Chapter 24 Cain
Dropping Calliope at the news station, I contemplated going to Asheville to retrieve our alpha. He had never disappeared like this before, and I was completely unsure of what to do. Ayden was the strong one. He was the one of us that was always able to pull Calliope out of the memories that haunted her. Our pack needed him. I was hesitant to take that step and leave our omega vulnerable. I didn’t doubt for one second she was in danger with Dax around. But was she safe from him?
If he didn’t come home tomorrow, I would have to risk it. As it was, the alpha was sitting at the house waiting for me to return. He basically asked me out on a date. His awkwardness had been so cute, I couldn’t stop myself from blushing at the memory. I felt my foot grow heavy as my speed climbed until I hit triple digits. Blue lights behind me sent a smile across my face. They could try and catch me, might even succeed, but I would get away in the end.
Pulling to the side of the road, I smiled when he parked far enough back I could really hit it and get away from him with ease. My car was in park for the moment, but my hand rested on the gear shift, waiting for my moment. He was out of his car and nearing the back of mine. The closer I came, the more of a head start I would have. His hand came out to tap my brake light, but right before he made contact, I shifted into gear. The whine of my tires screamed as I shifted, navigating through the traffic I watched as the lights disappeared behind me. I took the exit from the fast lane, using the climb to the street above to downshift. Looking up, I smiled when I saw there was no one behind me.
I flipped a switch, changing my license plate before heading back to the house. Parking my car in the driveway, I made it into the living room before being pounced on. Dax pulled me into his arms, his lips meeting mine as he tried to crawl inside me. It was an all-consuming kiss that took my breath away. When we pulled back, he looked down at me like I had hung the stars.
“I have something I want to show you.” I took his offered hand as he led me to his car. We were silent for much of the twenty-minute drive, his hand reaching over to grab mine when he finally spoke. “I know I told you about my parent’s pack, but I never told you about my other firsts.”
“You don’t have to. I sort of trust you.”
“Sort of,” he took his eyes off the road for a moment rewarding me with a dazzling smile. “I’ll take it. I can’t take you to the site of the first murder I enjoyed. But what I can do is tell you why I hate betas and omegas so much. Maybe that will help you understand.”
“I must admit, I am a bit curious.”
He nodded. “I thought as much.” He took a right on a side street, taking us into the wooded area between the cities. We got out and he led me down a ravine until we were standing on the shore of Lake Jordan. “The first omega I killed after my mother was this little slip of a boy. Tiny really.”
I didn’t say anything for a moment, just waited for him to fill the silence.
“I don’t really remember much about him or his pack, if I’m being honest. But I do remember the way his scent made my stomach turn. It was this rotten egg stench that just made me want to vomit. I don’t know what it was about that scent, but it made me want to destroy that omega. And I did just that.” He sighed. “I always kill omegas the same way. Stalking the pack, learning their schedules.”
“That’s what you were doing when I caught you following me.”
“It was,” he confirmed. “But not in the same way.”
“Explain it to me, I’m having a really hard time understanding what makes Calliope different.”
“And you. Don’t forget, you’re just as special to me as she is.”
“What makes us different?” My head turned, studying the man beside me.
He was silent for a long moment, seemingly trying to put it into words. “When I smell a scent I can’t stand, it sends me into a rage. An overwhelming, all-consuming rage.”
“You don’t seem angry right now.”
“I’m not,” he sighed, reaching over to take my hand in his. “There’s something about your pack that calms me.”
“Our pack.”
“I don’t know about that… I’m not the kind of man you want in your pack.”
“And what kind of man is that?”