Chapter 775 Chapter 775
Calla chased a rabbit for a few minutes in case anyone was watching her. She’d seen Gideon just before she shifted, so she knew he’d warn her if anyone were following her. She hadn’t decided What she would do when she reached them. Without her run pack, she had nothing to put on. What she knew was worth a few moments of awkward nakedness through, so she’d suck it up and do it.
Slowing down, she looked up to see Gideon staying at the same altitude and making slow circles. Stretching, she moved in the direction of the treed area. If anyone was watching her, she hoped it looked like she was stalking something.
When she reached the trees, she saw Beck beside some large rocks. He held up a shirt and then set it on the rock and turned his back. Despite her suck it up thought a few moments ago, she was relieved.
She shifted faster than normal and pulled the shirt over her head. Her adrenalin was pumping fast, so she wasn’t worried about being cold. Her cat was alert, and the hair on the back of Calla’s neck stood up. She paused and inhaled slowly, trying to figure out why. A scent filled her, one she’d never known before. Her animal settled and feelings of happiness flooded through Calla. It couldn’t be.
Beck turned around, zipped up his coat, and flipped the collar up. “I know you don’t have a lot of time, so I’m going to put you on speaker. The rest of the team is on the line.”
Beck was a wolf. That was…
“Calla, are you all right?”
She blinked, remembering the reason she was standing there wearing only a shirt. “Uh-yeah. Shifted too fast.” She mumbled. Huffing out a breath, she assured her lioness they would figure it out later. “Is Dane listening?”
Beck held the phone closer to her.
“I’m here.”
She looked at his face. His expression was all business. “Okay, listen, they have a switch—like a normal light switch. It’s connected to the other houses. No alarms go off, but lights are used to warn them if anyone finds the location.”
“That’s simple enough to…”
“I’m not done.” She cut Dane off. “They’re also connected to three other locations. Two are somewhere in this area. One is across the border. It warns them all.” She stared at the phone.
“That—complicates things. I’ll have to bounce some ideas off my team.”
She nodded. She didn’t want to be gone long, so she continued. “They were able to check the Alliance teams for the fake last name I gave them, so they still have someone or some way to know what’s happening in the Alliance.”
“Damn.” Eaton sighed. “I’ll let Raymond and Nate know.”
Calla stared at Beck’s feet because she couldn’t look him in the eye. “There’s a woman, probably near sixty. She has a bad limp—she’s never shifted. Her name is Edda. I think she was taken when she was a kid.”
“I’ll have Dane go through the clans. Do you know what clan she is from?”
“I think maybe bear, but it’s hard to tell because several of the men are from bear clans too.”
“Got it,” Dane said quickly.
“There’s a man with old scarring on his neck, like the ones the collars cause. He seems happy being there, but at some point, he was being held.” She glanced at Beck and wanted to lean in and check his scent but stepped back instead. “I should go. I’m going to try to learn the other locations. Get to work on that switch. Uh—I’m in unit three, and there are only women there. Leon or the boss stays in number one.”
“Beck has a phone,” Dane said.
Calla sword. “No run packs allowed. I can’t…”
“It’s in a bag, Calla. Have Beck place it inside your mouth after you shift.” Bear said quickly.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “That should work.”
“Leave it off until you know they’re not scanning for signals,” Dane told her. “We’ll flash three times if it’s safe to turn it on.”
“I have a meeting in the morning in Leon’s office. Hopefully, I can find out more there.”
“Be careful,” Eaton said.
“Calla, if your gut says to get out of there, just shift and run. We’ll be watching.”
“I will, Bear.” She blew out a breath. “I have to get back.”
Beck turned his back to her.
She pulled the shirt up and inhaled deeply as it brushed over her face—that scent. Dropping it, she shifted and watched Beck turn around. When he reached to place the small bag in her mouth, she sniffed, trying to check out his scent. All she picked up was the smell of plastic. Opening her mouth, she let him position it to the side of her jaw.
“Can you breathe?”
She made a short chuff as best she could with her jaw closed. After that, she turned and ran full out for the first minute. Her cat was as confused as she was. That shirt was drenched in her mate’s scent—Beck’s shirt. Beck was a wolf. How was that even possible?
Shaelan has said that with mixed breeds, mates from other clans were possible. Deacon and Gia were a good example, and Blaise and Griffin proved that. Calla was one hundred percent one clan type, and as far as she knew, so was Beck.
She saw the light come on in one of the houses and turned sharp to go back to where she left her clothes. She couldn’t think about this right now. She had to focus on not getting found out. Kumar said if she were lying, she’d regret it, and from what she knew about what Leon was capable of, she believed him. It was going to be hard to think to get information when both she and her animal were this confused. She heard two voices. No time to figure it out right now. This puzzle was going to have to wait to be solved.