50. Caleb

**Caleb**

Of all the people in the world, I never thought Conon would end up with Katherine. Not that I have a problem with them being together. After all, it is the Goddess that paired them together. But I see why Conon has a problem with Katherine.

After Conon swears, he storms out of the dining hall, and I almost chock on the coffee. Everyone looks at Katherine; tears pool in her eyes, but she blinks them away fast and puts on a poker face.

Red gasps. “How dare he treat Katherine like that?”

“Kathy, why did Conon act like that?” Sky asks.

Katherine shrugs. “I think he doesn’t like me too much.”

She pretends she is not hurt by Conon’s words, but I can see the truth behind her mask.

“Is it because you are a hybrid?” Sky asks innocently.

I look at my daughter. Her silver eyes are sad. “Conon likes Katherine; he doesn’t care if she is half human and half werewolf!” I am going to strangle Conon for making Sky sad! Before I stand, I look at Red. “Go on and finish breakfast. I will see you in the training room.” I look at Elton and Katherine. “We start training today.”

“Where are you going?” Red asks.

I sip more coffee, grab a piece of toast, and kiss her cheek. “I forgot something in my office,” I say and stand.

I think Red understands where I am actually going because she glares at me. “I hope you will kick his ass, not support him!” she hisses.

Great! Now Red is mad at me. I hope there’s still enough ice cream left in the kitchen. I should probably buy a big freezer and fill it with ice cream.

When I leave the dining room behind, I follow Conon’s scent while I eat the toast. I am not surprised to see he went to the rooftop.

Even if the air is chilly and the sky is grey, Conon sits on one of the beach chairs wearing only a t-shirt and pair of jeans. His elbows are resting on his knees, and he looks at the snow.

Conon is usually the joker of the pack, but the Conon I see right now is close to the one I saved four years ago.

I sit next to Conon and wait for him to talk. He is quiet for a long time.

“After having a psycho mother and sister, now I am paired with a psycho soulmate. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?” Conon finally says and kicks some snow. “I waited patiently, not fooling around with other females. I kissed one or two, but never more than that!” He looks at me. “Do you think it is because I flirted a lot and the Goddess punished me?”

Conon is the type of male that likes to joke around because he is trying to hide his trauma and insecurities. While I am more serious than Conon, I do the same as he does. I think many people are like Conon, building a wall or a new personality so they can hide how much they hate themselves and struggle to accept who they are.

“I think Katherine is a good person. She take care of Sky, and she did a wonderful job. I was around seventeen when Sky was born, then Katherine must have been sixteen when she started raising a newborn.” Until now, I didn’t really give a thought about how hard it must have been for Katherine to take care of a Sky.

Conon growls. “How can we be sure the psycho bitch did nothing bad to Sky?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and inhale deeply until the urge to yell at him goes away. “Treat your soulmate with respect! Especially when she is not around!”

“It is easy for you to talk; you have been given Rain as a soulmate!” Conon says bitterly. “Why didn’t the Goddess give me someone like Sweet-Cheeks as a soulmate?”

I growl. “Red is your future Luna; stop calling her Sweet-Cheeks! And do you think it had been easy for me to gain her trust and finally convince her to give me a chance? Hell, she accepted me because that fucker showed up around here! Yes, I am happy today, but I had to work for my happiness!” Conon opens his mouth to say something, but I keep talking. “You either give Katherine a chance and learn who she really is, or you prepare yourself to get rejected. But don’t call your soulmate a psycho bitch!” I snap at him.

“She tortured you!” Conon said in a bitter tone. He stands and paces around.

“And Sinn tortured her when she refused to do it! Do you have any idea what the vampires did to her?”

Conon collapses on the snow. “Tell me.”

“She might not welcome your touch, Conon,” I tell him the truth. “You will have to be patient with her.”

Conon looks into my eyes. “Did you—?”

I don’t avert my gaze. “No, Conon, I didn’t touch Katherine, at least not like that. But that doesn’t mean others didn’t. Like me, she was just a slave, a possession for the vampires to do what they wanted with her. Katherine belonged to the Leech Queen, the Queen’s favorite slave, and I can’t keep wondering what Katherine must have done and endured to gain that position. Before you call your soulmate a psycho bitch, think that she had been a child when the vampires made her a slave.”

