- Caleb -
Alaric summoned the council alongside their successors for a meeting first thing in the morning. I couldn't even say goodbye to Nathan before he went to school because Convel showed up at my doorstep. My mate was still sleeping, recovering from after such an amazing night. He looked so peaceful and beautiful that I decided to let him sleep the remaining thirty minutes he still had left. So, I quietly put on some clothes and left, careful not to wake him up.
It worried me deeply that Alaric would summon us so early; it must be of paramount importance if he did after the weeping cherry tree ceremony just yesterday. Once we arrived at the Alpha's office, I found out that everyone was already there. Gregory, Lawrence, Nymeria, Luke, and... Maya? What is she doing here? They were all standing in place, waiting for us patiently. For a minute, I thought that this was an intervention for me. I worked my hardest to control my heartbeat and my scent, not to show any sign of worry. Taking my place, the room felt quiet for a while until Maya began speaking. Then, she did the only thing I wasn't expecting and admitted being mated to a domestic.
- What do you mean, you are mated to a domestic? – Alaric's voice yells angrily at the healer. His voice filled the room with a loud disapproving tone.
I can't help to feel a little relieved that I was finally not the one who screwed up. These past weeks I've been messing up; it feels nice to catch a break. Now, I have no idea how the council is going to deal with this. Sure, they reluctantly accepted my relationship with Nathan, but those were special circumstances. Maya is a healer, which means that the pack will do right about anything to protect her and keep her away from harm.
The room fell quiet, and Maya's head turned down as a sign of respect. My eyes immediately drift to Luke. He's standing next to Gregory, with a stoic expression written on his face. Did he already know about this? Because he certainly doesn't seem troubled, perhaps they already spoke about this. His support would mean a lot, especially because this is a big deal for her.
- Speak child. – his voice commands angrily.
- I'm sorry. – she starts by apologizing. – It happened a while ago and I didn't know what to do. I tried to ignore the bond, but it only grew stronger until finally, it was too much to avoid. – she explains, her head still looking down.
- Since when? – the alpha asked through greeted teeth.
- Two months. – she admits and Alaric grows furiously, only making her feel even worse.
- For heaven's sake. – he cursed. – Caleb, did you know about this? – he questions, and all the attention was now on me. Fuck, I'm so screwed.
- Yes, she told me about it yesterday morning. – I responded, keeping my calm. – She asked me not to say anything because she didn't want to take importance away from the weeping cherry tree ceremony. She thought it would be best to tell you afterward sir. – I add.
It's not completely a lie. I've been suspecting about her and Jake for a while now, but I never had any concrete evidence to support it. There were clues, like repeatedly waiting for me to come back and her occasionally sneaking around, but it wasn't until yesterday that we finally touched the subject. So, no, I'm technically not lying, just withholding the complete truth. I just hope he doesn't push any further into the subject. I might be able to lie, but based on how badly things ended last time, I'd rather avoid it from now on. A pack is about trust and complete honesty and as future Beta in Command I should inspire confidence and trust in the pack. Which means, no more lying.
- Okay... – he dismissed. – What about you? Did you know this about your sister? – he turned to Luke. The future Gamma passed saliva and spoke.
- No sir, she never mentioned anything to me. – he assured. I listened closely to his heartbeat, and it didn't falter. He's telling the truth. What the fuck, why is he so calm about this. – Although to be completely honest, I did suspect something was going on. I'm sorry for not bringing it to your attention before alpha. – he added. Maya's eyes widened with surprise, with no idea that his brother thought such things.
- Okay, I'll let it pass this once, but swear I'm done with all this secrecy. Is anyone else in this room mated to another fucking domestic? – Alaric asks around, turning his face to Luke, the only mateless wolf in the room.
- What? Don't look at me, like I would mate a domestic. – he says sarcastically. It might be bitter, but his heartbeat is true.
- Well, at least one of you three remained true. If I had known all this trouble would come from sending you three to River Valley, I never would've agreed in the first place. – the alpha states harshly.
- Perhaps it's better not to jump to conclusions right away, Alpha. We don't know anything about this boy. – Lawrence chimed in, setting a calming and peaceful tone to the conversation. – For instance, does he know about your abilities as a healer dear? – he wonders.
- Yes. – Maya responds honestly. – But he agreed to keep it a secret and change packs, so that shouldn't be a problem. – he adds quickly.
