Caine

“How is it possible…? What are you…? I don’t understand,” Theo said, letting out a shaky breath.

“You’re here,” I mumbled, taking a step closer to his cell.

Everyone had gone silent around us. The guards were looking at Theo suspiciously, not that he could pay enough attention to that with how hard he was concentrating on me.

“You’re alive,” Theo whispered.

He sounded like if just saying those words was something crazy.

“Alpha Derek said you were dead. He said the Rogues got to you. There was nothing he could do. But… you’re here. You are here, right?”

I chuckled at his words, but it far from being amusing.

Derek had gone through with it. He’d lied to them, to Theo and my parents and anyone else who might’ve cared for the weak human in the pack.

Liam grabbed my arm and pushed me closer to his side when I took more steps towards Theo.

“He’s locked up and he’s part of Knight Pack. You aren’t going near him,” Liam harshly said.

Macon was at my side as well, also holding me back when I attempted to take a step forward.

“He’s Theo,” I told Liam.

Liam only looked at Theo with distaste, before he turned back to me.

“I don’t care. He could be dangerous for all we know. You haven’t seen him in a long time. Things could’ve changed,” Liam warned.

I frowned at him, and then at Macon, who was trying to drag me into the safe room.

“I’m not leaving Theo locked up!” I snapped.

For once, Liam and Macon seemed to agree in something. They both wanted to get me away from Theo.

“You can’t talk to the prisoners,” Macon warned me.

“I’m the Luna, I can do as I please,” I retorted.

It was the first time I had ever played that card, and I regretted it as soon as I said those words.

Liam looked surprised at my outburst, Macon was frowning, and Theo— Theo seemed to be in shock.

“You’re the Luna of Locus Pack?” He asked breathlessly.

A frown took over his features when he seemed to register what my title exactly meant for him. I was the Luna of the pack he’d come to attack. I was his enemy.

I didn’t know what to say. When I heard Macon cursing under his breath, I realized it might’ve been a mistake to shout out my title.

“Let’s go,” Macon told me, before grabbing my arm and dragging me down the hall.

Liam didn’t even try to stop him. He just followed along, while looking at each of the Wolves that had been captured, with disdain.

“They had no idea who the Luna of Locus Pack was,” Macon told me.

He started pacing the room and was running his hands through his hair, like if he was really worried about something.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“It means that you’ve just warned them. It seemed like Theo was the only Wolf to recognize you. He’ll probably warn Derek about you and where you are.”

“You think…” I started to say.

“Caine was right, you’re a Luna now. That makes you a person of interest,” Liam replied.

I took a seat on the couch nearest to me, and closed my eyes. I was starting to feel lightheaded.

I’d been so stupid, only because I wanted to get my way.

“Theo wouldn’t tell him,” I spoke out.

Macon had been out of it. I assumed he’d been communicating with someone in the pack through the mind link, so I hadn’t bothered him.

Liam seemed thoughtful. Whenever he heard a noise outside, even if it was just the chatter getting louder, he would stand in front of me protectively.

“Did you hear what I said earlier?” Liam asked, shaking his head at me. “You haven’t seen or talked to him in so long. What makes you think Theo will remain loyal to you? The guy didn’t even believe it was really you standing there.”

“I need to talk to him,” I told Liam in a pleading voice.

Macon stepped in front of me as soon as those words left my lips.

“You can’t talk to the prisoners, much less if you actually know them.”

“Why not?” I asked Macon, giving him my best glare.

“Charlie, just let this thing between Caine and Derek blow over. We’ll talk about your friend after Caine comes back,” Liam said, in a much too casual tone.

“Open the door,” I ordered Macon.

The door opened up all of a sudden, but it was Victor who walked in.

“Who is it?” Victor asked.

For a second, I thought he was talking to me. Soon enough, I realized he wasn’t. He was looking at Macon, and his question had sounded more like a command.

“Did Alpha Derek notice?” Macon asked.

“What are you two talking about?”

They didn’t answer. They both continued to ignore me.

