Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

29

CALLUM

My pulse races as I walk into the Norbury packhouse, my gaze greedily sweeping over the interior. There’s nobody in sight. The sound of approaching footsteps yanks my attention to the hallway off the kitchen, but the dark eyes that meet mine aren’t the ones I’m seeking. Chase emerges, his hulking form swallowing up the view of the hall behind him.

I lift my chin in greeting, my eyes gravitating toward the opposite hallway that houses the guest rooms.

“She’s not here,” Chase provides, knowing exactly who I’m looking for, and my shoulders sag as a pang of disappointment stabs in my gut.

Days have passed since our run-in at the cabin, and again, so much was left unsaid. That seems to be the theme every time Nessa and I see one another lately. I’m always left memories makes my pulse go linger in the doorway. I never got the chance. to tell Alpha Vaughn just how much those meetings meant to me. I wish I had, but none of us could have anticipated that he’d be taken from us so soon, least of all the son who now takes his seat on the opposite side of the desk.

Chase beckons me inside with a flick of his head, my movements jerky as I step into the room and take the seat across from him. It’s strange seeing Chase in his father’s chair; my childhood friend now technically my superior. I suppose he always had rank in the pack as the alpha’s son, but I’ve never

really felt the effect of that rank until right now.

“You probably know what this is about,’

Chase drawls, leaning back in his chair and crossing an ankle over his knee.

His relaxed stance puts me at ease and I blow out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding, sinking back in my own chair. “No clue, actually. Thought we already covered the whole Miles thing.”

Though I haven’t been back to the packhouse since beating the crap out of Miles in the kitchen, I’ve seen Chase several times over the last week, the first of which was later that day. Miles had already filled him in on the reason I jumped him, and Chase totally understood where I was coming from, even going so far as to apologize for throwing me out after the fight before he got all the facts. While he has to take a neutral stance as Alpha, I’m pretty sure he would’ve done the same had he been in my shoes. He alluded to as much.

“You guys work things out?” Chase asks, arching a brow.

I shake my head. Truthfully, I’ve been avoiding Miles because I’m still so pissed off that I’m liable to rip the guy apart if I come across him. It wasn’t enough for him to move in on Nessa after I left, he just had to drive an even bigger wedge between us upon my return. Fuckin’ insecure prick.

Chase heaves a sigh. “C’mon, man. We don’t let shit like this linger.”

“No?” I challenge. “What if he pulled that crap with Vienna?”

The muscle in his jaw ticks. “He wouldn’t have had the chance,” Chase growls. “I knew what I wanted and I claimed my mate.”

While he doesn’t outright say it, I pick up on his stinging insinuation. I’m the one who left. I’m the one who gave someone else an opportunity to move in on my girl because I didn’t claim her when I had the chance.

“That’s not why I asked you to come over, though,” Chase breathes, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the edge of the desk. He laces his fingers together, leveling me with a weighty stare. “I want to offer you a position as an enforcer for the pack.”

My jaw goes slack. This is definitely not what I was expecting when he called me to come over today- and while I should be fucking ecstatic, I can’t ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Alpha Vaughn was grooming me to be an enforcer. I’m sure Chase knows that. What he doesn’t know, though, is the secret that his father was protecting for me. The one that my stepdad has been holding over my head since Vaughn passed, threatening to out me to Chase if I don’t toe the line and further his own agenda.

Chase looks to me expectantly, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips, but it falls when I shake my head.

a hand over my face, fucking hating that I

an enforcer. My dad thought so.” He narrows his eyes on me, studying my blank expression like he’ll find the answer hidden there. “I

it, Troy will throw a fit. He’ll use what he knows to sabotage me and clear the way for his own

you don’t know about me, Chase,” I grit

“Bullshit. I’ve known you my

“But you don’t

he’s trying to see beneath my blank mask again, leaning over the top of the desk. “What’s

out a breath, unfurling my fists and staring at my palms.

should tell him.

hanging over me since Alpha Vaughn died. He deserves to know, both as my alpha and as my friend. Chase is like a brother to

again once he knows. Then again, that’s my own cross to bear; I can’t take back what I’ve done. And once I tell him, there’s no going

knows me; understands me more than most.

to

steeling my resolve. Deciding to finally own up to my deepest, darkest secret, and hoping that things won’t change between us as

even sound like my own. “I’m a killer.” My gaze snaps up to meet

my admission with the wave of a hand. “So has everyone who fought in the war against the shadow pack.

words out. I haven’t talked

“Barely. We all got fuckin’ blitzed that night after stealing those

friends as they tried to dance, tripping over their own feet and bumping into people. I

“A human who was staying at the lodge. We started talking, and she invited

was hot. I was thinking with my dick.”

in a breath, feeling the weight of Chase’s stare on me, though I’m unable to meet his eyes. Afraid I’ll lose my nerve if I do. “I went up with her, and one thing led to

liked it, and fuck, I did too. I was so lost in the moment that I don’t even know exactly when

that took a life that night. “I must’ve been squeezing her throat too hard… I killed her.” I see a flash in my mind of her lying on the bed, eyes closed and body motionless. “And then I didn’t know what to do, I fucking

hallway. He’d seen me leaving the party with her. He went in there to see what happened and

I be dealt with. He said I was a danger to the pack and insisted on exile. I still don’t know why

me. Why rather than

I mutter. “She was a call girl from Boulder. No family, no real ties. They got rid of the body and shredded any record of her being at the lodge that night. Then your dad sat me down and he… I don’t know why, but he decided to give me

the source of my deep-seated rage. He’s the only person I’ve

pissed,” I continue. “He didn’t want a killer living under his roof, so your dad set me up with my apartment. Started training me to be an enforcer, helping me work through my aggression in a healthy way.” I swallow hard, staring down at my lap. “After he died, though, Troy started holding it over my head, threatening to tell you, which is why I’m telling you now. So you

watching me carefully as he digests my admission. It’s clear from his reaction that he didn’t

even

falls completely quiet. My skin crawls. The deafening silence is too much, grating on my nerves and making my heart pound faster.

an eternity, Chase blows out a breath, swiping a hand over his chin and staring at me with an expression that I can’t quite read. “That’s why

the murder or the cover-up, but not this. I didn’t

thought you’d lose control with Nessa like you did with that woman,” he mumbles to himself as he puts the pieces together. Thought you’d hurt her.”

snap my mouth closed

over his face. “Well fuck me. This is… shit, this is heavy. I had no fucking idea. I mean I knew something happened last year when you started doing side projects for my