03

Kaleb ~

“I have an errand to run for my father,” I tell Kiara, softly rubbing my thumb against her right cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Kiara nods and then kisses me with affection. When her lips finally leave mine, I turn around and walk out of the class. I keep going down the hallway, looking around for the girl I was sent to retrieve. Seeing as father asked me to personally bring her to him, I guess she’s either in big trouble or he needs her help getting out of something troubling him.

After a few minutes of wandering around the school with no luck, I meet a group of girls and stop them. I should ask for directions.

“Hey, girls. I’m looking for a girl named Ava. Black hair, not so tall and not so slim. Do any of you know where she is?” I ask with a flashy smile.

“You mean Ava Bennet? Try the library. She’s usually there at this time of day,” a girl answered, adjusting her blonde hair seductively.

“Thanks,” I give her a thumbs up then make my way to the library.

Being the Alpha’s son, only a very few girls miss out on an opportunity to flirt with me. I don’t like it, but it’s not like they know I’m with Kiara so I just try to ignore the lot of them.

I walk into the library and look around for Ava, but there’s no sign of her.

“Fuck!”

I haven’t met Ava before. All my father gave me to track her was a photograph of her so if she’s not at school, finding her won’t be as easy as I thought it’ll be. Just as I decided to head to the exit, I spotted a blonde-haired girl sitting all by herself surrounded by books. Something about her struck me off. That’s when I noticed the tattoo on her left hand, just like the one Ava has in the photo.

“I’m guessing you’re Ava,” I say, taking the seat next to her.

She ignores me, completely buried in the book before her.

“The Alpha requests your presence immediately. It’s best not to keep him waiting.”

She raises her head when she hears me. One snap of her finger and her appearance changes completely. Now she looks exactly like the girl in the photograph only that she’s putting on a brown sleeveless shirt over a blue pair of jeans. Judging by her looks, I’ll say she’s seventeen at best. With another snap of her finger, all the books on the table disappear into thin air.

“You’re a witch,” I chuckled, slightly surprised. “I’m Kaleb.” I stretch my hand to her for a shake.

“I know who you are,” she replies coldly, standing up with her hands in her pockets. “You’re late. Where are we to meet him?”

I stand up and slowly draw a breath in. Not many girls dare do what she just did, but I’ll let it slide. What’s important now is getting to father.

“Don’t worry about that. I have a car waiting outside. Follow me,” I instruct, walking ahead.

I hear her sigh from behind me. She walks to me, holds my arm, and the next second, we’re standing in front of my car. Shocked, I turn my head to face her.

“I apparate. It’s a lot faster than driving,” Ava explains, taking her hand off me. “Tell me where the Alpha is and I’ll get us there, or would you rather drive?”

She’s impressive, I’ll give her that. I haven’t met a witch who could apparate before. I can begin to understand why Father likes having witches around in the pack. They can be quite handy. The sooner I get done with this errand, the sooner I can talk to Father about my intentions with Kiara.

“He’s at his office at the Alpha Compound. Don’t…”

Before I could even finish, Ava holds me again and apparates us to the compound gate. Apparently, she already knows about the Alpha’s rule that forbids magic from being practiced within the compound.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a bit dizzy. A little warning next time,” I request, holding my spinning eyes.

“Sure.”

Together, we enter the Alpha Compound. I lead her to the mansion where I live with my father and after a few minutes of walking, we arrive at my father’s office. I heave a sigh and then knock.

“Come in, Kaleb,” I heard his deep voice call out.

We walked in, straight to the Alpha’s desk.

“Sit,” he commanded, taking his eyes off the heap of documents in front of him. “I’m sure the both of you are well acquainted with each other.”

“Yes, father.”

“Good. Do you know why I asked you to bring her to me?” he asked, resting his back on the swivel chair while itching his white beard.

“Not really, father. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. In two nights, you’ll take over my position as Alpha but you’re yet to present a chosen mate to me. So I’ve decided to make Ava here, take the spot,” he says, instantly plummeting my mood.

“You’re joking right?” I turned to Ava and back to him. “She can’t. I already have someone in mind. Every time I bring it up, you send me away because of work. I’ve chosen Kiara to be my mate.”

“Kiara? You mean that Omegan slave?” he laughs like my words meant nothing to him. “I’ve noticed you two for a couple of months now. Kaleb, I won’t want to ruin whatever fun it is you’re having with her, but she can’t be your Luna. Not while there is breathe in my lungs.”

“You’re not listening to me.”

“I’ve made up my mind. Let me explain something to you, son. Alpha’s are meant to be the strongest in the pack. What do you think will become of your children if you pollute the pure Alpha blood in you with that of a wolfless, weak, and worthless Omega? Think!!” Father warns, his tone getting laced with anger.

“Being an Omega doesn’t make her less of a wolf. I love her, father. You know I do. Since the first day you took her in.”

“Nonsense!” he roars, pounding his fist hard on the table, making a dent in it. “You’ll present Ava here to the pack as your chosen mate and that’s final!”

Agitated, I get up to leave.

“Get back here! I’m not done talking to you!”

“This conversation was pointless.” I open the door. “When I become Alpha, I’ll be free to do whatever the fuck I want with my life. That includes choosing my mate.” I glare at my father one last time before leaving the room.

‘I hate to say it but he’s right,’ I hear a familiar voice in my head- Krimson’s. After I turned when I was 16, the Goddess gifted him to me as my spirit wolf. I named him Krimson due to his unique red coat.

‘There’s nothing right about forcing me to be with a witch I just met,’ I answer, heading to the front door.

‘I like Kiara and all, but why argue with the Alpha if the union will be temporary? Just until we find our fated,’

‘I don’t believe in that crap, K.’ I get to the garage and open the door of an Audi model. ‘It’s been 5 years since I turned but the Goddess has refused to lead me to my ‘fated’. I choose Kiara, so unless you’re not going to keep persuading me to settle for that witch, I rather you shut the hell up.’

I get into the car and turn it on. For a few seconds, I stare at the wheel, gripping it intensely. I know my father. He’s not going to just sit back and watch me disobey him. Different thoughts begin to rattle in my mind. The bloody thing is that I know he’s right. I’ll be risking the future of this pack if I make Kiara my Luna.

“Fuuckk!!”

Furious, I punch the glass of the door beside me and it shatters, instantly. The rage in me heightens as I pull out the pieces of glass that pierce my skin, but I know better than to let it out. Instead, I get out of the car and into another. I waste no time turning it on and driving out of the compound. Speeding up, I drive to the one place in the pack where I can comfortably think and rage out- The Training Grounds.

After a few hours of punching the crap out of a ton of sandbags, I get calm enough to figure out a solution. It’s a long shot, but first I need to find Kiara and explain everything to her. Getting to the bar she works at, I see her by the counter, talking with a suspicious-looking man. Suspicious because I know every wolf in the pack, but his face doesn’t ring a bell.

“Kaleb,” she waves at me with a bright smile as I walk to her. “Who’s he?”

“He is just leaving.” The old man stood up, gulped down his glass then turned to leave.

I was about to stop the old man to ask him a few questions, but one look at Kiara’s eager eyes and I let go of my suspicions. Kiara is far more important.

“So, what did the Alpha say?”