She couldn’t wait to be a mother again. That unconditional love that you feel for your baby doesn’t start the moment they are placed in your arms. That’s just the time it becomes real. The love starts when they’re growing inside you and she would do everything in her power to protect this innocent child.
The last thing she wanted was to take it away from its father, but she’d do what was necessary to keep them safe in this cruel world. After witnessing her children’s grief over the loss of her, she never wanted to see that kind of pain on a child’s face again, but if that’s what she had to do, she would.
Kelton didn’t want to speak about it. To him, they were having a baby, simple as that. He wouldn’t speak of the fears, not wanting to make them real. But, Kayleigh had to be real. They couldn’t live in a fantasy world where everything worked out right in the end. The pregnancy was progressing quickly and the time of reckoning would be on them before they knew it.
It had been wonderful to see Aisline’s reaction to her baby bump. The shock on her face had been a picture! If it had been a regular human pregnancy, then she would have barely been showing already, but with her vampire physiology, the bump was quite pronounced. Ash had acted like a proud Aunty. Kayleigh loved that idea. She wanted more than anything for the baby to grow up here, at the academy, surrounded by people that would love and protect her.
Luckily, Kayleigh had been keeping herself to herself. She was slowly easing herself back into life at the academy. Plus, she didn’t want to go out of her way to bump into the twins. That was still a sore subject for her and would be for a long time. She’d spoken to Marion at length about them and understood that she would get on well with Cala, given the chance. Kayleigh didn’t see how that would work. But, maybe in time…
Chapter Twenty Three
Verynai raced down the stairs two at a time, grabbing Master Warrior Dixon on his way, filling him in on their way through the mansion. It was a quick briefing, but he told him everything he needed to know about the situation. Caleb was pacing around the reception area restlessly, looking impatient.
“Where’ve you been? That was more than five minutes.” He said moodily as he watched the warriors approach.
“Following protocol.” Verynai snapped, fully aware that he had been longer than planned, but still, no longer than ten minutes had passed and he didn’t appreciate a moody teenager trying to tell him off. Ignoring Caleb, he turned and snagged some car keys from Luke who was working at the front security desk. “Let’s go.”
They headed out to the front of the mansion where one of the sleek black cars had been brought around for them. Verynai was revving the engine before Dixon and Caleb had even got into the vehicle.
“I’m going to need some directions.” Verynai called over his shoulder, glancing at Caleb in the rear-view mirror as they gunned down the driveway, “I’ve no idea where I’m going.”
Caleb was lost in his own thoughts. He had no idea what they could be walking back into. It wasn’t the greatest idea to be taking two more vampires onto pack land, but it didn’t seem like there was much of a choice. Patrick still hadn’t been picking up by the time they’d left the mansion, but he’d been told that Kelton was going to keep trying.
He’d tried ringing his mother to get hold of Starr, but she hadn’t been picking up either. There was no way to get hold of Trey or Starr, so they were walking in there blind. But, it was their only viable option to make sure that nothing untoward had happened to Trey.
It was a strange feeling for Caleb to be going home. He’s visited briefly but infrequently since starting at the academy and although there was a rush of the familiar, it also appeared alien, like he no longer belonged there.
One of the things that Patrick had been concerned about when he and Rees had been sent to live at the Sons of Satrina academy was that they would feel isolated from the pack and that’s why he tried to arrange home visits as often as their training schedule would allow. Rees seemed happy enough wherever he was, always making the most of whatever situation he was in, but Caleb couldn’t seem to find his place anywhere. It was an odd feeling not to feel like you belong with your family, with the pack you had grown up with.
As shifters, they weren’t ruled by the call of the moon and could shift at will. Or not shift, if they so choose. But that didn’t mean that they could just walk away from their pack. The shifters needed that connection. The call to be with their pack was equally as strong as the call of the warrior mark for the Lamia. Occasionally, when things got like they were too much for him, Caleb felt like he was being pulled in opposite directions. It wasn’t a balancing act and he was still working on trying to find a happy medium.
Rees, the younger brother, was better at handling the changes than he was. He was a resilient kid and even if he didn’t tell him enough, Caleb was dead proud of him. Caleb admired and envied the way that he was equally at home at the academy as he was with the pack. For him, it was a constant battle in his head.
“We’re coming up to the boundary.” Caleb said as he pointed through the window.
Dixon looked around. “How the heck can you tell that?” Everything looked the same to him.
“I’ve lived here all my life, remember? I know this place like the back of my hand.” Caleb replied in a distracted tone as he looked out the window. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Maybe it was just because he was heading back onto pack land with a couple of uninvited vampires, which was a very bad idea.
Verynai suddenly slowed the car down and pulled over to the side of the road. Shutting off the engine, he swivelled in his seat to look at Dixon and Caleb. “So, what do we do now? We’ve come out here, without any real plan and we all know, that’s not how we do things as warriors. I don’t think it would be very wise to go storming in there all heavy handed.” Verynai knew that if the shit hit the fan that they’d be drastically outnumbered by the shifters. Plus, he didn’t want their actions tonight to cause any more friction between the Sons and the shifters.
