15. Caleb
15
CALEB
T he porch light cast a warm glow over Fiona's determined face as she turned and unlocked her front door. Caleb's wolf bristled at the idea of putting her in danger again, but the memory of how they'd moved in sync during the battle made his chest tighten.
He grabbed her arm gently and turned her to face him completely. "You're not coming with us." He planted his feet, ignoring the throb in his side.
"Watch me." Fiona's green eyes sparked. "I held my own back there, or did you miss the part where I saved yours and Wade's tail?"
"That's different. This is Victor's territory-"
"And I'm a fire witch who just proved she can handle herself just fine against shifters." She stepped closer, close enough that her scent - smoke and cinnamon - made his head swim. "Plus, someone needs to watch your back since you're injured."
"I'm fine."
"Sure you are, tough guy. That's why you're favoring your left side right now."
Wade's voice carried from the street. "Boss, we need to move if we're going." They must've followed us here, too eager to wait for me.
Caleb sighed. The truth was, fighting alongside Fiona had felt... right. The way she'd anticipated his moves, how her fire had danced around him without singeing a hair, how she was impossibly inside his head. He'd never experienced anything like it.
"You'll follow my lead, right?"
"Absolutely not." Her lips curved mischievously. "But I'll pretend to consider it."
A laugh escaped before he could stop it. "You're beyond impossible."
"Part of my charm.” She quickly stepped inside her house, and returned moments later in her jeans and leather jacket. "Now are we going to stand here all night, or are we going to go show Victor why he shouldn't crash other people's parties?"
"Fine." He shook his head, already regretting and anticipating what was to come. "But stay close to me."
"Worried about me?" She bumped his shoulder gently as she passed.
"More worried about what you'll set on fire without proper supervision."
"Smart man." She winked, heading down the front steps. "Though for the record, I'm very selective about what I burn these days."
Victor's mansion loomed against the night sky with its pretentious columns and excessive stonework. Caleb's wolf itched beneath his skin as they approached, the scent of Nightfang territory making his hackles rise. The wound in his side continued to throb, but he ignored it.
"Subtle place," Fiona whispered beside him. "I bet he's compensating for something."
Despite himself, Caleb's lips twitched. "Focus."
"Oh, I am. On his terrible taste in architecture."
Wade cleared his throat. "Heads up."
Victor emerged from the mansion's double doors, Rachelle at his right hand and at least fifteen Nightfang members spreading out behind them.
The rage Caleb had been containing since the festival attack bubbled up to the surface. Images of his injured pack members, of children crying as their celebration was ruined, of the destruction Victor's people had caused - it all crystallized into a burning need to act.
"Nice of you to visit," Victor called down. "Though unexpected. Did you enjoy our little party crashers?"
Caleb stepped forward with confidence, keeping Fiona slightly behind him despite knowing she'd hate it. "You attacked innocent people tonight. Pack members who weren't even fighters. Children."
"I sent a message." Victor spread his hands. "One you seem determined not to hear."
"Oh, I heard it." Caleb's voice dropped lower, deadlier. "You think you can control my pack through fear. That hurting the innocent will make me bow down." He took another step forward, satisfaction curling through him as several Nightfang members tensed. "But here's what you don't understand, Victor. My pack isn't weak because we care for each other. We're stronger for it. And tonight? Tonight, you proved exactly why you'll never lead them."
"Damn straight," Wade muttered.
Fiona's fingers brushed Caleb's arm, a small point of warmth in the cool night. "Tell him about the punch bowl incident next. Really drive it home," she whispered.
Caleb bit back another inappropriate smile. Here they were, facing down their enemies, and she was still trying to make him laugh. The woman was impossible. And wonderful. And currently creating tiny flames that danced between her fingers, ready to strike.
Victor's laughter echoed across the mansion's grounds, setting Caleb's teeth on edge. The other alpha's smugness radiated off him in waves that made Caleb's wolf want to lunge for his throat.
"You think I haven't done this before elsewhere?" Victor's voice dripped with condescension. "Every pack I've taken fell the same way. First the fear, then the doubt." He gestured to his assembled followers. "Ask any of them how well their previous alphas fared against me."
Rachelle's lips curved into a predatory smile. "The Northern Ridge Pack lasted three months before begging Victor to take over."
