15 | Power

We ended up back in the bar parking lot, his truck idling nosily as we sat in silence. I knew that he was still upset by the way his hands wrung the leather of the steering wheel. Part of me wanted to shelf the conversation for a later date and get back home to Mary-Beth but I knew if I put it off now that we would never have it. I would remain in the dark because I had a feeling that was were Callum would like to keep me.

"So..." I watched the way his body tensed at the sound of my voice, ignoring that response I pushed on, "I don't mean to rush you but I went along for your little joyride and boy was it illuminating. Now It's your turn to keep up your end of our bargain."

He turned his face in my direction, letting his hands fall to his lap, "Alright, here's the deal..."

"Deal? We already made a deal..." My eyes narrowed in suspicion. I wasn't about to be lured into something else without knowing all the silent clauses and terms attached to it.

Cal rolled his eyes, "I'll tell you what you need to know, but beyond that I reserve the right to decline sharing certain information with you." I tongued my cheek, still filling suspicious about the way he was wording things. He was cleverer than he had originally appeared. I didn't think I could really trust him but he had saved Mary-Beth, so I had a little faith he wasn't completely against me.

"You'll tell me everything I need to know, though?" I questioned, arching a brow as I held his steady gaze. It was hard to look him in the eyes, it had been that way from the beginning. There was a slight heaviness on my shoulders, like I needed to hunch forward but I fought against the urge. I watched his lips twitch slightly, though I couldn't tell from the look in his eyes if it was from amusement or irritation.

"I will tell you everything you need to know."

I relaxed back against the seat, turning my gaze from him to the world outside, "So, how does this work? What does it mean to be an Alpha?"

"Alpha is the leader. The one in charge of the entire pack, usually the strongest of the others members. Though physical strength isn't always what makes them the strongest, it certainly helps."

"So basically, you're like my boss then?" It didn't seem so terrible. I mean I had dealt with management I hadn't completely gotten along with before. If I could do it then, there should be no problem with me doing now.

Cal cracked his knuckles, "In a way...It goes a little deeper than that but that's all you really need to understand. If I tell you to do something I expect you to do it, not second guess or talk back. I know that's going to be a hard one for you, but I'm going to need you to reign in that part of you as much as possible."

My lips turned down into a frown, "As long as you don't make ridiculous demands or ask me to kiss your butt—" Though it was a fine piece, "I'll see what I can do about keeping my disregard for your authority to a minimum." I enjoyed the way his expression blanked at my words. We were going to have to work more on getting him to loosen up, though I did enjoy poking at his stuffiness.

"I appreciate that."

I drummed my fingers against my leg, "So—is there anything else I need to know? Maybe why your cousin seemed to think your being an alpha would be so dangerous?" I watched him tense up slightly at my question. I had obviously hit on something that was sensitive, something I could tell he had hoped I wouldn't ask.

"That's not something you need to know or worry about."

"I disagree."

His eyes narrowed, "Lucinda—what did we just talk about? I told you I would tell you everything that you needed to know. If I am your Alpha then you need to trust that I have your best interest in heart." The words leaked out between clenched teeth.

"Do you?"

Cal's eyebrow lifted, "Do I what?" there was a slight growl at the end of his question. I knew I should be more careful. I knew what he was, what he was capable of doing. Still, some part of me believed that Callum was more likely to chew off his own leg than hurt me. To that part of myself I waved a big 'you're crazy' flag in its direction. There was literally no reason for me to believe something like that.

I licked the seam of my lips, "Do you have my best interest in heart?"

He held my gaze, emotions swirling in his eyes, "It depends on your definition of interest. I can say I anything I do in regards to you will be mostly painless." I felt my heart speed up and my body grow hot. I could still remember what it felt like to be pressed up again him, all the dirty thoughts that he had conjured in my mind.

"Well that's comforting, I guess..." I murmured, pushing away the urge to get closer to him. I straightened my back, "All I need to know then is that you are now my boss and I should do what you say with as little much back talk as possible? And in exchange you will keep my sister and I safe from the other people like you?"

"That's the gist of it."

