Chapter 5 : Beta Caleb

Alpha Xavier's point of view

Stomach in, shoulders back... I mumbled in my head as I straightened my posture and raised my hand with the tip of my fingers on the side of my head in salute. My beta’s stern face was filled with raw anger and frustration.

“What the hell am I hearing? Is it true that you allowed a goddamn rogue to stay amongst us?" How could you let such a thing happen in the pack? How did she even get into the territory? Talk more about her getting so far into the pack lands. How did no one notice her pondering?Is this how you plan to lead the pack without my sister by your side? With all due respect, Alpha, I am talking to you. Answer me... what the hell is going on alpha? ”

Anger radiated off of him in bulk. My mind swirled with flashes of all the memories and moments of him unleashing his anger upon me. I tried to maintain my ground and not falter. I tried to stay strong and not break down with insecurities and anxiety in front of him. My relationship with my beta is different from the rest... as an alpha king and a broken mate, I have grown to rely on him a lot. To say the least, our relationship is strained and close.

“Just breathe... breathe,” I took in some deep breaths as I mumbled the word “breath” to myself over and over in my head. I was actively trying to maintain my ground and show him that I was strong and deserving to lead the pack again. I was not easily intimidated, but my beta was a whole other case. No man brought about the magnitude of vulnerability in me like my beta did, and no man ever will. Everything we went through and lost together just brought us too damn close to one another. Emotionally, I had grown reliant and dependent on him as we grieved together. Leading a pack with a broken heart is one thing, but leading the entire werewolf kingdom in a crazed, broken state was the other. Caleb had progressed from beta to operational Alpha... Not my alpha, but an alpha in his own right.

At this rate, it's not about fear but about trauma. I'm comfortable enough in my masculinity to acknowledge how intimidated I am by my beta because of everything that we have gone through. He was and always will be more to me than a beta.With all of the trauma and ptsd he has helped me through, I have grown to have the utmost respect for him and value his opinion.

“The situation is under control, Caleb." The girl is in our custody with guards guarding her so she wouldn’t dare escape. No one knows how she was able to enter the pack and no one will tell us except her, for she is the only one who knows the answers to all the questions you are asking me. I am more than fit to lead this pack again, but that is a discussion for another day. I will lead you to her so that you can see her for yourself. You can ask her all these questions and get her answers. Before you see her, I’d like to inform you that she is in very bad shape and hasn’t been talking since we took her to the hospital. I told the doctor to take very good care of her and to inform me of any progress in her condition. I will lead you to her. You may follow me. ”

I said it all in one go, just not wanting to give him any room to speak or question my judgement. It was beyond awkward in the hallway as I led him to her hospital room in silence.

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you would control your anger and mind your tone and language when you are talking to me. I understand how you feel, but that doesn't give you the right to lash out at me as if I'm your subordinate... you can maintain your dominance, position, and express your anger without getting on my nerves or trying to break me down.My wolf is really not liking your behaviour right now and mind how you react or talk to me in front of my pack and especially in front of a stranger like her, "

I focused all my focus on my breathing, not wanting to show him any fear or change in my emotions. The closer we got to the room, the more focus it took to maintain steady breathing. My heart rate was beating faster and faster the closer we got to her hospital. My wolf was beyond excited to lay her eyes upon her beautiful mate once more. If I am being honest with myself, I too was filled with glee at the thought of laying my eyes upon her, for I was yearning to see her again. I know that it has only been a few moments since I last saw her... OK, about three hours and 35 minutes, not that I’m counting.

I really needed to see her again just to determine if I was really losing my mind or if she was indeed my mate. Could she really be my mate?

“Xavier, stop! Breath... breath, you need to focus, ”

I continuously chanted in my head as I firmly clenched my fists together just to make sure that I kept my emotions in check. Keeping my own emotions in check was easy compared to trying to tame the wild animal deep within me. Just thinking about her and remembering how her skin felt in mine raised my testosterone and hormone levels by the second.

You do not want him to see you going through such mental turmoil. You do not want him to know... What if he senses something from me and finds out? No!He couldn’t find out. He shouldn’t find out that she was my mate. I would die long before I admitted it to him. I would never admit that the beautiful, trespassing, tattooed goddess is my mate.

“Before we enter her room, father, I would like to reiterate some key points." As I have said, she is in very bad shape and not really talking as of now. There are also some inconsistencies with her scent, as she seems to be human but somehow feels like a member of the supernatural. I also agree with you that it is very peculiar and enraging that she or someone in general could penetrate our pack lands to the point of reaching the core of our pack territory without being detected. I suspect that maybe there might be a traitor amongst our midst.

Someone who led her, directed her, and assisted her in infiltrating and trespassing within our territory.Those reasons are why I think we should be careful with what we do and how we question her. She might know more than she lets on, and she alone has the answers to all our questions, so she needs to leave Caleb. I am calmly pleading with you in the name of our years of friendship. Let this not be like the last time. You know, your anger gets the best of you sometimes, and you killed the last rogue that trespassed on our land without even questioning him. I’m begging you, bro, we need answers. Just don't try kill her, ”

The words left my mouth long before I could actually think through them.

My blood ran cold as I froze. All my muscles tense up with my eyes wide open. Oh my goddess, what the hell possessed me to speak that way to this man? He might suspect something.

My view slowly moved from the pack guards ahead of us to my father's hardened face, with pure terror simmering deep within me. I could see the pure rage in the deep depths of his black eyes. His nostrils flared and my breath seized.

I could see the veins on his neck pulsating, and that added to my fear, but I had to swallow that fear deep down in my soul. I took a gulp and prepared myself to apologize to him for my tone of voice... Worse, I actually told him what to do, which I last did when we lost his sister. “Ahhhhh” I took a deep inhale and said a quick thank you prayer to the moon goddess for having my back once again.

I quietly followed behind him whilst feeling like a lost puppy yet maintaining the facade of the strong and fearless soon to be alpha. It was subtle, but I noticed my movements and internally judged myself. I was subconsciously fixing myself up and straightening out my outfit like I was some insecure teenager with a crush.

A loud growl ripped the earth and shook me to my very core. I glanced up and there he was at the edge of my buddy's hospital room looking beyond pissed with the door wide open. I ran into the room, ready to hold him off if need be. My eyes followed his line of vision to see where his vision was hyper focused, and that is exactly where I found the object of his increasing rage. I looked into the hospital room and found... nothing.

Just nothing... The window was wide open, the bed was empty, and so was the room with my mate nowhere to be found.

She had escaped!

My mate had escaped.