Calliope's Mate - Book 2

Two months have passed since Calliope’s sight had returned. She has worked on restoring her appetite and building up her strength in these months. She had gained back some weight and was able to walk unassisted. The progress made her hopeful despite still having issues with her gifts.

She could only look through Caleb’s eyes for a few seconds daily. She still never saw his face, nor did she ever see his family. He was always outside; he seemed to prefer to be in nature than anywhere else. Most of the time, she would see the barren wasteland she had seen before, but occasionally, he would be at a small stream or near a wooded area.

Today, Calliope was sitting in her study, reading over another census report. There were boys or men named Caleb on a few of the reports. It wasn’t an uncommon name, after all. For the reports that had a Caleb under the age of 15, they would look deeper into the surrounding areas. But, so far, no Calebs in the correct age range lived in mountainous or rocky regions.

Calliope mulled over the reports. She pursed her lips as she thought to herself. Lea, who sat across the desk, noticed.

“What are you thinking about?” Lea inquired.

“If I am being honest, I don’t think he is in our territories,” Calliope answered. “He is either somewhere in the outer territories, or he is a human.”

“And we don’t keep track of the human population,” Lea interjected.

“Exactly,” Calliope sighed. She set the papers down and rubbed her eyes. Though bright lights didn’t bother her as much, the excessive reading wasn’t doing her any favors. “You think the Goddess would give me a human as a second chance mate?”

“Well...” Lea said as she thought to herself. “You said before that you thought you still hadn’t fixed the Moon Goddess’ mistakes. Perhaps Caleb will help you with that?”

“You think me being fated to a human would help that?”

“It might strengthen bonds where there aren’t any. In the past, you created a mate bond for a wolf and a human, and you had backlash for it.”

“But how is me being fated to a human fixing a mistake?” Calliope questioned. She looked up when she heard a knock. Paige walked in with more reports.

“I’m sorry, Great Luna,” she said as she set the papers down. “I looked over these myself. He isn’t in these locations.”

“Is that the last of the reports?” Calliope asked.

“Yes,” Paige nodded. She sat down next to Lea.

“What are the odds he is a rogue?” Calliope thought aloud. “His village looked disheveled. If I am to fix the Goddess’ mistake, what if it involves rogues? Bringing them back into the fold?”

“It would make sense,” Lea agreed with Calliope. “But we have no authority over these packs. They aren’t even in your territory.”

“Then we make it her territory,” Paige commented. “Her 150th birthday wasn’t that long ago. How about she announces that she will offer these rogues the opportunity to create packs, packs that the Greats recognize? They can move within the territories freely, choose an alpha, and pledge themselves to Calliope. This will allow us access to who lives within these packs. We can find him this way if the Great Alpha is a rogue.”

“Unbanishing the banished wolves does seem like a step to forgiveness,” Calliope nodded. “But what about sun wolves? If we try to take more land from the outer territories, they will surely be upset by this?”

“We haven’t had any sun wolf sightings in years,” Paige replied. “There have been little to no reports of human kidnappings. Maybe after the brief war, they went far away? Maybe found a paradise of their own?”

“And what do we do if we find groups of rogues and sun wolves mixed together?” Lea questioned. “They used to run together frequently. I’m sure they still do now.”

Paige and Lea looked at Calliope. She leaned back in her chair as she thought to herself.

What if there were sun wolves out there with rogues? Does she allow them to join, too? Or does she send them further into the outer territories? And what of Caleb?

The Moon Goddess would not have given her a second chance mate if there wasn’t a reason for it. She was created to get Giizis, so what is Caleb’s reason for being here? What powers will he have? Calliope looked at her hands. She had two gifts no other Great has ever had: the ability to see through her mate’s eyes and the ability to create a mate bond. What new gifts will Caleb have?

“Let’s do it,” she finally said as she looked at Paige. “Get some delegates rounded up. And make sure they have some warriors with them for protection. But not too many. We don’t want them to seem like a threat. And regarding the sun wolves, just document if you find any. I want to get an idea of their numbers first.”

