Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

35

VANESSA

I glance over at Callum as he drives, the shadows dancing ominously across his profile.

He really is beautiful. His face is seared into my memory, but I still get caught up in looking at him sometimes, admiring his sharp jawline and impeccable bone structure. The symmetry of his features is almost too perfect to be real- like he was cut from stone, some sculptor’s fantasy brought to life.

It’s not his face that gets me, though. Or even his body, stacked with mouth- watering lean muscle that ripples with every movement. It’s the way he sets me ablaze with a single glance. The way he puts on a hard front with other people but softens all of his sharp edges for me. The way he lets me see the real him, and the way he really sees me.

It’s the sweet words and the gentle touches and the all-consuming intensity of his presence. Every time I’m with him, I’m reminded why I fell for him in the first place- and why even after everything he put me through, I’m still hopelessly, crazily, irrevocably in love with Callum Conway. 2

We spent hours up on that mountain overlook today. We kissed and cuddled and spilled our secrets, then watched the sun set over the horizon. I didn’t want to leave, afraid that the spell would wear off the moment we did. It hasn’t yet, and now I’m watching him from the

passenger seat, contemplating what life could look like if I opened myself up to trusting him again.

The truth is, I want to forgive him. I want to move forward. It’s not pride or

stubbornness that’s holding me back, it’s the crippling fear that he’ll abandon me again and I won’t be able to survive it a second time. Loving and being loved by Callum isn’t safe or sensible, but it sets my soul on fire. It makes me feel truly awake and alive, and now that I’ve been without that fire and had it reignited, I know there’s no going back. This is it.

He’s it.

The way he opened up to me today revealed that there’s a way forward for us, but it’s still scary and uncertain. It doesn’t come with any guarantees. I just have to decide if I’m willing to take the leap of faith; if I’m willing to trust him to be there to catch me if I do.

I’m so tangled up in my own thoughts that I don’t even realize we’ve made it back to the packhouse until Cal cuts the engine of the Corvette, unbuckling his seatbelt and climbing out of the car to walk me to the door. As we start up the front walk, I contemplate asking him to come inside, not ready to leave this little bubble of contentment we’ve been in all day. The invitation is on the tip of my tongue when the door swings open before we can even reach it, Vienna peering out at the two of us anxiously.

“Good, you’re back,” she breathes, ushering me inside. I hesitate, but then she looks pointedly toward Cal, beckoning him with a lift of her chin. ” You too, Romeo. Come on in.”

My brow furrows in confusion, but Vee doesn’t clue me in as to what’s going on. My puzzlement is short lived, though- understanding quickly dawns on me when I cross the threshold and spot Rob and Chase standing together in the kitchen waiting for us.

of nervous energy skittering up my spine. Chase said he was going to ask Rob about Cal’s incident last year when he returned from Denver, and here he is, back from his trip and looking at Callum with a stoic expression that I can’t

with a fist bump and leaning in to speak to him in a low murmur. “Not trying to ambush you with this, but after you told me about what happened last year, I’ve been digging through my dad’s old files. Rob said he’d talk to

settle on me. When I see his shuttered gaze, I suddenly feel guilty for asking Chase to do this, forcing Cal to dredge up his past

what they

head with a reassuring smile, and Cal’s Adam’s apple bobs with a hard swallow as he turns back to Chase, giving him a jerky nod in agreement. I release a breath I didn’t even

on his thigh and giving him a pointed look.” You’ve got this’, I communicate silently, and he covers my hand with one of his own,

about what happened that night,”

pepper hair flopping down

in front of him, his expression stern. He can really turn on the whole serious Alpha thing like a switch-sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the teasing, playful Chase with this version of him. “What made him question

rub his temple as if trying to jog his memory. “Mostly, the way Troy hauled Cal in here

tensing beside mine. I give his thigh a little squeeze in

Cal, sitting up and raking a hand through his hair. “Fine, stepfather. Either way, that didn’t sit right with Vaughn.” He turns back to Chase, eyes rounded in sincerity. “He thought about what he would’ve done if it were you that night. He’d have asked for leniency, not exile. Maybe even

comparison,” he grits out. “Troy isn’t half the man Alpha Vaughn was, and he’s never thought of me as a son.”

it still didn’t sit right with him that Troy was calling for you to be exiled. Vaughn didn’t believe

were that night, so he knew it

murmurs, staring down at his interlaced hands.

Young. Stupid.”

“Exactly,” Rob sighs.

hoping that Rob would be able to provide something we were missing. The fact that Troy’s a jerk who doesn’t give a shit about Cal isn’t

She’s been really into true crime documentaries lately, so this whole thing is right

clearly taking no pleasure in revisiting the memory. “The woman was a call girl,” he says. “Apparently she was staying at the lodge with some rich guy all week. He left the night before and paid up the room through the weekend, and she probably thought she could make some

never asked me for money,” Callum grumbles, his eyes

Troy’s reaction to the whole thing, though. Given how pushy he was about you being punished, Vaughn thought that Troy being the one there who just happened to catch you seemed a little… convenient.”

brows fly up. “He thought it was

beat, frowning. “He

Rob just told us, I’m not the only one. Alpha Vaughn suspected something fishy, too. Armed with that knowledge, maybe now we can finally do what he couldn’t- get to the bottom of what really happened last year. If my hunch is right, then maybe we can finally put Troy in his place. Maybe Cal can finally come to terms with everything and stop seeing himself as a monster.