6

~Faye 

I knock four times on the door in rapid succession. 

Only a few seconds pass before it’s flung open, and he’s standing there. The Huntsman. My own personal Guard. Cal.

He squints in the light of my bedroom, as his gaze sweeps over me, looking for any sense of damage on my body. When he finds nothing but a fully dressed Alpha with no sign of injury, his eyes find my face, as he leans back against the doorframe. Considering it’s the middle of the night, the less than alert expression on his face tells me he would rather be asleep, which he was before, considering his shiftless looked and mussed hair. 

“Alpha, is everything okay?” he asks gently, raising an eyebrow at my completely fine appearance. 

“Not really,” I say warily. 

Despite how desperately I tried to keep my gaze levelled with his, it drifted down, naturally. Why does he have to sleep without a shirt on? It’s not fair. He’s clearly been in his fair share of fights, and looks like he could take down anyone who comes at him. What's most surprising, that I never noticed earlier, is the fact that he has a tattoo. It starts at his breastbone, sloping down across his ribs and to his stomach. 

Concern flutters across his face at that. “Tell me what’s wrong. Is someone in your room?”

He brushes past me, yet finds nothing but my bed, completely untouched. I haven’t slept yet. There’s been too much to get done, and now, I’m dragging Cal into this. 

“I went and visited the prisoner…” I say quickly, as if it would make him potentially less angry at me. He whirled around, eye wide, fists clenched by his side. A part of him looks like he should have expected it, but he’s still furious. 

“You what?” he seethes.

I shrugged meekly, knowing I have to admit the entire story for this to make sense. “I also went into his cell...then let him out.”

There were too many expressions to decipher on his face. He’s not just angry, he’s stunned and surprised. I noticed he even slightly trembled, as if he struggled to contain how livid he is. It’s a strange sight, considering he’s a Huntsman. 

“But he's back in his cell, which is the weird part,” I admit, remembering how he suddenly appeared back there after I watched him walk off in the other direction. 

“That's the weird part?” Cal echoes in disbelief. His expression would be comical in another situation. “Were you expecting him to just escape?”

I sigh; he's clearly not understanding. 

Motioning him into my room, I point at my bed for him to sit on. I watch him as he walks. His shoulders are tense, as he already begins to the process of beating himself up for letting this happen once again. My mother should have known that hiring a Personal Guard for me is just useless. 

When he finally sits, mouth in a flat line, eyebrow curved into an irritated drown, I start explaining myself. 

“When he first broke in, he actually spoke to me. Then he woke you, as if he wanted to be caught. Naturally, I had to know why, so I snuck down, knowing you would never approve, and tried to speak to him, wanting answers. When he refused to speak, because of the cameras, I took him outside,” I explain. It sounds worse sounding it would. 

Cal just stares at me, shaking his head slowly, as if he can't believe what I'm saying. 

“I had to know whether or not he was planning all this, to see if there was a reason. I expect there is, which is why I want him out of our holding cells, in case he's hiding something,” I exclaim in one breath. 

Still no change in expression. 

“Well...he didn't actually explain himself all that well, and actually walked away, right into the forest! I alerted the Guards instantly, but when I went back to his cell, he was just sitting there, the lock bolting the door shut. Like magic.”

Cal closes his eyes, deeply cringing. I decided he isn't going to believe me unless I bring something important up. Like his name. 

“If you don't believe he spoke to me, I can prove it,” I say confidently. 

“Go on then..” Cal says, completely exasperated. 

“Your full name is Callan, he told me.”

Slowly, Cal rose from where he was sitting. He seems physically weakened by my explanation, his stance slouched in disbelief. Seeing him like this, I feel sorry for him. He doesn't know what I'm like. 

“Faye, you're an Alpha...you can't just go running around with prisoners. I know you're trusting, but you're almost too kind. I'm going to have to watch you constantly. That means sleeping in your room too,” Cal says. He's stood, towering over me like this so I'll listen. I'll be intimidated. That won't work on me, buddy. 

“I'm brushing off your sleeping arrangements for another conversation,” I say lowly, knowing I will not accept him in my room with me. “What you're not understanding, is the fact that he literally disappeared, and reappeared!”

