Night
Delinquent
Bright lights ignited from the biggest building in the property complex. It was definitely less crowded than when I first arrived, but the people around were putting on grouchy facial expressions.
Like something sharp was shoved deep inside their assholes.
Oh right. Lycan attack.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to be here? I'm kinda underdressed."
"Relax, it's just dinner. We won't involve ourselves in pack meetings. Let's just leave that to the higher ups," Alex interrupted as he pushed open the glass double entrance for us. Earlier, I was told how the banquet got moved to another date. Apparently, the situation was quite dire ever since a lycan managed to sneak through their premises.
To make matters worse, Bloodwood Creek, the territory of Bludwood pack is the neighboring area of this small territory. Oh, did I forget to mention the Alpha of the mentioned area is Cal? There was something about him that made other packs cower in terror. Everyone seemed to despise him except for his own relatives.
Geez, I wonder why.
Hint — sarcasm detected.
"Since when you're such a gentleman?" Corrine mocked him while flipping her hair, accidentally slapping him across the face. "Oops."
He glared at her once we stepped inside. "Welcome to the pack house," Alex shrugged. "Ours is better, but this one's not so bad."
I still got tons of questions to ask regarding werewolf lores and its secrets, but they refused to fill me in. Insisting someone else should have that honor.
Inside, nosey strangers eyeballed me with eyes so wide, they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. A couple of elderly figures even threw sympathetic looks at my direction. At that time, I assumed words had spread regarding my little adventure a few nights ago.
The wooden floor creaked under my foot as I made a beeline towards the dining hall. This time, I took the time to observe this cozy place more carefully. Mounted elk heads decorated the opposite side of the hall. There were nine of them with the biggest one placed in the middle. Its antlers got thirteen spikes each and barely touched the roof. Those elks were bigger than usual, but this one took the word 'massive' to a completely different level.
"Here, take this," Corrine handed me a plate filled with pulled pork sliders enough to feed three adults. "Go upstairs and find the room with double doors."
Luckily, the elegant spiralled stairway was porched outside the dining hall. Anyone wouldn't be able to miss it. I ascended those stairs groggily whilst balancing the plate on one hand. When I finally reached the top, my eyes were greeted by another hallway. It was definitely more spacious as numerous black doors were occupying my left and right, similar to a hotel. At the far end of the hall, a white double door was built proudly against the sturdy wooden structure of the lodge. It contrasted the whole color scheme of the building.
A clicking sound grabbed my attention. Looking up, I saw the back of a man who seemed like he just exited the study.
"Cal?" I whispered more to myself, unsure of what to do.
"Yes, lov- little one?" He proudly corrected himself as he turned around. This person actually had the audacity to change from one cheesy nickname to an even cheesier one. His pink lips curved upwards to form a smug smirk filled with hidden intentions. To be fair, Cal always looked like one of those people whose sole purpose of living was to annoy others, so they could die faster. "My, what a lovely surprise."
"The feeling's not mutual," I muttered under my breath. Well, this was awkward. "Uhm can we talk? Like in private? I brought you food," I almost grimaced hearing my own words. Shuddering at my pathetic self.
He looked taken aback for a second before regaining his composure.
"Of course," Cal walked towards me and placed his large hand on the small of my back, giving me a small push as we entered the door on my left.
Standing right next to him made me felt like a dwarf. He stood even taller than Carson who usually towered over everyone.
"This is my old room," Cal spoke once he closed the door. "I figured this might be a good place to talk. These walls were built to cancel outside noises. Soundproof — I believe that's the correct term."
Right. He's their nephew.
Somehow, my lips were glued shut. My mind went blank as his gaze penetrated deep into my soul. Those molten silver pools glinted amidst specks of milky white. Sometimes they turned a bit more greyish though, similar to thunderstorms.
I chewed on my bottom lip unintentionally. A random habit I picked up whenever things got awkward.
"F-food?" Those words escaped my lips before I had the chance to bite my tongue. It worsened our awkward situation, the air seeming too thick to breathe.
"Now where did that feisty personality go? Do entertain me, my love," his hand grabbed the plate from me, setting it on top of a mahogany desk while leaning onto that very same desk with crossed arms. Judging from the expectant look on his face, Cal was waiting me to speak anytime soon.
But I didn't.
"Is something wrong? You specifically told me to stay away, so I did," similar to someone who got diagnosed with bipolar disorder, his expression turned stone cold in an instant. Anyone in my shoes would've agreed his acting skills could take him to high places. Scoring top casting spots from world class movie directors. Hell, dude would be the hottest trending topic if he decided to pursue that career.
