Cali
“Urgh,” I groaned aloud as I woke, eyes still closed, my hand came up to my head where the pounding was and felt wet and an obvious cut through my hairline, I opened my eyes as I pulled my hand away seeing the blood on my fingers, but almost instantly I didn’t care about the blood as my eyes focused beyond me at the bars of the metal cage I was in.
I was folded on my side with my legs up to my chest and there was no way to stretch my legs out, there wasn’t enough room above me to sit up either, the cage was tiny. I scanned the metal bars seeing a door that was locked with three padlocks and I tugged on one experimentally as my current reality started to set in.
I had been abducted and locked a cage, what the hell did these guys want? Was this the northern pack? It had to be surely, buy why the cage?
“Hello?” A small voice whispered in the otherwise silent room, and I scanned the dim area until
CaliThe pain in my shoulders had gotten worse in the hours I had been folded up awkwardly inside the cage, I had tried shifting into several positions but each one just caused pain in a different part of my body. The throbbing in my head had receded and the bleeding had stopped, finally, although I expected I looked a state, I had had to wipe blood out of my eyes several times before it stopped.I had finally gotten my opportunity to put my plan into action about two hours after I woke up when a guard came in with a small plastic cup of water for each of us. My mouth was parched, and I swallowed the water in one gulp, instantly wishing for more, but I had no doubt that asking for it would do nothing but piss off the giant of a man that had brought the cup in.He was dressed in threadbare clothing and his face and arms were littered with scars that did nothing to detract from the dangerous aura he gave off, although I
CaliPanic started to set in now and my eyes scanned the room at an alarming rate barely taking everything in before moving to the next thing. Freya eyed me warily from the cage on the other side of the room, but I paid her no mind, I couldn’t right now, it was taking all I had to keep myself sane.I had heard stories over the years, of slaves sold on the black market to less progressive packs, part of me had always assumed that they were just horror stories designed to keep a pack in line for fear of being banished to the rogues, but locked in a cage, mere hours from being sold, all the stories flooded back in pieces.Each story had a different plot, but everyone had the same theme, nothing good ever came from being sold, chances were I would become someone’s slave, used for their entertainment, pleasure and whatever else they saw fit to use me for. The idea alone had revulsion running through me so hard
TristanI had never in my life found it so hard to focus on a single task. I had fought more battles than I could count in several wars, both before and since I had taken the mantle of Alpha of Blackrock, and never once had I found myself struggling to focus but as we approached the fishing cabin on foot through the dark forest, I could barely keep my thoughts straight or my emotions in check, I felt like a fucking chick.Anger that I hadn’t marked and mated Cali yet, the fact that our bond wasn’t fully formed had caused us all a shit ton of trouble, and not being able to locate her had caused the feeling of uselessness which had in turn pissed me off. Fear that I would never see her long hair and pretty face again, I could lose her before she even became mine and that thought was terrifying. Nox was so on edge, so angry that his emotions kept taking over mine and I felt my eyes flare their usual ice blue and fro
CaliThe hot water pounded against my tender skin as I leant against the cool tile letting the water wash away the horrors of the day. The water ran red down the drain as blood from the man in the woods drained away before eventually running clear but still, I didn’t move, it was like all of a sudden everything hit me.I had been kidnapped, ready to be sold, I had killed a man and now my new pack knew the secret I had been hiding. Tristan didn’t say anything about it after he showed me the ice on his arm and I had absolutely no idea what that meant, or what was going to happen, but the whispers had started already.As we had walked back to the cars the pack arrived in with Tristan’s arm around my shoulders holding me close, I heard them.“What is she?” “How did she do that?”The disbelief and questions was how it had started back in oak creek, before fear and dis
CaliI woke the next morning to a quiet room and an empty bed and shifted to look for a clock in the unfamiliar room. The alarm on the other side of the bed showed seven am, and considering Tristan’s side of the bed was cold, I expected he hadn’t managed a whole hell of a lot of sleep last night. It was gone midnight when we came up.I let out a heavy sigh and rubbed my hands over my eyes as I yawned. What I wouldn’t give to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the life a Luna wasn’t a relaxing one. I climbed out of the bed and retreated to my own room to wash and change ready for the day ahead. I had no idea what would happen today, what with Damien apparently being back I wasn’t sure if Tristan need me to help out still, but I dressed as though that was the case in a black pencil skirt and white sheer blouse over a grey tank top. Either way I expected today would be a long one.I stopped on
