Caine

“If I’m going to be staying here, I need to get some stuff from home,” Liam said, putting an extra emphasis on the ‘home’ part.

“We can go get some things if you want.”

“What if we spend the night at the apartment? We can catch up, and I can cook some burgers.”

He sounded hopeful. I shook my head and gave him a small teasing smile.

“Why?”

“I want to know what you’ve been up to these past few weeks. It’s obvious you’ve been keeping things from me,” he said, taking a few steps closer to me.

His hands were in his jean pockets, and he had such an innocent, shy expression on his face. He looked like a little boy.

“We talked every day. I only kept those two things from you,” I replied, referring to Estella and Shane being gone, and Caine and I being mates.

“I don’t know Charlie, I just don’t trust this,” he said, motioning with his hands around the room.

He was talking about being in Locus Pack, staying with Caine.

“If we’re going to start this again, then I’m going to need that burger,” I said, and gave him a wider grin.

I was very aware that it was a conversation Liam and I would have more times than I would’ve liked. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t like Caine, or that he was against Locus Pack. Liam just didn’t trust Alphas and he hated pack life.

Lesley was the only one downstairs when Liam and I left the room.

“You can’t leave,” Lesley stated, her voice sounding moody.

I was used to it, so I simply rolled my eyes at her.

“She doesn’t take orders from you, pup,” Liam told her.

He secured his arm around my shoulders and started dragging me to the front doors, not caring about the daggers Lesley was shooting at us.

Of course our exit wouldn’t come without a fight. I knew that because Lesley was the one watching over me. She was in front of us, blocking our path, right after we passed by her side.

“The Alpha gave me strict orders to keep you here, Luna. We’re going to have visitors,” Lesley said through gritted teeth.

Her words were directed at Liam, although I knew anger was practically Lesley’s second nature. If that girl wasn’t angry, she wasn’t happy.

Caine had been acting strange ever since Macon and Victor had pulled him away from me the previous day. Warmth took over my face and neck when I remembered what Caine and I had been doing before he left.

I dismissed the thought, even though memories of the previous day and the moment Caine and I had shared kept replaying in my mind all day.

All last night, Caine had spent it coming and going from our home to the pack prison. He’d kept quiet, but I knew something was going on.

By the time I woke up, late in the morning, he was already gone. He had called me a few times throughout the day to check how things were going, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to be with him.

“I don’t give a crap what his orders were. Charlie and I are going out,” Liam said, ignoring her.

Lesley didn’t back off, which made Liam cock an eyebrow. He wasn’t taking her seriously and he wasn’t going to. If Liam wasn’t scared of Caine, there was no way in hell Lesley would freak him out.

“Lesley, just move. We’ll be back later on,” I told her.

My command meant even less to her than Liam’s words had. She shook her head, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at me.

‘So much for respecting her Luna,’ I thought to myself.

“Move or I’ll move you. Trust me, I don’t care if you’re a She-Wolf,” Liam threatened, a dark smile taking over his lips.

He was being serious. I knew he would do it. Lesley took a step back after Liam said those words, but she didn’t move away.

“Your choice,” he shrugged.

Liam unwrapped his arm from my shoulders and took a step closer to Lesley.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to,” he said, giving her a chance to back off.

“You’re just a Rogue.”

Lesley’s voice broke when she spoke and she didn’t look as tough as she did before.

Liam only had to get a grip on Lesley’s shoulder and sink his claws into her skin. He easily shoved her out of the way. The push carried more force than it really needed, and Lesley landed all the way across the room.

She was on her feet after only a second, but she didn’t come near us again. It was easy to tell that she was holding onto the railing of the stairs because she couldn’t stand still on her own. She was trying to hide it, but the push had really shaken her up.

“He’ll be angry if he finds you gone. You know that,” Lesley repeated, breathlessly.

There was a light tremble going through her body, but it wasn’t because she was ready for confrontation. Lesley must’ve realized there was no way in hell she could take on Liam.

He was bigger and he was stronger.

At first, I thought she was mad that Liam had pushed her, even though she wasn’t physically hurt. After all, Liam had gone easy on her.

