Chapter 777 Chapter 777
Bear had volunteered to take the first shift of the night watch. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep. He sat on the rock, facing the buildings. There hadn’t been any lights for an hour now.
For twenty minutes he’d argued with his animal, who wanted to go take a closer look. With no way of knowing if they had perimeter alarms, Bear had refused to consider it. Now, it was like his animal was pouting. It’s just what he needed.
His phone buzzing in his pocket had him jump off the rock. He was wired so tight right now that he’d likely burst blood vessels if anyone snuck up on him. Pulling it out, he held it inside his coat so the light wouldn’t illuminate where he was.
It was a text from Calum. I know it’s hard to stay put, but you have to. Devin and I agreed on a two day limit and then we will get her out. Stay strong, Bear.
Bear sighed. He’d heard the stories of how Calum had found his mate, and this was a walk in the park compared to that. He quickly sent back a thumbs-up emoji and put the phone back in his pocket.
Two days. He could do two days. His animal was alert inside him. One more thing they didn’t agree on.
A branch snapping had him jump around and look behind him.
Luka stood there with his hands held out from his body. “It’s just me.”
Bear heaved a loud sigh. “I’m wired tight.” He forced his shoulders to relax.
“Yeah. I noticed.” Luka motioned in the direction of the hoses. “Any movement?”
Bear shook his head. “Last light went out an hour ago.”
Luka held out his hand. “I’ll take over. If you go that way.” He jerked his chin to the left. “There’s plenty of cover if you want to go for a run.”
Bear handed him the binoculars. “I’m afraid to let him out right now.”
Luka lifted one brow.
Bear rubbed his hand over his face. “It’s Calla.” He looked in the direction of the darkened houses. “When I grabbed her stuff at the mall, I discovered she’s my mate.”
Luka grinned. “No shit. Bad timing.”
Bear snorted. “The worst timing.”
Luka gave him a sympathetic look. “We’ll get her out of there safely.” He shrugged. “You should be proud, man. She’s got balls of steel.”
Bear scoffed. “That’s not uncommon for females in my clan.”
“Yeah? Me, personally, I’m scared stiff about finding my mate.” He lifted the binoculars and scanned the area. “I don’t like big changes, and that one is a life-altering one I’m not sure I’m ready for.”
“If you don’t like big changes, how have you been on an Alliance team for so long?”
Luka lowered them and grinned. “I get to shoot shit and hang out with people like Tripp and Blaise. It’s worth the moving around constantly.”
Bear chuckled. “I can’t even imagine working with them all the time.” It was the truth. He liked adventure, but they took it beyond.
Luka lifted the binoculars again. “You’re assuming they’re off the rails, and I’m not.”
Bear opened his mouth and then shook his head. “Good point.” He looked in the direction of the house again. “Okay, I’m going to run some frustration out.”
“Good luck. I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.” Bear turned on his heel and started in the direction Luka had pointed out. His animal wasn’t happy they were going away from where their mate was. Bear blew out a breath. Keeping him in check was going to take all the strength he had.
~
The first thing Calla did when she got up was check out the window. She knew someone from the team would be out there. She looked at the dresser. If she could use the phone, she could tell them about Edda being from the Kermode bear clan.
Turning back, she slowly signed, asking if she could use the phone. She hadn’t asked who had translated the signing last night, but it had taken several minutes to get a response. After the third time, she lowered her hands and stood there.
She should have been exhausted, but the adrenalin was already pumping. Despite trying not to think about Beck, she’d spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling during the night, trying to figure out which one of them had the gene that made them less than pure, one breed. How far back did it go? She could remember pictures of her relatives going back to the early 1900s—none of them looked like a mix. She was basing this on Blaise because she’d been told the skin discoloration was due to that. Although Deacon didn’t have it, or if he did, it was hidden under his beard. No one in her family had ever mentioned anything about it either.
