by Victoria Sue
Taegan could feel Caleb trembling. He knew he was barely holding himself up, and was trying to last while the Alpha left.
The Alpha’s smile softened. “Times are changing,” he pronounced and directed a look towards his gammas. In a minute, he and his men had cleared the circle.
Caleb sagged against Taegan and groaned in pain. Silas rushed over. “Taegan, lay him down.” He gestured to the board. “We can use it as a stretcher to carry him into the pack house.”
“No,” Caleb gasped. “I haven’t walked through that door as my father’s son in years. I will do it this first time.” He straightened. “You may have to carry me once I pass the door,” he said with a shy smile.
Taegan grazed Caleb’s cheek with his thumb. “I would carry you anywhere, and anytime you needed me to.”
“Taegan!”
They both looked up at the hoarse-sounding cry, and Taegan’s heart that had been battered so much finally threatened to stop altogether. It was Rego, and he was pointing the gun.
“You bastard. You sold us all out to the wolves. Those murdering savages. How could you?”
Taegan gently let Caleb go and took a step to shield him. No one moved.
“Rego, put the gun down.” Taegan tried to sound reasonable, but the gammas were looking askance at each other. Any human carrying a gun was a death sentence. “Rego—”
“No,” Rego screamed. “You have betrayed us all. You make all their deaths worthless. My brother’s death worthless.”
“That was why?” Taegan said incredulously. “You betrayed us; you kidnapped children merely to discredit me?”
“I had no choice,” Rego spat. “They wouldn’t trust me unless I delivered. It would have been perfect, and then you had to bring that thing to fuck in your bed.” Every gamma had his knife raised. They all knew he was a threat.
And Taegan understood, he really did. He knew Rego’s parents had been killed by a rogue wolf, and his brother had raised him. Then Farran’s wife had been raped by a beta and killed herself rather than face her husband. Farran had let the guilt from that twist his thinking and fuel his hatred. And Rego, only seven when his parents died, had been influenced by everything. Understanding suddenly slammed into him. “It was you,” Taegan nearly spat the words. “I didn’t make a mistake when we tried to find Neal and Rayne at Warwick’s pack house. They were waiting for us because you told them we were coming.” He shook his head in disgust. “You got Xander killed.”
“Rego,” Caleb interrupted calmly. “I understand—”
“You understand nothing,” Rego spat. “The wolves took my parents, my brother.” He glared at Caleb. “You wolves think you are so much better than us mere humans.” He sneered. “Let’s see how you deal without your mate, shall we?” And Rego lifted the gun and fired.
It was loud, more deafening than Taegan remembered. He felt a sharp jab in his side sending him sprawling on the grass. He gasped a breath not expecting to, and took another, realizing he hadn’t been shot. Cries rose up, snarls. He lifted his face to see Rego set upon by three gammas, and Taegan knew he would probably be dead before he hit the floor. He had threatened the safety of their Alpha. He glanced at Caleb to tell him so, but Caleb was staring at him with an odd expression on his face. He coughed once and put a hand to his mouth. He stared in confusion because as he lowered it, his fingers were covered in blood.
“No,” Taegan scrambled to his feet, cried, and caught Caleb as his knees folded and sank to the floor. A deep crimson stain was rapidly spreading across his chest, and he tried to speak but more blood gurgled from his mouth. “Silas,” Taegan roared, but the wolf was already crouching down and tearing his own shirt off to press to Caleb’s wound. “Silas, do something,” pleaded Taegan, convinced that his own heart was breaking alongside Caleb’s. “I can’t lose him.”
Silas’s hands were rapidly covered in blood even through the cloth, and he met Taegan’s eyes. He shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed, tears streaming from his eyes.
“No,” Taegan cried in anguish and gathered Caleb’s body to him. “No,” he sobbed. He almost shook him. “I love you. Caleb, I love you. You cannot leave me, please.”