“We don’t know. It didn’t seem like it. Caine doesn’t want to risk it. Who is it, or is it all of them?” Victor asked Macon.

“Do you know all of the Wolves or was it just that one?” Macon asked me.

“What are you going to do?” I crossed my arms over my chest, in attempt at not looking so weak.

“Which of those Wolves do you know?” Victor asked me.

His voice held more command than when Macon had asked me. I knew it was because Victor was a Beta and Macon was third in command.

I wasn’t even a Wolf and their tone was getting to me.

“I have no idea if the rest of the Wolves recognized me. Theo’s the only one I noticed,” I finally replied.

“What’s the plan?” Liam interjected.

Although Victor didn’t look too happy doing so, he actually replied to Liam. He replied to Liam, and yet he had ignored me when I asked.

“Derek claims to come in peace. He doesn’t want to fight. They were about to wrap the meeting up when I came over here. But Macon told me the Luna had recognized one of the Wolves.”

“Yes, she did. He was a Wolf Charlie knew when she was in Knight Pack,” Liam added.

“I need to know who it is, so that we can take care of him. If he hasn’t told Derek about Charlotte, Caine wants to keep it that way.”

“What?” My voice was a loud shriek, which made all of them cringe.

“Caine isn’t taking any chances,” Victor stated.

“You’re not going to kill Theo!” I yelled at him.

I walked to the door, but Liam stopped me before I could pull on the handle. It wasn’t like I could get out even if I tried. There were locks on it, and the door required a password in order to get it opened.

“The decision’s already been made,” Victor told me.

“Well I’m calling it off. You’re not going to kill Theo, and you’re not going to kill anyone else either.”

Victor seemed surprised, but he didn’t argue with me. Instead, he turned to look at Liam, like if he was asking him for guidance.

“Charlie, they trespassed. I think I agree with Caine on this too. They should be killed,” Liam shrugged, nonchalantly.

“You argue with me about Caine on anything, and this is when you decide to side with him?” I snapped.

“The Alpha should be here shortly,” Macon told me, like if that would make a difference.

“I’m going to wait for him outside,” Victor said.

I glared at him when he passed by me. Even though he was looking away, I still kept my eyes on his back. Once he got the door opened, I sneaked through.

The three of them chased after me, but I was already standing in front of Theo’s cell by the time they reached me.

“Open it,” I ordered them.

I was holding onto the bars. Theo had gone back to take a seat on one of the steel benches inside the cell. When he caught sight of me, he quickly ran to where I was at.

The only things separating us were the bars.

“I’m not authorized to do that,” Victor told me.

Macon took a step back, looking happy to let Victor take control of the situation.

“I’m telling you to do it. That’s all the authorization you need.”

Liam came to stand by my side, but he was looking at me disapprovingly.

“Where is Derek going to go once the meeting ends?” Liam asked, his eyes on Victor.

“He’s staying at a hotel, just outside Locus territory. He doesn’t want to leave without the pack members that we captured, but Caine isn’t willing to let them go just yet. There’s also the fact that we already killed four out of the twenty Wolves that attacked,” Victor replied.

“We didn’t attack,” Theo interjected.

His words were not taken too kindly by anyone from Locus Pack.

Victor growled at him threateningly, and Liam just kept shooting daggers at Theo. Macon was the one who more or less seemed calm, but even his expression was serious.

“Open the cell,” I ordered them again.

No one made a move to do as I said.

I walked towards the guard that was standing by the double doors, since I wasn’t getting anywhere with Victor and Macon.

“Open it.” By then, I sounded angry, and I was sure they could tell.

“Charlie, I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Liam said, trying to talk me out of it.

“Don’t,” Victor told the guard when he went to open up the cell.

“She’s my Luna,” the guard said, which earned him a loud growl from Victor.

“I’m your Beta. And your Alpha gave direct orders to keep them locked in,” Victor growled, stepping in front of him to stop him from getting to Theo’s cell.

We started another argument on who was higher ranking, who had more say in the pack, and Victor fought off any guard I sent to open up Theo’s cell.

