Chapter Twenty-eight
Caleb’s POV
After hours spent strategizing about how best to deal with the Steeprock pack, when I told him to let me handle it, he withdrew after I finally managed to talk him down from his reckless plan of attacking.
He was reluctant, but when he calmed down and let me handle things, he had to admit that rushing in would do more harm than good.
Despite our focus on the pack’s safety, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Hunter’s anger was rooted in something deeper than just the situation with the killings we’d discovered that morning.
Later that day, I decided it was time to confront him. I caught up with him as he was heading back to his office.
“Hunter, hey. We need to talk,” I said, making sure my tone conveyed that I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
He stopped, clearly irritated, and looked at me. “What is it now, Caleb? We’ve already discussed everything.”
I took a breath, knowing this conversation could easily escalate. “It’s not about the packs. It’s about Faelen.”
I saw him tense immediately at the mention of her name, a reaction that only confirmed my suspicions. “And what about her?!” He almost yelled.
I met his gaze, not backing down. “Look, the way you treated her this morning… it just wasn’t right. You can believe it or just brush it off, but it’s the truth. Something’s definitely going on between you two, and it’s obvious. You’ve been acting strange ever since last night, and we both know it’s not just the killings.”
His eyes narrowed, and I could see the anger rising in him. “There’s nothing going on between us, Caleb. She’s just a servant, nothing more.”
I didn’t buy it. His behavior had been off all morning, and I knew him well enough to see when he was lying to himself. “That’s not what it looks like to me. You’re angry and possessive towards her, Hunter. It’s obvious, at least to me, and if you don’t deal with it, it’s going to cause problems… for you, for her, and for the pack as well.”
I didn’t expect it at the moment, thinking I might have gotten to him, but Hunter’s temper flared up, and he stepped closer to me, his voice low but filled with rage.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Caleb! She’s just a nuisance, and I won’t have her distracting you or me from what’s important.”
I held my ground, determined to get through to him. “You’re lying to yourself. You can’t keep treating her like this just because you’re too stubborn to admit you have feelings for her.”
He scoffed, the denial clear in his voice. “Feelings? I don’t have feelings for her, man. She’s beneath me. This conversation is over, Caleb.”
He turned to walk away, but I could see the conflict in his eyes, the doubt that had begun to creep in. I watched him go, disappointment settling in my chest.
I knew Hunter well enough to see that he was struggling, but until he was willing to admit the truth to himself, there wasn’t much I could do to help him.
As he slammed the door to his office behind him, I couldn’t help but worry. Hunter was clearly caught in a battle with himself, and the way he was handling it… denying and pushing it, lashing out on everyone, it only made things worse.
The jealousy and possessiveness he was trying so hard to suppress were starting to consume him, and I feared it wouldn’t be long before it all came crashing down.
As I walked away, a heavy sense of confusion settled over me. Hunter had always been a complicated man, a complicated mix of charisma and strength, but lately, his behavior, especially toward Faelen had been revealed his other side.
It was strange, really. From the start, I had thought that Hunter despised Faelen, that he was bent on humiliating her and making her life miserable. But now… now I wasn’t so sure.
The way he had reacted this morning, the intensity of his anger… it wasn’t just about some servant overstepping her bounds. There was something else, something that didn’t quite add up.
Hunter had always been a tough playboy, using women as tools for his amusement, never letting them get too close.
I had seen him torment plenty of women before, using his dangerous looks, his position as Alpha, or even their love for him as leverage.
But this… this was different. With Faelen, it was like he wasn’t in control of himself. He was stuck between protectiveness and possessiveness, and it was tearing him apart.
I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between them recently to cause this shift. Something significant must have occurred, and had pushed Hunter into a corner where he’s unable to reconcile his feelings with his actions.
It was clear Faelen was hiding something too, something she was unwilling to share, even with me. And that made everything more complicated, because, if I were being honest with myself too…
…I had developed a soft spot for Faelen as well.
She was different from the other servants… strong, smart, resilient, and somehow able to withstand Hunter’s torment.
But now, knowing that Hunter might be developing feelings for her, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Still, I had to focus.
The situation with the Steeprock pack was critical, and I couldn’t afford to get distracted. But I couldn’t stop worrying about Hunter.
He was my friend, and I knew him well enough to see that he was in chaos, even if he refused to admit it.
I just hoped he would come to understand that I was only trying to help him… before it became too late.
Still mulling over Hunter’s strange behavior, I turned my attention to how best to handle the killings at the border.
Something about the situation wasn’t sitting right with me, and I needed to get to the bottom of it before things escalated into a war between our pack and the Steeprocks.
I made my way to the inner war room within the throne room, where I’d ordered a few of our best scouts and strategists to gather.
When I arrived, they were already glancing over maps and discussing the latest. They all looked up as I entered, and I could see the concern on their faces.
“Caleb,” one of the senior scouts, Jaden, greeted me with a nod. “We’ve been trying to piece together what’s been happening at the border, but the Steeprocks are being unusually quiet. It’s like they don’t want us to know anything.”
“Or they’re hiding something,” I said, taking a seat at the head of the table. “We need to find out what’s going on before this situation goes out of control. Hunter wants us to handle this quietly, but if we don’t get answers soon, he’s going to take matters into his own hands. And we all know what that means.”
A few of them exchanged nods and uneasy glances. They knew Hunter as well as I did, and the prospect of him leading a full attack on the Steeprock pack wasn’t something anyone wanted to consider yet, unless it was absolutely necessary.
“What do you propose then?” Damon, one of top warriors asked, stepping forward.
“Well, since they aren’t saying anything, and we need to know for sure what happened with the men we lost at the boarder, I want to send scouts and spies into their territory,” I replied.
Jaden and Damon glanced at each other.
“We need eyes and ears on the ground,” I continued. “People who can blend in and gather the information we need without drawing attention.”
One of the younger female scouts, Kara, spoke up. “It’s risky, Caleb. If they suspect that we’re sending spies into their territory, it could be seen as an act of war and what we’re trying to avoid now would then happen.”
“I’m aware of the risks,” I said, my tone firm. “But we’re running out of options. Hunter’s given me go ahead to do whatever I think is necessary, but if this doesn’t work, he’ll take over.”
They all nodded one by one in understanding. Hunter’s approach would be direct and brutal, the kind of action that could ignite a war. I was determined to make sure it didn’t come to that.
“Jaden, I want you and Kara to lead the scouting team,” I continued. “Take a few of our best with you. Kara, you’ll head up the efforts of finding information. Find people you trust, people who can move unnoticed.”
Both of them nodded, already thinking of who they would recruit for the mission.
“I know the Steeprocks are stubborn,” I said, looking around the room. “But we have the upper hand. If it comes to a fight, we can crush them. But that’s a last option. We need to be smart about it, and that starts with gathering the right information first.”
As the meeting broke up, and everyone went to prepare for their assignments, I stayed behind, my thoughts still divided between the border situation and Hunter’s odd behaviors.
Whatever was going on, there would be time to deal with that later. For now, I had to focus on preventing a war.