But nope, he just had to live in the middle of nowhere.
This version of him was noticeably worse than the last time we met. Back then, he looked sad. Hurt. Tired. All raw emotions.
"I'm sorry," it sounded even lower than a whisper. I wasn't even sure if I had said it.
He peered at me, unfazed.
"I said I'm sorry," this time, I put more force into my voice, making sure he heard every word loud and clear. "I apologise for my recklessness a few nights prior and I know I shouldn't have made you feel like I'm rejecting you."
My friends told me how sacred the mating bond is. They insisted I should postpone my decision until I regained all of my senses back. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to Cal, knowing how the mating bond was taking its toll on him.
No wonder he acted as if we were together . . .
In a blink of an eye, he lunged forward and pulled me into a hug. Engulfing me tightly with muscled arms around my waist. "You knew."
"I spent the whole day lectured by Alex and Corrine. Something must've stuck," my face almost collided against his hard chest, forcing my arms to put a bit of space between us by resting them on his broad shoulders. "A little birdie told me that you are my mate."
"Hmm," he buried his face onto the crook of my neck. Inhaling my scent. I could feel how significantly calmer he was under my touch.
"But I still couldn't sense anything since it has been less than 24 hours ever since I took that wolfsbane infused necklace off."
If a guy hugged me like this, I would normally kick his balls. Weirdly enough, I don't feel threatened under his touch. In fact, my gut reassured me that this was the safest place I've been to after many many years.
We stayed in that position for a minute. Observing my surroundings, his room was a complete opposite of mine. Freshly made bed, warm fireplace, neat bookshelf, clean rugs, minimalistic nightstands, everything was neatly put. The only thing that seemed out of place was the food plate on his empty desk.
"I should leave. You're busy with pack meetings," my palms were pressed onto his chest, instantly creating a bigger gap between our bodies.
"It ended. We're leaving tomorrow," his arms refused to let go of my waist. Quite the contrary, Cal scooped me up bridal style and walked towards the executive swivel chair behind his mahogany desk.
"What are you doing?" I gasped. "Let me down!"
He ignored my complaints and placed me on his lap. My legs dangling off from one of the chair's armrest.
"I don't think this is a good idea. Last time-"
"Just don't move," he whispered huskily and continued to bury his face on the crook of my neck. "Your scent- faint. But I could smell it now."
"What scent? Everyone has been saying that I smell like you, but I don't smell a damn thing," this was the first time someone pulled me close just to sniff me around.
His actions reminded me of cousin Ella's beloved pet. A chunky French Bulldog named Frankie.
"Did you sniff every girl like this too?" I cackled in a makeshift British accent, failing to contain my laughter whilst attempting to mock him simultaneously.
Boy was it a bad idea . . .
At that very moment, I knew his face darkened. I just knew it.
"Depends," a pair of soft lips brushed against my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine.
"Does she smell like warm vanilla bean and forbidden candied apples?" He continued to pepper feather light kisses along my neck. Returning to one particular spot below my ear that was more sensitive compared to the others.
And once he did that, my head instinctively tilt to the side, exposing more skin for him to roam. His lips began to suck that delicate area as I felt intangible tingles of pleasure coursed through my veins.
A small moan escaped my sinful lips. He took it as his green card for winning. My hand shot up to grab a handful of his messy slicked back locks, planning to stop his doings- but ended up pulling him closer. Begging for more. My body was unable to resist him. No matter what I did, Cal was simply irresistible.
"Patience, my love," his kisses got even wilder once his canines teased my neck. It grazed ever so gently as the feeling of teeth on skin was too obvious for anyone to miss.
After placing one final kiss on my collarbone, his face broke into a victorious smile. Resembling someone who won a million dollar lottery.
What just happened between us?
"Nobody needs to know about this," my finger touched the spot he kissed. It felt warm . . .
"Oh they will. Who doesn't love my enchanting scent? It reminds them of fairytales," Cal shrugged innocently, casually leaning back onto his chair. The proud smile on his face was starting to get on my nerves.
Drama queen.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
He ignored my question and took a bite out of his food.
"You evil little chimp!" I was about to get up from his lap to confirm my suspicions, but his hand pulled me back effortlessly.
"Excuse you? My mother blessed me with these looks and I am fully aware that I'm far too charming to be a chimp, Brooklyn Isadora Clemonte," he scoffed.
I didn't even wanna know how he know my full name. Expecting him to put on a funny face, I looked up thinking he was joking — but he never looked more serious. Cal was dead serious in everything he just uttered. This narcissistic man was the living embodiment of self-love at its worst!
