28. Old Walls, New Wounds.

Adrian’s POV

Caleb’s mansion has always felt different from mine. Where mine is built like a fortress....commanding, silent, cold....his is warm in a way that feels… lived in. Not messy, not undisciplined, just human. Laughter has existed here. Music has echoed in these walls. Even now, at night, the place carries a soft life to it.

I sat on the long leather couch, a glass of whiskey in hand....not for intoxication, just something for my hands to do. Caleb dropped down beside me with his usual dramatic sigh.

“Damn,” he muttered, stretching his back. “It’s been a while since you actually stepped foot in this place. I was beginning to think you forgot I had a house.”

I let out a low breath, something like a chuckle. “It has been a while.”

He grinned. “You? Sitting somewhere that’s not your office, your training hall, your car, or your misery room? It’s a miracle. I should call the council and tell them.....”

“Don’t,” I muttered, my voice dropping lower. “Not today.”

Caleb paused. He nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

Silence settled between us, comfortable at first. Then heavy.

He leaned his elbow on the back of the couch. “So.” His tone shifted....not playful now. Watching me carefully. “Why did you freeze everyone today?”

I didn’t answer immediately. I stared into the glass I was holding, watching the way the amber liquid caught the low lights.

Of course he noticed. Caleb always noticed.

He continued, slower this time. “Everything resumed normal like nothing happened, yes… but Rose was outside the building afterward. She looked…” he hesitated, losing his usual casual tone. “She looked broken, Adrian.”

My jaw clenched. Not in anger. Something worse. Something raw.

“I told her I don’t love her,” I said quietly.

Caleb is not a man easily shocked, but I watched his expression still.

He didn’t speak yet. He just breathed. Then he nodded once. “It’s… the right thing. For her. For you. For the packs.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. I knew everything he was saying was logical....strategic, necessary.

But Rose’s voice wouldn’t leave me.

Do you love me, or was everything not supposed to happen?

And my answer.....

No. I don’t.

A lie sharp enough to cut bone.

Caleb leaned forward. “What did she do? After?”

I let out a slow breath, remembering the way her voice cracked, the way her eyes shone. She held her dignity even while breaking.

“She cried,” I answered. “And I tried to… just end it. Cleanly. So I suggested wiping her memory.”

Caleb sat up sharply. “You suggested memory erasure?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

I exhaled.

“She slapped me,” I said.

Caleb stared.

Then he blinked.

Then he threw his head back and laughed.

Not a polite laugh. A full-bodied laugh. A howling laugh.

I just sat there tasting the sting of humiliation like iron behind my teeth.

“I’m glad you find that amusing,” I muttered.

“Oh I do,” he choked out, wiping his eyes. “Adrian Wolfe....the Alpha of Alphas.....The Moon’s Chosen.....the nightmare of vampire clans....got slapped.” He slapped his thigh. “By a human girl. Oh, this is history. This will be carved into stone. I need to commission a sculpture.. no....a mural.....”

I threw the nearest pillow at his head. Hard.

He caught it mid-air, still laughing like the idiot he is.

“Stop,” I said, but there was no teeth in it.

“Bro,” Caleb said between laughs, “a human girl walked away from you. Alive. Unpunished. And not shaking because of fear. But because she hurt you. Do you understand how insane that is?”

“I know,” I muttered.

“And you,” he added dramatically, pointing at me, “are soft. She softened you. She touched the stone statue’s heart. The unmelting glacier. The ice wall. The.....”

“Caleb.”

He shuts up, but a stupid grin stayed plastered on his face.

He leaned back, arms spread across the couch. “You’re in love with her.”

My head snapped toward him. “No.”

“Right, right,” he said, nodding like he didn’t believe me at all. “Because you lie to yourself better than you lie to anyone else.”

I didn't answer. I didn’t need to. The silence spoke.

Love was not the problem. Love was deadly. Love could destroy packs, break kingdoms, burn cities, villages, and doom worlds.

Love could start wars.

And if the Luna bond was not formed before the Lunar Eclipse.....

The vampires would wipe everything out.

Love was not a luxury I was allowed to have.

Caleb’s POV

Adrian is trying so hard to look unaffected. But I know him. I’ve known him long enough to read the cracks under his voice. He’s holding himself together but barely.

He’s in pain.

And the worst part is.....I can’t fix it. I can’t tell him the world will make this easier. I can’t tell him Rose will forget. I can’t tell him the council will stop pushing. I can’t tell him his Luna will show up in time.

I can’t tell him the vampires aren’t preparing for war.

I can’t tell him anything comforting. Because everything is uncertain now.

All I can do is sit here and be his friend.

So I leaned back, stretched my legs, and exhaled.

“Listen,” I said, calmer now. “What you did today… telling her you don’t love her. Suggesting memory erasure. Keeping your distance. It’s the right call. Even if it hurts.”

He didn’t look at me.

I continued gently. “Rose surviving the bond… it changes things. It means something. But we don’t know what. We don’t know why. We don’t know what it means for you, the packs, the prophecy, the eclipse ....any of it. You’re protecting her from something she doesn’t even know exists.”

His fingers tightened around the glass.

“And yeah,” I added with a crooked half-grin, “she slapped you. Which is the funniest thing that has ever happened in supernatural history.” I held my hand up before he could throw another pillow. “But it also means something, Adrian. She wasn’t afraid of you. She wasn’t intimidated. She wasn’t overwhelmed. She felt. She reacted.”

He stayed quiet.

I studied him.

“You care,” I said finally.

He breathed out.

Not denial.

But not confession.

Something in-between.

Then, he tried to redirect. Typical Adrian.

“This conversation is ending now.”

“Nope,” I said, crossing one leg over the other. “But if it makes you feel better, I am on your side. Always. I’m not here to lecture you. I’m just here to remind you you’re not a machine. You’re allowed to feel things. Even if you can’t act on them.”

His expression softened....barely. But I saw it.

Adrian finally looked at me. “Thank you.”

I grinned. “Anytime.”

Then I smirked. “But still… that slap…”

He glared slowly.

I laughed again.

Adrian’s POV

“You say one more word about it,” I said slowly, “and I will end your bloodline.”

Caleb raised his hands dramatically. “Say less.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I mean it.”

He grinned.

We both fell quiet.

Then we breathed.....together.

Old friends. Brothers. War-bound.

And for the first time today, the knot in my chest loosened.

Just a little.

Caleb leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Still… I can’t believe the human girl walked away. No guards, no power, no scent of fear. She actually slapped you. Alpha Adrian Wolfe. The moon’s favorite child.”

I picked up the pillow.

He bolted upright laughing, “OKAY OKAY I’LL STOP ... ”

I threw it. Hard.

He caught it again, laughing so hard he nearly choked.

“I swear,” I said, even though my tone was light now, “if you speak of this again, I will kill you.”

Caleb wheezed, holding his stomach. “Noted. Duly noted. Message received. Loud and clear. Attempt at mentioning again equals death. Understood, Commander.”

I couldn’t help it.

I smiled.

For just a moment.

We ended the night there.

No more discussions. No more prophecy. No more council. No more Rose.

Just quiet breathing and the sound of night filling the house.

And somehow…

For tonight…

That was enough.