08| Ultimatum

I positioned the flashlight for him, the weight of it heavy in my hand, "So did you grow up here, in the house I mean?" I wanted to talk about something normal, something that didn't involve beasts howling at the moon.

His lips twitched upward in clear amusement, but his eyes remain focused on the task, "What is this twenty questions?"

"I'm just trying to make this less painful for the both of us. Do you have to be so condensing about everything?"I snipped back quickly, unable to hold my tongue. His body froze for a moment and he turned his face toward mine. There was a smudge of dirt across his cheek, and some cobwebs stuck in his hair. I only imagined I looked quite similarly a mess, having trudged through the mess of the basement.

We stared off for a moment before he looked away with a long sigh, "Yes."

"It's a wonder you have any friends at all." I murmured in annoyance.

He gave me a quick look, "Yes I grew up in this house. Now that's enough of the personal questions, Nancy Drew."

I have him a mocking laugh, "Real clever." He gave me a smirk before silently reaching down and grabbing something from the rusted toolbox he had found in a corner of the basement. I watched him quietly for a few minutes, unable to keep my mind from straying to naughtier thoughts that involved the grumpy man in front of me. I mean sure he pissed me off but I couldn't deny that he was one sexy piece of ass.

"What are you thinking about over there, Lucinda?" The way he posed the questioned had the heat in my lower stomach growing. He peered over in my direction, green eyes catching the light and reflecting it for a moment. The image reminded me that he was more then a man, so much more. I hadn't got to see with my own eyes what he truly was.

My cheeks heated, "Nothing important..." I stumbled over my words as I banished the last images of us wrapped in each-other from my mind. Now was not the time to be fantasizing, and if I was going to fantasize about anyone it shouldn't be about the werewolf in my basement.

His nostrils flared slightly, muscles tensing. I suddenly had a feeling he was going to press me so I quickly averted the topic, "So what would be considered a non-personal question? If where you grew up is too personal...what's a safe line of questioning? Is your preference of cheese a safe topic or is that too personal?"

"That's a perfectly safe topic. I like cheese, especially on my hamburgers. Doesn't really matter the kind, cheddar...pepper jack...Swiss..." He replied, peering in my direction, "But I'm sure your more curious about other things."

"Like what? Do you take your meat raw or rare?" I hit back quickly. I was reverting back to my teen years when my mouth used to run away from me.

He smiled wide at my question, shoulders shrugging as if he was having a silent laugh. This guy was hard to peg down, one moment he was scowling at me and the next he was smiling. Cal lifted his arm and wiped away some sweat from his forehead, "I was thinking more along the lines of, did anyone else find out that you know the big secret?"

My eyes widened in horror and my heart stuttered over itself for a moment, "Does someone else know I was the at that bonfire, Cal?" I questioned back anxiously. Maybe that was why he came he had actually come to see me, to warn me that the gig was up.

He stilled, turning to me with a darker expression. All the humor from our childish banter gone. He held my gaze in an uncomfortable silence before finally speaking, "No. No one else knows at the moment."

I fixed him with a glare. I really wanted to hit him in the head with the damned flashlight for being such an insufferable asshole, "You know I don't appreciate your teasing me about this, Cal. I take my life very seriously."

"Really? That's hard too believe...I've saved you on at least two separate occasions since I met you and we haven't know each other that long." He did have a good point. My recent track record recently wasn't very helpful in supporting my case.

I frowned, "This is just a run of bad luck. I can assure you that I am usually very careful and cautious. I'm mean I wait at least an hour after eating to go swimming because I'm so afraid of getting cramps if that tells you anything." I had no idea why I was trying to justify myself to this man. It didn't matter what he thought about me, I reminded myself.

He lifted a brow at me  before turning his attention back to the water heater, banging his hand against it a couple times. The loud clanging rattled my ear drums and I cringed back, "That should do it." He hollered over the ringing in my ears.

I sent him a dirty look, "You've got to be the rudest man I've ever met." I hissed at him through clenched teeth.