Paige stood and bowed to Calliope. “Consider it done. I will leave now to start.”

Paige nodded her head to Lea out of respect and left the room. Lea reached over the desk and took away the census reports. She set them across the room. Calliope watched her. She looked at her belly... looked at the tiny baby bump. She smiled. This is the longest Lea has ever been pregnant.

Calliope chuckled to herself. Both she and Lea were doted on because of their conditions. One with child, the other weak and frail.

“What an odd duo we are,” Calliope said to Lea.

“I’m not odd,” Lea protested as she crossed her arms.

Calliope stood and walked over to Lea. She placed a hand on her belly and closed her eyes. She concentrated, listening to the faint, fast heartbeat.

“Hopefully, it isn’t contagious, and you don’t pass it on to the pup,” Calliope teased.

Lea put her hand over Calliope’s. She smiled softly as she thought about the baby.

“You have to be a little crazy to agree to be your companion,” Lea said as she returned Calliope’s teasing.

Calliope chuckled. She gave Lea’s stomach a gentle rub before taking her hand back. She walked out of the door and down the hall. She sighed as she stood in the empty corridor. On the third floor, there were so many unused rooms. Unused bedrooms. These rooms were meant for her children. Children she never had with Theo.

She walked slowly until she came to Theo’s old room. She gently opened the door. Nothing of Theo’s was in here. He had moved everything out when they had mated. She looked at the familiar furniture. She had seen this furniture so many times in her visions. She felt sadness weigh heavy on her.

“Perhaps Caleb can move in here when he shifts,” Calliope said to the emptiness. “Maybe he can fill the empty void of this room?”

Calliope went over to the bed and laid down. She coughed as dust flew into the air. She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to get the particles away from her. Once the dust had settled, she sighed and looked up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She had not attempted to meditate to see Giizis in some time. She did not want to push her energy past its limits.

With an exhale, she felt herself falling until she fell into the snow. She sat up and opened her eyes. Before her was Giizis, lying in the snow. Calliope smiled and walked over to her.

It has been some time since I have seen you, Calliope said with happiness. She walked over and scratched behind the wolf’s ear. I have missed you.

Giizis leaned into the scratching. She whined happily at Calliope. Her tail beat the ground with loud thuds.

What do you think of all of this? What do you think of Caleb?

Giizis exhaled loudly from her nose, causing a cloud of snow to blow out before them.

Do you think him being a rogue would be a bad thing? I don’t think so. Calliope said as she leaned against Giizis. I know not all rogues are or were terrible. Just misunderstood. How many are out there because they loved someone else? I haven’t created a mate bond since Theo died.

Giizis whimpered at the mention of Theo’s name.

You miss him too, don’t you? I’m sure you also miss Amarok.

Calliope sighed. If her wolf had any thoughts or emotions, she couldn’t tell her. Calliope looked out behind Giizis. She thought back to how she saw the Goddess there many years ago. She pulled away from her wolf and walked behind her. Giizis gave a low, warning growl.

Can I not go that way? Why? She asked her wolf. Giizis turned her head slightly before looking away.

Calliope furrowed her brows. She took another step away. Giizis’s head snapped to Calliope. She turned away from Giizis and began walking. Her wolf was quick to her feet and stood in front of Calliope. She nudged her nose against Calliope’s chest, trying to push her out of the meditation.

Calliope could stand firm for a few seconds, fighting against her wolf, but ultimately, she lost. She suddenly felt a rush of wind. She gasped as she sat up in the bed. She hit the bedding with her fist. She sniffed heavily before wiping the tears that threatened to fall.

Why keep her from going that way? What was her wolf hiding from her? Why, after all these years, does her wolf fight her again? Calliope rolled on her side and wrapped her arms around herself. She knew there was no sense in fighting Giizis. She would always lose.