Surprisingly, Lesley started looking at Liam shyly. It was strange and I didn’t like it.

“You should know which battles to fight, pup,” Liam told her.

He took my hand in his and started dragging me out the door once again.

He had been calling her ‘pup’ on purpose, to tick her off. Lesley was probably about two or three years younger than Liam.

As Liam walked us out the door, I thought back to Lesley’s words. She had a good point, even though I didn’t like the way she gone against Liam and me.

I wasn’t sure if Caine would get upset because I left with Liam. He had been gone last night and most of the morning.

After thinking it over I realized that Liam and I could pick up some things from the apartment and bring them back home without Caine even noticing my absence.

Liam was opening the front door to his car when Lesley caught up to us outside. She had been about to pull on the handle for the back door when Liam suddenly slapped her hand away.

“What are you doing?” He questioned, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“If you’re going to leave, I have to accompany the Luna,” she said, practically snarling the last word.

“Not in my car you’re not,” Liam replied.

His voice was playful, which might have been the reason Lesley thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

When Lesley went again to open the door, Liam slapped her hand away a second time. The sound from the contact resounded around us. He had slapped her hand with more force than the first time.

I was trying really hard not to laugh. Liam had that boyish teasing smile plastered on his face, but his eyes were serious. Lesley looked like she didn’t know what to do.

For a moment, I actually felt bad for her.

Her hand was about to go a third time to open the door, but Liam raised his hand, conveying that if she touched the door handle it would earn her another slap.

“I can’t leave her alone!” Lesley snapped, but her voice lost sound with every word she spoke.

I didn’t need to be a Werewolf to know that Lesley’s heart was probably beating out of control. I didn’t think she knew how to handle the situation Liam had put her in.

“You can either drive in your own car or you can run. I genuinely could care less,” Liam shrugged.

I finally got in the car when Lesley’s mouth dropped open. The surprised look lasted on her face for a while, before she slowly narrowed her eyes at Liam.

Liam didn’t say anything else to her. I faintly heard Lesley growl a silent ‘fine’. She walked away, but I was sure we hadn’t seen the last of her for that afternoon.

Liam didn’t even seem to care. He casually slipped into the car and gave me a wide grin.

“That girl really needs to get laid,” Liam commented while starting up the car.

“We should spend the night here,” Liam suggested.

We had only been at the apartment for about fifteen minutes and I had already lost count of how many times he had asked me that we stay there.

“What if we stay some other day?”

“What if we don’t?”

“Don’t you think Caine is acting weird?” I asked, as I slumped myself on Liam’s bed.

I was trying to change the subject, although Caine’s behavior since the previous night was really worrying me.

Liam picked a few shirts, some jeans, and the rest were just basketball shorts. It wasn’t too much and all of it had fit in a duffel bag, which I was packing for him.

“I thought he was always weird,” Liam said.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him.

“He thinks you’re weird to, you know. You don’t like Alphas, he doesn’t like Rogues. You guys should become best friends. You already have a lot in common,” I teased.

Liam threw a pillow at me, which I wasn’t so quick to miss. Like many times before, I found myself thinking, stupid Werewolf speed.

“I’m being serious, Liam. He was gone what was left of last night and he’s been out all morning. Did you hear what Lesley said?”

“Something about visitors?” Liam replied, distractedly.

He was walking out of the room and heading for the kitchen. There wasn’t any food in there.

“Yes, visitors. Do you think it could be bad news? Maybe Rogues trespassing?”

Liam was only half listening to me. He was grabbing his car keys and guiding me to the door. His hand was lightly placed on my lower back, while I waited not so patiently for him to give me an answer.

“I doubt Rogues trespassed. I’m already here as a visitor,” Liam said, grinning. “Besides, no Rogue would be stupid enough to near Locus Territory with all the shit going on in the packs.”

“You did,” I said, grinning at him.

“I’m the king,” Liam retorted, nodding his head and giving me a wide grin.

“Yeah right,” I said, and rolled my eyes dramatically.

Liam fuzzed my hair up, and quickly ran away from me when I tried to punch him.

“I’m serious, though.”

