ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Four | Part II

     She had been hurt. Somebody had hurt my mate and in my world that was deemed the ultimate offense. When she told me what had happened with her grandmother, I knew, without having to think twice, that I was taking her back to my condo. She was mine to protect without question. Mine to have and to hold and. . .to love? I didn't know what it meant, what it entailed or if I was in the position to give or receive love, but I was going to love Ava-Rain and I wasn't going to accept anything less than her love in return. I was prepared to fight for her until my last breath.

     "She doesn't like being vulnerable. I just want her to know that it's okay, that she doesn't have to pretend with me. But I have to remember that in her eyes I'm still just some guy she met at a club." However, I knew that she trusted me. Ava-Rain had absolutely no right to trust me but she did. I valued it more than anything and the only way to repay her would be to not take that trust for granted. To not give her a reason to regret that decision.

     "And the guy that stalked her," Kane added, which earned him a deadly glare. "And the guy that kidnapped her."

     "She'll open up to you in her own time. She trusts you, Caleb."

     "She must. She's in your bed as we speak," Kane smirked.

     "Alright. Time for you both to go." I shook my head at Kane's bluntness, but a smile had managed to escape my lips. I knew my beta better than anybody, so I knew that he had not been alluding to anything crude or demeaning in regards to Ava-Rain. Kane and his sarcasm seemed to have been a packaged deal, and since there was no way of getting rid of him I had grown to accept it. Even if it made me want to strangle him most days.

     I reached out to Chase, who had been closest to me at that point, placed a hand at the back of his head and touched my forehead to his. It was a simple gesture, an act of endearment. An alpha and his pack were one. A family. Every single one of my pack members were nothing short of my brothers, wolves that would die for me and wolves that I would die for. Showing affection, even in the form of a gentle head but, was a common way to express our loyalty, gratitude, our bond, anything.

     I did the same to Kane but lingered a bit longer. There was absolutely no doubt that Kane bled the red, if his dominant personality and temper were any indication. His outburst moments prior was not a display of ill feelings towards Ava-Rain, but more along the lines of his concern for our pack and for me and his desire for our protection.

     "Caleb, you know I didn't mean anything against Ava-Rain, right?"

     I pulled my head away to look at him. "I know." Kane was never the best at expressing his feelings and putting them to words, so I knew how hard that simple admission must have been for him. Just as I knew that was his best attempt at an apology. "But she's staying, understood?"

     Kane nodded in response as Chase joined his side.

     "I need her here. I need her safe. As far as claiming her goes, my wolf would love nothing more, but that's not even close to becoming an option right now. She knows nothing about us or our world and I refuse to keep the truth from her longer than necessary. And once she does learn the truth, she's going to need me even if she wants nothing to do with me. I will fight for her, and although I don't exactly need permission, the opinions of my pack matter a great deal to me. Are you with me?"

     "Even in death," Kane and Chase replied simultaneously, their vow undeniable and unquestionable.

     "I know what this means, the possible outcome if the yellow gets ahold of this information. The last thing I want is to put the pack through a war and I pray to Luna that it doesn't come to that. But Ava-Rain is mine and I accept her. I claim her."