- What about Alpha Nathan and Yannis? Do they know about this? – Gregory was the one to speak. His adamant face displays no emotion whatsoever.
- We haven't spoken about it, but he's not a high-ranked wolf. It shouldn't be an inconvenience. – she answers.
- Well, at least she managed to find a solution that benefits us all – Convel said, surprisingly. – There's still plenty to fix and we can use more manpower, to be honest. –
- Yeah, I guess that's true. – Alaric acknowledged, taking a different tone, and reconsidering his position.
- I was hoping you'd allow me to go to River Valley today and bring him home. We would talk to Alpha Nathan and Yannis of course. – Maya asked for permission.
Alaric's eyes narrowed, staring at the healer cautiously as if contemplating whether to let her go or not. Although to be honest, Convel did make some good points. We could always use more help to rebuild this place. Seconds passed and still no answer, I could hear the blonde's heart starting to spike a little from the nerves.
- Fine. I suppose you can go. – he agreed. – But I want you back before sunset at 19:00, do you hear me? – he said firmly.
- Yes alpha. – the healer responded with relief.
- Caleb, could you as your mate to accompany her? He knows River Valley well and is the Alpha's son. Perhaps he could help ease the news and create an agreement in which this boy joins the Lazarus pack. – he says with his usual baritone tone. At least, he is not angry anymore.
- Of course, sir. I'll ask him. – I respond, and he nods approvingly. Nathan is still going to school either way, I'm sure he won't mind keeping an eye on Maya.
- Good. –
- What? That's nonsense. I'm more than capable of speaking for myself. This is my mate we are talking about, if anyone is going to speak to the Alphas is us. Besides, I'm stronger than Nathan, I can defend myself just fine. – she argues, clearly offended.
- Maya, you're a healer. It's only protocol. – Lawrence chimed in, trying to comfort her.
- So, what? – she says, upset.
- Maya... – Gregory tries calming her, but it only adds salt to the wound.
- No! Everyone keeps treating me like I'm a fragile butterfly but I'm not. I don't need a babysitter to bring my mate home. – she bursts out enraged. I've never seen her this angry before.
Alaric slams his fist on the desk strongly, even cracking the wood, making everyone's head turn around. His nose where flaring and he had furious eyes as his imponent body stood up from his chair. Maya may have just crossed a limit right there. He pointed at the healer and spoke with discontent.
- Either Nathan accompanies you or you will never go back to River Valley. Do I make myself clear? – he roars furiously, flashing the red in his eyes.
- Yes... - she responds, head low.
Usually, Maya can get away with a lot of things. She doesn't have to listen to elders, and she can ignore commands from anyone including an Alaric if it comes to the health of the pack. Being a healer means that's she almost always invited to council meetings as well, and the pack values her opinion. I know we are talking about her mate, but that doesn't mean she can or any of the council members. Today, she went too far, and Alaric had to push her down a little. Nymeria gently touched her father's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile that seemed to calm down the Alpha.
- Maya there's no need to get upset; we're only making sure you're safe. It's not that we don't trust in you; we know you're strong, but if late events have taught us anything is that we can never be too precautious. – Nymeria spoke calmly, reasoning with the blond. - We want you to be happy, we really do; we want nothing more than to welcome this mate of yours. What's his name? – she asked. Maya's eyes shortly drifted to Luke and back to Nymeria. She sighed deeply before speaking.
- Jake. – she finally said. – His name is Jake. –
- Well, we want nothing more than to meet this Jake of yours, okay? So, what's the harm in letting Nathan help? – she cleverly points out, speaking to the reasoning side of Maya. – He'll only... -
- Wait. – Luke interrupted abruptly. – I'm sorry for interrupting, but did you just say Jake is your mate? – her brother questioned in disbelief. The healer only nodded in response, looking at him with worried sad eyes.
- No fucking way. – he cursed angrily under his breath.
- Luke... – Maya whimpered.
- I thought you were mated to Nadia but you're telling me it's been Jake all this time. – he burst out, yelling angrily.
- Do you know this guy? – Alaric asked concerned.
- Yes, I do. – he responded through greeted teeth. – He's a fucking asswhole, that's what he is. That guy is a troublemaker; he doesn't care about anything or anyone but himself. – he calls out.
- That's not true, he's not a bad person... – tears begging to shine in her eyes, looking at Alaric.
