22. Caleb

**Caleb**

For long moments I look at Red, who is sleeping peacefully. It is not the first time I have seen her sleep, but it is the first time she doesn't frown in her sleep.
I stand, cover Red with the comforter, and look at her for a few more moments.
**'We should sleep with our soulmate,'** Raven says.
There's nothing more that I want to do than get in bed with Red, gather her in my arms, and sleep. But I can't.
*'You know I can't do it, Raven. Whatever trust I managed to gain will be shattered the moment she wakes up.'*
Raven thinks for a while before replying, **'I think you are right. We should wait until she is ready.'**
I go to the door, and as I open it, I feel as if I am leaving a part of my heart with Red. When did I start caring so much for her?
**'I think it started from the first time we first smelled her,'** Raven says. **'Remember when Conon looked at her, and all you wanted to do was hide her from him or any other male?'**
While I go out of Red's room, my mind goes back to the day I found Red. From the moment I saw her, my instinct told me to protect her.
My blood boils, and anger rises inside me like lava in a volcano when I remember how beaten and broken she was. I still have nightmares where I dream about finding her, but no matter how hard I try, I can't save her.
*'I wanted to hide her because she was hurt, and I knew I would keep her safe, but I did not trust anyone else not to harm her,'* I reply.
Raven is silent for a while. **'We will always keep her safe. No matter what."**
*'No matter what,'* I say, agreeing with Raven.
I go to my room, change, and get in bed, but I keep replaying the date I had with Red in my head. She liked when I played the piano for her, and it is something I plan to do more often.
**'She also liked the snowflake and didn't seem bothered by the cold,'** Raven says.
*'Do you think she likes ice?'* I ask.
Raven thinks for a few moments, and he sends me an image from the forest, **'I have an idea, and I am sure Red will love it.'**
I listen to Raven's idea. When he finishes talking, I tell him, *'For being just wolf, that's not a bad idea.'*
**'What do you mean just a wolf? I am a child of the Moon Goddess!'** he says in an irritated tone, and I chuckle. **'One day, I am going to bite your ass!'**
I laugh, *'I want to see that happen!'*
As soon as I close my eyes, Raven says, **'I will ask Cookie to bite you!'**
*'Then I am going to find a new Beta,'* I reply.
Sleep finds me hard, and when I do manage to sleep, nightmares haunt me. I wake up covered in sweat while I am clawing the mattress.
"Fuck!" I say and stand.
**'From the number of mattresses you destroyed in the last couple of months, it would be easier if we open a factory,'** Raven says.
*'Har har!'* I say before starting to prepare for the day.
Before I go to my office, I look at the clock. It is early, too early to be awake, but I know I can't sleep anymore.
Once I am in the office, I turn on my PC. When I see an email from Tristan, I mutter under my breath.
I read the email and lean on my office chair, trying to think what to do with the Leech Queen and Tristan because I told him I would help him. And if vampires are kidnapping people and no one knows about it, werewolves and the other communities need to put a stop to it.
When Tatiana got me out of the dungeons, I promised Raven and myself that we would never have anything to do with the vampires, but no matter how hard I try to get away from them, they keep entering my life.
Minutes pass, and I am still thinking. My eyes go back to the monitor.
*'Caleb,*
*I am trying to keep an eye on my mother, but after giving you the Omega, she sent vampires to spy on me. For the moment, I have to be careful with what I do* *because she promised to punish me in front of the Court, and you know what that means. Sinn is already preparing his cat-o-nine tail whip.*
*T.*
*P.S. I forgot to tell you that two humans were bought into the Castel yesterday, but they haven't been taken to the dungeons.*
*P.S.S I know that no matter how often I will say 'I am sorry,' it won't erase what you went through, but I want you to know that I never told anyone about you. I don't* *know how my mother found out about you.'*
Sinn used this whip on me many times. For werewolves, he uses claws made of silver, while for vampires, claws made from ash trees.
My scars are a reminder of what I suffered for six years.
I ignore the last lines of the email, and I search on the internet for humans that went missing in the last year. Of all those that disappeared, only seven didn't have any family–three men and four women. I write down their names and try to see if there is any connection between them. But no matter how much I think, I can't find anything except that all of them had no families, lived alone, and worked a lot.