Cal continues to shake his head at me. I hate that. It's condescending, expressing to me that he does not understand at all. 

“I'll have him interrogated in the morning-”

“He won't talk to you,” I confirm. “Trust me, he's difficult to master, you have to be careful…”

Cal suddenly takes a step toward me, which I match back. We do this, until my back is pressed right up against my dresser, and he's leaning over me. I've never been so frightened of beautifully warm brown eyes. 

“You're telling me to be careful? Do you pity him?” Cal questions, his tone darkening with every word. The he exhales slowly, as if he can't believe what he's dealing with. “You have no idea what I would do to you if you weren't my Alpha. What I would do to keep you in line.”

I swallow. I have no idea what he means by that, which only cements my mother's comments about my lack of people skills. 

“I don't pity anyone but those he will hurt if we keep him here,” I say, trying not to look at the chest I'm level with. He should be careful. I'm an Alpha, and with a single jab at him chest, I could have him on the floor writhing. 

Cal’s arms come around to grip the dresser, essentially trapping me in. Great, this is only getting worse. 

“That's not even an option, Alpha...There isn't any room elsewhere, since you don't invest in prisons. He has to stay here until he's been sentenced,” he says, his tone delving softer. He’s starting to calm down, trying to be the Personal Guard he's been assigned to be. 

I duck under his arm. 

“I'm going to see someone about him. I'm going to find out why he's like that,” I say. If I don't get answers, I'll either think myself into an oblivion, or he will do some cunning maneuver on my Guards and escape. It wouldn't surprise me if he spared my life earlier just so he could torture me like this later. 

“You need to end this fascination with the prisoner,” Cal insists. “It's not healthy.”

I frown. “It's completely my business to deal with, as the Alpha-”

“I'll speak to your mother about it,” he suddenly interrupts. I place my hand to my chest, almost wounded by that remark. 

“You wouldn't,” I seethe. 

“If that's what will keep you from speaking to this prisoner, then I will, so be it,” Cal proposes, folding his arms over his chest. I can feel my anger flaring at that. What kind of Huntsman is he? If I were anyone else, I would never hire him to do my dirty work, since all he seems to do is ignore what is clearly right in front of his face. 

Twisting around, I make my way toward the door, but him calling out makes me pause. 

“You need to sleep, it's late. We can speak of this tomorrow,” he says, running his hand back through his hair. In other words, he's tried, and doesn't want to deal with me. 

“Only if you stay in your own room. And don't go to my mother, either.”

His jaw clenches, but clearly he doesn't have any other choice. “Fine, but we speak about it again tomorrow. Promise me.”

When I look at him, as handsome as he may seem, I don't want to promise anything, but all I want to do is get him out of my room. So reluctantly, I nod, murmur my promise, and close the door right after he leaves through it. 

 ***

I'm out of bed at the crack of dawn. Cal had gone down to meet with my mother, which he assured me isn't to do with the prisoner, if I agreed to his stricter rules. 

Just to get him off my case, I agreed 

Hopefully, this will be the last time I'm visiting T. I have a few parting words I would like to leave with him. 

He's asleep when I make it to his cell. I bang my fists against the metal to wake him, despite how bad it may hurt. His eyes fluttering open in surprises is compensation enough. 

“You listen here, punk, I'm the Alpha, and unless you want to be shipped off to another holding cell that you would have to share with eight other horny men, then you better talk,” I snap. I don't know where that came from, but it's a lie, that's for sure. 

It's a decent threat, though, that instantly catches his attention. 

“You better explain what you got up to last night, escaping then showing up here,” I say in one breath. “And this time, I'm not about to let you out to talk. You had your chance.”

He sighs, that wavy mess of hair that I hate to admire is pushed back by his fingers, as he struggles to his feet. Instantly I can tell he's been beaten; by my Guards, I assume. That's not the code I taught them, but I don't blame them. He has a strong will power. 

He stumbles to the cell bars, which I refuse to take a step back from. 

“It's too bad, with all these threats,” he says gruffly, he voice strained. “That I know your little secret, Faye.”