ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Notes: Caleb's POV

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- '. . .but now the rains weep 'o'er his hall, with no one there to hear.'-

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I didn't know what to expect when Gray's alpha arrived at the den. The moment the car with tinted windows pulled up the drive, my wolf presented me with two options: the first, allow him to take over completely—mind and body—so that he could kill him before he even had the chance the pull the keys out of the ignition. The second, he would allow me to keep control of his reins long enough to hear the pure blood out, and then he would kill the wolf.

     Clearly, the pure blood's death was the only thing that he wanted.

     And for good reason.

     This was a wolf that had commanded his pack to watch, terrorize, and attack our pack and our mate. Giving in to his request for blood would have shown our pack that I had not forgotten what he and his pack had done. But no matter how much hatred we both harboured for him, it was nothing in comparison to the amount of love we had for Ava-Rain.

     Killing an alpha and starting a war with pure bloods would jeopardize her safety, the very thing we were trying to ensure by having this meeting. It wasn't right nor was it fair, but, as I stood rooted in place on top of the steps and watched as the car shut off and the driver's side door open, I presented my wolf with a third option—our only option: we would ask our questions, we would listen to his answers, we would let him go, and then we would bring our mate home.

     We just could not afford to have it go any other way.

     Gray, who had already arrived but stayed outside to wait for his father's arrival, walked over to greet him. His head lowered when he stopped in front of him, and I could faintly see his mouth moving while his gaze was directed to the ground. His father placed a hand on his shoulder and said something back to Gray. Whether it was his alpha's words or the physical contact that had given him the okay to lift his head and look up, I couldn't say. But the entire interaction itself reminded me of something I was all too familiar with: how hard life was as a son of an alpha.

     The elder turned to face me, while the younger remained still. Again, Gray's mouth moved, and I could only assume that he was informing his father about who I was. Chase and Kane stood on either side of me while the rest of the pack was scattered on the stone steps, but not once did his eyes break away from me to look at any of them or take in his surroundings. They remained only on me. There was no tell, no sign on his face nor look in his eye that I could use as proof to back up my suspicions, but I knew how hard he was debating whether it would be worth it for him to do more than just look.

     He was an heir of the yellow, after all.

     It was only when he moved and started to walk towards the steps that Gray turned around and followed, maintaining a pace that kept him at his alpha's side. They barely spared a glance at each of my deltas as they passed them by on their way up the steps. When they finally reached the top, Gray did somewhat acknowledge Kane and Chase, while his father looked directly at me with the same blue eyes he had passed on to his son. Gray was tall, but his father stood a few inches taller. His short hair was a lighter shade of brown with a slight wave, but, in the face, they were spitting images of each other.

     "You're late," I wasted no time breaking the ice.

     "Traffic," his deep voice replied. Thin lips spread into a smirk that lasted only for a second before they retracted back into their natural position to complete the disinterested look on his face.