CALIFF
“That went well. Thank you,” Shadow said as she stripped off her white dress and dropped it in front of me.
“You want me to play nice. Now it’s time to pay what I owe you. You know I hate to be indebted to someone when I have a way to pay it.”
“Really?” Her eyebrows cocked up. “Because I don’t mind. I’m kinda exhausted anyway.” Her tone wasn’t compelling, but I opted to fall for it.
“Then let me give you a massage.” I followed her when she went to the bathroom in her black lacy underwear, her firm round ass on full display. I quickly felt the tightness inside my boxers.
“Califf.” She turned to face me. “Why are you doing this?”
“Nothing. I’m a good mate. I wanna be there for you, and it’s just a massage. I swear unless you want to sleep with me.”
She smirked because she knew I was lying. And I couldn’t believe she just smirked at me. “Sleep with me? That’s cute. What are we? Just began dating? And thank Goddess, you didn’t say make love, or I will punch you in the face.”
“Fuck. Blow our brains out. We rut. Happy?”
She shrugged, turning away. “Let me remove my makeup, then we go to bed. No rutting. We fuck hard, but I have to master my gift. To do that, I need to be fully charged, rested, and completely focused.”
“If you say so, mate.” I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed my teeth.
She wasn’t nearly done with her routine, so I went to bed after I changed into pajama bottoms. I forgot to call the guy I knew in the lab who texted me earlier that the sample wasn’t enough to process the DNA test.
I dialed his number, and he picked up after a few rings.
“Do you have what I asked?”
“Yes. A hair.”
“That’s great. Tell your guy to send it to me so I can do it immediately.”
“Thanks. I owe you one.” I hung up the call when I noticed Shadow was already standing before me, glaring at me.
She was outraged, her face darkened, but fucking beautiful. “I can’t believe I fell for your bullshit. And here I thought you just wanted to know your brother.”
“That’s true. I wanted to know him. I wanted to trust him.” I put my phone on the bedside.
“What about helping him? Those things you said, are any of those true?” Anger stirred in her, eyes burning down at me.
“Yes. If he wants.” I shrugged. She caught me. What else to say?
For a moment, she just stared at me in silence. “Are you for real? Have you seen the look on his face when you said you wanted to help him? He was looking forward to it, Califf. Yet there you were, having a grand plan on your own.”
“Part of it, yes. When my guy from the lab said the sample wasn’t enough, I thought I was going to see Calder and get a sample. I want to know if he’s my brother and if he is, who says he is.”
“I can’t believe you right now. What’s your beef with him? As far as I know, he’s innocent. It’s not his fault his mother got knocked up by an alpha who left them with nothing.”
“Wow, Shadow. For a woman who has been rogue for years, you just forget how to be skeptical to survive. We’ve been attacked. Our pack has lost lives. Lorcan lost his life to save our family, and here you are because some guy claimed he’s my father’s son, and you want me to welcome him with open arms? I’m sorry, baby, but I’m not like you. That’s not how it works for me. I give people a chance once they’ve proven they wouldn’t betray me. I don’t just think of my life. I think of you and everyone. I’ve been doing this for years-”
“And I barely started, still in the process of getting accustomed to Luna’s works. I don’t know anything. I get that. That’s loud and clear. It’s not only about Calder. It’s about us, Califf. You didn’t tell me about your plan. You just did it yourself. I thought we were in this together. We don’t keep secrets, but I was wrong.” She grabbed her bag from the bed, ready to bolt out of the room.
“Where are you going?”
“I wanna be alone.”
“Shadow.”
“Alone, Califf.” She opened the door and left.
Great.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. We should be planning it together. She was right to be mad. I went behind her back. I should have been upright and informed her ahead about my plan.
When I couldn’t sleep after an hour of musing, I got up and went to the gym. Lyon and Kairo were also there.
“Why are you up late?”
“I can ask you the same thing, Alpha.” Lyon gave me a weak laugh when he noticed the look on my face.
I blew a breath as he helped me fix my gloves. “Shadow and I had a disagreement over someone.”
“Figured. Is it about Mr. Haynes?”
“You guys gossip a lot. You should start your own Podcast. I don’t mind funding you.”