Every time Theo spoke, everyone went silent. It was only because they were looking at him like if he was lower than scum.

The entire scene was absurd.

“Quiet!” The order behind that simple word brought everyone to a deadly silence, even thicker than when Theo had spoken.

Caine slowly made his way to us. Two guys were following close behind him.

His dark eyes, which let me know that his Wolf was still at bay, were on me as soon as he entered the hall we were in.

It didn’t matter that there was people surrounding us. It didn’t matter that Liam was standing right there next to me. It didn’t matter that Victor seemed ready to tell Caine what I’d been about to do.

Caine walked up to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and lowered himself down to capture my lips.

I was stunned for a moment by the roughness he’d used and by his surprise attack, but soon enough— I felt my lips moving against his.

I blocked everything around me, and could only focus on Caine and the way his lips were claiming mine. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was enough to shake me up.

Even after Caine had pulled away, I was savoring the taste of him.

“Seriously?” Liam asked, taking me away from Caine’s arms.

Caine didn’t fight him, but only because Liam was standing close to both of us.

“What’s the problem?” Caine asked, looking at Victor and Macon for answers.

“I asked them to do something and they wouldn’t do it.”

I could hear how I sounded, like a little snob that hadn’t gotten her way. I just couldn’t help it. There was no way I could stand by and let them kill Theo and act like it wasn’t such a big deal.

Caine’s accusing eyes were on Victor and Macon as soon as I finished speaking. He cocked an eyebrow, and it was all he needed to do for Victor to answer Caine’s unspoken question.

“The Luna wanted to release one of the prisoners,” Victor replied, looking down at the ground respectfully.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Caine said, pulling me closer to his side.

He didn’t even wait for me to explain, before he started dragging me away.

“No, I’m not going to let you kill Theo,” I cried, louder than I probably should have.

When Caine’s eyes found Theo, he frowned at him.

He looked between Theo and me, before his eyes landed on Victor.

“Upstairs, now,” he ordered him.

Instead of heading upstairs as well, Caine started dragging me to the safe room where Macon, Liam, and I had been in.

Liam followed close behind. The disgusted look hadn’t left his eyes since Caine had appeared and kissed me in front of everyone.

“What is this about?” Caine asked me.

I was standing by the door, and he was looking down at me. It was one of the few moments where I hated how much taller he was from me. It made me feel so small, and not exactly in a good way.

“Theo is my friend,” I replied, defensively.

“Hardly,” Liam interrupted before Caine could speak.

“Was it that Wolf you were standing in front of?” Caine asked.

“Yes, he was my friend when I was in Knight Pack. We’ve known each other since we were little. He’s not a bad guy and Victor was about to kill him just because he recognized me,” I explained.

“I’m aware.”

“You knew?” I asked, reproachfully.

“I gave Victor that order. I don’t want for Derek to know just yet who my mate is. That is of no use now. His pack members must’ve told him who you were.”

“I’m not going to let you kill Theo.”

Caine looked at me for a long while, remaining silent. Liam didn’t say anything either, but he sure wasn’t happy.

“We’re heading back home. Derek is staying nearby and the pack is getting ready for an attack, in case it is needed.”

“What about Theo?” I asked, not liking how easily Caine was dismissing the subject.

“I won’t kill him, but I’m not letting him go.”

With that said— Caine opened up the door and walked out with me in tow. When I passed by Theo, his eyes didn’t leave mine. He didn’t call out for me. More than anything, he still looked confused about me being there.

“What is your interest in that Wolf?” Caine asked me once we arrived at the mansion.

Liam had been silent all the way. Once in a while, he would look between Caine and me. A frown usually followed soon after.

“You won’t hurt him now that I’m not there, right?” I asked, because Caine hadn’t said anything reassuring about Theo’s future.

“I don’t trust him. But I won’t kill him— yet,” he said.

“You said you wouldn’t kill him,” I argued.

“I won’t, but he won’t get any privileges. Your brother is right, you haven’t seen that Wolf in a long time. You shouldn’t put any trust on him until we know it’s safe.”