“It wasn’t Rogues, Charlie. If someone’s visiting, which that might not even be true by the way, it isn’t Rogues. If you ask me, I’d say that chick Lesley was just trying to pull your strings. I’ve seen this happen before. Alphas are very… What’s the word?” Liam said, pretending to think about it.

“Dominate?” I tried to add, because it was one word that definitely described Caine.

“Well, that too. But they are disgustingly possessive with their mates. More so than a regular Wolf. Caine probably told her to say that so you wouldn’t leave the house.”

“I don’t think Lesley was lying,” I mumbled.

Liam could’ve been right but I just didn’t want to risk it. If Caine’s pack was in danger, I wanted to do something to help.

“Alright, alright- if you’re going to spend all your time with me, thinking about them, I’ll try to find out. I doubt its Rogues though. I already told you, they won’t risk it. You’re Alpha is already taking on Knight Pack. Rogues won’t want to get involved in pack feuds.”

“Who else could it be? It has to be Rogues. Maybe you can call up some of your friends and ask them?” I suggested.

I was truly worried that something else might be going on. If it had been Rogues, I knew that one call from Liam could stop an attack from them.

From all the Rogues I had met after Liam took me in, and there had been a lot of Rogues, I noticed a few things. Rogues usually followed no rules and respected no one, but there was someone they never ever tried to go up against.

Liam.

“Charlotte!”

Both Liam and I turned around to find Macon running towards us. Lesley was right behind him, with her usual frown plastered on her face.

“You ran away?” Macon asked.

Liam laughed, loudly. It got the attention of people that were in the same aisle as us at the supermarket.

“I came to the store with Liam,” I replied, confused as to why he looked so worked up.

Macon turned to face Lesley, who lowered her head at him. It seemed like he was getting after her, which served her right. He stared at her for a good ten seconds, before she turned on her heel and walked away from us.

“What did she tell Caine?” I asked Macon.

I didn’t want to get mad, but it was hard not to when I thought of what Lesley might have done. She had caused enough damage already, with the stunt she had pulled last time. Since Caine had beat Macon up, Macon was still hardly speaking to me.

“The Alpha thinks you’re at home,” Macon said.

His eyes moved towards Liam, who had been sizing him up, before they were back on me.

“We should get going,” Macon told me.

He tried to place his hand on my back to move me towards the exit, but Liam didn’t let him. He swiftly wrapped his arm around my waist and moved me out of reach from Macon.

“He’s right,” I told Liam.

“We’re not through here,” Liam firmly said, his hold on me tightening.

I was completely pressed against his side while he was glaring at Macon. Liam seemed ready to be challenged.

Macon hadn’t said anything yet, but he didn’t have to. Something was definitely going on.

“I’m taking the Luna whether you like it or not,” Macon simply said, and he outstretched his arm for me to take.

“What’s going on?” I asked Macon, hoping that would avoid a confrontation between him and Liam.

I didn’t want a scene, and I especially didn’t want it in the middle of a grocery store full of other humans.

“Alpha Derek, he has just crossed our borders. Alpha Caine is waiting for him. There might be a fight,” Macon replied.

Liam’s eyes widened in surprise, from the shock I was sure he was feeling. As for me, I felt like the wind had just been knocked out of me.

“Charlotte!” Caine called for me.

I had arrived at the mansion only five minutes before he showed up. I hadn’t expected him to be at the house, especially if Derek was about to arrive.

I didn’t even know Derek was near Locus Territory, much less that he had sent people to spy and to attack our pack.

Liam was in the guest room I had just given to him. He was making calls and warning the gang and his friends of the situation.

On the way to the mansion, Liam had told me things he had kept from me before. After Alpha Dylan, Alpha Blake, Alpha Nicolas, Alpha Jackson, and Caine had started the battle, more Rogues had died than any other Wolf.

None of them wanted another pack war, especially if the packs were going to involve Rogues in their battles.

My eyes were still watery when Caine arrived, and I couldn’t contain the grief and sadness I was feeling.

“Caine,” I said with my voice full of emotion.