He chuckled. “You know it’s part of our job to know who you acquaint and meet.”
“Whatever.” I left and went to stand before the punching bag. My mind went to how we ended up tonight.
“You want a sparing partner?” Lyon came to hold the bag for me.
“No. I don’t want to hurt you.” I began throwing punches.
“You won’t. You know I’m good at it.”
“It’s not that you’re not good at what you do. You’re one of the best, Lyon, but I don’t trust myself lately. There’s something inside that I lose control if I’m in emotional turmoil.”
“Everyone does, Alpha,” he said instead of judging me.
“No.” I stopped and looked at him. “I never lost control and shifted in front of anyone. I almost hurt my mate. I’m fucking scared, Lyon. I didn’t tell her that. I can’t tell everyone I’m losing my shit because I’m supposed to be the tough guy among us. I’m supposed to pull my shit together.”
“Then see Dr. Sallie. Maybe she can help. Or talk to the witch. Maybe she knows something we don’t.”
“I was thinking about talking to Zarah.”
I decided to give our sparing a try since he was good with mixed martial arts.
“If I lose control, just run away.” I took off my globes. I didn’t need them anymore.
“Trust me, you won’t.”
The languid quite-purr erupted from my wolf. I immediately took charge, positioned myself, and formed my hands into fists. “Just do as I say, Lyon.”
“All right, Alpha.” As his eyes glinted, he threw his first girly punch. “If you say so.”
“Just hit me. Don’t be a pussy, Lyon.”
He laughed, and a low, noticeable chuckle came from Kairo from the opposite side.
Strong muscles clenched from his bulging arms as he turned into a fighting mode. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Before I could throw him a sarcastic remark, his first punch hit me in the nose. Fuck. It hurt.
A warm liquid rolled down my upper lip.
“Alpha?” Lyon’s eyes widened as he called my name. Worry was deep in his voice.
I wiped it off and saw blood. “I heal fast, Lyon.”
“You don’t bleed at a single punch. And it wasn’t even strong. I say we’re done for today.”
I chuckled. “Did you just order your Alpha?”
“I’m sorry, but-”
“You’re overthinking it, but I’m fine.”
“No. You just mentioned losing control, and now your nose bled with just a punch.”
“What happened?” Kairo came.
“I’m fine.”
“Let’s call it a night. Kairo. Do you have your phone with you?”
Alarmed, I asked Lyon. “What are you doing?”
He took the phone from Lyon and dialed someone. “You can punish me later, but I can’t risk my Alpha.”
“Hello? Who’s this?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” I groaned. “Hand me the phone.”
“It’s emergency, Zarah. I want you here now.” He ended the call fast before I could say something and threw it at Kairo.
“You will pay for this.” I left them and walked out of the gym.
I heard footsteps following me. “Alpha, I’m sorry, but what’s going on?”
I snapped my head at Kairo. “None of your fucking business.”
Kairo froze with bulging eyes, slowly raising his hands. “Alpha.”
“Calm down, Califf.”
My head snapped to my right, where Zarah, in her robe, stood frowning. Her hair was more voluminous than ever.
I blinked off. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She ignored my questions but walked in my direction. “Have you been dreaming?”
I shook my head, still puzzled. “No. Why?”
“Let’s get inside the pack house before you scare everyone.”
“You shouldn’t have come if the call is not from me or Shadow.”
“When it concerns you, it concerns the pack and Shadow. I can’t believe I got a call early in the morning from your guy.”
“I’m so sorry, Zarah,” said Lyon behind us. “But I’m worried about him.”
“You made the right call,” she said to Lyon respectfully. “Shadow told me what happened, but now I see it myself. I think I know what’s wrong with you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m just under a lot of stress,” I still denied everything even though I felt the signs that it was more than just stress.
She scoffed. “So you call it stress-related losing control of your wolf?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s bullshit, Califf. Where’s Shadow?”
When I couldn’t answer right away, she stopped and held my arm. “I can’t believe this. I just told her to be by your side and keep an eye on you.”
“That’s not exactly what you said,” Shadow said as she waited for us upstairs, her arms crossed over her chest. “You said he needs me now more than ever.”
I looked up at her. “Well, that’s what mates do, right, wife?”
“Well, you lied to me, Alpha.”