“So now you and Liam are best buddies or what?”

It had been what I’d been begging them to do since Liam had arrived. I wanted them to get along. I just didn’t think it would be under those circumstances. I didn’t like them getting along because they agreed to disagree with me.

“What were you going to do after you let him go? That was your plan, wasn’t it, to let him go. What about after?”

Caine’s question threw me off guard. I hadn’t exactly planned ahead. I just thought I’d let Theo go, we would catch up, and I would tell him everything that happened after Derek kicked me out.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, grumpily.

“What if he had attacked you?”

“He wouldn’t have. I know Theo. He’s not a bad guy,” I said.

“Yesterday, he attacked our pack. How is that not considered bad?”

The questions he was asking me seemed more like a test, rather than an argument. It didn’t seem to matter what I said. I felt like Caine would have an answer to everything I came up with.

“You were going to do the same to them, weren’t you? You wanted to visit them and then attack. How is this not any different?”

“Yes, but I have a reason to do it. The only reason Derek has is that he and his father want my territory and they want my pack. Greed, it’s the downfall of many,” Caine simply said.

Caine started walking towards his study when I didn’t give him a reply. I hadn’t even noticed that Liam had already left upstairs. He hadn’t said much, which was strange from him. He was always full of opinions.

“We’re not going to argue about this,” Caine stated.

“You said that if I wanted the position of Luna, that it was mine.”

“It’s always been yours, Charlotte. You’re my mate, it rightfully belongs to you.”

Caine took me in his arms when he said those words. He was looking at me like if he was really proud, even though I hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

I knew he was pressed in time. He needed to work things out with the pack. Since Derek had showed up, it wasn’t like Caine had much of a choice.

I was happy that he took time to explain things. I assumed he would be angry about Theo, since Victor made it seem like I’d committed a capital crime by trying to release him.

Caine seemed relaxed though, in control of the situation. I loved that.

“Then how come Victor treated me like if I wasn’t. Okay, so maybe letting Theo go wasn’t a brilliant idea,” I said, even though I disagreed with that.

I figured it was easier to play along with what Caine, than to keep a never-ending argument on how Theo could really be trusted.

“It wasn’t,” Caine agreed, making me frown.

“You’re supposed to lie and tell me that it was,” I told him, slapping his chest playfully.

Caine gave me a half smile, and he nuzzled his nose against mine.

“It was a brilliant idea,” he corrected, although I could hear the teasing tone in his voice.

“I’m being serious, Caine. Is that what I should expect? I can’t say anything because your Beta’s going to pull rank on me?”

“No,” Caine sharply replied, his fingers digging into my waist. I was trying to pull myself away from him, but he held on to me tightly.

“He won’t do that again.”

“Did he do that because I’m not a Wolf?”

While I’d been spitting the first things that came to mind, the last thought I added actually hurt. The fact that I wasn’t a Wolf had been a problem when I was part of Knight Pack. I only got along with a few Wolves, and the rest of the pack only tolerated me enough because I was still a member.

I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me while I was with Caine. I didn’t want to be the outcast of the pack just because I hadn’t shifted yet, especially if I didn’t know if I would ever shift.

The thought of just taking off with Liam was starting to cross my mind, when Caine interrupted my thoughts.

“Victor didn’t have a right to do that. He’s below you, and so is everyone else in the pack. If someone has a problem, I’ll deal with it,” Caine assured me.

He’d used that quiet smooth voice, the one he usually used when he was threatening somebody.

I closed my eyes and a shiver ran through my body.

When I heard Caine chuckling, I risked opening my eyes only to frown at him.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“I won’t tolerate disrespect against you, but I am glad that this time, Victor didn’t let you open the cell.”

There was a teasing smile on his lips, so unlike him.

“I don’t want to go around handing orders to everyone. The only reason Victor and I even had a problem was because of Theo.”

At the mention of his name, a scowl quickly replaced Caine’s smile.

“Why are you so attached to him?” Caine asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

He didn’t have to say it, but I could hear the undercurrent of a warning in his voice.