I had never received him like I did that day, and it even seemed to surprise Caine and Macon, who was standing just to the side.

I hurriedly closed the distance between us, jumped in his awaiting arms, and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

So many times I had planned what I would say or what I would do if I ever saw Derek again. He had robbed me of my life and he had taken my family away from me when he kicked me out of the pack.

Now that the moment had come, I was scared.

“What’s wrong?” Caine asked, softly hushing me and murmuring sweet nothings in my ear.

I was wondering why Caine was shaking so much. I had been a second away from asking him, until I realized it was me. I was sobbing uncontrollably against Caine’s neck.

It was comforting to know I had him, that I could count on him.

“What happened, Charlotte? Who did this to you?” Caine asked, his eyes getting dark and threatening. He seemed ready to kill anyone who I accused.

“He’s here,” I managed to say.

I didn’t miss when Caine searched for Macon. His body tensed up against mine all of a sudden. Macon lowered his head and mumbled a quiet apology.

“I needed to know and I’m glad that Macon told me. Why didn’t you tell me that the prick was coming here?” I asked, and slapped Caine’s chest.

Caine placed me on the ground, but he didn’t let go of me until he was sure I could stand on my own.

“I was going to tell you right now,” he said, and then turned to give Macon a hard look. “It seems like Macon beat me to it.”

“Does he know about me?”

I had been wondering about that ever since we left the grocery store. Liam had practically carried me out of the store. I hadn’t been able to move, to walk, or to talk. It seemed unbelievable, yet I knew Macon wasn’t lying.

Derek was really there.

“No, he doesn’t know anything. Tristan and Derek both know that I have found my mate. They don’t know it is you.”

“Leave,” Caine ordered.

He didn’t turn to look at Macon, but Macon was the only one in the room other than me, so the order had obviously been directed at him.

Once the door was shut, Caine placed his hands on either side of my neck. His thumbs were softly running over my jaw when he crashed his lips against mine.

I wasn’t expecting the kiss, or how rough Caine would be. It wasn’t until we were kissing, his lips claiming mine with all the possessiveness he felt for me, that I realized it was exactly what I needed.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and Caine swiftly picked me up from the ground. He playfully bit my lower lip and I chuckled breathlessly, trying to immerse myself in our embrace.

Tears were forming in my closed eyes, but it was beyond my control. I shut my eyes tighter and moved my lips against his aggressively. It felt so natural to be in his arms, molded against his body.

“I need to get you out of here,” he said.

He was still trying to catch his breath, and yet he kept placing small kisses on my cheek, my neck, my bare shoulder, and the tip of my nose.

“Where am I going?”

My hands were holding onto the collar of his shirt, because I didn’t want him to separate from me. I wasn’t ready to lose contact from him.

“Derek and I are meeting in a clearing near the prison. Victor is distracting him right now. I need to take you to the prison.”

“You’re locking me up?” I asked.

That was what made me pull away. Caine held on to me tighter, and his fingers dug into my hips, where his hands had been resting.

“You can’t stay here. If Derek is foolish enough to attack me, his first stop will be this place. He will think you are here. If you are in the prison, he can’t get to you. It will be surrounded by guards and I will be closer to you.”

His explanation made sense, but I still didn’t want to be locked up. The first time I met him I had been locked up. Lesley and a few others from Locus Pack had attacked me and locked me up. If it hadn’t been for Macon, who was the only one smart enough to tell I was human, I probably wouldn’t be alive.

Now, Caine was asking me to willingly allow him to lock me up. For protection or not, it felt wrong.

“I’ll just go underground. I don’t want to be inside the cell,” I stated.

“It’s not wise to have-” Before Caine could finish, I pressed my lips against his cheek, which had a light rosy color to it.

“If you want me to go, it’s the only way I will accept it. I’m not getting locked up. You’re choice,” I said, and pulled away from him before he got a chance to convince me to actually do it.

“I can’t believe you’re letting this happen,” Liam complained.

He was on my left side, while Caine took my right side. My hand was interlaced with Caine’s much larger one.

I looked up at Caine, who had an annoyed expression on his face. He hadn’t been too fond of all the comments Liam had made along the way.