He dipped his head in a prideful acknowledgement, smirking, "Thanks. I do try."

"And you definitely succeed. I wished I had chosen to freeze to death on that road then have ever gotten into your truck with you." I could feel my anger vibrating through my whole being. If and when I had to see Cal's face again it would be too soon.

He tossed his head back and let out a hard laugh, meeting my gaze again, "Giving up on me so quickly, Lucinda? I thought you wanted to be friends? Did I scare you off that easy?"

I wanted to growl at him like an animal he was making me so frustrated. I glared at him, "honestly at the moment I would take a pack of wolves to you, Callum."

He gave me a toothy grin, green eyes sparkling with mischief, "You may just get your wish, sweetheart if you're not careful." The sarcastic asshat.

I turned off the flashlight casting us both into darkness, though I was certain he could still see me without any trouble. I was done trying to be a polite hostess. Callum had done what I needed and now all I needed was for him to leave, "I'm sure you can find your way out just fine. I doubt the house has changed all that much since you were a kid." I snipped at him as bushed past him, stumbling my way through the cleared pathway and up the stairs to the main floor. I could hear his footsteps gliding up the creaky steps not far behind me.

I could feel his eyes on my back as I marched toward the front door, opening it for him in case I hadn't made myself clear enough in the basement. I felt the heat of his body seep in past the barrier of my clothes as he came up behind me, too close for my own comfort. I knew he was doing it on purpose. I had gotten the hint that he enjoyed riling me up for whatever reason.

"You need to think about getting some protection for yourself and your sister. A couple of  city girls living all alone out here on the mountain is a tragedy waiting to happen." He whispered into my ear before moving around me.

"I'll take that into consideration."

Cal leaned his shoulder into the door, shaking his head at me, "Lucinda, haven't you started to think about why no one else has ever reported anything about werewolves? Certainly you're not the only witness that's ever existed. There must be a reason why we've be able to live among everyone completely unseen. It's because people either join or they die. We learned quickly that people are more willing to keep secrets if they have a reason to keep it...or their dead."

My heart caught in my throats at his words. I had certainly thought about all of these things to the point of overthinking them. I shifted on my feet, "I can't just pack up and leave, even if I wanted to. I own this house and Mary-Beth needs consistency in her life. If I start running now I'll never be able to stop running."

"I'm not telling you to run. I already said the first thing you need to know about my kind of people is that we enjoy a good chase. So running wouldn't do you any good." He replied in a tone that spoke of pity.

I gritted my teeth together as I held myself tall under his powerful gaze, "then what's the point of this conversation other than to make me more afraid than I already am."

"I came here to make you an offer...I'll give you the protection of my name. All you need to do is claim me as your Alpha when they come for you Lucinda. And mark my words they will come." He sounded so certain that it made me feel as though he had lied to me about the fact that no one else knew. I didn't have any reason to doubt him but at the same time I had no real reason to trust him, other than the strange whispering voice in the back of my mind that said I could.

"It's that simple? Just say you're my Alpha and they'll leave me alone?" I questioned skeptically.

Cal nodded his head, "It's that simple."

I narrowed my eyes, running my tongue over my teeth, "And what do you want in return?"

He leveled me with his bright eyes, "That's for me to know and you to find out when the time comes."

I crossed my arms under my chest, "Well, it's a bit hard to make a decision when I have no idea what I have to give in return. It's an impossible choice like making a deal with the devil."

He only shrugged his shoulders at me, "Think about what I said, Lucinda. When I come to you again, I hope you'll have chosen wisely. You only have two options at this point. Join or die...I would hate to see you get hurt." With that he turned and walked down the steps of the porch. I watched him as he went all of my bravado leaving me.

Could Callum really protect me and Mary-Beth from the pack? And what were the true intentions behind his offer? I nibbled on my lip as I closed the door, locking it behind me. I  wished I had never moved to this town or met Callum Wolfe. My life was spiraling completely out of control and I had a feeling that things were going to get a lot worse before they got any better.