- What are you saying, Maya? – he interrupts angrily. – That guy tormented us for weeks, or did you forget about what he did to you? I can't believe you would hide something like this from me. What were you thinking? He's a fucking idiot! – he roars.
- No, he's not! – she yelled back.
- Okay, that's enough you two. Calm down, boy. – Gregory steps in firmly.
His interruption managed to stop the heated discutient from rising even more. Maya and Luke are staring at each other, breathing heavily and with murderous eyes. This conversation has taken a head south. Shit, I was a fool to think that Luke would forget about his heavy dispute with Jake. There's no way he'll accept him, not after what he did. Worst of all, all the council knows now about everything.
- Caleb, I trust that you will remain unbiased. What is Luke talking about? What can you tell us about this Jake person? – the Gamma asked.
Suddenly, I'm the center of attention. My eyes shift between Maya and Luke. They are both my friends, what should I do? On one side, Luke is right to be mad at Jake. There's no reason for the blond to trust him, much less want him in the pack. On the other side, I get Maya, hell I was in her place. Meeting your mate it's perhaps the greatest day in your life, but discovering they are a domestic must've been hard for her. Sure, Jake is an asswhole, but we don't choose who we are attracted to. She was only doing what felt right, I can't blame her for that, not when I did the same thing. I sigh deeply, thinking about what to say. One thing is clear, regardless of what I say, one of them is going to get hurt and angry.
- Luke is speaking the truth. Jake harassed us during the first week, he's immature, petty and, to put it boldly, an idiot. – I say and I can just feel Maya's gaze fixated on me.
- Why is this the first time we hear about this? – Alaric asked firmly.
- Because it wasn't a big deal, and I didn't want to concern the council with something we could handle. So, we did, we took care of the problem and that was that. – I answer truthfully.
- So, you agree with Luke that Jake shouldn't be allowed into the pack? – Gregory went straight to the point. I lick my bottom lip, considering my answer.
- No, I don't. – I finally say. Maya's heart sighed with relief and smelled Luke's anger beginning to spike. – Sure, Jake might be a stubborn childish idiot, but he does listen. Nathan ordered him to leave us alone and he did. If he's willing to leave his pack to follow Maya, then that proves that he's willing to change. He's a young and strong wolf and I'm sure he'll learn to pull his weight under the right tutelage. More importantly, Maya chose him as her mate. I don't think I need to clarify the importance of that; if he is good enough for her, then he's good enough for me. – I add firmly, quickly looking over at the healer.
Maya's eyes are red and wide open, she has an astonished expression on her face that softens as we interlock eyesight. Her expressions tell me just how thankful she is. This was the right thing to do, she deserves to be happy and if Jake can do that then I'm willing to give him a second chance. Even if he was a pain in the ass. Now that I think about it, Jake was probably being an idiot because he was being possessive over Maya, I just didn't realize it then. I turn to face Alaric; he is watching me with a stern look on his face. Nymeria, by his side, is looking at me with a proud smile, slightly nodding in my direction.
- Very well, then, that settles it. Jake will join the Lazarus pack. – Alaric states.
- Please Alpha, I beg you to reconsider. – he pleads to Alaric and then turns toward me. - Of course, you would say that. Your mate is a fucking domestic too; you've gone soft when it comes to them. – Luke spats angrily. – Especially after fucking your little mate. Come on bro, you reek of him at least try and hide it. – his comment makes my blood boil.
- Hey! Watch your mouth! – I threatened flashing my eyes at him.
His murderous eyes on me fall back to a more confused expression. I find it rather odd, I thought he would be more adamant about this, but all his anger quickly dissipated. It's not until I see Gregory with the same look on his face that I know something is off. Everyone is staring at me cautiously, like I'm a complete stranger, even Nymeria.
- Your eyes... are purple. – Maya finally speaks baffled.
- Oh... – I remember and stop flashing them. I forgot about that; I feel like an idiot.
- What happened to your eyes? – the blond asks.
- I don't know, I just found out this morning. I was hoping to speak with Lawrence and the elders about it later. – I answer honestly.
- Lawrence, what do purple eyes represent? – Nymeria quickly questions, turning to the elder who looked just as flabbergasted as everyone else.
- I- I must admit that I don't know. – he says, causing even more uncertainty. – I've never seen something like that before... –
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