Calvin’s POV
“Faster,” I growled under my breath, slamming my foot down on the gas pedal.
The car lurched forward, tires screeching against the pavement as I weaved through the winding roads. But no matter how fast I went, it still wasn’t fast enough.
Kamrynn was in danger.
Sherelle was alive.
And I had no idea what the hell she was planning.
All I knew was that I had to get back to Blue Bell.
The problem? I wasn’t exactly welcome there. Orion had made that painfully clear when he all but ordered me out of his territory. I had no doubt that the moment I set foot near the border, his scouts would try to stop me.
I didn’t care.
I’d fight my way through every single one of them if I had to. I’d rip them apart if it meant getting to Kamrynn and the twins before it was too late.
A sharp ringing cut through the tense silence.
I gritted my teeth, my fingers tightening on the steering wheel. The phone-the one Sherelle had left behind at the witch’s cabin. I hadn’t put much thought into it when I decided to bring it along with me but now I was grateful that I did.
I certainly hadn’t expected it to ring.
But I knew that this call was surely one I didn’t want to miss.
I slammed the brakes. The car screeched to a stop on the side of the road, my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. My heart pounded as I reached for the device, fingers trembling slightly.
The screen glowed in the dim light of the dashboard.
Unknown Caller.
But I knew exactly who it was.
I exhaled sharply and answered. “Sherelle.”
A soft, mocking hum drifted through the speaker.
“Well, well,” she purred, her voice dripping with amusement. “You actually picked up. I wasn’t sure you would.”
It was actually her. It made all of this seem even more real. I clenched my jaw, my grip on the phone tightening. “Whatever sick game you’re playing, it ends now.”
There was silence for a few seconds before her mocking laughter rang through the speaker. The sound sent a chill down my spine. It wasn’t the laugh of a sister. It wasn’t even the laugh of the woman I had once called my mate.
It was cold. Twisted. Unhinged.
“This isn’t a game, Calvin,” she said, voice laced with dark amusement. “This is fate.”
“Fate?” I spat. “You mean revenge. That’s all this is, isn’t it? You’ve always had something against Kamrynn, so much so that you even used me against her. I just didn’t care enough to look into it back then. This is just another pathetic way to get back at Kamrynn for something she didn’t even do, isn’t it?”
“You actually think this is all fun and games?” Sherelle mused. “No, Calvin dear. This is justice. The little bitch took everything from me, I’m just returning the favor.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling sharply through my nose. “Sherelle, listen to me-”
“No, you listen,” she interrupted. “You don’t get to demand anything from me, Calvin. Not anymore. You lost that privilege when you let Kamrynn slip through your fingers.”
A muscle in my jaw twitched. “If you have even a shred of humanity left, you’ll stop whatever twisted plan you’re about to carry out. Kamrynn is your sister.”
The line went silent for a moment.
“Wrong,” Sherelle whispered. “She was never my sister.”
Her words sent a sharp pang through my chest. How could she say that? They’d always had the best relationship, at least Kamrynn made it seem that way.
“You don’t mean that,” I retorted, my voice low. “This could just be a misunderstanding. Whatever it is, I’m sure it can be sorted out peacefully. We were mates, Sherelle. That should mean something. Even if we can’t go back to the way we were, it shouldn’t have to come to this. Kamrynn is your sister, our children are your nephew and niece. We’re a family…”
She cut me off with a scoff. “A family? Oh please don’t make me laugh. We were never a family. I guess you’ll never understand how it feels to have everyone in your life choose someone else over you. You were always the golden child, Alpha. You don’t get to judge me. Having to constantly rot in the background, beg helplessly for everything I have, I got tired of that so now I just take. I call the shots.”
I couldn’t understand a word of what she was saying but it was clear she had completely lost it. What other reason would she have to fake her own death and then turn murderous over a year later?
I pressed my fingers against the bridge of my nose, willing myself to stay calm. “You’re delusional.”
“Am I?”
“You know what, fine,” I bit out. “Even if you hate me, even if you hate her, what about the twins? They’re innocent in all of this, Sherelle. If you have any ounce of decency left, you won’t harm them.”
A long pause.
For a second, hope flickered in my chest.
Then she chuckled.
“Decency?” she repeated, amused. “Oh, Calvin… you really don’t know me, do you?”
Something inside me snapped.
“If you so much as touch a single hair on Kamrynn’s head,” I snarled, my wolf rising dangerously close to the surface, “I will make sure you die a horrible, painful death.”
She inhaled sharply. And then-
She laughed again.
“Oh, Calvin,” she cooed, mocking. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw ached.
“Relax,” she said, her tone light, teasing. “If you’re that desperate to save your precious Kamrynn, you better get to her before it’s too late.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
A soft ding echoed from the phone.
My stomach dropped.
“Check your messages,” Sherelle murmured.
I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear, my pulse thundering in my ears. The screen flashed-
One new message.
I tapped it open.
An address.
My blood ran cold.
“Tick tock,” Sherelle whispered. “Try not to be late.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the screen, my hands shaking with fury.
I didn’t know what kind of trap I was walking into.
I didn’t care.
There was only one thought consuming my mind, only one thing that mattered-
I had to get to Kamrynn.
Because the idea of a world without her in it?
Wasn’t a world I wanted to live in.
I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, slammed my foot down on the gas, and sped toward Helion Forest.
Time was running out.
And I refused to lose her again.