Caine

The laughing and crying lasted for a while. At first it was just my dad and me. We were talking over each other, grinning like crazy, and sharing stories that we had little interest in. We just wanted to be together and catch up all at once. My dad finally stood us up and he reached out for my mom, bringing her into the huddle we had created.

I could not begin to describe how I was feeling. I was happy. I felt emotional. I felt right for the first time since Theo’s death.

“How are you here?” I asked my dad, my voice loud and excited. I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I just suddenly felt hyper.

“Your mate… he did this,” my dad replied.

My mom turned, and nodded at Caine. “Thank you,” she told him, and my father did the same thing even though it wasn’t really necessary for a human to show respect to an Alpha.

Caine returned the nod. He was quiet and serious, his usual way of behaving when people were around. He was standing near, but he didn’t hover and he didn’t try to join the conversation. I appreciated that.

I was caught off guard when I realized the amount of Wolves standing around outside. I didn’t know why they were there. I didn’t think they were there to welcome my parents. I might have thought that, if I hadn’t seen half of them shifted in their Wolf form, surrounding the mansion. It almost looked like they were guarding it.

I wasn’t sure why, but that gave me a bad feeling. I suddenly felt anxious. The air around us, it felt tense. I looked up at Caine, giving him a questioning look, but he simply shifted his eyes away and focused on my parents.

Soon enough, my mom had taken over the conversation and she was talking about everything and nothing. She was asking about the pack, the land, how it was going to be living there, if I liked it, and how it felt to be Luna.

She distracted me from whatever was going on around us.

Caine did not like the way my mother spoke. I picked up on it from the beginning, but it grew worse when she started talking about power and ruling.

‘It reminds me too much about Tristan’s ideals,’ Caine told me through our mind link when I asked him to please calm down.

We must’ve stayed outside for about fifteen minutes before Caine announced that breakfast was ready. I hadn’t made anything. Caine didn’t cook, so he must’ve had it prepared. I had not even noticed. Although the amount of things I didn’t notice lately was insane.

We sat in the long dining table. Caine sat at the head of the table. I sat on his right, my mom on his left, and my dad was right next to me.

I felt giddy, for some reason. I still couldn’t believe they were really there.

Someone from the pack must’ve prepared the food. It smelled great. I felt hungry. It might have been because I hadn’t been eating lately. With my parents there, I truly felt a lot more normal than I had in a while.

“You never told me how you liked being in Locus,” my mom commented, her eyes focusing pointedly on Caine.

“It’s my home,” I shrugged. “It’s very different from Knight.”

“I’ve seen,” my mom said, although there was no way for her to really know since she’d been there less than a day.

I had already thanked Caine. I was even more grateful every time I noticed him glare or shake his head at my mom. At least he was keeping quiet and finding a way to deal with it without being rude. My mother had a way of being difficult. I didn’t really understand why Caine was upset, other than how loud my mom could be. She had nothing but praises for Locus Pack and Caine.

“The land is huge, and from what we saw, it looks beautiful,” my mom said, her eyes staying on my dad until he nodded in agreement.

“The moment we found out you were alive, we wanted to see you, Charlotte. Alpha Tristan was not too happy, so we had to stay put,” she continued.

I knew my mom had missed me. She was loud and opinionated, but she cared. She started to sniffle, and Caine ended up walking her towards the bathroom.

It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. She didn’t listen when I told her where it was, and then she had asked Caine to walk her. She was either going to speak with him or she wanted to give me some time alone with my dad. Whatever it was, I really appreciated it.

As soon as they were out of the room, I wrapped my arms around my dad and pulled myself as close to him as I could get.

“I missed you so much,” I told him.

My dad tightened his arms around me. I was mostly sitting on him than on my chair, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“You’re stronger now, physically. In every other aspect, you were always stronger than your mother and me,” he said. I didn’t agree, but the proud and sad look my dad was giving me broke my heart. “We had no idea, Charlotte.”

I could hear my mom and Caine in the hallway. She was telling him that my dad and I needed to talk. It was then that I knew she had been trying to give us time, and I loved her even more for that. I only laughed in my mind because Caine was going to have to put up with her however long they stayed away.

“Tristan told us you were dead. He told us a Rogue had killed you—Liam. Just this morning when Caine’s men went to pick us up, I got a call from Derek. He told me everything.”

“Dad…” I whispered, hearing so much emotion in his voice, it was making me want to break down.