"I'm sorry If I'm not feeling very confident but how do you expect to fight off an entire pack by yourself if they decided to attack us? There's also this person who is clearly trying to frame you for those murders—" I had to point out the obvious. There was no way I was going to not think through all the details of the situation. This was the one thing I knew I had always been good at, I was observant.

"You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" The sarcasm dripped from his words, face void of emotion. I gave him a mocking smile in return. Cal's lips twitched up like he was trying to keep himself from smiling, "Listen, I don't need to fight off an entire pack if it comes to that. All I need to do is take out their leader. People like me have an instinct to follow the strongest person—if you kill the strongest person..."

"Then you become the new leader?" I questioned.

"I guess you do have a brain, after all."

"Hey!" I twisted quickly in my seat, punching him in the shoulder for his comment. Though it ended up hurting me, being that he was so damn solid. I pulled my hand back, clutching it to my chest as he chuckled, clearly amused by the outcome. I glared at him as I rubbed at my knuckles, the ache slowly fading away, "You're such an ass."

"Yes." He agreed, never losing his smile. I tried to keep myself from being draw in by how much it lightened his face. Normally he had that handsome scowl thing going on, but the smile—it made it hard to catch my breath. Cal reached over and grabbed hold of my arm, massaging my hand gently with his callous finger. I swallowed hard as his warmth spread through me, making a blush move up my chest to my neck. I couldn't help my reaction to him, even if I tried. "Next time you think about punching a mythical creature, Don't."

He lifted his gaze from my hand, scanning my face which I knew was red. I swallowed hard, "I'll make a note of that for the future. Forget punching, go straight for silver bullets."

"Silver bullets are good for slowing them down, a shot to the heart or head with definitely kill them." He replied as he dropped my hand to the seat. I could still feel the lingering sensation of his touch, and greedily I wanted more. "Of course, that would do nothing against a Vampire..."

My eyes widened at his quiet musing, "Excuse me? Did you say vampire? Vampires are real too?"

He gave me a deadpan look. I shook my head, lifting a hand, "You know what, let's not talk about that. I have as much as I can handle on my plate at the moment. I don't need to know any more about what sort of things exist or don't exist."

Cal chuckled, "I think it's safe to say that you should forget everything you think you know."

I mockingly laughed, "Yeah, laugh at the ignorant human, at least no one is trying to frame me for murders."

He lost his good humor at my comment, "Well, if they try to convict me for those murders what do you think will happen to you and Mary-Beth without my protection?" I found myself falling into the same darkness I had pushed him into. It was true that Callum was the barrier between us and the other monsters in this town.

"I guess we will have to solve this case ourselves, won't we?" I remarked, knowing that the sheriff's department and most of the people in this town already believe Callum guilty, they were simply looking for any proof to pin it on him. I had a feeling that if that happened, he wouldn't be carted off to face the judicial system. No, I had a feeling that law and justice worked much definitely in these parts.

His heavy gaze met mine, "That's the plan, Lucinda. That's definitely the plan."

I felt a heaviness in my body, "More people are going to die, aren't they?" It was something I felt I knew in my gut. This was all going to get worse before it got any better, if it did get better. Currently I wasn't sure which side the coin was going to land on when it hit the ground. I wanted to believe that the odds were in our favor. I had to believe that.

He turned his face towards the road, eyes narrowing, "Before this ends? Probably."

Cal swept his gaze to me once more, "Not backing out on me now are you, Lucinda? Feeling a little squeamish over a couple of murders? Just remember you have Mary-Beth to worry about and I'm the only one who can keep you guys safe."

I narrowed my eyes, feeling angry that he would try to use my sister against me. As if I had any plans to back out of our deal. I reached for the door handle, "A deal is a deal. I'm not one to go back on my word, but don't think for a moment I couldn't take care of Mary-Beth without you. You're simply another means of protection. You have no idea what I could be capable of when pushed to the limit, but I do—so don't push me when it comes to my family Cal, because you won't like what happens." I opened the door, and jumped out of the truck. I sucked in breath of fresh air, the crisp winter air entering my lungs.

"Lucinda—" He called my name as if he meant to apologize for being an ass but I wasn't in the mood.

I spun around, snatching my purse off the floorboard. I took in the familiar scowl on his face, "I hope you have a good day." I slammed the door shut. I had more than enough of Callum Wolfe for one day.