Once I am done with that, I spend some time sending some emails to different packs and clans.
I am almost done when someone knocks on the door. I look at my watch and see it is passed 9 AM.
"Come in!" I say.
The door opens, and Elton enters. He was released from the Clinic yesterday, but with everything that happened yesterday, it didn't give me time to properly welcome him into the pack. Conon usually throws up a party went the pack gets bigger, but then Jordan happened. We decided to have the party next weekend.
"Alpha," Elton says, and for a few moments, he stands in the doorframe.
"Caleb," I correct him. "Come in." He enters, and I can tell something is off. I wait until he sits before speaking, "How was your first night in your new room?"
I gave Elton a room in the Pack House until he gets used to the pack and goes through therapy. Once he is better, I will see if he wants to move into one of the houses.
Elton shrugs, "Fine."
"Is there something you don't like about your room?" I ask. "We can move things and–"
"It's too big!" Elton says and inhales deeply. "While I was with the vampires, they kept me in a small cell, and everything seems too big now."
"Elton, I know it will take time to get used to being free, but I want you to know that I am here for whatever you need. And today, you will start therapy with Doctor Neia."
Doctor Neia is an excellent therapist and has been part of the pack for almost four years.
Elton nods, but before he can say something else, the door opens, and Red enters.
She stops walking when she sees me with Elton. "I am sorry!" she says, "I will come back went you are free."
I stand. "Wait!" I say, and Red looks at me with curious eyes. I go to her, take her by her hand, and lead her to my desk. Once Red sits, I look at her, "Do you remember talking about you being the guardian of an Omega?" Red nods. "I want to present you, Elton," I tell her. Then I look at Elton, "Elton, this is my girlfriend, Red. She will be your guardian."
Red blushes, but she looks at Elton, "Nice to meet you!"
Elton nodded, "Same."
I open a drawer and take out a file with Elton's name on it. "In here are the papers I need you to sign," I say when I put the file in front of Red. While Red studies the documents, I talk with Elton.
"If you need a smaller room until–" I say, but Elton shakes his head.
"It's fine. I was probably anxious to have my own space," he says.
I nod, "If you still feel anxious tomorrow, tell me. We will find a solution."
Red picks up a pen and starts signing the papers. Once she is done, Elton and her shake hands.
As they shake hands, something interesting happens. Their wolves come close to the surface, and her eyes turn golden for a few seconds while Elton's eyes turn black. His wolf lets out a little growl. Red gasps and pulls her hand away from Elton. He blinks a few times before looking at me with scared brown eyes.
**'Did you see that?'** Raven asks.
*'I am not blind,'* I reply patiently.
**'Do you think Elton is one of them?'**
*'I don't know. That rank disappeared a hundred years ago.'* I say while I look at Red. Her eyes are back to normal.
**'You know what this means, right?'**
I try not to dwell too much on it. *'It could be the light. For now, we should keep an eye on him and see what happens.'*
"Caleb," Elton says with a shaky tone. "I don't know what happened. My wolf, Michael, he–"
I smile, "It's fine, Elton. Your wolf probably recognized Red as your future Luna."
"Caleb–" Red protests.
I look at her, "I don't want to hide what we are from the pack."
Elton looks at Red, "I think you will make a great Luna."
Red blushes a little more, and I can't help smiling. Elton is right; Red will make a great Luna.
Conon enters the office without knocking.
"Sweet-Cheeks! Caleminator! Elton!" Conon greets.
"You need to learn how to knock," I say.
"Knock knock!" Conon says, and I growl. "I don't knock because I know how much you love me!"
**'Sugar Balls!'** Raven says, and I laugh.
Conon arched an eyebrow, "Do I want to know why you are laughing?"
I shake my head, "Probably not."
Conon folds his arms, "Now I am curious."
Red looks at me, and I wink.
Raven snorts, **'Dumbass! She is face blind! She can't see you winking at her!'**
Elton stands, "I should go. My first session with Doctor Neia starts in half an hour, and I still have to eat breakfast."
I look at Conon. "Can you show Eliot where the dining room is? And then maybe help him get to Doctor Neia."
Elton looks at me with confused eyes for a few moments. When he understands what I am doing, he nods his head.
Conon shrugs, "Sure."