“Theo’s my friend.”

“Why doesn’t Liam approve of him?”

“Liam just hates everyone from Knight Pack. Sometimes I think he even hates my parents for not doing anything after I got kicked out.”

“Why didn’t they?”

He didn’t know it, but his question was so hard for me to answer. I swallowed loudly, and took a few breaths before I felt ready to speak.

“They thought I was dead,” I quietly replied.

“What about Liam? How did he leave the pack, and how did your parents handle that?”

I was left with no words. I didn’t have an answer to him, other than the truth.

Despite my relationship with Liam, he wasn’t really my brother, not by blood at least. Now that the moment had come to tell Caine the truth, I was scolding myself for not saying anything the day Liam showed up.

I knew Caine was going to be angry, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.

“Liam isn’t—”

A steady knock on the door interrupted my confession.

“Alpha,” Macon said, bowing at both Caine and I when he walked in.

Caine remained silent, something Macon must’ve already been used to.

“We’re ready for you, Alpha,” he said.

Caine nodded in reply and gave him a dismissive wave. Macon took in the gesture, bowed one last time, and headed for the door.

As soon as Macon was gone, Caine turned back to face me.

“I will make sure everyone has very clear your position in the pack. Your orders will be as good as mine. But—”

“But you’re still the Alpha of the pack,” I finished for him, rolling my eyes at my own words.

Caine chuckled and tightened his arms around my waist, crushing me against his chest.

“I wasn’t going to say that,” he told me, the amusement clear in his voice.

His eyes brightened up, and I felt like he wanted to laugh at me. I narrowed my eyes at him playfully, which only made his smile grow.

“Alright, out with it then,” I said.

“I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t ask anyone to release members of the Knight Pack. I’m trying to deal with Derek first, before I think about letting anyone go. This war is just starting and the last thing I want is for our pack to appear weak in the eyes of the enemy.”

His words were serious. He was trying to make me understand how delicate things were, but it was hard to ignore that Theo was still locked up.

“I won’t do anything,” I assured him.

“Since you’re going to stay here in the mansion, I know we won’t have any problems for now.”

He didn’t exactly tell me not to go out, but his words practically implied I wasn’t allowed to leave.

“Lesley will be here to watch over you while I’m gone, and five more guards will be outside of the mansion. I should be back in a few hours,” he told me.

Before I could reply to his words, Caine’s lips were over mine. Even though he’d caught me by surprise, his lips only brushed against mine a few times. The kiss was soft, yet somehow it felt more intense.

One of his hands tangled in my hair, while the other was pressed against my lower back. He kept sliding it from my lower back, to the side of my waist, leaving a trail over electricity wherever he touched.

I considered that maybe he’d forgotten he was about to leave. Instead of pulling away from me, he continued pressing his lips against my skin.

Caine trailed his lips over my jaw, and down to my neck, leaving a trail of small kisses on his way. I let my head fall back to give him easier access, and he began teasing and biting over my claim.

It was a sensitive area for me, something I hadn’t paid too much attention too before. When he began sucking on my skin, I felt tingles in certain areas of my body that made me blush.

Caine began pushing me against his desk. I was holding onto his shirt in my hands, pulling on it when it seemed like he wasn’t close enough to me.

My hands moved down to the hem of his shirt. I was going to pull it off, when a loud knock on the door brought me to a halt.

Caine growled against my neck, but he didn’t pull away from me.

“I need to go,” he said, in his usual low serious voice.

It shouldn’t have, but just hearing him talk was making me want him all that much more.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, less than that if I can.” It sounded like he telling that to himself, more than he was actually telling me.

I nodded, not being able to find my voice to speak. I was still breathless, and my face felt warm.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips.

He placed a small gentle kiss on my lips. I was surprised when I felt his teeth grazing my lower lip. He bit down gently on it, practically teasing me into begging for more. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the little shocks running through my body.

“I really need to go,” he said again, finally pulling away from me.

Once he was at the door, he turned back to look at me. His grayish green eyes had grown dark. It seemed like he was reluctant to leave.