Caleb coughed again and Taegan eased him up, cradling him in his arms. Caleb’s eyes drifted closed. “No, Caleb,” he begged. “Open your eyes.” He looked at all the wolves and humans standing there stunned, and glanced back down. “Caleb,” his voice caught. “Alpha. Your pack needs you. Alpha.” Caleb’s face blurred and Taegan swiped his eyes.
“You’re crying,” Caleb whispered, wonder in his voice even though it was barely there.
Taegan nodded. “Because I need you. I love you. Look.” He lifted his chin and urged Caleb to look. “Your pack needs you. Every wolf and human here needs you to be their future.” He gazed at Caleb. “I need you to be my future.”
Caleb drew a shuddering breath as if the effort to fill his lungs was too hard. “I-I love—” But Caleb never finished the words because his eyes closed and with a shudder, his breath stopped. The pause stretching endlessly as if it would be his last.
Taegan lost it. He raged; he screamed. He shook the dying body of his lover. “Alpha, Caleb,” he cried, violently shaking Caleb’s shoulders until just as Silas reached out to stop him, Caleb drew a shuddering breath and shimmered in Taegan’s arms…
And shifted.
One second Taegan had Caleb bleeding out in his lap, and the next a huge wolf with a black glossy coat was blinking up at him. Taegan was speechless. He looked up at Silas, quite convinced he was imagining things; that the grief of losing Caleb had made him lose his mind, but Silas’s expression was as stunned as his.
The wolf scrambled off Taegan, shook out his thick coat and turned to the pack, and howled. But instead of shifting as before, every gamma simply dropped to their knees.
“Alpha,” they murmured.
Seeming satisfied, Caleb trotted back over to Taegan and sat down in his lap. Another second and Taegan was back to an armful of Caleb, a very human Caleb. A very healed human Caleb.
“You are amazing,” Taegan said when he could speak.
“No, I don’t think so,” Caleb said as Taegan draped his tunic over him and he leaned close. “In twenty-five years I have never been able to shift into a wolf. You ask me once, and well…” He shrugged.
Epilogue — The Day of The Choosing
Caleb fingered the fancy clothes laid out on his bed wondering if the seamstresses would be very disappointed when they discovered he wouldn’t be wearing them. It was ironic that this day — the day he would have become the Alpha he always wanted — wouldn’t be the joyous occasion everyone was expecting. He looked at the empty space next to his where once Taegan’s clothes would have lain. He wouldn’t be wearing his either because he had told Caleb he wouldn’t be attending.
“I cannot.” He had stared at him, those big green eyes pleading Caleb’s understanding, pleading his acceptance.
Caleb had stared back. He hadn’t had to ask why. He doubted if he could have stood to see Taegan promised to someone else either.
Alpha Senekal had visited last week and promptly presented his daughter as a possible mate. Caleb had been stunned to silence, but Taegan simply hadn’t said a word.
“Son, you must take a breeder then,” Alpha Senekal had said kindly when Caleb had stammered his apologies. Caleb had tried to explain why he could not even as he was aware of Taegan silently slipping out of the room. Alpha Senekal had frowned. He simply hadn’t understood that Caleb would no more hurt Taegan than raise his voice to Gia.
“You cannot be Alpha without mating an omega,” he finally said. “It is one of our oldest laws.”
Caleb had rushed to find Taegan when he had finally gotten rid of Senekal. They had existed in a bubble for six weeks. He hadn’t given a thought to someone actually enforcing the omega rule and he wanted to scream. He thought Senekal understood. They had been so busy. The new school was being built for both human and cubs. Renee
and Silas were ensconced in a cottage next door and Cy and Mari would live above the school and care for the children their families had never claimed. Rayne and Neal had gone back to vineyards and lived with Jenner’s sister and family, but they still met to play with Kyan most days in the woods.
And Gia was safe, and all children like him. About three days after Warwick had been killed Silas had found out that an Alpha King was to be crowned. He was as stunned as everyone else to learn it was Luca — the new Alpha from Caedra they had heard so many good things about. He had promptly made any hybrids legal and Taegan had gone and got Gia and Anna from Silas’s old cottage where they had been hiding with Renee and brought them all home. What was even more stunning was that the Alpha King’s pure omega was human. It had given Caleb hope for him and Taegan until Silas had said the rule about omegas wasn’t altering.
