ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Six | Part I*

Chapter Notes: Caleb's POV

* * * *

- 'A nightingale in a golden cage. . .' -

* * *

I made sure to keep my distance and refrained myself from touching her. Refrained myself from slipping my hand into hers, from wrapping my arms around her shoulder and pulling her against my chest. I was not permitted the luxury of basking in her warmth. The unreasonable amount of space between us was a cruel and torturous punishment, but one I forced myself to endure. It deeply pained me to do so, but it was necessary. It was not what I wanted but everything that Ava-Rain needed.

I stood against a wall in the living room of my condo, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes focused solely on Ava-Rain. She was seated on the couch with her hands covering her face. We had both remained in our respective spots for over twenty minutes. Minutes that consisted of my inability to look anywhere other than at my mate, and of Ava-Rain refusing to look at me.

I had scared her, that much was obvious. Against her better judgment, Ava-Rain had trusted me, and I had destroyed that very element essential in every pairing. As a result, I was probably going to lose her. This was not what Ava-Rain wanted. It was not what she had asked for. I was not what she needed.

After a few more minutes of silence passed, she finally dropped her hands from her face, and, for the first time since we left the den, her eyes found mine. "Okay. I guess now is as good a time as any. Who are you?"

Despite my urge to turn the broken silent treatment as an invitation to go to her, I remained against the wall and allowed my gaze to latch onto hers. "Do you know what the four elements of nature are?" Even with the distance between us, I was able to make out the confusion that spread across her face.

Her eyes lowered for only a brief moment before lifting to meet mine once more. "Like," she paused, "do you mean, water, earth, air and fire? Those elements?" Her eyes narrowed. "Is that what you meant when you called yourself the 'heir of the four'?"

I nodded, though being an heir of the four meant much more than what Ava-Rain thought. "Legend has it that many, many moons ago, our Goddess, Luna, split each element in half and placed them into four human males and four human females. This act granted each human an affinity for their respective element, a connection that could only be strengthened when they found their other half. When they did-once each half became whole-those four males and four females were what my kind refer to as the Original Four."

I stopped to give Ava-Rain the opportunity to ask questions. To take it all in. To yell at me to stop or to simply just yell at me. To call me crazy. To do whatever she felt she needed to so. But she only remained in place and continued to hold my gaze, offering me her undivided attention. Dropping my arms to my side, I walked over to the couch and took a seat next to her. Confusion still held her captive, but she silently waited for me to continue.

"They were the first children of the moon, and to ensure that their loyalty to her never faltered, Luna cursed them with the ability to shift into wolves every night of a full moon. Once a month they would be forced to turn into beasts, forced to fight through their dark, animalistic nature until they no longer viewed the light of the full moon as a loss of freedom and control but as the grace of the Goddess. But the curse was also a blessing and rewarded them with an everlasting lineage because every single pup born from the pairings would carry a fragment of the element within them. And once they grew and found a suitable mate, that element would then split into two, and one half would latch onto the soul of their mate, and once they found them, they would be bound together as true mates.