Calliope's Mate - Book 2

It was dark out. There was no moon or stars overhead, only black, rolling clouds. There was the sound of thunder in the distance. The wind blew furiously. A storm was rolling in.

Caleb walked in human form with his companion. Waylon refused to let Caleb shift. He knew if he shifted, Caleb would be stronger; he would have the upper hand. And so, for hours, the two have been walking.

Caleb could feel something pull in his heart. He felt this pull often, once a day, sometimes multiple times a day. The pull was always towards the palace, towards Calliope. He always thought it was the mate bond, forcing him to want to be near her. And in this moment, he did; he wanted to be by her. Not walking with Waylon.

He looked over to his companion. He watched as he played with the bone dagger. Waylon would touch the silver to his skin, watch as it blistered, and then remove the blade so it could heal.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Caleb asked, disgust and confusion mixed in his voice.

“I’m trying to build up my tolerance to pain,” Waylon answered as he sheathed the knife. “It’ll make me stronger. I need to be stronger, for you.”

“I don’t need you to be strong; I need you to be a friend,” Caleb replied.

“You don’t know what you need, not while you are trapped by the girl,” Waylon chuckled. “She has brainwashed you. You think you’re in love; you think she loves you. She is using you!”

Caleb reached over and grabbed Waylon’s throat. He slammed him into a tree, causing the tree to crack under the pressure.

“I only agreed to come here because of Bennett’s threat. But if you keep talking, I will kill you. Right here, right now.” Caleb growled as his grip on Waylon’s throat tightened.

Waylon gurgled, unable to get air in his lungs. Caleb held him there, watching him struggle. But as he began to turn blue, Caleb released him. Waylon fell to the ground, gasping for air. He began to laugh as he lay on the ground on all fours.

“That’s it, Great Alpha. Show off that anger of yours. You’re not the gentle boy she thinks you are.”

Caleb growled but turned to keep walking to the cabin. Waylon scrambled to follow. Caleb remained silent for the remainder of their walk. By the time they got to the cabin, lightning was flashing overhead.

The cabin was lit up; there were people inside. One man sat outside. A wolf, but Caleb didn’t recognize him. The man stood and opened the door for Caleb and Waylon. They walked inside.

Caleb froze, surprised to see his parents there. Aaron traveling there was dangerous, especially if he had been in his wolf form. Though he had not seen his father in years, he did not approach him. Instead, Caleb was channeling his energy, preparing for a quick shift if needed.

Bennett approached him with a chair. He placed it in front of Caleb.

“Sit,” he instructed.

“I’d rather stand,” Caleb said.

He knew sitting would break his concentration. But did Bennett know? Bennett was hard to read: his face and eyes weren’t expressive. Caleb never knew if he would be talking to an angry or calm Bennett. And with so many people in this cabin, most of whom he didn’t recognize, he felt uneasy.

“You act like you want to flee. Run back home with your tail tucked between your legs. Are you a broken mutt, boy? Did that girl chain you down?” Bennett said as he sat down across from Caleb.

Maya and Aaron sat down as well, but men were standing behind them. Caleb could tell his mother was anxious. She was sweating and trembling. She glanced at him briefly before looking away.

“You’re wrong about Calliope,” Caleb replied, turning his attention back to Bennett.

“What lies has she told you?” Bennett questioned as he leaned forward.

“She has told me no lies! I’ve seen her memories; I’ve seen the truth!” Caleb argued.

“And you think we haven’t told you the truth? Were your grandmother’s memories lying as well?”

“No!” Caleb yelled. He sighed and gripped the back of the chair. “She just didn’t know the full truth. None of you know everything that had happened.”

“Then enlighten us, oh wise one,” Bennett mocked.

“My Great-grandfather was the one who dealt the killing blow to the previous Great Alpha,” Caleb explained. “Calliope killed him out of revenge. And not only that, but my ancestors are why the sun wolves had so much silver. They were the catalyst to a lot of what caused the brief war.”

“So, suddenly, sun wolves are bad? Look at your father and tell him that.”

“I’m not saying that,” Caleb growled. “But a lot of the fighting and deaths were caused by them. We wouldn't be here if my ancestors had not been so greedy and power-hungry.”

“And neither would you,” Bennett retorted. “You say your family was greedy and power hungry. But that’s how the Greats saw them. But you forget, there are so many out there who want to end the Great's tyranny. They rule with absolute power, and no one can stop them. But then you came along. You are our salvation. She will kill all of us, all of those you know and love one day.”