I had seen Caine angry. I had seen him possessive and dominant. But most of the time, his expression was quiet, serious, tranquil. Even when he was worked up, he usually looked calm, although it wasn’t hard to miss the lethal look in his eyes.

But I had never really seen how he looked when he was annoyed. It was a funny sight. He was trying to hide it and he rarely went along with any of Liam’s taunts, and Liam had plenty of jokes to make.

‘I’ve never attacked a brother and I’m the Rogue. What does that say about pack dogs?’

Caine grunted when he heard that one, but he didn’t argue back.

‘This is a perfect example of packs, Charlie- Alpha against Alpha, trying to show each other up. They’re trying to see who’s got the biggest pack. You think they might be trying to compensate for something else?’ Liam had said, while staring down at his crotch area with a grin.

That comment got a loud growl from Caine, who tightened his hold on my hand in response.

“I am doing this for Charlotte’s protection.”

“Right…” Liam sarcastically remarked.

“I don’t want to see Derek,” I told Liam.

I was far from ready to face Derek. He had been my Alpha for a long time. He had been the only Alpha I knew, and I had responded to him for so long. Even though I wasn’t a Werewolf, I didn’t know how I would react to seeing him again.

Caine was giving me an easy way out and I was taking it.

The only thing I had asked him was to keep a fight from breaking out.

Derek was an Alpha, for all rights and purposes. If he and Caine went head to head, I didn’t even want to think of the possibility that Derek might win.

Caine was much bigger physically, and so was his Wolf. But that didn’t guarantee him a win.

Liam hadn’t said anything about my reply. When I looked up at him, I noticed his clenched jaw. I reached out for his hand, which was in a tight fist.

“He’ll get what’s coming for him one day. Just, not today,” I told Liam.

“I can kill him for you. I can make it quick. A clean kill if that’s what you want,” he suggested.

We had stopped right outside of the pack prison.

“I just want him to leave,” I replied.

Caine tugged on my hand, which made me look up at him.

“I need to get going,” Caine said, and then nodded in Liam’s direction.

“Can you give us a minute?” I asked Liam.

Even when I asked him, Liam seemed ready to say ‘no’.

“We’ll have a sleepover at the apartment,” I quickly added before he could say anything else.

Caine wasn’t going to order Liam around, not that it would work if he did. I had noticed that Liam got more respect from Caine than even Victor did at times. I wasn’t sure if it was because Liam was my brother, or if Caine still thought that Liam might convince me to leave him.

“Really?” Liam asked.

Caine looked confused with my words and he cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Fine, have a minute. I’m already counting. I’ll wait for you inside,” Liam said.

He nodded at Caine respectfully. It made me feel proud of him for doing so because I knew it wasn’t easy for Liam to deal with Alphas.

“What sleepover are you talking about?” Caine asked as soon as Liam left inside.

“He wants me away from you so he suggested staying at the apartment,” I said.

I couldn’t help but chuckle when Caine shook his head at me.

“That isn’t happening,” he stated.

“We’ll see,” I muttered.

I didn’t give him a chance to argue with me about it.

“Will you be long?” I interrupted him.

“Macon will escort you and your brother downstairs. I’ll keep him posted. If you need anything, just ask Macon.”

“I will.”

I pressed my head against his chest, needing to touch him in some way. With that small contact, the electricity between us was igniting. That soothed me more than anything ever could.

The warmth exuding from his body was calming me. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on Caine’s heartbeat, which I was faintly able to hear.

“I love you, Charlotte” Caine whispered against my neck.

He had spoken really low, but I had caught the words. My heart started beating wildly. Despite what was about to happen, I couldn’t help the happiness that took over my body.

“I love you, Caine.”

I wasn’t looking at him, which made it much easier.

My face had heated up, and there was a stupid grin on my lips. I tried to hold it back, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

Hearing those words from Caine felt so foreign, yet he had somehow made it perfect.

Caine chuckled lowly, and I felt the vibrations of it against my body. He tightened his arms around me, and brought me impossibly closer to his chest.

“I love you,” he repeated.