“We thought you were dead…” he said, and my dad was crying. I held him tight, comforting him.

I had missed him. I had missed my mom. But I always knew they were in Knight Pack. I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were alright. I could not imagine how they must’ve felt thinking I was dead.

It wasn’t like I had never thought about it before. I had. I had just felt like they were better off without me.

There was nothing I could do about it. Derek and Tristan had threatened me. I couldn’t return. But I had tried really hard not to think what my absence had done to my parents. I was now realizing it was worse than I had thought.

My mom and Caine returned only when my dad had calmed down, and we were laughing at some memories about us in the pack—most of them making a little fun of my mom.

“Everything was okay, though, right?” I asked, looking at him, and then at my mom, who was walking into the room. Caine was following after her.

He had remained quiet while my mom had talked her head off.

“Do you mean if we’re okay?” my mom asked.

“Yes, they didn’t hurt you?”

“They didn’t,” my father replied, shaking his head. “We didn’t know that they were threatening you with us. Tristan invited us on the trip because he said we would get to see you.”

“He kept the details to himself, Charlotte. We would not have come if we’d known that he was threatening you,” my mother told me. “But good thing we did. Locus is an upgrade, and you are the Luna,” my mom said, grinning at me.

I laughed when Caine rolled his eyes at her. I had never seen him do that before. It was amusing to watch.

My mom was going all out with the praises for the pack. I didn’t know if Caine knew that she was being genuine.

My mom was one of those Wolves—she was impressed with large land, good numbers, and a strong pack. Knight Pack had been okay. Other than their continuous feud with Locus, they were more or less peaceful. The pack had good numbers. It made my mom feel safe.

I was sure she was now in heaven. Locus territory almost doubled Knight Pack’s land, and we had more Wolves.

“How was the trip?” I asked my dad, changing the subject.

“We have been here a few days. It was okay—long, but we didn’t mind. We both knew we were coming to see you.”

Both of my parents grinned at that, and even Caine cracked a smile.

“Are we going to be staying here with you—in the Locus Mansion?” my mom asked, looking way too excited.

“I am setting up a guest house,” Caine quickly added.

We all saw the disappointment in my mother’s face. I had to admit, I also felt slightly bummed. “I want to spend time with my parents,” I told Caine.

He nodded at me. “It will be ready in a few days. They are staying here in the meantime. The pack is on lock down and you have to stay inside the mansion for now,” Caine stated, looking between my parents, before his eyes landed on me.

“Why is the pack on lock down?” I asked, frowning. As far as I knew, everything should have been fine. There was no reason for the pack to be on lock down.

“Is it because of those Wolves?” my mom asked Caine.

“What Wolves?” I asked.

“I will explain later,” Caine told me, softly.

My mom definitely liked that, and the gentle way Caine had spoken. She had gotten a dreamy look on her face, and she was smiling, looking between Caine and me. She, apparently, didn’t know that things between Caine and me were far from perfect. I had no doubt she thought Caine and I were good, and I was happy just because I was mated to an Alpha. That was the kind of mentality that she had.

“Thank you… I don’t even know what to say,” I told Caine.

We were sitting in his study. Caine and I had shown my parents to their rooms. My dad wanted to shower, and my mom wanted to settle in. I had not realized how many things they had brought with them. On the way upstairs, my mom had told me they had assumed they were moving into Locus Pack since the moment Tristan told them to visit.

My mom was happy—really happy. “This is what you deserve, my little girl. I knew you were going to be grand,” she’d said, before squeezing me in a hug.

My dad had nodded in agreement, although I knew he didn’t mean it in the same way my mother did.

My mom definitely liked the title. She loved me. I knew that she really did. But I had always known how disappointed she was that I had not received my Wolf like the rest of the shifters in the pack. Now I felt like being Luna of Locus, in her eyes, made up for the years I didn’t have my Wolf.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Caine replied.

He took a few steps closer to me, but there was still distance between us. I didn’t try to get any closer. The tension between us, it was still there. I didn’t feel it as strong. I had the same urge as always—to be near him, to have him hold me. But I kept myself in check.

“I do. This was really big, and I know you didn’t really want to do it. You still did, and that means a lot.”

“I want you to be happy. If not that, at least I want you to be okay.”

“I’m okay, or I will be,” I replied.

“I want us to be okay,” Caine added, closing the distance between us.