After Elton and Conon leave, I go to Red, take her by her hand and guide her to the sofa. I sit and pull Red on my lap.
"Caleb, what are you doing?" she asks while she tries to wiggle away from me.
"I just need to hold you for a few moments," I say, hoping she will let me hold her. "Your presence calms my inner demons."
Red stops moving, I rest my head on her left shoulder, and I snake my arms around her waist. I breathe in her sweet scent, and I close my eyes.
**'She is so soft and fits purrfectly in our arms,'** Raven purrs and gets closer to the surface so he can feel her better.
*'For a wolf, you purr a lot when you talk about our Red,'* I say.
**'Miau!'**
I haven't heard Raven joke and talk so much in so long. When I got Raven, he would talk and joke almost non-stop, but when the vampires started torturing him, he retreated to the back of my mind.
*'I missed you,'* I tell him.
**'I've always been here.'**
While I don't agree with Raven, I don't say anything else to him and just hug Red harder.
"What's wrong?" Red asks while she starts combing my hair with her fingers.
I don't want to tell her about my nightmares, but I remember I made rules for us. "Bad night," I say.
"I didn't realize that spending time with me would be considered bad," Red says.
I lift my head and look at her. She is trying to hide a smile but fails.
My heart swells with happiness when I realize she made a joke. I don't remember Red ever joking.
"Spending time with you is wonderful. Not being with you is bad," I say and smile.
Red stops playing with my hair and looks at me, "I like spending time with you, too! Last night was amazing!"
"Talking about last night, how are your feet?"
Red looks at her feet. She is wearing some sneakers. "I think I won't be using high heels for a long time." I chuckle, and Red looks at me. "I hope you are not laughing at me but with me!" she tries to say in an irritated tone but fails.
**'Good thing she is not wearing high heels now because I have the impression you would be wearing one as a hat,'** Raven says, and I laugh.
When Red tries to stand, I say quickly, "I am laughing at something Raven said!" I tell her what my wolf said, and we laugh together.
When we stop laughing, I grab her left wrist and draw circles with my thumb on her skin. I lean my head on the sofa, and Red puts her head on my chest. We stay like this for a few minutes while I bask in her presence.
I start to relax and drift to sleep when Red begins to speak. "What are you thinking about?"
"That I got Raven back."
Red lifts her head and looks at me. "What do you mean?"
*'Can I tell her?'*
**'Yes. I want her to know our story,'** Raven says.
"When I got Raven, he talked and laughed with me all night long. Even if by then I had been with the vampires for two years, he still managed to make me laugh. For the first six months, they left Raven alone, but then the Leech Queen said I did something wrong and decided to punish Raven." I stop speaking while I remember how they forced me to shift and tortured Raven for hours.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Red says.
"I want you to know, Red," I say, and she nods. "They used silver poisoned gas to make me weak and force Raven to take control. Then they used wolfbane on Raven to keep him weak and beat him. But the Queen wasn't satisfied, so she ordered Omegas slave to urinate on Raven. It was hard on Raven when it happened. They humiliated him in front of everyone. The Omegas laughed, and some even hit him. And every time the vampires tortured Raven, the Omegas loved tormenting him."
Red gasps, "Caleb! That's terrible! And you got an Omega as a soulmate!"
I cup her cheek and stroke her skin with my thumb, "You are not them, Red. When I look at you, I don't remember those times. When I look at you, the only thing I see is my beautiful soulmate." She nods, but I can tell she is upset. "We should go and eat because we need to train after breakfast," I say, and Red groans.
I help her stand, take her hand into mine, and walk towards the door.
"I was ten when he first touched me," Red says in a voice so low at first I thought I imagined it. She stops walking and looks at her shoes. "When I was twelve, he made me touch him. Two years later, he–" Her voice cracks, and I hug her. She trembles but doesn't try to get free.
**'When I get my claws and fangs on the one that abused her, I will exterminate him!'** Raven growls.
*'You sound like a Dalek.'*
**'Exterminate! Exterminate!'**
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I say and rub her back. When Red stops shivering, I look at her. "How about we eat some ice cream?"
Her eyes shine, and she nods.
We go to the kitchen.
When we enter, Jordan is inside eating and talking to Blade. He looks at us.
"Rain," Jordan says. "Do you think we can talk?"
I growl.