“She is done fighting. She doesn’t want violence. Only you!” Caleb yelled. “And I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to kill anyone, especially Cali.”

“I figured that,” Bennett nodded as he crossed his arms. “You’ve been mated to her for how long? Three, almost four months now?”

“How did you know?” Caleb asked. He looked to Waylon, who smiled. He walked across the room and stood behind Bennett.

“I should have sent you home,” Caleb growled to Waylon.

“But you can’t, now can you,” Waylon smiled as he held up a hand. The scar from his oath was on the palm. “Can’t have a companion leave, can you, Great Alpha?”

“I’ll cut off that hand and send you home!”

“That’s enough, boy,” Bennett snapped. Caleb clenched his fists but didn’t move from his spot. “Now, we have to discuss what we will do about the mess you’re in.”

“What mess?”

“You’ve been the Great Alpha for several months now, and you haven’t killed the girl. So someone is going to have to do it for you.” Bennett replied.

“No! You cannot touch her!” Caleb yelled as his body began to steam. His wolf wanted to come out. He wanted to tear Bennett limb from limb.

Bennett looked to some of his men, and suddenly, a silver chain was placed around Caleb’s neck. It was pulled tight, but not so tight that he couldn’t breathe. They forced Caleb to sit in the chair. A lock was placed on the chain to keep it around his neck. He hissed as the silver burned his skin.

“Now, you aren’t going to shift on us,” Bennett chuckled. “You might be a great Alpha, but you are still weak to silver. Now, back to the topic at hand. The girl needs to die. Whether or not you want her to. Now, Waylon here has volunteered himself for the task. He has the bone dagger and he has access to her. By tomorrow evening, she will be dead. But don’t worry, I’ll ensure you have some pretty girls to warm your bed.”

“She can’t die,” Caleb hissed. “She is pregnant.”

“What?!” Maya yelled out. It was the first word Caleb had heard from his mother in years. Several men stepped to Maya, but she remained seated.

“You’re lying,” Bennett replied. “She can’t be with child this quickly.”

“She just realized it today. I only found out hours ago.”

Bennett looked up to Waylon, but he only shrugged.

“I wasn’t around any of them today; I can’t confirm if he is telling the truth or not,” Waylon says.

“It doesn’t change a thing,” Bennett said as he turned his attention back to Caleb. “She will die. And you will sit here until it is done.”

Caleb began to struggle under the chains. He growled, trying to focus on his wolf. He wanted to shift. No. He needed to shift. If Waylon left, it would take him only a few hours to return to the palace. And it was late and storming. Calliope would be asleep. She wouldn’t know what was coming for her until it was too late.

Caleb closed his eyes, trying to drown out Bennett’s voice. He called out to Altan in his mind.

Fight these chains! We need to shift! We need to protect Calliope!

Altan snarled within Caleb. The chains grew hot against his neck. The burning intensified. Before anyone realized what was happening, the chain around Caleb’s neck snapped. And the instant the silver wasn’t touching him, Caleb shifted into his sun wolf form. He turned around and slashed at the men behind him.

The claws on his hands were long, and they slashed deep into their necks. The men began to bleed out. But before they could heal, Caleb slashed again, severing their heads from their bodies. He turned around. Waylon had grabbed Bennett and was dragging him out the back door. Caleb turned to his right and watched as silver chains were placed around his parents. He growled, ready to attack, but then he heard shifting.

Wolves began to storm inside the cabin. A dozen wolves stood between him and his parents. He crouched down, readying to lunge.

“Run!” His mother yelled out to him. “Run!”

Caleb looked up and noticed tears running down his mother’s cheeks. He can’t ever remember a time when he saw her cry. She was scared, and she was scared for him. Caleb glanced behind him at a broken window. He looked one last time at his parents before jumping out of the cabin.

Once his feet were on the dirt ground outside, he shifted into his moon wolf. He was faster in this form. He sprinted from the cabin. As he ran, it began to rain. He could hear the howl of wolves. It was the warriors of the Royal Moon pack. They ran past him towards the cabin.

How did they know? He sniffed the air, but with the rain, he couldn’t detect if Calliope was amongst the wolves running in. So he kept running, hoping she was back at home, safe.

For those who have been wondering what Caleb's other gifts might have been, it is his ability to break silver. I know it doesn't seem like much, but I did not want to risk repeating the past and having him pulled down by silver, as Theo had been.