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The nurse discharged her, and he convinced her to let him drive her back to her apartment at least. When she was safely inside, he went to search for Rocco.
Finding him wasn't difficult. He could smell him all around the building and located him in the woods near Fiona's place, which only fueled his anger.
Rocco stood there as if he knew Callum would come.
"You've finally decided to show up. I was wondering if you were going to come to your senses and relinquish your title. Give me the Alpha position, and you can go play with your human in peace. Maybe there won't be another 'accident' like today." Rocco grinned, proud of his actions.
"There won't be a next time," he growled. "Because I'm going to kill you." He lunged at Rocco with unbridled fury, shifting as he did. They collided with a snarl, and he forcefully shoved Rocco across the ground. Charging at him once more, he saw nothing but red.
Rocco tumbled backward and swiped at him, but he evaded the attack. He turned, seized Rocco's hind leg, and hurled him away. He heard the impact as Rocco landed, and he felt satisfaction at how hard he had thrown him. He rushed toward him.
Rocco attempted to evade him but wasn't quick enough. Callum landed on top of him, sinking his teeth into Rocco's shoulder. The taste of blood filled his mouth, and Rocco howled in pain, writhing beneath him.
Rocco managed to swing a paw upward, clawing at Callum's face. He staggered backward but had avoided any serious injury. He quickly got up to charge again, but Rocco was already halfway across the clearing, fleeing for his life.
Callum chased after him, refusing to let the bastard escape. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Rocco had reached his own territory, and he was too far ahead to catch up.
NINETEEN
FIONA
"Fiona, talk to me, please," Callum implored over the phone. "I can sense that something has deeply frightened you since your return."
His voice softened. "If you doubt my ability or willingness to protect you both …"
"No, God, no, it isn't that," Fiona rushed to assure him. Swallowing hard, she tried to convey fragile confidence. "I apologize for pulling away. You've given me no reason to question your intentions. It's more about me. I just felt like I was losing myself in your shadow."
"Then, Fiona, please, for the security of both of you, reconsider attending the ceremony tomorrow …" Callum's usually commanding voice held rare pleading notes.
Closing her eyes against fresh memories of violence in shadowy spaces, Fiona set her jaw. She owed him her faith after his patience and care. "It's fine," she replied steadily, if not warmly. "You've emphasized the importance of going through with the public claim ritual. So, we'll do it."
A harsh exhale escaped him. "Really? You will?"
Fiona's doubts still lingered, but Callum's urgency convinced her. "Yes, the plans still stand. We will formalize things publicly."
"Thank the moon!" Callum exhaled fervently. "Then afterward, will you return so I can care for you properly again?"
Fiona stiffened, bristling at his assumption. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she retorted bluntly. "I will uphold my ceremonial duty for the pack's benefit, though."
An irritated growl rumbled through the phone. "Always my stubborn mate," Callum grumbled. "I suppose I'll have to convince you that your place is here with me."
"I suppose you will," Fiona muttered before decisively ending the call, nerves jangling in the abrupt silence. The formal matrimonial declaration was looming increasingly ominously, no matter how much Callum insisted it was necessary for their standing in the pack.
After ending the strained call with Callum about the impending ceremony, Fiona sank onto her worn sofa, feeling both drained and wired with gnawing anxiety. She gazed around her dim apartment with all the blinds sealed tightly against unseen dangers. Even the three locks on her front door provided only mild additional security.
Since discovering she was carrying a new life, the once-cozy space had become a source of vulnerability. But who could she confess her swirling fears to without judgment?
Certainly not her casual friends, whose texts popped up persistently on her silenced phone, complaining about her recent silence. What would they understand about the sudden emergence of beastly specters from the shadows?
No, only someone who walked similar preternatural paths might understand. Callum would have been the only one she had to talk to, and as the topic of the conversation, he was the very person she didn’t dare come clean with. So she sat in shadowyisolation, foreboding howls echoing solely within her trapped mind.
The truth was that Fiona didn’t mind depending on Callum despite her own independent nature. That, perhaps, was what scared her the most. She still could not believe, no matter what he said, that if she gave birth to a human and not a shifter, there wouldn’t be repercussions down the line.
Callum insisted that he would deal with any problems that came up, but he was a busy alpha. Surely, he wouldn’t give up the pack entirely if it came down to it. She felt as though she were a few days away from the whole thing crashing down on her when the pack rejected her as a Luna … and then Callum’s rejection would come next.
And despite the way she had insisted that she did not need a man to be complete, the thought broke her heart every time she couldn’t hold it back. She desperately wanted things to work with Callum, for the baby’s sake and her own. He had come to mean more to her than she ever wanted him to, and the foreboding sense that fate was conspiring against them gnawed at her insides.
Seeking meager comfort, Fiona's aging tabby cat softly leapt onto her lap, kneading her with concern. At least one loyal companion remained. The two of them sat tensely tuned to every faint creak or groan, once-familiar noises now warped into ammunition for fraying nerves.