“Bringing my parents does not make up for what you did,” I reminded him. I couldn’t help the way I spoke to him. I sounded harsh, but the memories were fresh in my mind. I was happy that I had my parents. But they did not replace the loss I felt for Theo.

Caine looked at me with serious eyes—distant, in a way. He didn’t speak, he just stared. It was unnerving. I had seen him look at others that way, never at me.

“You were in… it was too long, Charlotte.”

“That’s what happens when your mate kills your best friend.”

“Theo was part the enemy pack. He was your friend, but that did not make him any less of an enemy.”

“You killed him.”

“I did.”

“You don’t even sound sorry!”

Caine stayed quiet for a long time, looking thoughtful, dangerous. He took a few steps back, away from me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something in his features changed. His eyes grew dark.

“Are you sorry?” he asked.

I glared at him. His question threw me off guard.

“What?”

“You and Derek caused the deaths of members in our pack. Your secrets with Derek—a man you know very well that you cannot trust. You went behind my back. Are you sorry about that?”

“You have no right to throw that in my face!”

“I have every right. Locus is our pack. Wolves—pups, died.”

“I didn’t want them to die! It’s not fair that you’re throwing that back at me! I feel guilty enough as it is!”

“Only you are allowed to throw Theo’s death at me? Only you are allowed to feel hurt, to feel pain?”

Again, his words caught me off guard. Caine was getting mad. I could tell. I could feel it. I could feel his Wolf trying to come out, and not exactly in a friendly way.

“What I did—did that gives you a right to kill Theo?”

Caine shook his head. “No, I had the right to kill him and the rest of the Knight Wolves the moment they entered my territory. Sometimes I forget that you are not really a pack Wolf. You were raised as one, but you are not really one at heart.”

“So now it’s my fault?” I asked, indignantly, but I could hear my voice breaking.

“Your actions caused the deaths of pups from our pack. Pups that you have not asked about. We held the funeral. Their family asked for you. You were dealing with the loss of Theo, and I gave you space. I made excuses. I allowed you to mourn the best I way that I could.”

“A person doesn’t choose how long they are going to mourn someone they care about!” I snapped at him, but his words got to me. I felt them because I was already feeling guilty about it.

“They don’t. I am not asking you to forgive me. I was wrong in trying that. I want you to be okay. I want you to go back to normal. I shouldn’t have apologized to you because I think that I did the right thing. You are angry because Theo was your friend, but he was still part of the enemy pack. He was here, Charlotte. He was here to attack Locus Pack when I captured him. The amount of time you have spent thinking about that and the damage he could have done to our pack—it shocks me. It is disappointing.”

“Caine…” I tried to speak, but Caine shook his head and the look he was giving me was enough to shut me up.

“I can’t expect you to get over Theo’s death. I killed him. I don’t regret it. I only hate that his death put you in this state. I hate that his death hit you more than the pack you were meant to love, to lead and to protect. It makes me realize that you are not ready to be the Luna of this pack. It makes me realize that I was wrong in pushing for more when you are too young to separate right from wrong.”

“Caine…” I repeated, and by that point, I was already crying.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like at any moment, Caine was going to tell me that he was rejecting me. It was rare, practically unheard of. But Caine was so different. I would not have put it past him to do it. He was really mad, but he wasn’t growling. He just had a look—one that made it seem like he had given up. That was what shook me up.

I wasn’t sure how we had gotten to that point. One moment I was thanking him for bringing my parents home, we were talking fine, and now we were arguing about serious things that I wasn’t prepare to face just yet.

“I have to go,” he said.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

“People in the pack are unsettled. I am taking a trip to Knight Pack. In my absence, Victor is in charge. Liam is going to be around—listen to him.”

“Why are you going to Knight Pack?”

Caine shook his head at me. “Bringing your parents was my way of showing you that I was willing to bend the rules.”

“So just because I didn’t jump into your arms after you did that, you’re angry?”

Caine again stared at me for a long while, before shaking his head. “I am not angry. I am disappointed. I will deal with it on my own. Enjoy your time with your parents, and stay in the house.”

“You didn’t tell me why you’re going to Knight Pack?”

Caine gave me a sad look, one that made a shiver run down my body. “It has to do with the pack. I don’t think you really care,” he said, before walking out of the room without saying another word or looking back at me.