She didn’t have anything against anyone with mixed blood, not at all; she was just shocked to have a mate that wasn’t even remotely close to her clan. Another cat breed, she could have understood, but Beck was a wolf. She sighed. She could hear the teasing now from the family about the cat and dog couple.
Her cat had been very quiet all night, and that was a worry, too. They were in the enemy’s house, and now was not the time to withdraw and contemplate life. Calla needed her alert and ready. This whole farce could go sideways at any time.
A flash caught her attention. She focused on that spot and waited for it again. One flash. Two flashes. She sighed. She couldn’t use the phone yet. She nodded in case they were watching for a response and then turned away from the window.
Spotting her dirty clothes, she went over and scooped them up. She wasn’t putting those back on until they were washed. She walked by the bedroom, caught a glimpse of her reflection, and stopped. Her hair looked like she had spent the night wrestling. Going in, she put the clothes down and spent a few moments trying to tame her hair.
When she finally had it lying flat, she twisted it up into a bun and hoped it stayed there. When she turned around, a woman was coming down the hallway. She looked weary. Calla offered her a smile and the woman just gave her a quick nod.
“I sleep first.” She went into one of the rooms and closed the door.
Calla gnawed on her lip. She had an accent of some sort. Where had she been? Shaking her head, she went to the stairs. Clean clothes first. Her stomach rumbled. Food second, and then she would go back to playing the spy.
~
Calla put the detergent in the washer, closed the lid, and turned it on. She paused and looked around the basement. Other than boxes piled in one corner, it was empty. Her bare feet were getting cold.
Going back upstairs, she caught the scent of coffee as soon as she stepped through the doorway. Closing the door quietly, she went out into the kitchen. Edda stood by the counter with a cup in her hand. She turned and smiled at her.
“I just tossed my clothes in the washer.”
Edda assessed the tracksuit Calla had slept in. “I wasn’t sure of your size. There are clothes in the boxes in the basement if you want to go through them.”
Calla nodded. “Thanks. Leon didn’t give me a chance to grab my stuff when I found him.”
Edda looked at the brewer. “That’s not unusual.” She motioned to it. When Calla nodded, she got another cup out of the cupboard. “Most come here without anything.”
Calla went over and leaned on the counter. “How long have you guys been here?”
Edda opened a cupboard and got out sugar. “There were no tiles on the floors when we moved in, but this was the second winter here.”
Calla wondered if the seasons were the only way Edda had to track time. When she poured coffee into the cups, Calla went to the fridge and opened it. It was fully stocked. Getting the milk out, she went over to the brewer. Her stomach reminded her that she needed food. “Do you make breakfast for everyone?”
Edda shook her head and went over and sat on one of the stools. “No. I do dinner and sometimes lunch.”
Calla added the milk to her coffee and then went back to the fridge. “Mind if I make some eggs and maybe toast?”
“Help yourself.” She sat there cupping the mug between her hands, looking into it. “There are sausages in the lower compartment.”
“Great.” Calla opened the fridge, took out the tray of eggs, and then pulled open the crisper and grabbed a pack of sausage.
“Kumar will come nosing around looking for handouts in a while, so make plenty.”
Calla closed the fridge. “Sure thing.” She had wanted to talk to Edda more, see if she could find out her story, but if he was going to walk in, she should wait until later.
Taking a sip of her coffee, she started opening the lower cupboards, looking for a frying pan. Finding one, she set it on the stove. She could talk to her about other things. Especially the one thing that had kept her up all night. It might be less embarrassing than if she talked to anyone she knew. It is definitely less awkward. “Hey, do you know much about mates?”
Edda raised an eyebrow.
“Just—” Calla shrugged. “—curious about it.”
Edda’s smile was brief and understanding. “I thought I did a long time ago, but after what I learned, I’m not so sure.”
“Oh?” That wasn’t the answer she thought she’d get. She placed the meat into the pan and turned it on low.