TristanAn hour after being interrupted and I was still sporting wood, more than uncomfortable I shifted the bulge behind my jeans, trying in vain to relieve some of the pressure that was driving me insane.As much as we were going to have to tread carefully, I needed Cali with a desperation that would drive a man to insanity.With a glare in Roman’s direction, I hung up the phone. I had to admit it was important but all the same, I was still pissed.“Catoil’s going to send a few of our men back to join the fray. I have no idea how the fuck we are going to make it through this unscathed.” I uttered, knowing that Roman understood the concern. With a war raging from the north and now this whole abduction ring plus the risk of the east coast pack attacking, we were up shits creek on all sides, Oak creek, was the only one now not in the direct line of fire, situated south of Dark forest and
CaliWith a deep beath I stood in my office staring at the pile of mail on my desk. I had been looking forward to a bit of a break from the heavy workload, now that Damian was back, but after the speech Tristan just gave me in the car, there was no way I was leaving him to deal with everything alone. I would do everything in my power to lighten his burden over the coming weeks, I had given him enough trouble already with outing myself to the pack in such a spectacular manner.“Luna?” A voice I didn’t recognise called behind me and I took a deep breath, and so it begins.“Yes.” I turned and greeted the red headed man with a smile.“I’m Damian Walker. Alpha Leroux’s Delta.” He greeted and I gave him a true smile.“Damian. I owe you a thank you.” I stated remembering the phone call we shared.“Not at all Luna, I however owe you a
Cali“Well, I never thought I would see this day.” My mums voice sounded in the room, and I span from in front of the mirror to see both my parents and my brothers stood in the open doorway. Staring, not that I could blame them. I certainly didn’t look like the Cali they were used to seeing.“Oh Calista, you look beautiful.” My Mum gasped her hands covering her mouth and tears in her eyes and I glanced down yet again at the floaty white dress that hugged my figure perfectly and left trails of silk swishing around my legs. I took a deep breath and looked back to my family once again.“Thank you, Mum.” I smiled trying not to fidget with the perfectly positioned curl that sat at the side of my face.Amber, Roman and Julianna had done an amazing job of arranging everything as far as I could tell, the three had been running around like headless chickens all afternoon. I glan
The pack house was blissfully quiet the next morning, something I was surprised to find, even as I walked down from the bedroom and through the halls, there was no one in sight and no noise, it was actually a little eerie.Roman had explained the night before that the warriors had located Liberty pack and they were planning an attack on their camp so I had no doubt that Roman Tristan and the other relevant people were ensconced away in the war room making plans, but I would have expected, at the very least to run into some of the pack house staff.Cali was sat alone in the sitting room with a trolly full of breakfast foods, her head bend as se read through what had to be the oldest book I had ever seen.“Morning.” I whispered, not wanting to disturb her but Cali closed the book and placed it in her lap before looking around the room and fixating on the trolley of food as though surprised to see it there.“Morning. What time is it?”“A little after nine. I slept in.” I muttered feeling
TristanJackson wasn’t joking when he called it a camp. From the looks of it most of the shifters were sleeping outside under the nights sky. Most of the year that wouldn’t be an issue, especially if you shifted into wolf form to stay warm, but there was still snow on the ground in parts of the woodlands, and the bits that weren’t covered in snow were frozen solid, it was freezing out there.I scanned the picture on the screen, taking in the tarpaulin hanging haphazardly to create barriers from the wind, rain and snow, the single tent like structure and the dozens of shifters, and a sadistic glee filled me, it was animalistic and most definitely came from the wolf in me but it wasn’t an emotion I would fight.These monsters had attacked my home, my pack, put the alliance under the treat of war, injured and killed. Kidnapped and tortured and soon they would receive a taste of their own medicine.“Roman, go through the pictures and videos see if you can put together a map of their camp.