"Quit joking! Where's the toilet?!"
"Ah don't ruin the fun, love," his clean index finger tipped my chin up in a taunting manner.
"What did you do, Cal?" I gritted my teeth and pointed towards the warm spot on my neck. "What. Did. You. Do?!"
"What do you think?" He coolly took another bite, savoring his dinner. Unbothered by my complaints.
"No no no no. Don't tell me it's purple," my hand frantically touched the warm spot, praying it wasn't what I think it was.
"Wrong answer," he paused. Amused at my dramatic reaction. "It's red."
"T-that's the same thing!" I gaped at him, flabbergasted.
We spent another hour arguing about his 'mark' on me. Well, I did most of the talking while he just sit back and relax. Cal insisted how a love bite was necessary to show everyone that I was an alpha's mate. He reasoned that it would strengthen his scent on mine since my wolf was blocked temporarily. At that moment, I smelled pretty damn human unless someone sniffed me up close.
In other words, Cal was marking me as his.
"You can tell your wolf to stop being so possessive. I haven't even accepted our mating bond-"
"Because you can't feel it yet," he growled. Our argument was going nowhere. "Look, how about we save this talk for tomorrow? It's pointless, because you can't feel what I feel and there's no point in us fighting."
"Fine," I sighed, annoyed at how his points were perfectly reasonable. "Besides us, Alex, and Corrine, who knew about this?"
"Carson and Theo," he answered. "But your scent will be a dead giveaway once you step out of this room."
I understood his ulterior motive well enough. Enough to save my ass from falling into his booby traps. He tried to use my own concern against me in order to control our situation. In conclusion, Cal wanted me to spend the night.
HA! Not tonight, you manipulative douche.
Tightening my hoodie, my hands grabbed both drawstrings and pulled until it covered my neck. Ending it with a double overhand knot to protect myself from an oversized narcissistic dog. I didn't spare him another glance as I exited the bedroom with my shoulders back and head held high. It was getting pretty late, but early enough for these wolves to keep on socializing.
My short-lived confidence shrank to an embarrassing size when not one, but every single person I passed stopped whatever they were busying themselves with to gawk at me shamelessly. Raised brows and knowing smiles filled their expressions one by one. Refusing to embarrass myself even further, I fastened my walking pace and quickly exited the lodge.
"Damn you, Cal," I cursed under my breath.
"Language, love. You wound my feelings," looking up, the top window was opened by a smirking Cal who leaned against the thick window frame. His heightened senses enabled him to sense anything if he decided to focus on the source. Mischievous yet narcissistic. What a lovely combination.
Deciding to ignore him, I jogged back towards my temporary cabin. Though this time, I obediently followed the trail. These woods was far too spooky for anyone to venture out on their own — and apparently, I learned it the hard way.
If anything, I was suddenly reminded of the Forbidden Forest from The Harry Potter series.
Right, thinking about other fantasy worlds when my own reality was a fantastical fucking mess.
Cicadas were buzzing, taking their roles as nature's night musicians seriously. Fresh air filled my lungs with the smell of pine leaves and wet soils. Nighttime breeze was blowing loose strands that were framing my face ever so gently. I loved the city life, but more often than not, the quick pace overwhelmed me. City folks tend to forget how to live their life. Buried in constant stress due to tight dead lines or chasing unrealistic dreams just because they heard one person out of five million achieved their goals.
Wild outdoors cleared my mind. Sure there were wild predators roaming the land — mind you, I almost got mauled by one, but the irreplaceable freshness enabled me to revise these unexplainable occurrences with an open mind. The universe had its own secrets and maybe this was one of them. Mind-boggling for sure, but I couldn't lie to myself, because I saw it all with my own eyes.
Callahan Rosier seemed like a beautiful man from the outside; tall, dreamy eyes, chiseled, fit — but once he opened that poisonous mouth of his, it decreased his charming appearance drastically. I couldn't even tell which version of him I'll be meeting. It changed every time we met. Well, most of the times he was being a pain in the ass with his unnecessary sarcasm and temper.
Lost in my own thoughts, I eventually saw the familiar sight of the small cabin. The thought of binging on snacks and watching House of The Dragons occupied my mind, letting a contented sigh escaped my lips. When I was several steps away from the front door, the door slammed open to reveal dad and that one man I saw a few days ago during the lycan incident. He looked around dad's age with platinum blonde hair and a hideous scar from his left cheekbone down to the corner of his mouth. The man was scowling angrily.
"Bee, I want you to get inside. Now," Dad instructed. His face looked equally as pissed as the man standing right next to him.
