66. Rain

**Rain**

If Jordan bullied me while growing up, Ruth and Hannah had been my tormentors. I don’t remember how many nightmares I had because of them. For a short while, the Black Ruby Rogue Pack had been the only place where I was safe and away from my cousin and her BFF. After all the horrible things that had happened to Caleb and me in the Vampire Palace and finally getting out of there, all I want is to be alone with Caleb and help him because he is not well. But can I do that? No! Because fucking Hannah is in my pack.

Safia paces nervously in my head. I know my wolf wants to punish Hannah for all those times she hurt us, but Safia’s gift is not of fighting. Her gift is of another type. My Fire swirls inside me. I, on the other hand, am gifted with something lethal.

I sit on the bed and grit my teeth. “Who the hell let you into my pack?” I snarl at Hannah. “Don’t tell me Ruth is also here!” I snap at her.

Caleb is so angry he starts shaking, and I gently take his hand into mine and interlace our fingers. While I haven’t told him about Hannah, he knows about Ruth and what she did to me.

“Ruth is in Crescent Moon Pack, I think. I snuck out when we were still in Sinaia. She doesn’t know I came here,” Hannah explains.

Holgan enters the room, stands behind her, and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Hannah is the one that told us about the vampires. Without her, it would have taken us days to find out you disappeared and even more days to figure out who took you.”

I am almost afraid to ask Hannah. “How did you know about the vampires?” the question slips through my lips.

While Hannah contemplates what to tell us, her scent betrays her nerves. Holgan strokes her neck with his thumb in a way only a soulmate would do while trying to calm his other half, and I know what Hannah is for Holgan. While I hate her for what she did to me, I don’t have the heart to say anything bad about her while Holgan is present.

“After you and Alpha Caleb left the restaurant, Ruth called an Elder and told him what happened. I think the name of the Elder was Alan or Adam. When the Elder said something about the vampires and someone called Sinn, I believe, and Ruth was delighted with the idea, I knew she had gone too far, and I tried to call Alpha Jordan while I tried to find the hotel you were staying at. I knew Kevin was with Alpha Jordan, so I texted him, telling him to alert Alpha Caleb. When I finally found the right one, it was too late to do anything. The vampires already took you, so I decided to come here and tell Alpha Jordan about the incident,” Hannah explains while Holgan keeps stroking his thumb on her neck.

I am so shocked by what Hannah just said, I don’t know what to reply. It is not a secret Ruth hates me. She probably hates me more than my aunt does, but to agree with an Elder to have Sinn take Caleb and me? And how can an Elder be so evil to propose something so sick to the vampires as to kidnap and take werewolves or other races to the Palace?

I want to point my finger at Hannah and tell her that she went along with Ruth and that Elder’s idea, but from her scent, I know Hannah is telling the truth. I don’t understand why she suddenly decided to help Caleb and me, but this doesn’t mean I suddenly trust or forgive her.

Caleb is so angry the room starts to freeze. “You are telling me the blonde drama queen is responsible for Red’s agony. She is the cause of all the fucking times the vampires bit me on the bonding mark until I thought I would go crazy because of the pain I felt?” Caleb growls so hard the windows rattle. Emma and Hannah whimper, and Tristan and Holgan try to comfort them.

“Caleb, I know you are upset, but you are scaring Emma!” Tristan snaps.

“Upset?” Caleb laughs bitterly. “Red and I have been gassed with Goddess knows what and taken to the Vampire Palace. And I am sure that by her scent, everyone here knows Red is pregnant! I don’t have to tell anyone that pregnant Omegas need to feel safe and protected because the stress can make them lose their babies! The Vampire Palace is a place where even the strongest male breaks. I spent a night of fucking hell there while I was whipped and hit with fists and feet, bitten so many times I am amazed I still have blood left. Red felt pain each time they sank their fangs into me, and you think I am upset? I am a bit more than upset! A lot more!” Caleb said in a loud tone.

I still hold Caleb’s hand, and I pull him towards me. I wrap my arms around him and hug him, trying to calm him. My eyes go to Holgan. “Take her away from here. It is not a good moment to talk about this.” Holgan listens to me, and before leaving with Hannah, he closes the door. I let go of Caleb, only to put my palms around his face. I know Reyes, Tristan and Emma are listening, and I should talk to Caleb alone, but at this point, my soulmate needs me more than I need privacy. “We are fine. We went into that Palace, and we survived, Caleb. It will take time to heal, but we will do it. Together. Like always,” I whisper to him.

I feel Caleb’s gaze lingering on me while he gradually shoves his anger into a dark place of his mind. He takes my hands in his and gives me a curt nod. “Reyes, if you are done staring, check Emma and Red!”

