72. The Truth Hiding In Pain.

Adrian POV

I didn’t knock.

I didn’t announce myself.

One second, I was standing nowhere.

The next, I was in Caleb’s room.

His room smelled like him—warm, familiar, safe. The curtains were half drawn, letting in faint morning light. The bed was unmade. Books scattered. Clothes on a chair.

Very Caleb.

“Adrian—!”

Caleb jumped back so fast he nearly hit the wall.

“What the hell?” he shouted, clutching his chest. “Are you trying to kill me?”

I just stood there.

Still.

Too still.

Caleb frowned immediately.

“…Okay,” he said slowly. “That’s not normal.”

He walked closer, studying me like I was a puzzle he didn’t like.

“Since when did you start teleporting without warning?” he continued. “And since when did we agree to test teleportation inside my room?”

He tried to laugh it off, but the sound died in his throat.

Because I wasn’t laughing.

I wasn’t even blinking much.

“Adrian?” he called. “Talk.”

I opened my mouth.

Closed it again.

My heart was beating too fast.

Everything I felt was tangled inside me—pain, confusion, relief, fear.

Caleb sighed.

“Sit,” he ordered, pointing to the bed.

I didn’t move.

That was when he knew.

Something was wrong.

Caleb POV

I had seen Adrian angry.

I had seen him violent.

I had seen him quiet.

But this?

This was different.

He looked… unsure.

Like a child who didn’t know how to explain something big.

“Adrian,” I said softly now. “What happened?”

He shifted.

Looked away.

Then, quietly, almost embarrassed, he spoke.

“I… had the pain again.”

My body stiffened.

“The pain?” I repeated. “The one from before?”

He nodded.

I crossed my arms. “When?”

“In the woods,” he said. “After the council meeting.”

My jaw tightened.

“That pain shouldn’t come back,” I said carefully. “Not after—”

“I know,” he cut in. “That’s why it scared me.”

He finally looked at me.

His eyes were tired.

“I fell to my knees,” he continued. “I couldn’t breathe. It felt like my chest was tearing open.”

I swallowed.

Then he said the part that made my stomach drop.

“And then… I teleported.”

I stared at him.

“To where?” I asked, even though I already feared the answer.

“…Rose’s house.”

Silence filled the room.

My mind raced.

I said nothing.

He continued.

“I didn’t choose to go there,” he said. “I didn’t even think about it...I don't even know her house .My body just… took me.”

My heart sank.

“And when I got there,” he whispered, “the pain stopped.”

That did it.

I sat down heavily on the bed.

Adrian POV

Caleb didn’t joke anymore.

He didn’t tease.

He didn’t interrupt.

He listened.

“That wasn’t the worst part,” I said.

He looked up at me.

“I slept beside her,” I admitted. “I held her.”

Caleb inhaled sharply.

“She didn’t wake,” I added quickly. “She didn’t see me.”

“But she felt you,” he said quietly.

“Yes.”

I rubbed my face.

“And when I left,” I said, my voice rough, “the pain didn’t come back immediately.”

Caleb stared at the floor.

Then suddenly, he laughed.

I frowned. “What?”

He looked up, eyes bright now.

“You idiot,” he said. “You absolute idiot.”

I blinked. “What?”

“The pain,” he said slowly. “It wasn’t punishment.”

My heart skipped.

“It was a warning,” he continued. “A reminder.”

I felt cold.

“Adrian,” he said firmly, standing now, “that pain only comes when a wolf is far from their true mate.”

The words hit me like a blow.

“No,” I said immediately. “That can’t be—”

“You said it yourself,” he interrupted. “The pain stopped when you were near Rose.”

My chest tightened.

“And it came back,” he added, “even after Lucy.”

I froze.

Caleb stepped closer.

“That means,” he said softly, “Lucy isn’t even close.”

Caleb POV

I watched it sink in.

Adrian’s face changed slowly.

Shock.

Confusion.

Then relief.

And finally… clarity.

“So the mark,” he murmured. “The ritual.”

“They forced something unnatural,” I said. “But nature is louder.”

He looked up at me.

“I’ll find out what Lucy did,” he said firmly. “And what her father did.”

I nodded.

“But for now,” he continued, “put her matter aside.”

I smiled.

“That’s my Alpha,” I said.

He exhaled deeply.

“She wants to be crowned,” he said. “Let her.”

I blinked.

“You’ll allow it?”

“Yes,” he replied calmly. “Let the council play their games.”

I studied him.

He looked lighter.

Not free—but lighter.

I smiled to myself.

If there was any happiness left in this chaos…

This was it.

Adrian POV

I felt something I hadn’t felt in weeks.

Peace.

Not complete.

But enough.

I suddenly laughed and dropped backward onto Caleb’s bed.

He yelped.

“Hey!”

“Take me in,” I joked, spreading my arms. “I live here now.”

He rolled his eyes. “Get off my bed.”

We laughed.

For a moment, the world felt normal again.