My paranoid mind thought something was behind me — maybe another lycan, ready to attack — so I bolted inside with no further questions. Yet, upon looking back towards the lonely forest trail, I saw nothing but a pair of burning amber eyes. It stood around six feet off the ground, hidden by the darkness. Dad and the man's tall figure shielded me from whatever emitted those yellow glow.
"I hope you respect my boundaries, Alpha Callahan," came dad's voice with an unusual gruffness in his tone.
He followed me here.
Those amber eyes disappeared behind a big tree located next to the forest trail.
"And I hope you understand my situation, Alpha Gerard. It saddens me really," Cal's accented voice replied as he stepped out from that tree in his half naked glory wearing a pair of mudded jeans.
"WE WILL NEVER ASSOCIATE OURSELVES WITH AN ENEMY WHO-"
"Ah ah ah, Beta Davis. Don't be so rude. Be a nice doggie please," he tsked.
Beta Davis, the platinum blonde haired man who was standing beside dad, growled louder. Cal's twisted way of answering serious questions would get him in trouble someday.
"YOU —"
"Or I'll make sure you'll end up with another decoration on that face. I'm afraid your beauty mark looks a bit lonely. It needs a friend, don't you think?" Once more, Cal cut the older man off before he had the chance to finish his sentences.
"Alpha Callahan, I will not tolerate you disrespecting my Beta like this. He serves under my name. Disrespecting him, means that you're disrespecting me, a fellow Alpha," dad gritted his teeth. I could see how he clenched his jaw in an attempt to not attack the younger man.
Watching this preposterous scene unfolding right in front of my eyes made me stood there in disbelief. He dared to assault another man which resulted in a permanent damage across his face — and I thought Cal was only a big talker. I didn't know he would actually inflict physical pain on others.
"That is why, I am here to strike a bloody brilliant deal with a fellow Alpha. How does that sound?" Grinning in satisfaction, he was oozing with confidence. A trait all winning parties seem to share.
On the other hand, if looks could kill, Cal would be buried six feet underground. Buried without a casket to honour his name.
Beta Davis parted his lips to say something before dad stopped him from doing so.
"Let's hear his terms."
The other man shut his mouth and directed his hateful gaze towards Cal who just stood there with hands shoved inside his jeans pockets. He shot dad a pointed look and got a stiff nod in response.
"I was told to respect my future in-laws since an early age. Now that I've found my other half, I am willing to release your son's mate on one condition," he sighed and held a hand in front of his left chest right where his heart should be. I was pretty sure Cal didn't own one. It was either that or his' had gone rotten beyond saving. His existence was the reason why the devil remained seated on his hellish throne. He didn't need to come up here since Cal was acting as his evil minion.
"Say it," dad balled his fist until his knuckles were turning white.
"Let your daughter stay with me for a few months," he smirked. "It's only fair. Your son gets his darling mate back and I'll get mine. Besides, it'll lessen her . . . Longing."
Judging from the look on dad's face, he expected this would happen sooner or later. I didn't know Kassion had found himself a mate. How did his mate end up in Cal's pack anyway?
"No, you can't have my daughter's hand-"
"I'll do it," based from the 'werewolf' lessons my friends conducted, a mate was supposed to be your other half and if your mate was an alpha, it will strengthen his power over the pack. Besides, how bad could it be? My friends were members of the Bludwood pack and rejection was always an option. It got no expiry date as long as I haven't accepted our mating bond.
Kassion deserves to be happy.
"What? Bee, you can't possibly accept him as your mate!" Dad turned his head. Concern was evident in his icy blue eyes.
"No, I didn't say I'll accept him. I'm just going to stay there for a few months. It's fine, dad. Corrine and the guys will keep me company," I reasoned.
"No! There must be some other way! I can't-"
"I'm doing this for all of us. He did this to your Beta," I motioned my thumb to Beta Davis' scar. "Who knows what else he'll do if we refuse to compromise?"
Part of me knew that this was a crazy idea - bizarre and reckless, but my legs took a few steps ahead of the two older men. With a forced smile, I managed to utter four words, "I accept your deal."
"Clever girl," Cal looked victorious. He slightly bowed with one hand on his chest and the other on his lower back.
"I shall announce that from this point on, I am officially courting you," a small smirk broke on his lips. Mischief was dancing in his silver eyes like wildfire. Similar to a predator that targeted its next prey.
Cunning Cal.
Brainless Brooke.
I wonder how this will play out.
---
Author's note
For Brooke's parents, I imagine Gerard Butler & Monica Bellucci playing them.
Enjoy chapter 7, fellas!!! 🌺🌺🌺
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