CALIFF
I didn’t like it very much when someone paid me a visit to the compound for a non-pack business. I value my privacy very much. How did he find my address?
I handled company-related in my office in the city. That was why I had a pad to separate business and pack concerns.
Duke met me at the parking area outside the pack house with a frown on his face.
“Who is it, Duke?”
“A human. Calder Haynes.”
My brows furrowed. “A human? I don’t know anyone by that name. What does he want with me? Why didn’t he arrange a meeting somewhere in the city, and why here?”
“I wish I could tell you more, Alpha.” He lowered his voice, but something concerning in his actions formed a knot in my stomach.
“Where is he?” I had just finished my words when a man as tall as me, almost around my age or older, appeared from nowhere in his well-tailored dark suit, but his face was more alarming.
“Califf Stone.” He stared at me for a beat before offering his hand.
It was evening, but I could see him clearly- his face, dark curly hair, those piercing gray eyes, the stance, the jawline, and the smile.
We were almost twins. Or brothers.
Considering the current threats and he was human, it was unnerving how he was here. If he could find the compound easily, so did the hunters.
“You must be Calder Haynes.” I shook the hand he offered. I felt the firm grip as he clutched my hand.
I swallowed hard as I felt like I understood why he was here. I remembered Dad had something to tell me, but it didn’t happen when he shifted his concern more to hunters than his initial purpose.
“How can I help you?” I gestured to walk with him inside the pack house.
“My apology for coming over without an appointment, but I got a short leave from work. I thought I would take this opportunity to meet you.”
“Me? Why me?”
He breathed in, turning his head a little to the guys behind me as if asking for privacy.
I stopped and turned to my guys. “This is my wife, Shadow. Baby, this is Calder Haynes.”
“Check him if he’s human,” I told her telepathically.
She smiled and shook the hand he offered. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Haynes. I’ll leave you two alone.”
“No, baby. Stay with me.” I nodded at the guys to leave us alone. They all retreated except Zack.
“Are you sure?” Zack asked through our link.
“Yes.”
Shadow sat across from Calder at the office, and I went to my desk. I suddenly didn’t know where to start- overwhelmed with so many questions in my head.
We sat there staring at each other until Shadow cleared her throat.
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Haynes.” Thankfully, Shadow was quick to grasp my struggle, but one thing I was sure of was that this man came here for personal reasons.
“Just Calder, Mrs. Stone.”
“Please, call me Shadow. Mrs. Stone is his mother.” She smiled meaningfully as she looked at me.
“I’m a college professor. I teach history.”
“American History?” Shadow’s eyes lit up, so interested as she looked down at Calder’s hands. “You must have taught many young lady students.”
“Yes.” His smile seemed warm, and his voice was softer than mine, but could be deceiving.
“May I ask your purpose?”
Before he could answer, a soft knock interrupted him. The door swung open, revealing Zack with refreshments.
“Thank you, Zack.” Shadow took it from him and put it on the table.
“I came here to see you.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t remember if we’ve met before.” I grabbed the drink Shadow offered, widening her eyes at me as a warning to be nice to the guest.
“Of course. I wish we’d met. I was raised by a single mother. I never met my father. She worked as a nurse in the hospital until she died years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” That one came from Shadow.
“Thank you. I came through my mother’s old boxes and found this.” He picked something from his suit pocket and put it on my desk. It was an old photo from a Polaroid camera- a picture of a young, happy woman and a young, broody, attractive man- the younger version of my father.
A muscle in my jaw flexed as I picked it up and looked closer, even if I knew what was going on, and it became more evident.
The moment I saw him, I knew we had the same blood running in our veins. I could feel it. The question was, why now?
I gave the photo to Shadow. She looked at it and back to Calder. “Oh, my God.”
“I don’t mean to drop the bomb on you, and I don’t want anything from you. I just want to meet you in person.”
I nodded, exhaling slowly, fighting my not-so-iron self-control right now, throwing him out of my office and my compound.
I studied him for a moment. He seemed genuine, kinder than me.
Then something hit me. If Duke said he was human, and the fact that I couldn’t smell a werewolf scent in him, meaning his mother was a human, and he didn’t get my father’s gene, which was impossible. The werewolf gene was stronger than the human genes. Considering Dad had alpha blood, he should be one of us.
“I don’t want to be rude. Are you sure you are my father’s son?”
“You mean if I am a werewolf,” he said instantly, picking up the glass and sipping the refreshment without hesitation. So he knew.
Shadow went rigid, blinking as she stared at him.
I tried to work up an appropriate response to his casual admission, but all I could think was to pick him up by his shirt and drag him out of the house.
I cursed inwardly.
He shrugged. “You want a DNA test? Go ahead. I know you have doubts. I can’t blame you. As I said, I just want to meet you. I want nothing from you and your father, but if you ask me if, I could shift. The answer is no.”
“How do you know?”
He turned to Shadow. “When I was eighteen, I dreamed of walking in the middle of the night. Then I woke up sweating with unbearable pain, as if my bones were breaking and my inside was burning. I had to be absent from school. Then, I recorded it every time I had that pain. It only happened every full moon. Had I shifted? No. I searched for something if this was real. Then I met someone who taught me how to control it.”
“Stop.” I stopped him and went on a full Alpha mode. His story must be collaborated as if I had heard and watched it many times. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
“You don’t believe me.” He sighed before he stood up. “Thank you for your time.”
Shadow stood up as well. “Califf, he’s telling the truth.”
“I don’t believe anything he said.” I rose from my seat and turned to Calder. “I want you to leave my property and never come back. I want you to forget every lie you just told me. Werewolves are a myth. You should see a doctor.”
The ravenous ache crushed in my chest. It was even hard to breathe. I had no doubt he was my half-brother, but maybe it was a pain of jealousy, anger, or betrayal that I was not the only Stone heir and that my rank became vulnerable.
Calder nodded. His face fell as he picked up the photo on my desk. “I’m so sorry for bothering you. I’m leaving, but if you want to see me, find me at East Wood Academy, History Department. Thank you for your time, Mr. Stone, Shadow.”
When the door shut closed, I sat back. Shadow picked up the glass and left the office without a word.
“Where are you going?” I asked through the link.
“Don’t talk to me right now.”
“Baby, you have to understand-”
“No, shit, Califf.” She blocked me.
Unbelievable. A stranger just came, claiming he was my brother, and now Shadow was pissed off.
I got up, left my office, and found Duke outside. “Where’s Shadow?”
“She asked for Kindra. They’re meeting at the infirmary.” He followed me out of the pack house. “Who’s that man?”
“My father’s son.”
“Wait. What?” He held my arm and stared at me in confusion. “What do you mean?”
I faced him, my eyes narrowing. “My father’s bastard son. Apparently, he impregnated a nurse, and that fucker is older than me.”
“If you’re worried about him challenging you, I swear he’s human. He can’t be the Alpha.”
I snorted. “I will snap his neck if he even tries. He’s a half-werewolf but knew how to suppress his wolf, and I have a feeling he’s hiding something greater that can expose us, and I want to find it out and kill him myself if I think he is who he is.”
“And what’s that?”
“A hunter.”