Chapter 102
His parents smile at me. His mother is on his father’s right, with Dallas on his left.
“How are you feeling?” his mother greets me softly.
It hurts, but I can deal with the pain.”
Caleb walks up from downstairs, a mess. Bloodshot eyes, scratching his head, he’s shirtless with just his boxers on. He has scratch marks all over him; I think maybe they were made
by two different pairs of claws.
Opening the fridge, he takes the orange juice from the carton and drinks it all down in just. a few big gulps. He tries to put it back into the fridge as his mother throws a spoon at his
head. He barely moves in time as it catches the tip of his nose.
“If it’s done, throw it out,” she snaps at him. I think this is how they show their love for one
another. It’s a playful banter that they have.
“Mom, listen.” He shakes the container with just barely a layer of juice left. “It’s not empty
yet.”
“You suck the living soul out of my body, Caleb.” But she smiles at him the way
mothers d
at their males who they love unconditionally.
The Silverback Alpha laughs at the exchange. I don’t see Caleb playing any kind of games with his father. Maybe he knows better than to rile up the beast.
“Get dressed. We’re leaving now.” Dallas is firm with the way he talks with Caleb, no motherly love in his voice. A flash of annoyance crosses Caleb’s face, but he does what his brother says without a word of displeasure.
Once Caleb comes back up in his wrinkled clothes that he was wearing yesterday, we walk the brothers out to the car.
“You’re going to be great, Rya. I can’t wait to visit you again.” Dallas believes everything he
Chapter 102
says to me.
Dallas tells me that my arm will be better by the end of the week. We do what couples do hug and kiss goodbye. I wave to him as he pulls away from the drive. I watch Alpha Clinton walk away with Luna Grace, hand in hand, into the snow–covered morning. Their footsteps leave behind a trail to track them by as they walk away from the house.
I get back into my room. The phone is laying on the desk, innocently waiting for me to listen go Clayton’s messages. I’m curious but feel guilty about wanting to hear them.
Taking a deep breath, I click to the next message. This is a slow pain that I will hear.
“Two years of watching you, Rya, I couldn’t wait to graduate. I honestly felt as if I were cheating on Kennedy if I stared too long at you. I could smell you. I always knew when you were getting close. I would make it a point to leave before you came around the corner. You made it easy, though. I think you avoided me as much as I wanted to avoid you.” He takes a long drink of something, ice clinking against the glass.
“I would catch you by the fence watching your old soccer team. Your braid was down your back. You were playing with the end while you were seeing them win the championship. You were supposed to be captain that year, weren’t you? I never saw you against the soccer fence again. I did watch you leave with your head down, looking at your feet. The more I think about it, you stopped looking up. You started to walk with your eyes always downcast. Again I did nothing to help you. I could have said something. I could have been kinder. I wasn’t.” He’s run out of time; the message ends.
“I remember you always used to laugh, even before I knew you were my mate. I remember hearing you laugh and thought what a cute sound. Unique. But as my last year of high school came to an end, I realized you never laughed anymore. In fact, I thought you forgot how to speak. Your sound died. Mine didn’t. You had to endure my laugh, didn’t you? I made sure you would hear how happy I was with Kennedy. I made sure that you understood there was never going to be any chance for you with me.”
“I remember after I graduated I saw you a total of six times before you finally left. I wish it was for good back then. I prayed to the moon you didn’t come back. It was easier for me. I didn’t have to watch the way I ruined you. The first time I saw you after graduation was at a pack party. You hardly came to those functions unless attendance was mandatory. I think my mother did that on purpose just to see my reaction to you. I would purposely feed
Kennedy in front of the entire pack because I loved her, while I knew you watched on. Sick,
S
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isn’t it? I did it, though, and I watched you all alone at one of the back picnic tables by yourself with nothing to eat because by the time you were allowed to eat, nothing was ever left. You turned yourself away from the pack. I could see your shoulders trembling, your hands wiping at your eyes. I felt bad, but not bad enough to really care.” The call ends with him taking another drink.
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