My magic is for you, Alpha

Chapter 19

Caelan resumed talking as they entered the forest.

"I had an older brother," he said. "He was supposed to be the next Alpha in our family, not me."

Trish followed closely as Caelan turned to face her. She almost ran into his chest.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"He died during the war," Caelan replied.

"I'm sorry," Trish said sympathetically.

"He was a good brother and an excellent son, much better than our father deserved. He died protecting our father, but not in battle. The war had ended, and a peace treaty was signed, but some smaller packs still felt oppressed and hated my father. These groups often organized assassination attempts on him, but they always failed. Until one time, they almost got him, but my brother got in their way and was shot in the brain. We buried him with a closed casket."

Trish listened silently, and then decided to take Caelan's hand. He squeezed her hand and continued walking.

"That was the first death. My mother soon followed my brother. She was heartbroken after his death, but when my father rejected their mate bond that had been in place for over 18 years, she couldn't take it. He had abused her a lot during their life together, I believe, but rejecting the bond was the final straw. I still don't know if it was an illness or a suicide, and I don't know which one I would prefer. That was the second death."

He led their journey aimlessly.

"Who was the girl in your dream?" Trish asked carefully, not knowing if he wanted to talk about her.

"She was my fiancé and mate. We chose each other. She was also the third death," Caelan replied.

"What happened to her?" Trish asked, wondering if Caelan had never met his true mate then.

"I'll save that for another time," Caelan said.

Trish was shocked. "Why are you counting, though?"

"My mother had a prophecy about me being surrounded by the deaths of five loved ones," Caelan explained.

"Do you believe it?" Trish asked. "Northerners are non-believers."

"Just as I said, Northerners can believe whatever we want," Caelan replied. "I don't want to believe it, but I'm still counting," he smiled in exasperation. Trish thought he looked very handsome when he smiled. She had an overwhelming desire to hug him and make all his worries go away, but she resisted.

"Are you on three?" Trish asked.

"Four, if you count my father. But I don't know if he counts as a loved one. He exiled me, thinking I was not his true son despite my Alpha blood. He was always a cruel man, but old age made him worse. He became a lunatic."

Caelan fell silent for a few minutes as they walked, listening to the sounds of the forest. Trish then took his hand and led him in another direction with a kind smile.

"I want to show you something. Follow me," she said. In about five minutes, they arrived at a small pool of water in front of a hill.

"We call it the Emerald Sanctuary," Trish whispered. "It's a very spiritual place that helps us recover physical and mental strength." Caelan thought Trish was very strange, but the more time he spent with her, the less weird he found her talks about spirits and gods. Perhaps he had been losing his mind all this time.

As they stood by the pool, Trish looked at Caelan with curiosity and said, "You know what always helps me when I'm feeling down? A cold water caress on my body." She then proceeded to take off her shirt, jeans, and underwear and entered the water slowly, giving Caelan time to enjoy the view.