“Kelton? Can you hear me?” They had the phone on loud speaker, keeping the line open and clear so their leader was aware of their every move.
“I’m here. I’m just trying to contact Patrick again on the other line. One minute.” And the line went quiet again.
Caleb’s eyes went wide when they heard the ringing phone and then Patrick answering.
“Yes?” his voice answered curtly.
“Patrick? It’s Kelton.”
“Kelton. Good to hear from you. How’s everything going with Kayleigh?”
Kelton cleared his throat, well aware that the others were listening in. “It’s all good. Look, I’ll get straight to it. We have a bit of an issue.”
“An issue?”
“I’m sending Master Warrior’s Verynai and Dixon to speak to you personally about it. They’ve also got Caleb with them.”
“Is something wrong with the boys?” Patrick instantly sounded concerned.
“No, no. Caleb and Rees are both fine. This is something else entirely.”
Patrick sighed loudly. More trouble. Just what he didn’t need. “I officially give my permission for your representatives to entire pack land.” He said in a solemn voice. “Do they know where to come? It would probably be best to meet at my house, keep things casual so nobody gets freaked.”
“Thanks, Patrick. I’ll make sure to send them straight to your house. As I said, they have Caleb with them so he will be able to show them the way.”
“I’ll see them shortly.” Patrick paused. “I hope you aren’t sending a shit storm my way, Kelton.” They’d had a good friendship for many years and he hoped that this wasn’t going to cause them any problems.
“I hope not.”
A short silence followed by a click showed that Patrick had hung up the phone.
“You heard all that?” Kelton asked.
“We sure did. We’re going to head straight to Patrick’s now.” Dixon glanced over at Cal
eb who nodded to indicate he knew where it was.
“Let’s go then.” Verynai was eager to get this show on the road and get the hell out of there. He didn’t like being in a position where they were vulnerable.
Caleb directed them to Patrick’s place which was set in the centre of the pack land. He lived in a beautiful old farmhouse structure, surrounded by sprawling fields of who knew what. It was all one big blackness at night.
The packs generally lived on farmland, keeping themselves close to nature with plenty of room and privacy if they chose to shift form. Patrick’s pack was among the biggest in the country and their land spread far and wide.
Verynai pulled up outside the house and noticed that a porch light flickered to life as they got out of the car. He glanced over at Dixon who rose his eyebrows in response. They were both in warrior mode, fully aware of their surroundings and assessing any type of possible threat. It was clear to anyone observant enough that they were both on edge.
Caleb took charge of the situation, even though it wasn’t his place, and he led the Lamia Matris warriors to the front door of the house. Patrick was already in the open doorway, waiting for them. He stepped forward with a warm smile and embraced Caleb.
“How are you doing?” He asked with concern in his eyes, taking in Caleb’s appearance. He still didn’t fully believe that this wasn’t about one of his boys and he was glad to see Caleb in one piece. The kid was looking well, healthier. All that training was doing him some good.
“I’m okay.” Caleb shrugged, awkward with attention as usual.
“The training’s good?”
Caleb shrugged again. It was weird speaking to his Alpha about the vampire part of his life. It was still weird for Caleb to return to his home and see the pack leader. Patrick actually looked a lot like the warriors with his impressive build and rippling muscles. It was only his rough ruggedness that suggested he might be something else.
Ignoring the presence of the warriors momentarily, he asked Caleb in a low voice, “They’re still treating you well?” He knew that Kelton wouldn’t have been offended by the question as he was just looking out for his pack member, but he wasn’t sure how the other warriors would take it. Frankly, he wasn’t too bothered either. Caleb was part of his pack and therefore his priority.
“Sure.” Caleb glanced around nervously.
“Come on in, boys.” Patrick ushered them all in warmly, shaking hands with Dixon and Verynai. He was eager to find out what this was all about. Plus, these vampires might live on a nocturnal schedule, but he sure as hell didn’t and couldn’t wait to get it over with so he could crash for the night.
The house was just as Caleb remember. He didn’t come by here often, usually when sent on an errand by his mother, but it was just the same as always. It was clearly a man’s house, all neat lines and dark blended colours, but now there were a few changes that indicated a woman was living there. It made him smile. It was about time too. Patrick had lived alone for far too long and it was about time he made an honest woman of her. Or at least that’s what Caleb hoped. If not, and there was no woman in Patrick’s life, he had to wonder what a pair of stiletto shoes were doing at the bottom of the stairs.
As an Alpha, Patrick tried to keep his private life just that, private. Kelton knew all about Rochelle and had for years, but the pack only had an idea of how serious they were. That was just how Patrick was.
“Please, take a seat.” He indicated they should move into the lounge to the right of them. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee?” He was trying to keep the noise to a minimum because his woman was upstairs and already asleep and he didn’t want them disturbing her if possible.
“No, thank you. We’re fine, Patrick.” Verynai replied, just as eager to get down to business.
