Chapter Thirty-Two
Jay
Caleb left me in his father’s study while he attends some big meeting. I’m alone with all these books, and I’m not mad at it.
His collection is not the biggest I’ve ever seen, but it’s just as impressive as an entire library. It’s a perfect example of quality over quantity.
I recognize several authors, but I don’t think I’ve read a single one. Except . . .
Is that . . .
I stand on my tiptoes and reach for it. The philosophy book I’d been reading before I was captured.
Like my copy used to, it almost falls apart at the spine the second I open the front cover.
The pages are just as frail and rough to the touch.
I close the book to inspect how old it is and also judge the owner for its condition.
Seems someone doesn’t take care of their books very well.
I make myself comfortable in his cushy desk chair. Propping my feet up on the seat, tucking them under me.
I notice a page is dogeared, which is a huge pet peeve of mine.
“Ugh, Caleb,” I say aloud. Judging him, I shake my head.
Curious, I open to the page, and I instantly recognize where he’s at.
It’s a passage I’ve spent hours reading, debating and memorizing.
It’s the only chapter that covers forgiveness, justice, healing and morality.
He’s underlined one passage that reads, “forgiveness benefits the forgiver” and how it can clear you of burden.
I let that line sink in with the book resting on my thigh.
What did this mean? Did it mean he was trying to forgive me?
I shake my head of the thought. Wishful thinking.
When I pick up the book again, turning it upright, a page falls out. I inspect it and find it to be the same page that fell out of my copy.
Wait a second . . . Could this be . . . ?
I flip to the title page and sure enough, there it is—the stain.
That fucker.
He’s been reading my book and . . . writing in it? What would make him want to read such a thing?
I look around, for what, I don’t know. I’m seeing something I shouldn’t be, even though it is my book. When I spot the clock on the wall, Caleb’s mother comes to mind. Will she make it to the meeting?
These walls echo with every door that shuts, and I would have heard her leave her room. I haven’t yet. And the meeting will be starting any moment.
She’s not going to show up for him. Fire ignites inside me, and I’m marching to her room and bursting open her door. Luna Kathy is sleeping.
Well, not for long.
I stomp over to her bed and pull the covers off of her. “Get up.”
Luna Kathy groans and bundles herself in the covers.
I tug on them again, this time, confiscating them completely. “I said get up. You have a meeting, and Caleb is waiting.”
With her arms wrapped around herself, she waves me off in dismissal. “I don’t feel well. I’m tired.”
“No. Nuh uh. You’re coming.”
She sits straight up, flabbergasted. “I beg your pardon? What makes you think you can speak to me this way? You’re a—”
“A rogue. A lowlife. A nobody. Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before. Your son has been running this pack for months and could really use your help. People are starting to talk about your absence.”
“Let them talk. I don’t care. I put years of service into this pack. If they don’t appreciate it, fine.”
“Caleb needs you.”
“My son is fine.”
“He is not fine!”
She scoffs. “I think I know my son a little better than you.” She stands from the bed and moseys on over to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her to pee.
I follow and talk to her through the door. “How would you know? You haven’t been around. People grieve differently. And with you constantly out of commission, I don’t know if he’s had time to.”
“You’re still here?” she says, annoyed and astonished at the same time.
After a flush and the sink running, the door opens. She walks past me. “I appreciate your concern—I think—but Caleb didn’t lose his mate.”
“No, he lost his father. Now, he’s losing his mother.”
She crawls back into bed, practically ignoring me.
“You’re being selfish, you know that?”
“Excuse me? Do you have any idea who you’re talking to? I could have you—”
“It’s clear you don’t know who I am. The fact that you think I’d let you do anything to me shows how little you’ve been paying attention,” I say. “I thought I was talking to the Luna of this pack, but there’s no way this sad sack is her.”
“Get out!” she yells.
I march for the door. “Your son has already lost his father. Don’t make him lose his mother and the entire Bloodhound pack as well.”
I slam the door, march downstairs and stop halfway. Through the open door, I see people piled into the conference room.
Caleb stands at the front. And his expression causes my wolf to whimper. He’s so disappointed. I never want him to look at me that way.
I glance behind me, silently praying she appears.
Afterward, the doors are closed, and the meeting commences. I wait just outside the conference room, pacing back and forth, hoping she’ll appear from the west wing.
Moments later, she does. Beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe her. Regal is a better word. Elegant and full of class, decked in all beige, white and pearls. I’ve only ever seen her in loungewear.
She sees me and stops in front of the closed doors. “I’m . . . sorry for what I said. You didn’t deserve that. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Of course.” I smile. I grab the doorknob to the conference room and ask, “Are you ready?”
She smiles and nods, standing taller, holding her head up high. “Ready.”
I open the door for her, making sure I’m behind it, so no one can see me usher her in. “Go,” I whisper.
She strides in and disappears.
Once Luna Kathy is clear of the doors, I shut them behind her softly. When it latches, chairs screech against the hardwood floor follows. They’re standing at attention for their Luna.
I can only imagine the look on Caleb’s face.
Kathy might get back into bed shortly after this meeting, but at this moment, she’s there for him. And I can only imagine it means the world to him.
My wolf wags its tail at the thought of Caleb’s relief.
I press my ear against the door, trying my hardest to listen. When it all comes out mumbled, I give up. Disappointed, I walk away with my eyes trained on the floor, lost in thought. Suddenly, feet come into view.
Almost running into someone, I gasp at the feet’s owner. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
It’s one of the guys from the church who stared at me.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”
Something about him seems off, and I want to get away from him as quickly as I can. I didn’t like the way he looked at me before and nor do I now.
“Well, anyway. Have a good day,” I say as I turn to head to Caleb’s room.
I enjoy being outside, but there’s something about his room that gives my wolf comfort and safety. Which is the opposite of how I feel around this guy.
“Wait.”
“Hm?” I turn to face him.
“I’m sorry about earlier, at the church. My name’s Cody. I’ve just never really seen a rogue before that wasn’t—” He pauses, trying to find a polite way to say what he wants.
I lift an eyebrow. “Bulldozing through your pack?”
He laughs awkwardly. “I didn’t want to say it, but yeah.”
Cody seems shy, but it’s almost charming. Maybe I misjudged him, and I think he’s thinking the same. He doesn’t seem so bad.
“Anyway, Caleb said he wanted you to wait for him in the woods.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.”
That’s strange.
“Why?”
“I don’t really know. He said there was something he wanted to talk to you about. Something important.”
“Did he say what it was?”
“Something that’s going on between you and him? I’m not sure. He wouldn’t really say. Actually, he said it’s none of my business, and that you’d know what he was referring to.”
Hope floods through me. Perhaps now I can finally make sense of these feelings . . . and also, maybe I’m not alone in them.
“Okay,” I say, trying my best to contain my excitement and follow Cody outside.