Chapter 24 - Clarity

***Callums pov***

As we reach Zandra’s house, my stomach is in knots, and my body is tense.
We just need to clear the misunderstanding, no big deal. It’s not like I haven’t been through worse. Ive been fighting wars for crying out load. So why do I feel like a nervous pup?
I knock on the door before I open and go in. We enter the living room but it’s empty.
I see their cups on the island, and I walk up and take one in my hand. I put it against my nose, my tense muscles relax, red roses and strawberries..I close my eyes and let her scent from the cup calm me before putting it down. We hear their voices as they come in from the patio and turn around. They are carrying their dinner plates, I guess her appetite is still good.
My heart pounds in my chest as I see her. She freezes on the spot, her eyes going back and forth between me and Cathy. All the feelings show in her face and in her eyes, already red from crying. Hurt, anger, sadness, disbelief, rage..the rage part was kind of scary.
I got to hand it to Zandra, it impressed me how fast she took the plate from Hope so she wouldn’t drop it to the floor.
Before I had time to say or do anything, Cathy rushes over to Hope, pulling her in to her arms. Hope doesn’t move, her eyes is locked on mine and once again, Beacon tucks tail and backs away.
“I am so sorry, Hope! I know you dont know me and I can only imagine what went thru your mind when you saw me in Callums arms. I’m really sorry, Callum told me everything and we wanted to come talk to you right a way but Zandra wanted us to wait so we hung out in his room the whole day, dont get me wrong, I love his room, so much bigger than mine but there is only so much you can do you know..” She is rambling and Hope’s eyes are getting darker.
“Siss, you dont make it better! You making it worse!” I scream to her through link.
“Wow, look at me, babbling like a fool without introducing myself” she says nervously.
“Hi Hope, I’m Cathy, Callums baby sister”
Confusion is the first emotion I see, realization, the second one followed by relief, regret, and embarrassment. When I see her eyes tear up, I close the distance between us in a few steps, gently shoving my sister to the side. I take Hope’s face in my hands and wipe away the tears that are now running down her cheeks with my thumbs. I lean in and kiss her soft on her lips, on her chin, her cheeks, eyelids and all over again.
“I’m sorry Hope, I should have thought about how it looked, I say when I close my arms around her, pressing her to my chest, inhaling her scent. I feel her relax in my arms, her hands grip my collar and I feel her tears wet my shirt.
“No Callum, I am sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I was childish and my bad self-esteem got to me. Your sister is gorgeous,” she chuckles and sobs at the same time. I feel her nose in the crock of my neck, this time I don’t pull away, this time pride fills my heart. Pride of being able to comfort her. We stand like that for a while, holding, stroking and inhale each other. We let all bad feelings from this long awful day melt away.

The doorbell plays a melody and rips us back to reality.

“Hi Anton!” Hope says to the boy, walking in with Zandra.
I recognize the pup, I know his parents. His father is a good man, his mother is ill.
Several years back, rouges attacked and raped her, she shifted to her wolf form for protection, but that didn’t stop them..sick bastards..they took turn, raping her wolf in human forms and her human form in their wolfs form, turning it into a sick game.
My father was Alpha at the time and he hunted them down, killing them without mercy. But it was too late. Her wolf disappeared for a long time after that, making her go insane. When the wolf finally surfaced and tried to heal her, the damage was already done.
She gets her episodes from time to time, not knowing who or what she is. Zandra helps her as much as she can, but the boy’s father is reaching his limits. Not being able to help your mate is one of the worst thing a wolf can go through.
“Hi!” the boy answers and bows his head when he sees me. He looks sad and I think I can se a bruise on his cheek. Hope sees it too and pain flashes in her eyes.
She squats down to the boy.
“Hey, Anton, can I ask you for a favor?”
“Sure..” he answer with uncertainty in his voice.
“There is a boy and a girl in the pack house, up on the Alpha floor. They are new here so they don’t really know any children. The thing is, they got all this Rocky Road ice creme, but the freezer broke so now, they need help to eat it,” she says and sigh deeply.
I just look down at this amazing woman before me, unable to say a word. I can’t wait for the day we have our own pups. I smile at the thought and kind of feel stupid for even thinking that far ahead. I clear my throat and furrow my brows, focusing on the boy.
“Ok, I guess I can come and help” Anton answers, a smile is tugging in the end of his lips.
“Thats great! You are a true lifesaver!” She shows the boy a relieved face and a big smile before standing up and sneaking her arm around my waist, giving me a wink.
“You are amazing,” I whisper, and peck her nose.
“Ill bring the medicine to your mom, you go with Hope and Cathy and I catch up” I say to Anton and ruffle his hair.
Even if I will see her again in a short wile, its hard to let Hope go. After the day we had I want her close, preferably in my arms. I stay and talk to Zandra for a while. She is telling me about their day but its to late in the day to repeat the story but she promise me I will get it, one way or another. We say our goodbye and I head for Anton’s house.

I knock, and a few seconds later, the man of the house opens the door.
I can tell he’s been drinking. He is thin, dirty and has a two-week beard on his chin.
His eyes are red, either from the alcohol or the lack of sleep, probably both.
“Alpha!” His eyes widen and he tries to straighten his shirt with his hands while looking behind me to see if I’m alone.
“The medicine from Zandra” I say, handing him the bottle.
“Oh, thank you Alpha, but you didn´t need to bring it, I sent Anton to get it. Were is he?” Again he is looking behind me, this time searching for the boy.
“I’m bringing him to the pack house for the night, to play with some new kids from Alpha Alans pack. He will probably spend the night.” I say and turn to leave but change my mind. I walk up close to the man and look him hard in the eyes.
“One more thing, In my pack we protect our pups, we dont hit them, we dont abuse them or treat them like shit. They are our future and it’s up to us to treat them as such. If I find out that someone is disobeying my law, they are lucky if they only get banished. Am I making myself clear?” I let my aura loose, showing him this is his only chance.
“Yes Alpha, of course Alpha. Please tell Anton good night from me, tell him I pick him up tomorrow and we will go to the mall, can you tell him that Alpha?” The man bowed while speaking, his voice is scratchy and his body shakes. I just nodded and turned to leave. I need to get back to my girl.

When I enter the room, the floor is filled with pillows and blankets, 3 children, two women, five bowls with ice creme and a big story book.
Hope is smiling at me, Anna sits in her lap and listens to her reading the story of the Frog Prince. The boys, Thomas and Anton, are laying on their belly with their heads in their hands, fascinated looks on their faces. Cathy is on her side, her eyes sleepy.
I sit down behind Hope, my legs on each side of her and I put my chin on her shoulder and let my hands wander over her arms. While she continues to read, she put a spoon of ice cream in my mouth and I have a new favorite taste, Rocky Road with a hit of roses and strawberries.


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*Author Note: Thank you for reading!
This is my first book and English is not my native language so please leave a kind
comment to point out mistakes or tell me what you think about the story.
* Make sure to like the chapter if you enjoyed it!
* Se ya tomorrow!