Reyes moves and looks first at Tristan before turning his attention to Caleb. “As I said, I need to perform a pelvic exam for Emma and collect blood samples. As for Luna Rain, I have to do a transvaginal ultrasound since the pregnancy is very early. Blood is also required.”

“No!” both Caleb and Tristan say. “You can collect blood, but I don’t want you to do anything else to Emma!” Tristan growls.

“The transvaginal ultrasound can be triggering for Red,” Caleb explains his reason, but I believe it is something else, so I keep quiet.

Reyes rubs his temples. “If I can’t examine Emma, I won’t know if she needs any treatment. Blood samples are not enough in this case.”

I understand Caleb and Tristan’s aversion to Reyes examining Emma and me. Except for the recent scars from my neck made by the silver collar, I feel fine. But Emma needs medical attention. Who knows what had been done to her in that hellish place? “What if a female doctor examines Emma?” I suggest. “As for the baby, he is fine! But I would like you to look at Caleb’s bond mark. This male is so stubborn he refuses to say it still hurts.”

“I am the only doctor in the pack. A colleague should arrive in the morning to finish her training under my supervision. She can examine Emma and Luna Rain if that’s alright,” says Reyes, and both Caleb and Tristan nod.

Reyes takes the blood samples from Emma and me. Before Tristan takes Emma to Caleb’s cabin, Reyes asks her a few questions and ensures she has no serious injuries. He lets Emma and Tristan leave only after the vampire promises he will return with Emma the next day around noon.

When it is Caleb’s turn, he protests a few times before letting Reyes check the bond mark. The vampires have bitten Caleb so hard, leaving injuries all over his shoulder. His magic healed most of them, but the bond mark looks red and swollen, and Reyes said in a few days it should return to normal. Reyes applies cream for scars on my neck and that of Caleb before we go to our room.

“I am going to shower,” Caleb says after he locks the door behind him.

I don’t need the bond to know he is hurting. Safia whines inside my head, wanting to take his suffering away. *‘Soon,’* I tell her, and she waits for her moment. “Do you need help?” I ask when Caleb enters the bathroom.

“No!” Caleb says in a loud tone. I don’t let it affect me. He fists his palms, guilt vibrating through our bond link. “I need a moment for myself, Red,” he says before closing the door.

I look at that door as if it is a wall that Caleb put up between himself and me, and I want to tear it apart. This is how Caleb felt when I kept slamming the door in his nose? This helpless?

My stomach growls with hunger, my throat is drier than the Sahara Desert, and Safia sends me some food images, followed by those of some babies. ‘I know I have to eat for the sake of the little pup, but I am worried about Caleb!’

Safia lets me know Caleb will be fine and insists I go to the kitchen. I change my clothes, putting on one of Caleb’s t-shirts, a pair of yoga pants, and fluffy socks before I go to the kitchen. Blade, Kevin, and Jordan are inside, eating and talking, but stop when they see me.

“Finish your food!” I say when Blade stands. “I am here to make sandwiches and grab something to drink before returning to my room. To Caleb.”

Blade sniffs the air, and an ‘oh’ sound comes out of his mouth. It is hard to hide a pregnancy when everyone can tell by the new scent the female has until the baby is born.

“You are pregnant,” Blade says, his voice coated with emotion.

Jordan and Kevin already know about the baby. When Caleb and Katherine remained in the Vampire Palace to kill Sinn, Conon noticed my scent mixed with that of Caleb. The others smelled it right after.

“Yeah,” I say and look at my socks.

Blade comes over to me. “Did the vampires do something to you? Is the baby well?”

“They didn’t feed me, and I am in dire need of water!” I try to tell a joke because it is better than saying what happened in the Vampire Palace.

“I will help!” Kevin offers. “I finished eating anyway,” he says before going to the fridge and opening it. “Cheese, jam, pickles?” he asks, and I say a small ‘yes.’ “Anything else?” asks Kevin, and I shrug.

While Kevin starts making the sandwiches, I look around the kitchen. “Where is Oana?” I ask Jordan. Since Jordan and she took Alpha Ben to the Paranormal Prison, they had become good friends.

“Elton, Tatiana, and she are taking the freed slaves back to their families,” Jordan says.

“Good! Tell her that those who don’t wish to return to their packs or clans can live here until they know what they want to do next,” I say, while Kevin finishes the sandwiches. “Thanks!” I tell him while I put them on two plates, pour milk in one glass and orange juice in another, grab a tray, and rush to my room.

Caleb is not in the room, and I wonder where he is. I drink from the milk, bite from a sandwich, and follow his scent. My nose takes me to the piano room. I open the door and expect to hear him play, but instead, he sits on the couch and drinks from a bottle, his eyes closed. I enter and lock the door.

“Get out!” he snarls, not bothering to open his eyes.

My heart breaks for him. It is the first time I see him like this.