Victor walked into the room as soon as Caine left. I had not seen Liam around and that was surprising. I expected him to want to meet my parents. I wanted them to meet him. When I called his cell, he didn’t pick up.

“Caine is mad.”

“I thought you two might make up after this,” Victor said, looking serious. “You’re not happy? I thought you wanted your parents.”

“Just because Caine got my parents doesn’t mean I can just forget that Theo is dead.”

Victor looked at me the same way Caine did—like they thought I was unbelievable for even thinking that way.

“We were all sorry that you felt that pup’s death so much, but he was still part of the enemy pack. After everything that Caine did to get your parents back—I am not saying you should forgive him, but you should at least consider seeing things from his point of view.”

My parents walked into the room before an argument started between Victor and me.

His words left me confused. Caine had said something about the deal he had made to get my parents back, but he hadn’t really shared what it was that he agreed on.

“You can’t leave the mansion. Stay inside. There are guards all around the area,” Victor said, his eyes landing on each of us.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

Victor just shook his head and walked out.

I was left alone with my parents for the first time. My mom was just talking about the mansion, how huge it was, how elegant it was, and how amazing it must be to live there. I couldn’t focus on anything but Caine and Victor’s words.

“What’s going on outside in the pack?” I asked my parents, although I didn’t think they would know.

“What do you mean?” my mom asked.

“Victor and Caine mentioned something about what was going on in the pack. Did you see anything? Did Tristan try anything against the pack?” I asked.

“Oh, you mean the Locus Wolves?” my mom said.

“What?”

“The Locus Wolves that are upset? Is that what you’re talking about?” she asked.

I felt Liam as soon as he entered the house. He was coming towards us. Lesley was with him—I also felt her Wolf. A few seconds later, Liam and Lesley walked hand in hand into Caine’s study.

I expected for Liam to bust out the charm with my parents. I didn’t expect for Liam to show up with a solemn face, with Lesley in tow looking kind of pissed off. She flat out glared at my parents and me, before telling Liam that she was going to wait outside.

“She’s mad at me again?” I asked, because with Lesley, it was always like that.

“She’s just worried. We all are.”

“What’s going on?” I asked Liam.

“Do you think we could talk for a minute?” Liam asked, pulling on my hand and dragging me out of the room before I had a chance to reply.

My parents were watching us with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. It had been somewhat random. Liam kept tugging on my hand until we reached his room upstairs. He shut and locked the door, before turning to face me.

He had not even tried to introduce himself to my parents. I wanted him to make a good impression on them. I wanted for my parents and Liam to get along. Liam was kind of strange when it came to people. He either liked you or he didn’t. If he didn’t, he was not exactly nice about it, and that came with a lot of mocking and teasing.

“Caine told me that he was going to make a deal with Tristan to get your parents back. He was desperate and he did not know what to do to make the situation better. You were too far gone… he thought you might try to hurt yourself.”

“I know, he told me. Caine expected for me to forgive him for everything just because he brought my parents back.”

Liam sighed, and I could see he disagreed with me without having to say it.

“You think he’s right, don’t you?” I asked, and I couldn’t keep the hurt from slipping through my voice. More than anyone else, I had wanted for Liam to agree with me.

“I can see things from his perspective. That’s all I’m willing to say. You know that I have your back, even if I don’t exactly agree with you. He was your friend, and it was shitty of Caine to kill him. Let’s forget about that for a moment. Do you know what Caine did?”

“He did something? You have talked to him more than I have.”

“He promised Tristan a sit down.”

“I imagined something like that.”

“Do you know what else he promised Tristan?”

I didn’t want to guess. From the way Victor, Caine, and now Liam were behaving, I didn’t even want to imagine what Caine had promised him.

“What?”

“Tristan is only interested in Locus because of the size of the pack and the land. He has always liked everything about Locus… I’m not even kidding. It’s to a point where I think he is obsessed with the pack.”

“What did Caine offer him?”

“Caine promised to triple the amount of Wolves that he killed—sixty Wolves. Victor and Macon are drawing a list of the Wolves from Locus that are going to transfer to Knight. The information leaked, the Wolves from the pack are freaking out, and they are blaming you.”

“Oh my God… how could he…” I couldn’t even get the words out.

“It’s a fucking shitstorm out there. Caine is trying to deal with it. It might be the reason why the mansion is surrounded by trackers and fighters. Caine is trying to keep you safe from your own pack. The pack members are furious.”