Chapter 30 Ayden
Pulling into the driveway of my parents’ house, I played with a lock of Calliope’s hair until I put the car into park. I came around to the other side and opened the door. Carrying her to the front door, it opened and I was left staring at my mother.
“Seriously you have to start calling before you just show up.” Her voice made me smile as she moved to the side letting me into the house.
She followed me into the living room, the worry was obvious in my eyes.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Something happened with Cain.”
I explained what happened, she was shaking her head before going to grab my father. She made me repeat myself for him. They shared a look that made me growl. “What?”
That woke Calliope, I could feel her panic through the bond. She tightened her arms around me, inhaling deeply. Her breaths came in ragged gasps. My hand was steady on her back. Whispering sweet nothings into her ear. It took more time than it had before, but I had brought her to a new house. She came back to herself, looking up at me with a smile of relief. “I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too, sweet Omega.” I was calm when I spoke to her. I knew when she was like this nearly anything could set her off.
Calliope slid off my lap, her head coming to rest on my shoulder. “What was so important that I had to tell the story twice?”
“This shouldn’t have happened,” my father started. “You shouldn’t have enough royal blood for this to be a problem.”
“Wait, royal blood? Like the stories you used to tell me when I was a kid?”
“Those weren’t just stories,” my mother admitted.
“What were they?”
“Oral history.” Calliope’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“That’s it, exactly,” Dad confirmed. “We tell the stories to our children, so they never forget the way things were.”
“I clearly don’t know anything.”
Calliope laughed, she sat up and smiled at me. “None of us expect you to. I’m sure that no one expects me to know much either.”
“But you do know, don’t you?” Dad asked.
“I do,” she sighed. “I kind of made a study of history. All the way back to when humans evolved into what we are now. It happened gradually, over generations. But then that’s how evolution works. Betas appeared first. Not that anyone knew for sure. Beta biology isn’t that different from what humans were back then. Next were the alphas. They were the first to be noticed. Kind of hard to miss an alpha—all growly and protective. Then finally… omegas.”
“As nice as this history lesson is, what’s the point here?”
“I’m getting there. So, the first alphas came from ten families. Those bloodlines became known as the royal bloodlines.”
“So, what does that have to do with me?” I crossed my arms across my chest.
My father sighed then. “It so happens that you are directly descended from one of those original ten alphas. The royals.”
“And that has what to do with Cain?”
“When a royal alpha bonds with both an omega and a beta, the beta takes on some of the heat symptoms. It’s referred to as a sharing.” He was acting like this was common knowledge.
Calliope gasped, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “That’s supposed to be a myth.”
“Humanity before designation was supposed to be a myth too.”
She nodded. “I suppose we don’t know as much as we think.”
“Now, tell me why this is coming up now.”
Me and Calliope shared a look. “I told you everything when I got here.”
“Go through it again. I need to know why you brought this up now.”
I was annoyed, but I knew better than to show it to my father. “Dax showed up with Cain, we helped Calliope through her heat. It was surprisingly mild—”
“That right there,” he cut me off.
“What does my omega’s heats have to do with anything?”
Calliope flushed; she wouldn’t look at any of us. “You said you were surprised how normal her heat was. Why?”
“Do we have to talk about this?” Calliope’s voice came out in nearly a whisper.
“Calliope, sweetheart,” my mother came to sit on an ottoman that was in front of her, “you know you’re a daughter to me.”
“I know.”
“Connor wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”
She managed to nod, my mother reached out and grabbed Calliope’s hand.
“Can we get back to it?” I couldn’t stop the growl that fell from my lips at my father’s tone.
“Are you ready to tell me everything?”
His quick correction made me suspicious. “Why is it important.”
“Why are you always so difficult?”
“I’m so sorry if I don’t want my omega’s private business broadcast to everyone.” I was riding the edge of anger at that moment. The sensation of panic I felt from Calliope had me slamming a wall up between us in the bond.
“There are some normal things that could indicate a sharing has happened. You basically covered those already.”
“So why do you care?” I snapped.
Calliope whimpered beside me, and I cursed myself. Being around my father made my control over my temper fray to a dangerous point. I took a few deep breaths letting the anger fade with each exhale. When I was sure I was calm, I dropped that wall between me and Calliope. I was slammed into by a wave of panic that made my heart pound. I turned, reaching for her on instinct. Watching her pull away nearly broke me. I couldn’t take the fear in her eyes, knowing I caused it made me sick.
“Little Omega.” She didn’t respond. “Calliope.” Still nothing.
I thought I had lost her to the pain of her past, a flashback that I caused. I was helpless to do anything for her. She had never looked at me like this, she was so far away. I was desperate to reach her. “Baby girl.”
“Alpha??” There was just a little bit of herself in her eyes.
“I’m here.” It was nearly a whisper.
She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face against my pulse. Her slow inhalation made my heart stop for a moment. I hated the thought that it might make this worse. When she exhaled, I could feel her relief through the bond. “I love you so fucking much.” Her words made me melt.
I wouldn’t burn the world for her, but only because she would do that for herself. But I damn sure would be there handing her the match. “I’ll always love you, baby girl.”
“We’re going to bed.” My mother smiled at me as she moved across the room, pulling my father to his feet and towards her nest. “We can finish this conversation in the morning.” Just before she closed the door, she called over her shoulder. “Take Calliope to the nest you used last time you visited.”
My hands moved to cup her ass, standing I carried her up the stairs to the nest on the second floor. The door was open, but it still faintly smelled like our pack. A large bed was in the center of the room. Moving to it I sat at the edge. “Baby girl, we need to go to bed.”
“Then lay down.”
“That won’t be very comfortable for you.”
My hand was moving on her back, waiting for her decision. “I want to sleep on top of my alpha.”
I smiled at that as I shuffled back so I could fit all of me on the bed. My hands shifted, moving her up just enough that I could pull my shirt off and toss it across the room. She wiggled until she could do the same, sighing with relief as our skin touched. I lived for moments like this. Knowing that I had done everything I could to keep Calliope safe. My purr rumbled in my chest, lulling Calliope to sleep.
I laid awake for a long time. Forming a plan in my mind was all I could do to protect my sweet omega now. She had been set on her path long ago. Taking revenge was what had kept her going for so long. I couldn’t let the freedom she worked so hard for end with all of us in handcuffs. That stopped me in my tracks. When did I start considering Dax as pack? He hadn’t been around long, but Calliope made people want to stay.
I was just planning our escape when I felt Cain’s joy. It was overwhelming and made me examine our bond. It was just as strong as before, but there was a new thread connecting him to another alpha. Dax had bonded Cain again, the second bite must have increased the strength of that bond. I fought not to growl, knowing that would wake Calliope up. Accepting what had happened just made things simpler—and I liked simple.