Land of Wolves

Chapter 96

I lean back against Caleb's chest with a content smile, beyond happy as I sit between his thighs. It's beautiful out today, and I enjoy the warmth of the sun on my face as we relax on the park bench.

There's no way Caleb's comfortable with a metal armrest digging into his back, but he pretends otherwise as he smooths my hair out of my face and kisses the top of my head. I attempt to shift into a more comfortable position for him, but he holds my shoulders and wraps his heavy thigh around mine until I give up trying.

"Jack's late," he eventually says.

Caleb's been careful to stay away from the marked humans and let them have their space, and we were both surprised when Jack decided he wanted to meet with Caleb. The humans have been anxious since the announcement on Wednesday that HPAW is being shut down, and I'm sure they're full of questions.

Jack made it clear he'd only meet with Caleb in a public space, hence the park bench we're currently sitting at.

"About eight humans are hiding around us," Caleb continues.

Despite my best attempts to keep my face emotionless, my lips twitch upward at that. Jack would come with backup.

"They're scared of you," I say.

Caleb knows that. They don't trust his motives, and despite them warming up to their mates, they're still hesitant around wolves they don't know. I don't blame them.

"Well, if he's not here in five minutes, we're leaving," Caleb huffs. "I have a surprise for you, and it doesn't involve sitting at a park waiting for some ornery man to voice his complaints."

Smiling, I turn and peer at Caleb over my shoulders. He's pouting, and his eyes dart around the park as he waits for Jack to appear. If the humans are already hiding out to eavesdrop, I imagine he isn't far behind.

"HPAW's officially being shut down today," I say. "He's probably got a lot on his mind."

I know I do. It's all I can think about. Every day I've been waiting for the human government to turn around and change their mind, but they haven't. They even went as far as to release a report of their investigation into HPAW's treatment of marked humans.

It confirmed that HPAW had launched a breeding program and was impregnating marked women against their will. Naturally, there was no mention of government involvement, any hint of it erased and removed, but it's a nail in the coffin for HPAW.

The humans are furious, and despite their hatred of the wolves, they're still demanding the organization be shut down for good.

Even I'm surprised by their level of anger.

I figured they'd be aggravated, but I assumed nobody would genuinely care since the humans HPAW experimented on were marked.

"Four minutes," Caleb says.

Is he counting down the minutes?

I pinch the back of his hand, lightly teasing him for his impatience.

What is taking Jack so long? He's arguably become the most vocal of the humans, and he has no problems letting me know when he or another human is upset, but he's polite. Despite his general dislike for Caleb, I don't see him going out of his way to waste Caleb's time.

Especially not today.

Caleb's spent countless hours in meetings with the human government these past two days. It seems like most of the calls are going well and they're finding agreements, but occasionally I catch Caleb angrily pacing around the living room.

It takes him precisely twenty-four steps to circle the large table, twenty-eight if it's full of wolves and he has to maneuver around chairs.

Nothing has been made official yet, but Caleb thinks we're reaching an end.