Patrick sat down in the masculine brown leather arm chair and leant forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “So, what’s this all about? What’s the problem?”
“I think we should let Caleb explain.” Verynai said as he spared a glance in Caleb’s direction. It wasn’t exactly protocol, but he knew that the lad would be able to explain it better.
“You remember me talking about my friend, Trey?” Caleb asked Patrick.
“I think so.” Patrick nodded. He did remember because he had been so glad that the boy was finally opening up and letting people in.
“I think Trey is here. On pack land.”
“What? Trey?”
“Yeah. He’s one of the trainees. I think he’s come here to see Starr.”
“What?”
Caleb wanted to roll his eyes. He hated having to repeat himself. “I think Trey came here last night to see my cousin, Starr. He hasn’t come back.”
Patrick sat back in the chair, looking concerned and thoughtful. “And why would one of the Lamia trainee warriors be coming onto pack land to see one of my pack members?” He directed the question to Master Warrior Dixon, reverting back to protocol. He knew that Dixon was Kelton’s second-in-command and without Kelton there, the buck stopped with him.
“Apparently they met on the night that the pack came to the academy and have been in contact since.”
“And you didn’t know anything about this before? You couldn’t have stopped it?” There was a new angered edge to his tone. He was just as annoyed at himself for not knowing it was happening. It wasn’t often anything got past Patrick. “And no one thought to mention it to me?”
“We didn’t know. Apparently, they’ve kept it very quiet. We weren’t aware of the situation until Caleb came to tell us of the possible situation we have here tonight.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me? You still have an obligation to the pack, Caleb.” Patrick snapped at him, piercing him with a stabbing glare. He immediately thought that Caleb was either covering for them or had failed to mention the situation because he was still pissed at being sent away to the academy.
“I didn’t know about it.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe what you want.” Caleb spat back at him. “I didn’t know anything until Dylan told me where Trey was.”
“Dylan knew?” Dixon asked abruptly, whipping his head around. He paused and then shook his head, shelving it for later. They could deal with that once they’d sorted the situation out here.
“So, what now? He’s here? This Trey?” Patrick asked.
“Apparently so. I think that the plan was for him to come here last night and surprise this girl. We haven’t heard from him since.” Dixon explained.
“Well, we’d better go and see if he’s turned up.” Patrick stood up and walked over towards the door, the others quickly following behind him.
They walked silently down the rough stone pathway that seemed to connect the various houses, like some kind of weird maze. There was quite some distance between each of the properties, but it was like following the yellow brick road.
Caleb felt that familiar twinge soar through his soul at the closeness of the Alpha and his pack family. It felt especially strange being among them with the vampire warriors at his side. It was almost like his two worlds were colliding. Hell, there was nothing ‘almost’ about it, his two lives were coming together with an almighty crash.
If only Starr or Trey had talked to him about what was happening, none of this would have happened. Sure, he wouldn’t have been very impressed to learn that they were into each other, but at least it would never have come to this.
Patrick strode on ahead determinedly, leading the others on through the gate and into a small, neat garden with perfectly trimmed glass and a boarder of vibrant flowers that couldn’t possibly be real in this deep winter. It was almost like they had walked into another world.
The house itself was a cottage style, quaint and in-keeping with the scenery around it. Caleb had spent many summer afternoons playing here. That was before the duties at home had stolen his youth from him.
Patrick knocked on the door and stood back to wait. There wa
s no immediate answer, which was no big surprise seeing as the house was cloaked in darkness. It was late for the shifters, even if it wasn’t for the Lamia.
Eventually, the door creaked open.
“Patrick? Is everything okay?” The woman who answered the door looked at him, immediately worried at having a midnight visit from the Alpha. It took her a moment to realise that he wasn’t alone and quickly tightened the dressing gown around her.
“Can we come in, Sylvie?” Patrick asked.
“Of course. Come in, come in.” She ushered the four of them inside, stepping back to let them by, and then she spotted Caleb. Her face broke out in a beaming smile and she pulled him in for a huge hug.
“Hi, Aunt Sylvie.” He kissed her gently on the cheek, smiling at her enthusiasm.
“Caleb, darling. It’s wonderful to see you! How are you? How’s your training going?” she gushed.
Caleb grinned at her. “I’m fine.”
“You’re looking well. I hope they’re treating you good.”
“I’m fine, honestly.” He laughed. His face went serious again for a moment. “How is she?”
Sylvie didn’t have to ask who he was referring to. He was asking about his mother. Despite his rough exterior and tough attitude, the boy cared deeply for his mother and would lay down his life for her.
“She’s doing great, actually. You’d be surprised.” She smiled, reassuringly.
Caleb nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. That was one of his main concerns about moving away to the academy. It wasn’t about living away from the pack, it was being away from the woman who needed him there. He didn’t give a shit about himself, but he was worried about how all this was affecting his mother.
Thankfully, he knew that Sylvie wouldn’t lie to him just to make him feel better. She’d hit him with the truth and work with him to resolve the situation. If she said his mother was going great, then she was.
Changing Fates: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 3) Page 26