Edda chuckled softly. “I thought I found mine—twice, but it wasn’t real. It’s a little silly to think I believed that now.”
Calla didn’t want to stare at her, so she went about looking for the bread. “Twice?” It made her think maybe she was wrong about Beck’s scent on the shirt.
“Yes. I was wrong. They were both human, so maybe that’s why.”
Calla dropped the bread onto the counter. “Human? Completely?”
Edda nodded. “Yes.”
“Wow. Why did you think they were your mate—mates?”
Edda had a faraway look in her eyes. “Because I got pregnant, and I remember my mother saying only mates could have children.”
Calla had to look away again and focus on her expression so she wouldn’t make Edda uncomfortable. “You have kids?” Before their animal change was the only way a full-blooded shifter could get pregnant, not by their mate, was if it was before their first shift.
“Yes. Somewhere out there, I have a son and a daughter.” Edda said and then smiled.
Calla spun around and went to the fridge. “Wow. You must have had them young. So-so—” she opened the fridge, looking for butter. “What about the men? Where are they now?”
Edda stiffened. “My son’s father was not a nice man. I thought he was for a while, but I was wrong. Very wrong.”
Calla scoffed. “Men.”
“The second one died. He freed me, and we ran away, but he died.”
“Freed?” Alarms were going off in her head.
“Mmm.” Edda took a sip of her coffee. “I didn’t know I was a prisoner until after I had my son.”
“Woah. So, where are your kids? Are they here?”
Edda looked into her cup. “I couldn’t take my son when I left. Alberto wouldn’t have allowed it.” She sighed. “I only held him twice. I named him Griffin and hope he grew up with the strength of the name I gave him.”
Calla almost choked on her coffee. She sputtered and turned to flip the sausage around. Edda was Griffin’s mother. She cleared her throat. “Excellent name. I like it.” She blew out a breath and set the cup down before she choked on more. “And your daughter?”
“I don’t know. After Walter was killed, I stayed with a homeless group—” She glanced at her. “Our kind, not human. I named her Marie. She was beautiful.” She took a shaky breath. “We had to flee, and I stepped on a trap—a bear trap.” She closed her eyes. “I told them to take Marie and run. I didn’t want to be the reason they were all caught.” She opened her eyes and looked down. “I don’t know where she is now, but I like to think she’s grown and happy.”
Calla turned back to the stove and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m sure she’s an amazing woman.” She cleared her throat. “That’s what happened to your leg?”
“Yes. Leon’s father found me, and I’ve been with the family ever since.”
Calla glanced over her shoulder at her.
Edda looked around. “This may not be the life I’d pictured, but I’m warm, clothed, and safe.”
Calla nodded and adjusted the burner temperature. “That’s what counts, right? Safe.” She had to find a way to get in touch with the team. She was in the house with Griffin Ballard’s mother. The man that had given them Aiden Tomas and the reason the Alliance was close to freeing all their kind. She didn’t know about Edda’s daughter, but if a group of rogues had taken her in, they were a fierce lot and would have protected the child. Holy shit. Griffin Ballard’s mother was alive.
“I’m going to go have a shower. I heard Liora come in, but she won’t sleep long, and then she’ll want a long soak in the tub.” Edda got up. She walked over to Calla. “Thank you. I haven’t spoken of that in a very long time.” She smiled, but it didn’t erase the haunted look in her eyes. “It’s nice to think of them out there grown and enjoying life.” She nodded and then turned and went over to the door that Calla had figured out was her room.
Calla turned back to the stove. She had to get in touch with the team somehow. Her stomach growled like a tiny beast. Right after breakfast, she’d sign to whoever was on watch and tell them as much as she could by signing. Right now, she wanted to grab Edda and make a run for it, but that would most likely get them both dead. Picking up her cup, she took a sip. Find out the locations, hit these houses, and rescue Edda Ballard. Calla shrugged. It’s pretty good for a first-time undercover gig.