I shifted my gaze to Cal, who suddenly became totally engrossed in his plate. I bit my bottom lip as I turned to look back at Andrew. “Not really. I mean, I’ve been asleep.”
A frown passed over Andrew’s face. “Oh, I see. Well, I’m sure he’ll explain everything to you today, won’t you, Cal?”
“Yeah, I’d planned to.”
“Good, good.” He patted my shoulder. “I’ll be with Kelly. Cal? I want to speak with you after you finish filling Morgan in.”
Cal nodded. “Yep, sure thing, Andy.”
“Nice to have you with us, Morgan. Please let me know if you need anything,” Andrew said before turning to address Ken. “It’s Dougie’s team on patrol this week, right?”
Ken nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “Yeah, they’re monitoring the pack—called in a half hour ago to say that everything is quiet.”
“Quiet? Really?” A frown shadowed Andrew’s face once again as he gave a curt nod. “Let me know if anything changes,” he added before he walked out of the room.
Ken and the rest of the men resumed their eating and yammering, so totally engrossed in one another that I felt safe to lean over and address Cal without fear of being overheard.
“Don’t you think we should talk? I mean, everyone else seems to think we should.” I felt annoyed and stupid again, like the whole house knew things about me that I didn’t.
Cal looked over at me, his expression grim. “Yes, I suppose we should.” He pushed his chair back and rose. “But not here. There’s a sitting room on the other side of the hall. No one will bother us there.”
I laid my napkin down on the table and stood, lamenting the loss of the rest of my breakfast but needing information more. Cal walked past me, his arm brushing mine as he went. I shivered at the contact, amazed once again that such a little thing could get me so excited.
Chapter Nine
The Huntress
“What the hell is a Huntress?” I blurted as Cal shut the French doors behind us.
He motioned for me to sit, but I shook my head. Crossing my arms, I moved to gaze out the window instead, too wired for anything else. I wanted to go home. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to ravage Cal right where he stood. I didn’t want to touch him with a ten-foot pole.
“What the hell is going on here? I feel like there’s some inside joke and I’m it!”
“You are far from a joke, Morgan.” His words were rough, almost a growl. “You are a Huntress. Or at least, you will be.”
I clenched my jaw. Cryptic answers—that was all Cal had given me. Promises of information to come but nothing that made any sense. I turned toward him, my anger burning. “Okay Cal, listen, I’ve been a pretty good sport so far—going along with you and your decisions without having all of the information, but that stops now. I need to know why I’m here and if you don’t tell me, then I’m going to walk out that door and get on with my life.”
Cal’s eyes grew wide as he moved toward me. “You can’t leave, Morgan.”
I took a step back, my hands raised to ward him off. “What does that mean?”
Cal sighed and took a few steps back. “Will you just sit down? Please.”
He moved to a wingback chair and sat, his huge body dwarfing it in a ridiculous way. I stifled a bitter chuckle, shook my head and sat across from him, eyeing him suspiciously as he rubbed his hand over his face.
“Okay, so we told you about Lazarus and the werewolves. You know about The Order of the Wolf.” He ran his hand along the tattoo on his arm.
I leaned forward. “Cal, what I want to know is what the hell is bonding and why did Candy seem to think it should have happened already?”
Cal sucked in a breath, swearing as he released it. “When did Candy…” He waved his hand. “Oh, never mind. I should have told you.” He sighed. “The Order of the Wolf has been in existence for centuries. We are Hunters, born from an ancient bloodline. Our purpose is to protect the Huntress—our Huntress. We are marked, we spend our youth training, and when we are called forth, when our Huntress is found, we must locate her before the wolves do. It is the Huntress, and only the Huntress, who can kill the beasts.” He motioned toward me. “You are a Huntress.”
I gawked at him, for once totally speechless, my mind reeling. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him—hell, I’d swallowed the existence of werewolves whole and didn’t even choke. But to suggest that I was somehow an integral part of this new world was beyond me.