasted as good as they look. Man oh man. She licked her lips. Good god, she was salivating over a Shape-shifter!

Leaning against the door, Callum gave her an irresistibly devastating smile.

“Done looking?”

Embarrassed, she tried to hide her discomfort by squaring her shoulders. “I was just admiring my father"s clothes.”

“I"ll make sure you get these back.”

“You can have them.”

“Sorry to intrude, but I heard you talking so I thought about checking on you.”

111

“Thanks I"m fine. I"m curious. I thought Shape-shifters had powers to manifest clothes?”

“So you"ve read paranormal romance junk.”

Arms crossed beneath her breasts, she leaned her hips on the table. “I told you I"m not a big fan. But a friend of mine is. She would tell me all about the books she read. Mostly about shape shifting wolves that could make weapons appear in their hands.”

“Ah. Well, it would be great if I have those powers.”

“So let"s say you shifted into your wolf form and then back to human again, you"ll be butt naked?”

“Yup. That"s why we change forms only when it"s safe and not in front of kids and ladies or in the middle of the crowd. What happened earlier, I didn"t have enough time to cover myself. Sorry.”

“I"m not.” Her answer was already out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Her blood pounded, her cheeks burned from embarrassment. When Callum grinned, she wished she had the power to disappear.

“You"re not?”

“Well, your image kind of shocked the officers so they forgot to be angry.

They just started talking about something…big.”