Chapter 35 Caleb
CALEB
“Good, Evan,” I say as I pace back and forth in front of him.
He’s got his hands pressed against the ground as he does well-repped push-ups.
“Keep going,” I encourage. “Remember when you couldn’t even do a couple with good form at the start? Now look at you.”
Evan releases a low groan as he works even harder. I don’t know if I’ll ever tire of watching him push himself to new limits. We all know the brain is capable of talking us out of things when shit gets tough, but our bodies can put up with a lot more than we realise.
A part of me thinks Evan lost that when his narcissistic brother beat him to a pulp, and that resilience inside him turned into self-hatred instead.
I know he’s mentally strong; you have to be to endure that kind of abuse. It’s going to take some time before he registers it himself.
Evan stops after his last set and presses himself back onto his knees. His face is red and blotchy, but that’s a sign of a good workout. “Oh, Goddess,” he pants. “I’m exhausted.”
“As you should be. You worked hard. Now, we should—”
Caleb, I need you in the office, Felix’s voice echoes through my head.
Evan frowns. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Sorry, I need to cut this short. I’m needed at the house.”
“Oh.” He hesitates. “That’s okay. I’ll see you another time?”
My eyes roam over his innocent face. “Yeah, I’ll see you soon, pups.”
I lean down to press a soft kiss to his cheek and watch as his skin tints, knowing full well it has nothing to do with his workout. I head back to the house and walk straight into my office. Felix is already there with our head guards, Carson and Aimee.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Speculation that Ryker is planning something in the North,” Felix states. “Making surprise appearances to intimidate them.”
The sound of my father’s name always makes my blood run cold.
“Threatening to attack innocent packs,” Carson carries on. “To take over, I can only guess.”
I curse under my breath. He never learns. He’s always thirsty for more power, more blood, more land. I don’t need this right now.
“Are you keeping an eye on him?”
Aimee nods. “As best as we can. If it escalates, I fear our new pack members might act out if they believe your future actions could reflect Ryker’s.”
My nose turns up at the thought. I’ve been through too much to care what other people do with their lives. As long as I get to live mine in peace, then why do I need to tear down others? It’s never made sense to me.
“Ryker needs to go, Caleb,” Felix says as he folds his arms over his chest.
I stare at my Beta for a long moment. “You really think I don’t know that?”
“He’s going to ruin everything for us.” Felix’s hand throws up in the air. “He’s going to get us exiled or killed. We can’t keep living like this. Something needs to be done, and I’m getting to the point where I don’t care how we do it.”
If I had a pound for every time I thought about murdering my father in cold blood, I’d be fucking rich. But it’s easier said than done. The man has powers that even witches can’t fathom. My mother would know, and the thought makes my head grow dark.
“If it backfires, it could end us,” I growl.
Felix tilts his head. “Well, at least it’ll be something worth fighting for. That way, people aren’t living in fear that this man will come bounding into their lives and destroy everything.”
A world without my father means I can live in calmness with Evan by my side. No more hiding. No more pretending. No more looking over my shoulder.
“This isn’t something we can plan overnight,” I state.
“I agree,” Felix declares. “It’s going to take a while, especially to get him at his weakest.”
I glance at Carson and Aimee. “Can you make sure you send over all the details you’ve got of his whereabouts, sightings, anything that you think is worth noting down?”
“Yes, Alpha.”
My eyes find Felix’s again.
“It’s been a long time coming, brother,” he says. “We can’t keep putting it off. We’re not living like this, and our pack deserves better. We’ve managed to get them to trust us finally, now we’ve got to get the rest on board before we lose them.”
I drag a hand over my face before cupping my jaw. “You’re right,” I confess. “Once I get the information, we can sit down and figure out a plan.”
Felix’s shoulders droop an inch as he seems to relax a little. “We’ve got this.”
“I’m going to shower,” I say. “We’ll make a start on this tonight.”
The second I leave the office and head upstairs to my bedroom, I try not to let thoughts of my father consume me. Trying to track him down and strike when he least expects it isn’t going to be easy.
As I step into my bedroom, I’m swarmed by the scent of cherries. I inhale a calming breath as my eyes flick around the room to find Evan standing by my bed, staring up at the painting on the wall.
“Pups—”
He glances over at me. “Hi.”
“What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Evan looks sheepish, but nods. “Everything okay with you?”
“It will be,” I murmur.
Without hesitation, he lunges at me, and I manage to slam the door shut as he wraps his arms around my neck, and presses his lips to mine. A groan crawls up my throat as I slip my arm around his lower waist, our chests flush against one another.