RomanThe sense of relief was astounding, even Smoke was calm inside my head for once, laying with Amber wrapped in my arms, our cub growing safely inside her, for the first time I felt like I was home. I guess it’s true what they say, you don’t know what you have until its gone. The risk of loosing Amber over this made me realise just how much I needed my mate, and only part of that feeling was due to the bond we had created.For the most part it was all her, her smile, her gentle approach, she tempered me in a way I didn’t know was possible, even Smoke was generally calmer when she was around.Her fingers traced the ridges on my chest and stomach, the now familiar tingles leaving bump on my skin.“You okay?” I asked, loathe to break the comfortable silence, but we couldn’t ignore this, a baby wasn’t just going to disappear. The no of her head against my chest wasn’t the most reassuring answer he could have given. “Amber, baby. I need you to talk to me.”“It hurt. Knowing that this t
CaliTristan genuinely looked like he was at his wits end, not that I could blame him, yet again he was shouldering a hell of a burden and there didn’t seem to be a reprieve around the corner. I watched as he sat back in his office chair, scrubbing his face with his hands as he took deep breaths, trying to control the overwhelming emotions running through him, frustration, anger, disappointment, disbelief, not one of them were positive and left me feeling overwhelmed and I only felt the echo of his emotions.Anger seemed to tip the scales a little as he dialled the phone and placed the call on loudspeaker on his desk waiting for the other person to pick up. He tapped a finger on the desk, and I bit my lip, I had a feeling that Lotus pack were about to be on the receiving end of all of Tristan’s pent up frustrations.“Leroux.” A young voice answered and my eyes flicked up to Tristan in surprise. Alpha Paxon was far from young, his son Abel was set to take over any day, but word was tha
AmberWhen I suggested to Cali that we take Amie out of the boot room, I was just trying to be the bigger person, and if I’m honest I was feeling a little guilty, the girl couldn’t be much older than 18 if at all, and she was on the receiving end of a hell of a lot of hate, even if she hadn’t witnessed it, I didn’t want to be one more person in her life that hated her, when truth be told, Cora was right, that cold have just as easily been me.But the story she told actually broke my heart. No one should have to live in that kind of a household, no one should be belittled by the people that are genetically engineered to love you. I couldn’t help but rub my hand over the rounding belly that contained the bundle of life I already loved so much.I couldn’t even imagine.“Amber?” The question startled me, I had actually forgotten that Roman was here, I also hadn’t noticed that everyone else had abandoned me. I guess it was for the best. No one wanted to be a part of this kind of conversati
Cali‘Well that escalated quickly.’ Thalia’s thought in my head was pure amusement as she practically drooled over how protective and strong our mate was. Damn baby hormones. We were in the middle of a nightmare situation and all I could think about was how much I wanted my mate.Tristan growled at the older man before issuing a threat of his own, his tone pitched low enough that bumps rose on my arms, if the man wasn’t wetting himself he was an idiot, I more than anyone, knew just how soft and loving Tristan could be, but in Jacks shoes, I’m not entirely sure I would still be conscious.“You have some nerve, coming into my home, throwing around your accusations, threatening my beta, demanding things like you have a right and now you have the balls to throw a vase at my mate, my Luna. The only reason you’re still breathing is because of that young girl over there. The very girl you were ready to abandon, the girl you call a whore, just saved your life.”I felt the tell-tale signs of t
RomanJack Elisse’s voice carried when he was mad, I didn’t even have to force my hearing to listen in on their conversation, standing in the hallway, with the door closed, I could hear him as crystal clear as if he was stood beside me, and every one of his words sliced through my patience like a knife through butter. I could practically feel Tristan’s displeasure from here, and I had no doubt that after this performance I was shortly going to be on the wrong end of another one of the Alpha’s rants.The fact that I had to step out of the room at all was just icing on an already fucked up cake.“Look at you, standing there like you think I’m in the wrong. They always said that Alpha Leroux was fair, tough but fair and yet you’re taking that bastards side without blinking. You have to know that he’s in the wrong here, behind that blank mask of yours, you cannot be this blind.” I winced at the older man’s words, knowing just how pissed off Tristan was right now, there was no way that wou
AmberIt literally felt like my heart had been torn from my chest. The only man I had ever loved, had a child with someone else.“Romans talking with Tristan, he was up here with you for a while but Tris is pissed.” Cali informed from her seat beside me on the bed, although I could barely focus on her words, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.“I don’t want to see him.” I muttered and Cali shook her head.“Don’t talk like that, you’ll work through it.”“I don’t care, right now Cali, I do not want to see him. How could he do this to me?” I asked as the tears fell from my eyes and my hands went to my stomach. The child he had been so worried about, scared to raise, wasn’t even his first.“There’s still a chance the baby isn’t his.”“I don’t believe that, and neither do you. We both saw his face Cali. The baby is his.”“So, what are you going to do?” The question was asked tentatively but that was the question of the hour, what was I going to do?“I don’t know, but I can’t, right now I just c
RomanOf all the fucking things, and all the fucking timing.I grit my teeth as I stroked the hair back off Amber’s face. My pregnant mate had literally passed out from the news that I had apparently fathered another she-wolfs cub. The doc was on his way over, while I had managed to catch Amber before she hit the ground, I wasn’t willing to take any chances with my mate or my cub.Now I just had to figure out what I was going to do about the girl and the baby.I recognised her, of course I did. She was a member of Lotus pack, a she-wolf I had met over a year ago while Damian and I were on assignment there.Was there a possibility the baby was mine? Unfortunately, yes. I was always careful, I always had been, with everyone but Amber, although that didn’t really mean a lot, shit still happened. But I hadn’t been her first, and I doubt I was her last, so was there a possibility that the cub belonged to someone else? Sure. And fuck was I hoping that was the case.A knock on the door had m