Then five days ago Taegan had moved out, and Caleb had felt like his world was ending. Taegan had been gentle but firm. He understood — he really did — but he couldn’t stay and watch Caleb with his omega. The worse thing was he had said he was moving back to the caves because he knew as they were bonded he would have to stay close.
“Then I will give it up,” Caleb had cried, tears running down his cheeks. He loved Taegan far more than he wanted to be Alpha.
“You can’t,” Taegan had said and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. “There are too many lives depending on you. The children?” he had reminded Caleb. Caleb had shook his head in despair. In six weeks they had taken another seven in. All orphans. Five human and two hybrids. Word was getting around fast that children were safe in Caleb’s pack much to the consternation and sometimes outright disgust of some of the other wolves.
It would be a long battle and as Taegan had pointed out he could not guarantee that whatever Alpha won the challenge for Caleb’s pack would feel the same way about humans. The worse thing was Caleb knew Taegan was trying to be strong for them both. He had to be because Caleb didn’t seem to be able to. He would have run far away wherever Taegan wanted to go — except in his heart of hearts he knew that was a lie.
It had taken twelve years of growing up, and another six of being imprisoned for Caleb to finally understand his father’s words, and he placed a hand on his chest as if to protect every one of the hearts nestled in there. The pack was a living thing and he felt every sorrow and every joy as if they were his own.
What was he going to do? How were they ever going to survive this?
He looked at the clothes again as if they were laughing at him. A knock on the door and he smiled as Silas walked in. “I believe in some human cultures it was common for the female to be late at her mating, but not the male.”
Caleb’s eyes filled with tears and Silas rushed towards him. “Ah Caleb.” He put a gentle arm around him. “I am sure it will be alright.”
“Have you seen him?”
Silas didn’t even try to pretend he didn’t know who Caleb was talking about. “He’s here.”
Caleb’s heart pounded painfully. Taegan had come to watch him mate his omega.
“Renee told him you were going to back out.”
Caleb gaped. “But I hadn’t told anyone that—”
“As if it wasn’t written all over your face,” Silas scolded gently. “Anyway I have a message from him.”
“You do?” Caleb’s heart leaped.
Silas bent and whispered in Caleb’s ear. “He says to wear the good clothes.” Silas smiled at the astonished look on Caleb’s face. “Come on, Alpha. Your pack needs you.”
It was the only thing that would have gotten him out of the door, and the thought that Taegan was going to be there made him swiftly change into his new outfit. They were blue with a fine line of silver running down the seam. His father’s colors. He just wished he wasn’t wearing them for this.
With a deep sigh he opened the door and slowly walked from the room, and down the steps. Every step was torture. When he got to the doors his feet simply refused to move any further. “I can’t,” he whispered to himself. “I just can’t.” He took a step back, brushing his hand over his eyes. For a second there he was back in the room he had been imprisoned in for so long. He’d thought he would never survive the torment he had endured every day, and could never imagine anything worse than his miserable existence.
He’d been wrong.
He felt like his heart would split in two, but he couldn’t exist in a world where he got to see Taegan two or three times a week if he was lucky. Caleb’s heart beat for him, and without Taegan he would be no good to the pack anyway. No, he had to tell them all. Caleb pulled open the door and headed for the pack circle. He didn’t look at the people assembled as he rushed past. Everyone was subdued but he wasn’t surprised because they were all probably wondering what was going on. He marched to the center of the ring where two or three Alphas stood. Caleb didn’t even know them all.
Alpha Senekal brightened when he saw him. “Caleb, my boy, we are so honored—”
“I can’t do it,” he burst out. “I won’t. It’s an outdated ridiculous law that should be scrapped, and when I see this so-called new Alpha King I’m going to tell him what he can do with it.”
