Ravenwood(78)

Caleb’s lips curved in a slight smile. “And so it should be for everyone. But it does not work like that in a wolf pack. We always have an Alpha. An Alpha cares for the pack. An Alpha makes decisions for the pack. An Alpha provides for the pack.”

“That sounds almost benevolent. I’ve a difficult time reconciling that notion with a man, or a wolf, such as Hayter.”

“You’re not wrong,” Caleb said, leaning back in his chair, keeping contact with her fingers. “I wonder what would have happened if my father had not passed away. If Hayter had not arrived here and become Alpha. If Victoria were still alive. I know that Hayter is not the most ideal Alpha, but… after all our losses, he was there. He was able to be a leader. At the time, I could not… perhaps I should have, but…”

“Grief is an overwhelming thing,” Elinore supplied.

Caleb nodded. “It is distressing to me that you know what it is to lose both parents so quickly. To be adrift. I am grateful to Hayter and yet at the same time, I resent him for doing what I could not.”

She reached across the table with her other hand and placed it over top of their joined ones, running her thumb over the space between his thumb and forefinger. He stared down at their hands, intertwined, and then said, “Touch is important for a pack. Before I left, it was difficult not to touch you for I felt immediately that you should belong at Ravenwood with us. From the moment you declared you would not leave Thistle alone in the woods. You were terrified, you’d already been bitten and you did not know any of us. But you were determined to remain by his side until help could be obtained. I thought immediately that you would make an excellent wolf.”

Elinore thought back to how Hayter’s hands lingered on her collar bone, or how he would take her arm when they walked, keeping her close. She disliked those gestures coming from him. She wondered how she would have reacted if they had come from Caleb instead.

“Does it mean something, other than familiarity?”

Caleb nodded, looking absent for a moment. “To the pack? Yes. It means you’re not alone, that there is someone else there, that you belong. My mother…” he paused for a moment, his face going fond and soft. “My father would brush out my mother’s hair every night. I’m sure she had servants or ladies in waiting who would normally be tasked with such a thing, but it was always my father’s duty. One I think they both enjoyed.”

“Mrs. Davenport has been brushing mine,” Elinore said, feeling a surge of fondness for the older woman.

“Would you… would you let me? Tonight?”

Elinore had an image in her head of sitting down and having Caleb sit behind her, taking out her pins and unfurling her hair from its captive state. He would run her brush down her hair, over and over again until she was lazy and relaxed with the sensation, his strong hands careful, yet firm.

“Yes.”

His eyes met hers, bright and happy and she smiled in return, her cheeks feeling sharp and hard with the ferocity of her emotion.

They did not see Hayter for the rest of the day, although Elinore couldn’t help but feel his presence loomed over their entire beings. The staff appeared extraordinarily pleased to see her with Caleb, Elinore thought. She’d never seen so many happy faces all at once in her life. Although it was quite somber when they visited the stables and she recalled the bloody remains they’d found the other day. There was no further word on the feral wolf. Jonah came forward to speak with Caleb and Elinore was quite pleased when she was asked to stay to listen and offer her thoughts. Caleb listened closely to Jonah, asking for Elinore’s accounts of her findings as well and decreed they should return to hunting the feral wolf now that he was able to accompany them. Though she was glad of his return to Ravenwood, she disliked the idea of him out in the woods searching for the feral wolf.

The morning was spent with the rest of the Ravenwood staff - it seemed everyone wanted to come and speak with them as a pair. After a light lunch, she and Caleb headed to the library. Elinore couldn’t help blushing when she entered, looking at the desk and knowing what had transpired the night before. Caleb pulled her close and kissed her temple even as she blushed furiously and hid her face in her hands. She giggled nervously as he made his way to the desk and started pulling out his ledgers.

“I cannot believe you’re going to work there now.”

Caleb’s lips quirked as he pulled out his quill and ink. “And where should I work instead? Would you banish me to the out doors, working in the forest?”

“No,” she replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs and pulling out Charlotte’s letters to re-read so she could respond. She eyed Caleb and the desk out of the corner of her gaze. Heat pooled in her belly as she stared, remembering the touch of Caleb’s lips against hers and the feel of his hands as they’d slid over her body. A sharp snapping sound had her looking up to see he’d broken his quill in half.

“You’re a distraction,” he said with a fond shake of his head, rummaging in his desk for another quill.

“I am silent as a church mouse!” she protested.

Finding a new quill, Caleb dipped it into his inkwell. “That you are, but I… I know of what you are thinking.”

Elinore felt her cheeks go hotter, but did not apologize. “Is that a werewolf hallmark or simply something you’re good at knowing?”