My lips work between his softly but desperately at the same time. Gentle aggression that makes me throb inside. The second our tongues come into contact, I can’t help but moan at the sensations that hit me. He pushes me backwards until my legs hit the bed, and I fall onto my sheets.
He wastes no time in crawling up and over my body, his legs on either side of mine. I watch him with wild eyes and swollen lips.
I cup the side of his face as he shoves up the fabric of my T-shirt and kisses along my tattooed torso. My head spins at the current situation—I’m unsure if it’s even real life.
“Evan,” I whisper as he peeks those blue eyes up at me. “What are you doing?”
He drags his tongue over his teeth in a seductive manner that makes my chest concave. “Thanking you for all your help.”
My nostrils flare at the tone of his voice. “Evan, you don’t need—”
“I want to do this,” he says as he slips his fingers into the waistband of my shorts teasingly. “Please let me do this.”
The pleading expression in his eyes could fucking kill me. I groan with a slow nod. Evan’s eyes drop down to where my cock has sprung free, and he pauses. I’m almost fully hard, but he’s not staring at the thickness of my cock, he’s staring at the metal piercing that’s through the tip.
He blinks once and then twice. “Wh–” he pauses, looking completely dumbfounded. “You have a piercing.”
I purse my lips to stop myself from saying something that’ll scare him away. “Yeah, pups. I have a piercing,” I murmur.
His eyes dilate as he studies it. “But—” he swallows. “Does it not hurt?”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “No.”
“Why do you have it?”
“It increases my pleasure,” I state. “But it can also increase your pleasure, too.”
Evan’s eyes move to mine. “How?”
“We’ll talk about that when we get to it,” I say.
“So…if I play with it, will it feel good for you?”
I suppress a groan and sink my teeth into my lip instead. “Very much.”
“Like this?”
He leans forward quickly, wraps his hand around my cock, and uses his thumb to push around the small ring with a ball on it. I nearly jump out of my skin, and he flinches.
“Sorry, sorry.” He releases my cock.
I choke out a laugh. “It’s not a rush, Evan,” I say lightheartedly. “You can take your time. I don’t mind.”
He licks his lips. “Okay.”
This time, he grips my cock firmly and strokes me instead. My eyes roll back at the euphoric feeling. I underestimated what the touch of your mate can really do to your soul.
“Oh, holy fuck,” I groan, unable to keep it to myself.
“What?” Evan’s expression flashes panic with blown pupils.
I shake my head. “Nothing,” I grunt. “You just feel good.”
“Oh.” His cheeks bleed, and if it isn’t the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen while my cock is in his hand. “I’ll carry on then.”
Thank the Goddess.
When his thumb touches my piercing again, I grip onto the sheets at the waves of pleasure that hit me right in the sternum. I’m not usually this sensitive, but with him being the one touching me? I might as well be one big nerve ending with the way my body jolts.
“Still feel good?”
“Yeah,” I rasp. “So good.”
Evan pulls away and then sinks to his knees in front of me. I push myself up from the bed and watch him with heated eyes.
“Stand up,” he murmurs. “Please.”
I do as he says, my cock inches from his face. Pre-cum starts to ooze out of the tip as he licks his lips over and over. My hand runs down my face in anticipation because he might just kill me.
“I-I don’t know if it’s gonna fit in my mouth,” he mumbles as he studies it, analysing how to get it to fit.
Yeah, he’s going to send me into an early grave.
“Pups,” I say as I clench my fists together.
But before I can get another word out, he leans forward and licks the tip of my cock. My hands slide around his neck and into his hair for leverage. The shiver in my knees isn’t normal, and if I don’t hold onto him, I’m going to fall over.
My eyes find Evan’s as he stares up at me, and I’m completely at his mercy. His mouth widens, and he slips the tip inside, his tongue swirling around my piercing.
Curse words fly from my mouth left, right, and centre. I can’t hold it in. It’s physically impossible.
“Fuck, Evan,” I growl, trying not to grip his hair too tight.
It’s his first time. I’m his first everything. My cock throbs. No. Stop thinking about it.
Evan sinks his lips down my cock until he’s stuffed and there’s more than half left. He groans around me, sending vibrations right to my heart. My lips part as I watch him suck my cock with an innocent glimmer in his eye.
“Fuck me,” I groan when he pulls out and does something with his tongue that makes me wonder who the hell taught him that.
A strike of jealousy rushes through me.