It wasn’t until Macon called for him again, that he finally walked out the door, growling curse words under his breath.

I chuckled breathlessly, and touched both of my hands to my cheeks. I felt hot and bothered, which was something that kept happening more and more whenever Caine and I shared moments like those.

“I can’t get used to it,” Liam told me.

We were both lounging around in the TV room. We were both sitting on one of the couches, ignoring the movie playing in the background. Lesley was around. I had hardly seen her, but it had mainly been thanks to Liam.

He liked to tease her and she didn’t seem too fond of that. Although every time he did, Lesley would blush. She wasn’t the type of girl who blushed at anything. It was worrying me.

“C’mon, you’re acting like if Caine is some kind of monster,” I told him, shaking my head.

“Might as well be, he’s an Alpha.”

“Not all Alphas are bad,” I defended, even though my experiences with Alphas hadn’t been that great either.

“Yes, they are. The only reason you think Caine is different is because he’s your mate,” Liam said, snappily.

“There you go then. He’s my mate. I want to be with him.”

Liam sighed, shook his head, and pretended to watch TV.

We were like that for a long while, until Liam turned to face me with a grin on his face, like if he was up to something.

“You said we were going to have that sleep over tonight,” Liam reminded me.

“You know we can’t do that with Derek here.”

“Why not? I can protect you,” Liam stated, defensively.

“I know you can. You always have,” I told him, trying to play on the protective side of him.

“So, what’s the problem?”

“If we go, we risk both Derek going after us and Caine surely chasing after us. Two pissed off Alphas? That doesn’t sound like a fun sleep over.”

It wasn’t really Caine that worried me, as it was coming face to face with Derek. I knew Caine would never hurt me. Derek, he was another story

“I guess you’re right,” Liam sighed, sounding disappointed.

“We should go somewhere then,” he said.

I’d been about to argue with him about it, but Liam held his hand up before I could.

“We won’t leave Locus Territory. We could take a walk around the grounds, and show these dogs who’s in charge.” I rolled my eyes at his choice of words, but couldn’t help but laugh.

At least now he didn’t sound so bummed out.

“Luna,” one of the guys standing around outside said, giving me a polite nod.

“We’re going for a walk. Caine knows,” I shrugged.

I didn’t think he’d believe me, or that I would be able to walk away without having to put up a fight. The guy standing guard only nodded again, and gave me a friendly smile.

“You’re not invited,” Liam said, putting out his hand to stop the guy from walking after us.

The guy seemed like he didn’t know what to do.

“It’s alright. We won’t walk too far. Lesley’s coming with us,” I told him, and nodded in her direction.

She didn’t seem happy about the walk, but at least she was still coming.

“I thought you hadn’t been presented to the pack yet,” Liam said, observing the scene in front of him with interest.

“I haven’t. I guess I’ve just been here for too long. I kept fighting with Caine about this.”

“About what?”

I scrunched up my nose, thinking back to conversations Caine and I had before Liam came around.

“I didn’t want to be Luna of the pack. I mean, I know what you think of pack Wolves. I didn’t want you mad at me.”

Liam grinned at my words, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, squeezing me in the process.

“You do me proud, Charlie,” Liam said, squeezing me harder to him.

“Hey, human here,” I complained, because he kept squishing me on purpose.

“Weak human,” Liam taunted.

I rolled my eyes at him, but Liam only laughed.

I could feel Lesley walking behind us, but she kept a safe distance.

“You can come over, you know. I won’t bite,” Liam teased Lesley.

Lesley was glaring at him, but Liam didn’t get to see her since we were walking ahead.

“Fine, but it only because I’m supposed to be close by,” Lesley finally agreed after about five minutes.

I had no idea where we were walking through, but I was sure both Lesley and Liam knew exactly where we were. There wasn’t a trail, so we were basically walking through the woods.

“So what’s your place in the pack?” Liam asked Lesley.

“I used to be a tracker,” she replied, much too easily for my taste.

“And now?”

“I screwed up,” Lesley said, and her eyes passed over me for a second.