Safia lets me know she wants to talk to him, and I say no. She insists she wants to spend time with Caleb, and I give in, letting her take control of my body.

**Safia**

I often wondered why the Goddess never gave me a voice because I have so much to ramble about: the sun, the sky, the sound of the rain, the smell of fresh cut grass, or how fast the heart of a rabbit beats when I chase it around the forest. But I guess it is not about what I want to talk about, but with whom I want to talk about all the things that run through my head.

Caleb drinks from the bottle before yelling at me. “Get the fuck out, I said!” he says, but I do the opposite, and my feet take me to him. He opens those lovely silver eyes, and the pain I see in them robs me of my breath. His beautiful face fills with regret. “Safia, sweety, I didn’t know it was you. I am sorry for yelling.” I stop in front of him and hold out my hand. Caleb looks at the bottle. “Do I have to?” he asks, and I insist until he reluctantly gives it to me.

I sniff it and... Goddess! My eyes water. What is Caleb drinking? Poison for body and soul. I put the bottle on the coffee table before I sit on his lap.

“Sweety, I need to be alone. Just for tonight. Tomorrow, I will go back to my former self.”

I smile sadly because I know he is lying. The kind of pain he feels will not go away in a day or two. Time will pass, and he might get used to it, but the memories and everything he had to go through will still be there. Rain was right about one thing, I am not a warrior wolf, but the Goddess gave me a gift. I used it on Alpha Ben and shoved all of Rain’s bad memories in his head. But tonight, I will use my power to help Caleb.

I brush the tips of my fingers on Caleb’s cheeks and let my heart fill with the love I feel for Raven and him. All the amazing memories I made since Rain and I met Caleb invade my head, and I press my lips to his, take away all his pain and guilt, and replace them with the love and joy I feel being his soulmate.

Caleb stiffens, but once all the negative emotions are gone, he fists my hair and deepens the kiss. We kiss for a little longer before Caleb buries his face in the crook of my neck. “I don’t know what you did, sweety, but you are amazing!” he says against my skin and peppers it with kisses. He lifts his head, grabs my face between his big palms, and looks at me with eyes full of love, just like he always does. “The memories are still there, but they feel as if you silenced them.” I giggle because I see what he did there. “You are the most amazing she-wolf I have ever met, Safia,” he coos. “I know I said it already, but I am sorry for yelling earlier. I was drowning in pain and didn’t smell your scent. Do you forgive me?” I nod because I am not mad at him. I point at the bottle, and Caleb presses his lips together. “It’s whiskey. I wanted to get drunk tonight and piece myself up together tomorrow. But whatever you did, thank you, sweety,” he says before kissing me again. “I feel as if I can breathe again.”

Caleb suddenly stands, and I put my arms around his neck. “You smell like vampires and smoke, and the shower awaits you, my sweet she-wolf soulmate!” he says before going to the door and unlocking it.

‘I pretty much would love to smell like you, thank you very much. So if you let me rub all over you, it would be amazing,’ I want to tell Caleb, but when you don’t have a voice, it is hard. I have so many things to say, but how do I make myself heard?

Caleb takes me to our room and helps me get undressed. I blush because I am still not used to the lustful looks he and Raven give me every time I stand naked before them, and I rush to the bathroom. I scrub every inch of my skin until I am sure no trace of the Palace is left on me, wrap a towel around myself, and return to the room.

Caleb sits on the bed with a little pile of cloth next to him. “For the nest,” he says, and I nod happily. Rain will start to build once she is in control. “Let me dress you,” Caleb says and takes a clean shirt from the pile. “I was thinking. How about we learn ASL? This way, we can communicate,” he asks while helping with the shirt. I nod vigorously, and he chuckles. “I see there’s food on the table. How about we eat and go to sleep? Tomorrow I want to tell Sky she is our daughter! And plan the downfall of Elder Adam. And Rain’s cousin. If that’s alright with her.”

*‘Can I help?’* Rain asks.

I nod, letting Caleb know it is fine to kick Ruth’s ass! And kill Elder Adam.

We eat the sandwiches, and I drink the milk while Caleb finishes the orange juice before we get in bed. We lay facing each other, and Caleb puts his hand under the shirt, on top of my belly. “How’s our little pup?” he asks, concern in his eyes for the little life growing inside me.

I inch closer to him, staring at his beautiful face. Too bad Rain can’t see how gorgeous this male is. I put my hand on top of his, and I wonder if I should tell him or wait until a doctor checks Rain.

“Safia?” Caleb asks, and I kiss him, letting him know the pup—I hope he does not see the big goofy grin on my face—is fine.

I will wait. I want to see Rain and his reaction when they find out. It will be good. Rain will stress out, while Caleb will want to add more modifications to our little house.