Andrew moved to the other side of the bed, his frown deepening. “What do you mean?”
Cal rubbed his hand over his face, scrubbing down his eyes and mouth before meeting Andrew’s concerned gaze. “I need to know for sure. I need Kelly to tell me if she sees Morgan betray us. Otherwise…” He paused as he licked his lips, his heart thudding painfully. “Otherwise, I’m going to have to call the plan off.”
Andrew nodded. “She’s getting to you?”
Cal barked a humorless laugh. “Getting to me? I can’t stand to be away from her. I can’t bear the thought of Lance touching her, talking to her, being with her when I can’t.” He pointed toward the door. “It took everything in my power to leave her side this morning. And yes, I know, I shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but I couldn’t stay away. She’s bewitched me, mind, body and soul.” He lowered his hand back down to rest on the bed. “So I need to know for sure. I need Kelly to tell me.”
Andrew sighed. “Well, she has been seeing things a little more clearly since the two of you bonded. I’ll try to wake her up and see if there’s anything specific she can tell us, but no promises, okay?”
Cal released the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Thank you.”
Andrew closed his eyes as his fingers trailed along Kelly’s arm and down to her hand where he intertwined his fingers with hers. Cal stood watching helplessly, feeling like an intruder on the intimacy of the couple’s only way to communicate. He felt bad for Andrew and he missed talking to Kelly—really talking to her—but with this curse came the possibility for the Order to regain control, to see what lay ahead and spin it to their advantage. It suddenly made Cal feel like he was demanding too much. Wanting a normal relationship with Morgan, to be able to love her without risk when Kelly and Andrew had lost all normalcy with their bond. They had accepted it, embraced it even, all in the name of their vows. What sacrifices had he made for the Order?
When Andrew opened his eyes his expression told Cal everything. Cal lowered his head and sucked in a deep breath.
“She can’t see the battle clearly, Cal, but she can see that Morgan will land a fatal blow to one of the beasts, possibly Lazarus.”
Cal’s heart leapt at Andrew’s words, and he looked up at the man hopefully, only to be crushed with his next.
“She will also betray us.”
“Is Kelly sure?” Cal whispered as he ran his thumb along Kelly’s palm, his heart crushing in on itself.
“Yes, she’s sure.”
“How sure?”
“She’s one hundred percent sure, Cal. Morgan will betray the Order. What Kelly’s not sure about is how or when.”
With those words, Cal’s heart felt like it came to a screeching halt, unable to bear the weight of such sadness, such disappointment, such anger that he thought it might never recover. He dropped Kelly’s hand and made for the door.
“Cal,” Andrew pleaded, for what Cal didn’t know, but the tone was enough to stop him in his tracks.
“You’re telling me that there’s good chance I’ll have to kill her. If she is his bride, then I’ll have to end her life.”
“Yes, just as you vowed you would when you joined the Order.”
Cal snorted as he turned to face Andrew. “Joined? Like I had a choice.” He ran his finger along his tattoo. “I vowed because that was the only option. I’m a Hunter. I’m a protector and you’re telling me that I might have to kill the only one I was born to protect.”
Andrew nodded, his eyes shadowed by sadness. “We all make sacrifices.”
“Would you be able to kill Kelly?”
“Yes. If I knew I must. For the Order. For the future. It’s our responsibility.” He shook his head. “We don’t know enough about what’s going to happen to do anything but stick to the plan with Morgan. She must fight Lazarus on the night of the lunar eclipse, and if necessary, you will have to kill her on that night as well. You are a Hunter, Cal, and with that comes the responsibility to do the right thing. The hard thing.”
Cal’s temper flared as Andrew’s words rolled in his head. The right thing. The hard thing. He couldn’t understand the unfairness of it all. Why was he the one to carry this burden? Why did it have to be Morgan, his Huntress? Why did he have to lose both his mother and his destined mate? It was as if fate had decreed that there would be no happiness for him. That he didn’t deserve even a moment of bliss beyond what he’d already had with Morgan.
As Cal’s glare met Andrew’s, his anger ebbed away. Andrew had seen his own fair share of shitty luck and bad circumstances, and there he was standing by his vows.
“She’d want me to end her life, Cal.” His hand strayed back to Kelly’s limp one. “She’d want me to kill her rather than let her betray us.”
Cal nodded as he closed his eyes briefly, collecting himself before turning toward the door. “I don’t think Morgan is going to see things the same way.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rejected