"Your little festival was cute," Victor continued, "but after tonight? Those elders you tried so hard to impress will see you for what you really are - weak. Unable to protect your own." He spread his arms wide. "They'll come to me, just like all the others did. Because strength is all that matters in the end."
The wound in Caleb's side throbbed, as if emphasizing Victor's point. But before the doubt could take root, he felt Fiona shift beside him, the heat of her magic warming his skin.
"Wow," she whispered. "Does he practice these speeches in the mirror? Because that was very dramatic. The arm spread really sold it."
Wade coughed to hide what sounded suspiciously like a snort.
Caleb fought back his own smile, drawing strength from her irreverence. She was right - Victor's posturing was almost comical. Here was a man so desperate to prove his strength that he'd attack children at a festival.
"You know what I think?" Caleb called up to him. "I think you're scared. Because for all your talk of strength, you've never faced a pack that truly stands together. That's why you attack the weak - because you know you can't beat us at our strongest."
Victor's facade cracked, just slightly. "You dare-"
"Oh, I dare. And after tonight? After you proved to everyone exactly what kind of leader you are?" Caleb let his own smile show teeth. "I think you just did my job for me."
Caleb's heart nearly stopped as Fiona's voice rang out across the mansion grounds.
"If you were even half the alpha you claim to be, you'd have shown up to crash our party yourself instead of sending your lackeys to do your dirty work!" Her words crackled with the same intensity as her magic. "But I guess that's what common, unrefined bullies do - hide behind others while pretending to be powerful!"
The air seemed to crystallize around them. Wade's sharp intake of breath was the only sound that broke the sudden, dangerous silence. Caleb's wolf stirred restlessly beneath his skin, caught between admiration for her fearlessness and terror at having the woman he was falling for painting a target on her back.
Victor's face transformed from smug superiority to murderous rage in the space of a heartbeat. His eyes locked onto Fiona like a predator spotting prey, and Caleb's protective instincts screamed at him to move, to shield her, to get her out of there. But his muscles seemed frozen, his mind struggling to process the sheer audacity of what had just happened.
Here they were, outnumbered on enemy territory, and this five-foot-nothing fire witch had just called one of the most dangerous alphas in the region a coward. To his face. On his own front lawn.
The flames dancing between her fingers cast shifting shadows across her determined expression, and despite the gravity of the situation, Caleb couldn't help but notice how the light made her hair look like living fire. Even Victor's most battle-hardened warriors seemed unsure how to react to this tiny woman's bold challenge.
Rachelle's mouth hung slightly open, her usual vicious smile completely forgotten in her shock.
The rest of the Nightfang members shifted uncomfortably, glancing between their alpha and this unexpected threat, waiting for someone to make the first move.
And through it all, Fiona just stood there, chin raised, practically vibrating with righteous indignation, as if she hadn't just upended the entire confrontation with a few well-chosen words.
Caleb's brain finally caught up with what just happened.
The tension in the air crackled like Fiona's flames as Caleb moved smoothly between her and Victor. Every protective instinct he possessed screamed at him to get her out of there, but he forced himself to maintain eye contact with Victor.
"This isn't over," Caleb said, his voice carrying across the grounds. The wound in his side protested as he straightened to his full height. "But I think we've made our point."
"Several points, actually," Fiona muttered behind him. "I had a whole list prepared."
Wade made a strangled sound that might have been either a laugh or a groan.
"We're leaving," Caleb announced, fighting the urge to throw Fiona over his shoulder and run. His wolf approved of that plan, but he suspected she'd set his tail on fire if he tried.
As they turned to go, Caleb's enhanced hearing picked up Rachelle's whispered, "Should we stop them?"
Victor's silence was more unnerving than any threat could have been.
They made it halfway across the grounds before Fiona spoke up. "You know, his eyebrows did this twitchy thing when I called him unrefined. I think that really got to him."
"You," Caleb said through gritted teeth, "have no idea what you just did back there."
"But wasn't his face worth it?"
Wade, walking slightly behind them, cleared his throat. "I've got pictures."
"Delete those," Caleb ordered.
"Already sent them to the pack group chat."
Caleb pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how this had become his life. A fire witch with no self-preservation instincts, a second-in-command who'd apparently joined forces with her, and a rival alpha who was probably plotting their painful demise.