Conon stands. “I didn’t make a first good impression, did I?”

“You hurt her feelings.” Conon clenches his teeth. “Females should be loved, cherished, and protected. Soulmates are our better half, Conon. Go to Katherine and fix things between you two before she finds someone better and leaves you for him!” I say to him.

Conon growls. “She is mine! No one touches what’s mine!”

I stand. “Go tell her that! Before you leave, I have to warn you that Katherine is a Theta Knight! The Goddess would have never given Katherine such an important role if she was psycho.”

Conon chews his lips for a few seconds. “Do you think the jewelry shop makes deliveries today?”

I go to him and clasp his shoulder. “You should buy some flowers and some chocolate. Red is mad at you; get some ice cream! But first, go to Katherine and talk to her!” Conon nods. “You will find her in the training room. I am going there as well.”

On the way to the training, I notice Conon is getting nervous. “What do I tell her?” he asks.

Too bad Raven is asleep because I am sure he would have had some sassy answer for Conon. After last night, I am not surprised he is tired. “Tell her the truth.”

Conon rubs the back of his neck. “That I thought she was a psycho bitch?”

Sometimes Conon makes me want to commit murder. “Tell her you are stupid, but you are treating yourself!”

We make it to the training room, and I see Red sitting with Katherine and Elton on a bench. Katherine is in the middle, and Elton is rubbing her back while Red talks to her in a low tone. Conon growls and looks at Elton in anger.

“Stop that!” I say. Fortunately, Conon listens. “Ready to start training?” I ask when Conon and I stand in front of Red and her Theta Knights.

Katherine avoids looking at Conon while Red glares at him.

Conon clears his throat. “Katherine, do you think we can talk?”

She shrugs. “If you want to reject me, do it fast. I am busy,” Katherine says in a flat tone. “Or I can reject you and be done with it!”

“No!” Conon says. Elton keeps rubbing Katherine’s back, and a loud growl escapes Conon’s lips. “Stop touching her!” Elton puts his hands on his lap.

Katherine stands. “You! What’s your name?” she asks Conon.

“What for?” Conon frowns.

“So I can reject you! I don’t need a soulmate! Never did, never will. And certainly not one that turns into a caveman when another male is around me!” Katherine says in an angry tone.

Conon stares into her eyes. “Give me five minutes of your time. If I don’t convince you to give me a chance, I will tell you my name.”

“Katherine,” Red says, “listen to him before you decide to reject Conon.”

“Fine,” Katherine says and walks to the back of the training room. Conon follows her like a lost pup.

I sit next to Red, put my arm around her shoulder and look at how Conon makes a fool out of himself. Katherine stops walking, folds her arms, and looks at the floor while Conon shoves his hands in his pockets.

“What about Sky?” I ask.

Conon talks, but Katherine still won’t look at him. They speak for a few minutes. Well, Conon does; Katherine is quiet.

“She is with Tristan,” Red replies. “I hope Katherine kicks him in the balls!”

To my surprise, Katherine does just that. Conon bends over from the pain but grabs Katherine’s hands and doesn’t let go.

“That gotta hurt!” Elton says.

Conon inhales deeply, straightens his back, pulls Katherine to him, and kisses her. She fights him.

“Caleb, he is kissing her by force!” Red says. “Stop him!”

I stand and am about to go to Conon, but stop when he lets go of Katherine. She slaps him before kissing him. I sit back on the bench and take Red’s hand into mine.

Elton chuckles. “They are going to fight a lot during the day, but break the bed during the night!”

Red covers her mouth with her hand. “I hope not! The fighting part, I mean!”

Conon and Katherine stop kissing, and he smiles at her. He says something, and after a moment of hesitation, Katherine nods. He kisses her again before coming to me.

“I am going to take Katherine to my room. We have a lot to talk about,” Conon says.

“You better take her to her room. Yours is a mess! Not to mention all the PlayWolf magazines you staked under the bed,” I say. Conon shows me his middle finger before turning his back on me. “And Conon, try not to break the bed!”

“Asshole!” he mutters.

I laugh. “You’re welcome!”