ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Six | Part II

Chapter Notes : Caleb's POV

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- '. . .that's me locked inside reality's maze.' -

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My ears jolted at the sound of her voice, immediately waking me from my light sleep. I lifted my head from her lap and turned to look up at her smiling face. Her long, blonde hair was blowing casually in the wind, and her blue eyes shining brighter than the sun above us. Her scent mixed with the earthy scent surrounding us in the woods produced a heavenly fragrance and I wanted nothing more than to bathe in it. To be able to drown in her would have been a welcomed death.

     Her hands, which had been threading through my fur, stilled. Soon, her smile faded  and the light in her eyes began to dim. "You promised, Caleb."

     I knew exactly what she was referring to and, in response, dropped my head back onto her lap. If there was ever a perfect time to be in wolf form, it was then. In wolf form, I could just listen and not be obligated or coerced into talking or engaging in a conversation that I did not wish to take part in.

     "An alpha's promise," she reminded me.

     I closed my eyes, as if that would have automatically sent me back into unconsciousness. It didn't, but I was still determined to end the conversation. What needed to be done had already been done, and she'd sooner find peace of mind once she accepted it.

     "So I can only assume that no longer means anything to you, then?"

     My eyes shot open, my wolf slightly angered at the accusation. A low growl was released, my intention not to threaten but to warn. But when her fingers once again began to weave in and out of my fur, the bit of anger and irritation flowing throughout my body slowly receded.

     "Relax," she whispered.

     Although I did not wish to, my wolf obeyed her command. I refused to look up at her again, but even I knew that it would not hinder her persistence on having this conversation.

     "I'm sorry. It's just, I think it could have been handled differently, that's all." She continued her gentle assault on my fur. "We can't expect everyone to accept it so easily—"

     I growled again, cutting her sentence short. I did not care if they did not accept it.

     "Pout all you want, but you'll only have your stubbornness to thank and blame when this comes back to haunt you, Caleb."

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     I tried to shake away last night's dream, tried to force it back down into the black hole it emerged from, but it had already done its job by reminding me of everything I had fought so hard to forget. Reminded me of my past mistakes and failures and the painful punishment delivered by Luna for my disobedience. Of course, it may have been easier to shake it away if it had been just that, a dream. But it wasn't. It was a memory, tied to me forever no matter how hard I tried to sever the tendrils. A memory that I once commanded my wolf to heavily guard and never allow to resurface. A memory of a life that I should not have been able to escape so easily.

     But, for a while, I had escaped. The memory of her blue eyes had stopped haunting my dreams. Her smile no longer made me fear the idea of warmth or comfort. Her scent no longer taunted me or made me want to cleanse it from my system. Now, there were a new pair of eyes I welcomed inside of my dreams. A different smile that warmed and comforted me. A new scent that had me welcoming its torture. But that one desperate memory that would always cling to me for as long as I gave it life had achieved its task of reminding me that the mate that I had been granted I would never deserve.