I wasn’t too sure, but something told me her ‘screw up’ had something to do with the day she found me and locked me up.

“So taking care of Charlie is your punishment?” Liam asked her in amusement. “What a curse,” he added.

He only started laughing harder when I slapped his chest. He was having too much fun with that.

I didn’t realize that while Liam was laughing, Lesley was actually starting to look miserable.

I was more than surprise when I noticed the water gathering in her eyes, before she suddenly took off in the direction we had come from.

She had just taken about ten steps away from us, when she shifted into her Wolf, and began running away full speed.

“Okay…” Liam said, looking after Lesley’s retreating figure.

“I think Caine got her into trouble after he found me,” I admitted, although I still wasn’t too sure about that.

“What do you mean?” Liam pressed.

He turned back forward, grabbed my hand in his, and began walking us away.

“I didn’t exactly have the best start with this pack,” I admitted.

Liam closed his eyes, and shook his head.

“If you tell me that Lesley did something to you, I swear I’m ripping that dog to pieces,” he threatened.

“No, nothing like that, well, not exactly,” I lied.

What had happened was definitely worse than anything Liam could imagine. If Caine hadn’t been present that day, I would’ve been executed.

“Explain,” Liam ordered.

And I did, except I left most of the important details out, and I downplayed the entire meeting. If Liam would’ve known what really went down, I wouldn’t put it past him to try and hurt someone.

By the time I finished talking and Liam was done asking me questions, our topic of conversation was more on Liam persuading me once again to leave with him.

I didn’t even realize that it was already late afternoon and hours had gone by since we first started walking. I hadn’t seen Lesley since she left, but I figured she was still trying to cool off.

“A full on war is about to start. When Midnight Moon fought Raven and Staten Pack, the battle took place in one day, but things went on for months. The same thing could happen here.”

“I can’t leave him,” I told Liam, wishing he could just understand.

Liam squeezed my hand, pulled me closer to his chest, and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

“I knew you were going to say that,” he sighed.

“You still asked?”

“One can only dream,” Liam shrugged. “I guess I miss when it was just you and me.”

“And all your girlfriends,” I added, smiling at him teasingly.

We were so close to town by then, I could faintly see the lights of shops up ahead. It was still a safe distance from the woods, but soon enough we would be out of them.

“Just trying to expand the family,” Liam joked.

I was going to retort something back, but my words were cut short by the noise of someone clapping.

It took just seconds to be shoved behind Liam’s back, and to hear the distinctive growls coming from him.

“Am I interrupting?” Derek’s chilling voice cut through the air, that just moments ago, had felt so light and carefree.

I couldn’t speak. Everyone must’ve been able to hear how fast my heart was beating, and I felt my breathing pick up.

“What are you doing here?” Liam asked through gritted teeth.

I had seen so many times before, Liam confronting someone. He usually played it cool and had a tendency to mock his opponents, something that always ticked them off.

In this case, Liam seemed too defensive. That worried me. When I sneaked a peak from his back, I realized why.

Derek wasn’t alone. There were about fifteen Wolves standing just a step behind him.

Liam and I were alone. I was only going to get in his way if a fight broke out. I started feeling so stupid for getting out of the house. Liam and I were only going to take a short walk, but Lesley’s abrupt departure had made me forget about going back home.

Now, Derek was standing before us, looking strong and confident. After all, he had the numbers.

“I can’t say that I’m disappointed. Usually, I get rid of homeless dogs that go about trespassing. In this case, be my guest,” Derek told Liam, motioning towards Locus Territory.

It was then that I realized Derek must’ve thought Liam was there to attack Caine.

“Charlotte?” Derek asked, when his eyes finally landed on me.

I was so sure he had seen me before, but he’d been too focused on Liam to pay attention to me.

“That is you,” Derek said, smiling at me like if we were long lost friends.

I unintentionally moved from behind Liam’s back, so that I could get a clear picture of what we were up against.

“We’re leaving,” Liam stated, interlacing his hand with mine and slightly tucking me behind him.

