Guthrie was talking to Duncan about one of the sword reenactments, simulating a movie scene, when her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID. Baird? She couldn’t believe it. Then again, if he was facing serious backlash from his pack because she had left him, she could understand it to some extent.

Her temple throbbed as if in sympathy. She ignored his call and turned the phone on vibrate. He called again. And again. She couldn’t quit thinking about what he’d said—that he couldn’t live without her. She had thought he meant he couldn’t live without her because he cherished her so much, but the conversation that Logan and Guthrie had heard seemed to imply that Baird and his kin really would be dead without her.

No matter what he’d done, she wasn’t going back to him, ever. He’d dug his own grave.

Still, curiosity overwhelmed her. She hated this. Hated that he wouldn’t let her go. When the phone rang again, she leaned over to Guthrie, who was still speaking to his brother, and said, “I’ve got to take this. Be right back.”

He looked up at her questioningly and saw the phone in her hand.

“I’ve got to take this call. Be a couple of minutes.” Then she hurried out of the great hall, noticing that a number of eyes were on her. She stalked through the kitchen to the door that led outside.

As soon as she stepped outside, she realized she should have grabbed a coat. “What do you want, Baird?” she asked, standing in the cold. Maybe if she just talked to him, she could get him to tell her the truth about what was going on with him and his pack. And how that involved her.

“I want you back. I’ve told you so and I’ll keep telling you so.”

“You have to be crazy! After you struck me?”

“I didn’t want to do that to you, Calla. You know I never would have if I hadn’t needed to protect myself.”

“You thought I’d—”

“Bite me? The thought crossed my mind when you were stripping out of your clothes and I assumed you had no intention of making love to me.” He paused dramatically. “I’ve been quiet up to now about this, and I didn’t want to mention it to you because it’s not your fault, but I’ve run into a bit of a financial problem and—”

“That’s why you wanted to marry me?” she asked, furious. So it truly did have nothing to do with wanting her for a mate.

“Nay. That’s not all, love,” Baird quickly said. “I still want you. But you see, I’ve got to call in a substantial loan and well, if you came back to me, I wouldn’t have to do it.”

“So you do need my money.” She couldn’t believe it! “Did you borrow your pack’s money without their knowledge? And someone has learned of it, and you’re in deep trouble?” A pack leader couldn’t just take the pack’s savings and do whatever he wanted with them.

“Nay. Hear me out,” he said, sounding irritated. “If I call in the loan, I’ll have plenty of money. But it’s not about that.” Again, he hesitated.

“If you don’t need my money, I don’t understand what this has to do with me.” Or his pack wanting him dead.

“Just this, love. If you don’t agree to be my mate, I can’t hold off on this any longer.” He waited for a heartbeat. Then when she didn’t respond, he said, “Just don’t expect much in the line of Christmas presents from your parents this year.” The phone clicked dead in her ear.

Her thoughts were swirling. What did Baird mean by that? Her parents had borrowed money from him? Her heart skipping beats, she immediately tried calling her father, but she punched the wrong button in her haste and had to try again.

“Calla?” her dad said.

“Dad, I got a call from Baird. He says he needs to call in a loan he lent to—”

“That bastard. He said he’d wait until we could get our finances together.”

Her skin chilling with anxiety, she felt her stomach twisting into knots. “Why did you borrow from him? I thought you were doing well.” She realized then that over the past year she’d been so busy getting her own business operational, with the move and all, that she hadn’t paid attention to how it was going for her parents. They’d always done well with their hotels, so she’d never given it any thought.

“With all the renovations we made to the two hotels, and the economy in such a downswing, we’ve lost a lot of money. The banks wouldn’t loan us any more funds and we have to finish the renovations. You were marrying Baird. I got to talking to him about our financial situation—he was pushing for a fancier wedding than we could afford—and… Well, Calla, I didn’t want to say, but Baird paid for the wedding and helped finance the rest of the loan we needed for the hotels. We figured we could pay him back within ten years, since you were marrying him and he would be family. Everything was fine until…”

She let out her frosty breath in the chilly breeze. She was getting too cold and had to go inside. “Until I walked out on him at the wedding.”

She felt horrible. She headed back inside the keep, glad to see no one about, and hurried up the stairs to her room, shutting the door behind her. She was so cold. She couldn’t shake the chill she felt from having stood out in the wintry weather and the chill she felt from the mess her parents were in. The hotel business was their life, having started with an inn and pub eons ago. They’d been so proud to own a more modern hotel and then expanded to two and had even planned to venture into a couple of bed-and-breakfasts. She felt terrible for them. She would do just about anything to keep them from losing it all—but she wouldn’t mate Baird.