This time, he said the words while brushing his lips gently, but seductively, against mine.

“I thought you were taking things slow,” Liam reprimanded when I stepped inside the prison.

My face was flushed and my body was warm all over. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel Caine’s lips pressed against mine.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying and failing to ignore him.

Macon smiled at me when he realized what I was doing. He took the lead downstairs, but I was only a step behind him.

“Making out with him and confessing your love isn’t what I would call ‘taking it slow’,” Liam snappily said.

He caught my hand and brought me to a halt.

“They’re mates and he’s an Alpha. What did you expect?” Macon piped up.

I was surprised he had intervened, but he seemed happy that something was bothering Liam.

“Stay out of this,” Liam snapped at him, and he turned his attention back to me.

“Can we not fight today? We should make plans for tonight!” I excitedly said, wanting to find something that would distract him.

“Maybe tonight I can knock some sense into you,” Liam grumpily said.

I smiled, and interlaced my arm with his.

“You can try,” I said, giggling.

“See? I don’t even recognize you anymore,” Liam added, shaking his head disapprovingly.

There was nothing he could say that would make me back off from Caine. I just didn’t want to upset Liam, especially with how things were in that moment.

“I’m not going into a cell,” I warned Macon as soon as we stepped foot in the underground level.

It brought so many dark memories for me, and I scrunched up my nose at that.

There were prisoners in the cells. I tried not to pay attention to them, but it was hard to ignore they were there.

“The room you were going to stay in is at the end of the hall, across those double doors. It keeps you away from any of the prisoners,” Macon explained.

I didn’t even know there were more cells at the end of the hall.

“Is it a room or a cell?”

“It’s a safe room. We only use it for the most dangerous Wolves. You can’t come out unless we allow it, but if you are in there, I can guarantee you nothing will come in.”

Macon’s words did little to put me at ease. It still felt like a cell and I didn’t want to be inside of one.

“Charlie’s not getting into one of those,” Liam replied for me.

He held me tighter against him and was frowning at the shifters in each cell.

I didn’t want to look too closely at any of them. Being able to see the Wolves that were captured made me feel bad. I started to regret going to the pack prison in the first place.

Caine hadn’t lied though. He had about ten guys from Locus Pack just on the underground level. There had been about ten more on the first level and about five more outside of the building.

With how tense Liam was at my side, I was guessing he didn’t like the idea of me being there any better than I did.

I was trying to find an excuse, a way to convince Macon to just take me back home. Caine would understand.

“The Alpha prepared the room for you. We just brought in a TV, a couch is in place, food, and a few more things we were able to gather in the last hour,” Macon explained.

“You sure you can keep them locked in?” Liam asked, nodding his head in the direction of the Wolves that were captured.

“Even if they get out, we have men all over the place,” Macon replied.

“I don’t care. I want you to assure me that they won’t get out. I’m not taking the risk of them escaping and somehow trying to hurt Charlie,” Liam argued.

“The safe room is completely locked. You can only go in with an access card and password. Alpha Caine, Victor and me are the only ones who have a card and know the password,” Macon answered.

Liam seemed thoughtful for a long while. It was still unsettling for me to be around the prisoners. I hadn’t allowed any of them to see me, because I was hiding against Liam’s chest.

Liam didn’t let me go and he kept me at safe distance from the cells.

I knew that they were from Knight Pack, most of them at least. I was bound to recognize a few of the guys, if not all of them. Most of the people from the pack had kept away from me because I was just considered a weak human.

Despite that, I didn’t want to look too closely at any of them if I didn’t have to.

“Fine, lead the way,” Liam begrudgingly agreed.

It took a total of three seconds after crossing the double doors, to bring me to a halt. My breath caught in my throat and my eyes watered on their own accord.

Seeing him was just as bad as seeing my mom and my dad. It had been over a year since I had last seen him, yet he looked exactly the same. His hair was short, and his tan was a bit darker. Other than that, everything was the same.

“Charlotte?” He asked, looking at me like if he had just seen a ghost.

He was standing there, right next to the barred door on his cell, looking every bit intimidating, yet as shy and playful as he was before.

“Theo…”