I had been about to take a step back. I knew if I hadn’t been there, Liam wouldn’t have just walked away. I could feel it in him. He was shaking, his Wolf was clearly trying to come out, but Liam was pushing him back.

“I believe that one belongs to me,” Derek said, pointing at me with his index finger.

His words made Liam growl louder than even when he found out about Caine and me. He was furious. The shake in his body picked up a notch, and I could feel his claws digging into my hands.

“Liam, calm down,” I pleaded.

“Stay the fuck away from us, Derek. I’m warning you. I’ll rip you to shreds if you dare try to put a hand on Charlie,” Liam snarled at him.

“Charlotte,” Derek laughed. “I assumed you’d be dead by now. I guess when you warm your way into a Rogue’s bed, it guarantee’s you a longer life.”

When Liam took a step towards him, Derek did the same.

I was left behind though, which was something that I hated. I had nobody to hide behind, and I could see Derek’s men getting closer to us.

A loud howl coming from somewhere behind me made everyone go still, even Derek, who had been looking at Liam smugly.

Only a minute later, a large black Wolf started running towards us. He wasn’t alone. There were about twenty, maybe more, Wolves running behind him.

He was the one who stood out though. I quickly realized that it was Caine. There was nothing to tell me that it was him, but my body reacted to his Wolf. I felt the pull towards him. Caine made his way towards me, and circled me, pressing the side of his body against mine. I felt safe having him so close, and heaved a shaky sigh.

Even though Liam must’ve noticed the appearance of the Wolves from Locus pack, his eyes hadn’t left Derek’s.

Caine shifted in front of me. I had already seen him naked plenty of times before. Although I blushed at the sight, I was more than thankful to have him there.

“You trespassed,” Caine told Derek.

His voice was smooth, low, and very much the most dangerous thing I had ever heard.

“I’m on the outskirts of Locus Territory,” Derek stated, as if that excused him being there.

“You trespassed. This town belongs to me, and you are on my land.”

Caine wasn’t asking questions, he was making accusations. I felt like it was about to happen. That fight Liam said might take months, I felt like it was only going to last as long as it took for Caine and Derek to fight each other.

“I was chasing after this Rogue,” Derek replied, nodding in Liam’s direction.

“You were, were you?” Liam asked, sounding amused.

He was a few steps in front of me, but I could hear the grin on his voice. Now that Caine was here, I could tell Liam had relaxed.

“He trespassed into your territory. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about how exposed the outskirts of your land are. He was roaming this area with her,” Derek said, trying to pretend he was actually worried.

Whether he was an Alpha or not, he must’ve known he shouldn’t risk a fight with Caine. Caine was in his territory, and he had a lot more men. Derek wouldn’t stand a chance. It seemed to be the reason why he was trying to play it safe, even though he was failing miserably.

“Leave,” Caine ordered him, just like he would any member of the pack.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m one of your Wolves!” Derek snapped.

“You’re in my territory. Leave,” was all Caine replied to Derek’s outburst.

His face was blank and Caine had kept his cool, which seemed to anger Derek more.

“Fine. I’ll take them off your hands. Liam has trespassed into my pack before and attacked us, and Charlotte belongs to me,” Derek said, and he took step closer to me.

Both Caine and Liam growled at him, which was followed by more snarling from the Wolves behind me. Derek was looking around at all the Wolves from Locus Pack who seemed ready to attack.

“Be very careful with what you say about Charlotte,” Caine threatened.

He closed the distance between us, and wrapped his arm around my waist possessively, growling at Derek once again just to prove his point.

Derek’s deep frown was portraying annoyance and confusion, but the Wolves behind him were smart enough to take a step back.

Derek seemed rooted to the spot, not really knowing what was going on around him.

“Charlotte…?” He asked, as he looked between Caine and me.

It seemed like the reality of the situation was slowly seeping into his mind when Caine continued speaking.

“Charlotte is my mate, and the Luna of Locus Pack,” Caine stated, leaving not only Derek, but all the shifters standing behind him, stunned.