Thank the lord, Daisy had agreed to meet with her at lunch. She had a million questions to ask, hopefully Daisy had answers that would calm her worries.

Callie glanced at the clock. Ten more minutes. It would be nice to know what she should expect, or even if there was even the smallest chance that she might become a wolf. The idea alone seemed impossible to comprehend. But, then again, everything she learned about the shifter community seemed impossible. She never would have believed any of it if she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes.

“Ruby Jean, can you throw together a couple of sandwiches for me and Daisy?”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Mated-to-a-fine-ass-man.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Callie’s plan was to meet Daisy behind the diner, in the picnic area. It was the only place that offered the smallest hint of privacy. Though everyone and their brother seemed to know exactly what she did with Wyatt last night, it didn’t mean she wanted everyone hearing her admit to it when she confessed her sins to Daisy.

Callie checked her tables over one last time, making sure her customers had everything they needed. When she was comfortable that everyone was good, she handed over her order pad to Cam, letting her know where each of the tables stood.

“Good luck.” Cam nodded.

“Thanks.” Callie grabbed her food from Ruby Jean and headed for the backdoor. Her steps faltered. A voice she’d never heard screamed in her mind to run, that something was horribly wrong. She tried to shake off the feeling, but the voice kept nagging—telling her to turn back. Her heart raced with each step closer to the backdoor.

Is this part of the mating bond? Did something happen to Wyatt?

Fear spiked through her body.

“Callie? Are you okay, love?”

Instead of the strange voice, this time she’d heard Wyatt’s voice in her mind.

“Wyatt, is that you? Something’s wrong. I don’t know what it is. I have this strange voice telling me to run.”

“Are you still at work?”

“Yes. I’m supposed to meet with Daisy at lunch.”

“Stay with Daisy. I’m on my way, love.”

Callie never thought she’d be thankful for the mating bond, but she’d proven herself wrong. Having the ability to speak directly to Wyatt helped more than she would have ever thought possible.

Just hearing his voice had calmed her nerves. Knowing he was on his way offered a level of comfort she’d never had before. Maybe Cam had been right, maybe being someone’s mate wasn’t a bad thing.

She pushed away the fear, Wyatt would be there soon and she’d be perfectly safe with Daisy, as she exited the rear door. Dread raced through her, she dropped the sandwiches to the ground.

“How is this possible? I thought you were dead.” The door clicked shut behind her.

“Is that any way to greet me? Hell, I would have thought after all this time you’d jump into my arms and tell me how much you missed me.” Trevor spit at her feet.

“I—I don’t know what to say.” She should have listened to the voice that had told her to run. Instead, she stood there, scared senseless.

“I—I. Still a sniveling little twit. I see nothing’s changed in my absence.” Trevor quickly closed the distance between them. “Something smells different about you.”

Callie’s hand flew to her neck. The involuntary motion didn’t escape Trevor’s notice. His glowing eyes latched onto the spot where Wyatt had bitten her.

“A mating mark?”

Callie didn’t say a word to confirm or deny Trevor’s statement. What was the point? He was every bit a shifter, just like everyone else at Twisted Tail. He could easily see the mating mark, thanks to her own stupidity and drawing attention to it. Not only that, according to everyone she’d come in contact with today, they could tell by her scent that she’d taken a mate.

“You’re not going to try to deny it?” Trevor inched closer to her.

“Why should I? I’m not ashamed of my mate or my actions.” She tried to act tough, but it was all a show—she was scared shitless.

“Tell me, who is the spineless bastard who moved in on my woman while I was out of town?”

“Your woman? You’re actually calling what we had a relationship?” The more he spoke, the more her fear abated. Anger started to rise, bubbling up from within, at the way he’d treated her—then and now.

“If it wasn’t a relationship, what would you call what we had? Do tell, baby. I can’t wait to hear this.”

She wanted to wipe that smug smirk right off his face. “Our time together was nothing but one big lie, filled with physical and verbal abuse.” She turned to head back inside. “And—I am not your baby.”

Trevor was on her in an instant, pushing the door closed and blocking her path. “You’re not going anywhere. You may not be my baby, but you’ve had my baby. I’ve come to take him with me.”

Callie snapped. Any fear she had was long gone when Trevor mentioned Max. “You will never lay a hand on my son.” Her voice sounded off, even to her own ears. “You think I would ever trust you with him after the way you treated me? The name calling, the beatings? He is my son. Not yours.”

Trevor eyed her cautiously for a moment, then quickly reverted to his arrogant self. “Do you think to keep him away from me? My blood runs in his veins.”

Callie felt something weird in her mouth. She glanced down at her claws?

The world spun under her feet before quickly righting itself. Trevor jumped back, astonished at her transformation.

“How is this possible?”

“Callie?” She looked to her right to see Daisy and Wyatt standing in the courtyard, mouths agape, watching the drama as it unfolded. Wyatt tried to speak to her through their connection, but she shut it down, not wanting to be talked out of doing what needed to be done. She’d never find peace as long as Trevor lived. Constant fear and looking over her shoulder would be her companion. She would live her life waiting for him to attack her, or worse, Max. It was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. Not when the stakes were so high.

She stalked closer to Trevor, her canines bared. A growl rose from her chest and flew from her snout as she launched herself in his direction, determined that he’d never hurt her again or get the chance to hurt Max.

Blood sprayed over her face and fur as she bit into the fleshy part of Trevor’s neck. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breaths. Within seconds, he was dead—his body disintegrating. Callie whimpered, jumping away from Trevor’s lifeless body.

Wyatt and Daisy were by her side in an instant. “Callie, I need you to listen to me. All you have to do is picture yourself in human form and you’ll shift back. I know your first shift is scary, but you can do it. I did.”

Daisy’s voice had a beautifully calming effect for Callie. She looked up at the woman who’d once been like her—human. The look on Daisy’s face wasn’t one of fear or disgust, even though Callie had just ripped a man’s throat out in front of her. It was one of acceptance, and maybe pride.

Callie closed her eyes, imagining herself as a human. The air swirled around her, and before she knew it, she stood on two feet—instead of four, and completely naked.

Wyatt stripped off his T-shirt and eased it over her. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Are you high? I just killed a man.” Now that she was back in her human form, she was almost terrified by her own behavior.

“You killed a man who would have killed you. He wasn’t here to be nice to you or apologize for how he treated you.” Daisy pointed to the spot where Trevor had been, now it was no more than a pile of clothes, a handgun, and a few knives.

“Make no mistake about it, he would have tried to kill you, love. There is nothing wrong with protecting those you love.”

“I think you should take her home and get her cleaned up. I’ll let Cam and Calder know what happened,” Daisy said as she headed into the diner.

Callie let out a squeal as Wyatt scooped her up and into his arms. She thought about protesting, but didn’t seem to have the strength. Changing into a wolf, killing someone, and changing back to her human self left her weak—near collapse.

“What do we do now?” Callie asked, laying her head against Wyatt’s shoulder.

“Now, we figure out life together, love.”

“I like the sound of that.” Callie’s eyes started to close, sleep pulling her under. Her life was about to change, but that was okay. Snuggling close to Wyatt, feeling his warmth around her—life had never felt so right.