CHAPTER 6: CALEB

As Sebastian walked away from the packhouse, away from the party where his mate was with another man, jealousy roared in his head. The scene of Liam pulling her close to his chest flashed in his mind again and again like a movie, which was put in repeat mode. His vision was literally tainted with red and his breathing was getting faster with each passing moment. He gritted his teeth and closed his fists, making his nerves bulge out angrily. Then, with a roar, Sebastian punched the tree in front of him, making splinters fly all around him. 

The night became silent as all the life in the vicinity became aware of a mighty predator in their midst. Sebastian stood there panting heavily, blood trickling down his hand. Even then, his rage didn’t lessen and he glared, wishing it was Liam at the receiving end of his punch. The urge to rearrange his ugly face was getting stronger with each passing moment and only the thought of Claire was stopping him from doing it. But if his increasing rage was any indication, he could not hold on to that rationality for much longer. Caleb was even worse than him, howling and snarling constantly, pain and rage warring inside him. He needed to vent out their anger before he did something that he would regret later. Since he couldn’t attack Liam like he wanted, he had to do the next best thing.

Sebastian sighed, turning to look at the forest behind the pack house. Only a run would help him calm down in this situation. Caleb Closing his eyes, Sebastian gave the reign to Caleb, letting him take control. Soon, his bones started snapping and cracking loudly while his jaws elongated unnaturally. His green eyes turned a brighter green that glowed in the night. Within moments, the clothes he wore tore out and in place of the handsome human, a mighty wolf, stood majestically, his black fur shining even in the darkness. The large beast was beautiful and terrifying at the same time as he pulled his head back and let out a mighty howl before starting to run. 

Caleb ran through the dark forest, never hitting any obstacles in his path, as if he was one with the forest and everything was giving way to him. He ran as if he was gliding through the forest, trees passing by in a blur as he let his instincts take over. The feeling of the wind on his fur lulled him into a rhythm as he continued to run, and the tension in his limbs vanished as his mind calmed down. After what felt like hours, the burden in his heart felt lesser and his pace slowed down to a gentle trot. He was not happy per se, but he wasn’t feeling murderous either. 

Caleb stopped running and handled the reign back to Sebastian. Closing his eyes, he transformed back to his human form and stood in the forest in all his naked glory. After stretching his limbs to get used to being back in his human form, Sebastian turned back, only to run into something, no, someone. Because standing in front of him was his mate, panting heavily as if she had run all the way there. But why? What was she doing in the forest at this time?

Claire had wanted to go after Sebastian the moment he stepped out of the party, but just now found the chance to get away from the prying gaze of Liam the snake. As Sebastian was staring at her with surprise and confusion, Claire, on the other hand, was taking in his naked body.

She knew she should look away, but it was as if her eyes were glued to his body. As if in a trance, her eyes followed the drops of sweat trickling down his neck to his glistening, hard chest. Her gaze trailed down to his eight pack abs and slowly down the tantalizing V of his abdomen. Her eyes widened, and she gulped as her eyes fell on his huge cock which had sprung to attention at her gaze. Boy, he was huge!

Hearing the sound of a throat clearing, Claire looked up with wide eyes, her cheeks staining red in mortification. She couldn’t believe that she was ogling Sebastian like that. Well, to be honest, she had no regrets seeing his fine body. It was only getting caught in the act that was the problem. What if he thinks she was a pervert who took advantage of his state? 

Sebastian was staring at her with a raised brow, his lips crooked up in a teasing smirk as he saw Claire gaping at him. Blushing beet red, she turned away from him even if she could spend the whole day staring at the perfection that was her mate. But she couldn’t…

“S-sorry!” Claire squeaked out.

“Hmm…” Sebastian replied, but it sounded more like ‘really?’.

“I… I was just waiting for you to ask me for the dance you promised me. B-but then I couldn’t find you at the party and thought to look for you,” Claire blurted out, trying to ease the awkward air around them. Sebastian straightened up, looking at her with bright eyes, a wide grin on his face. Unlike the teasing grin he sported earlier, this one was a genuine smile full of happiness that made his face shine radiantly, and Claire felt her breath hitch as she stared at him. 

“You came for me?” Sebastian asked and though Claire wanted to push it off lightly, she could only nod absentmindedly when she stared at his beaming face. His radiant smile was so mesmerizing…

Sebastian felt his mood lighten and his jealousy took a backseat at the realization that Claire had left the party to find him. That meant she cared for him! And the way she took in his naked body with wonder and lust clouding her eyes fed his ego, making him feel giddy.

“My wolf Caleb was feeling restless, and I thought coming for a run would help. That’s why I left the party,” Sebastian said, not wanting her to know how he left because he was jealous of seeing her with Liam.

Claire looked away, knowing what exactly happened. But she wasn’t supposed to recognize him as her mate, as she was already marked. She couldn’t let him know she knew of their bond.

She turned to Sebastian, forgetting he was naked, only to turn red again and avert her gaze. Seeing her embarrassment, Sebastian grinned before shaking his head. Feeling pity at her predicament, he closed his eyes and shifted to his wolf form.

Seeing Claire, who was looking everywhere but in his direction, Caleb trotted over to her before gently licking her finger to catch her attention. Claire stiffened before slowly looking down, her eyes widening in awe as she took in the majestic wolf in front of her. She had never seen Caleb before that day, not even in her last life. With his gleaming black fur that shone in the darkness and his bright green eyes that had a magnetic glow to it, Caleb was an absolutely enchanting beast.

“You are beautiful,” she murmured as if in a trance, her hands running through his shiny fur even before she made a conscious decision to do it. 

As she realised what she was doing, Claire paused, her eyes widening in horror. Shit! What was she doing? Petting a mighty Alpha wolf like he was just a dog? What was wrong with her?!

Claire stared at Caleb, expecting him to lash out at her any moment now. But to her surprise, he had his eyes closed, his face looking relaxed. When he realized that she had stopped petting him, he raised his head with an indignant look in his bright green eyes. Then he let out a huff before leaning towards her with his ears pulled back, demanding her to continue stroking his fur. Claire let out a chuckle, feeling lighter than ever, all her pain forgotten for a moment. Obliging to his demand, she sat down on the ground and began stroking him, her fingers running through his fur in a gentle, soothing rhythm. Caleb began purring in satisfaction before closing his eyes, his relaxed demeanor showing his trust in her.

Just like Caleb acted relaxed with her movements, Claire felt it soothing to pet Caleb and continued her motion in a lull, her mind going calm. 

As Caleb continued purring merrily, Sebastian let out a huff.

‘Weren’t you supposed to be a majestic beast or something?’ Sebastian groaned, feeling embarrassed at the way his shameless wolf was acting.

“Hush, human. I am enjoying my time with my mate. Don’t disturb,’ Caleb retorted.

‘You are acting like a damn dog, you stupid wolf! Restrain yourself, Caleb! What will our mate think of us?’

‘Who is shameless, you asshole? You are shameless! Your ancestors are shameless! You should be grateful that you have such an awesome wolf to share your soul with!’ Caleb huffed indignantly. 

‘Just stop embarrassing us, damn it! You are spoiling our image!’

‘Who cares about image and shit? I just want some time with our mate and since you can’t do it yourself, just watch and learn how it is done. My mate adores me! Now stay there like a good boy and don’t disturb me!’

Then promptly Caleb continued purring while ignoring Sebastian and his embarrassed groans. But then Sebastian turned silent because just like Caleb, he too was soothed by Claire’s calming presence if he had to admit it. The silent night bore witness as the two souls got closer to each other, with nothing but love and hope in their minds…