The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 234

I gasped, pressing my hand to my chest. “You scared the hell out of me.” I swallowed hard. “I was just… taking a walk. Couldn’t sleep.”

Callum furrowed his brow. “It could be dangerous out here. You could get snatched by a rogue.”

“I wasn’t—”

“I’ll walk with you.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and waited.

I hesitated, considering returning to my tent. But, fearing that I might appear suspicious once Bianca inevitably made a stink about her missing necklace tomorrow, I relented.

We walked a little ways in silence, meandering around the camp. I could hear the sounds of snoring within tents, and in the distance, I could see the guard currently on duty dozing against a tree.

“Oh. A shooting star.”

Callum pointed, and I followed his finger up toward the starry sky. It was so dark out here that every star was on full display. The shooting star in question was gone by now, but suddenly, I caught a glimpse of another. And another.

My lips parted. “Must be a meteor shower,” I said. I glanced at him and smirked.

“What?” he asked, noticing my gaze.

“Nothing.” I shook my head good-naturedly. “I was just thinking about being a kid. When my parents used to give me a nickel for every shooting star I spotted on nights like this. I thought I could save up enough to buy my own horse.”

Callum laughed, and the sound made my heart warm again, just as it had earlier. I blushed and looked away. I hated how easily that sound affected me, despite everything that had happened.

“I can’t say I ever experienced that,” he said, sitting down on the ground. I sat beside him and leaned back on my palms. “My parents were…” He shook his head. “You know what they’re like by now.”

My heart was pounding wildly now. Gods, I felt like a fool, but I couldn’t help it. The touch sent a jolt through me, and the way he was looking at me—it made that sensation form in my chest again. That… tug. Like my wolf was howling somewhere, somewhere far away. I thought back to what the witch had said all those nights ago.

Our threads of fate ran in the same direction.

Toward one another.

The moon came out from behind a cloud then, casting pale silver light across the forest floor. Callum’s dark hair became almost illuminated by the light, like it was glowing silver from within. And his eyes… Dark and heady and full of the same hunger I’d seen on the mat this morning.

And suddenly, those threads were given a tug.

My lips were on Callum’s before I could stop myself.