The silence was deafening. Alpha Senekal paled. “Caleb,” he whispered in horror and glanced at the man who stood next to him who had a bemused smile on his face. Caleb looked up and noted the man was definitely an Alpha. He could see his—
Caleb stared as he took in the tattoo on the man’s neck. A large crown woven with the letters A and K on it. He closed his eyes in despair. No, he really hadn’t just insulted the Alpha King when he stood in front of him. For the complete lack of anything else to do, Caleb dropped to his knees praying that showing such immediate deference might at least save his life.
He heard a chuckle and felt a hand on his arm. “Alpha Caleb I believe? Please do stand up. I can’t cope with all that bowing and things.”
He heard another noise and noticed another wolf — his ginger hair in stark contrast to the King’s own jet black — was trying his best not to laugh. The King raised an eyebrow as Caleb got to his feet. “I thought we were here to see a choosing and hopefully a mating?”
Alpha Senekal opened his mouth but Caleb found his voice again. “Majesty, I am so sorry but I just can’t.”
“Why?” the King asked seeming really curious.
“Because of me.” Everyone glanced back to Taegan standing in the shade of one of the giant trees.
Caleb saw the King inhale and knew he would know instantly Taegan was human. Just then Gia who sat on the front row next to Renee burst into tears. The King glanced at the wolf next to him and rubbed his head as if it had suddenly started to ache.
“I told you to bring Kit,” the wolf drawled. The King nodded fatalistically.
“Maybe we can go inside and sit down?” The King looked down at Gia who had sprung from his chair and was clutching Caleb’s leg sobbing his heart out. He bent down until he was at Gia’s eye level. “How about we go inside and you explain what the matter is?” He held his hand out confidently and Caleb gaped when Gia clasped it firmly.
The King nodded in Taegan’s direction. “You’d better come too,” he said, then solemnly marched inside with Gia. Caleb looked at Taegan and Taegan quickly answered the unspoken plea and joined Caleb, taking his hand. Caleb immediately felt better.
He heard the servants moving about to offer refreshments just as he stepped into the pack house and followed the King to the sitting room by the door.
In another minute the King sat with Gia ensconced on his knee, tucking into a cookie. The King helped himself as the plate was passed around.
“Your majesty,” Senekal started and the King held his hand up to silence him. The other wolf — probably a beta — buried again what sounded suspiciously like a laugh behind his hand. The King looked at Gia. “My name’s Luca, what’s yours?”
Gia sniffed. “Gia.”
Luca nodded solemnly. “And why are you crying?”<
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Gia glanced at Caleb inconsolably. “Because Taegan doesn’t live with us anymore and Caleb has to live with someone else.”
“And do you think they want to live together?” The King raised an eyebrow.
Gia nodded enthusiastically. “Next to my room.”
Caleb gave the man credit for not laughing. Luca looked up at Caleb. “Let me guess. You want to mate the human.” He looked at Taegan.
“Taegan, sire,” Taegan replied.
“And you want to mate the Alpha?” he asked Taegan. Taegan took a breath.
“The pack needs him, Sire,” which wasn’t really an answer and Luca just raised another eyebrow. Taegan looked at Caleb. “But he is my heart,” he whispered.
Luca smiled and turned to Caleb. “I have heard good things about you two. When I got the bird a week ago I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to come.”
His beta snorted inelegantly, but Luca ignored him.
“A bird?” Caleb blurted out.
“Indeed,” Luca replied. Silas, Caleb thought instantly. “Anyway, we had problems with the border at Solonara and I had to sort that out and before I knew it, four days had passed and then Kit found it.”
Taegan looked at Caleb as if he might know who Kit was, but he had no idea.
“Of course once Kit found out, we were leaving within the hour. He would have come himself but he has his hands rather full with the twins at the moment.”
Kit must be his mate, Caleb thought.
Luca glanced down at Gia who was working his way through a second cookie and not seeming to mind in the least that he was showering him in crumbs. “I have many wrongs I have to right. I will be honest, the omega rule never seemed urgent in comparison because it’s the only way Alphas get their gifts. I understand, however, that isn’t the case with you.” He looked at Caleb.
“I’m sorry, Sire.” Caleb’s heart fell. “I have no gifts.”