Ravenwood(94)

Caleb’s eyes were slitted open, the stunning clear shade of his irises sharper against his stark pale skin and red-rimmed eyes. She heard a quiet whining sound and realized it had escaped from her. She moved closer, taking one of his hands in hers and he made a quiet shushing sound as she struggled not to cry.

“I will heal. I’m healing now.”

His voice, normally soft and quiet, was softer still, as though he had to work quite hard to force the words out. She supposed that was true. She looked down at his body, wondering what kinds of wounds were under the blankets placed carefully over him. She was in awe at the strength and skill of Mrs. Davenport - able to work under such duress. Elinore leaned over the bed, resting her head against the mattress even as she clutched Caleb’s hand between her own. She wanted to crawl into bed with him, curl up around and him keep watch over him, but wasn’t sure if any movement would hurt him.

“I will be fine, Elinore,” Caleb said, his other hand resting on her mussed hair and almost petting her scalp. She took a steadying breath and then raised her head, seeing his eyes still focused on her.

“Hayter?” she asked.

His face was like that of a child’s - pained, hurt, and almost shamed, as though he were somehow responsible for his uncle’s behavior.

“Yes. It seems I’ve been quite the fool. Trusting him. Thinking him family when…” Caleb’s voice trailed off and his expression became even more pained. Elinore squeezed his fingers, hoping he found comfort in her presence and touch. She wanted to weep for the look on his face.

“How did you know?” he asked.

Elinore shook her head. She couldn’t tell him of the omega just now. Not when he was injured, lying in bed wounded. “It’s not important.”

“He killed my parents.”

“What?” Elinore breathed, a crawling feeling spreading over her skin.

“He… I was looking for him and he…. I stumbled across him in the woods, at night. He was…” he swallowed, his face grim and full of disgust. “There were animals all around him. Dead, disgraced. And he… he was there, covered in blood. He’s mad.” Caleb’s fingers intertwined with hers. “How long has he been mad and I’ve not noticed?” he asked, and Elinore sensed it wasn’t a question directed at her to be answered. “He laughed when I found him. I thought he’d been hurt. The blood… there was so much blood. And he laughed. He called me foolish. He took such glee in that moment. I asked him what had happened, why he was surrounded by such… death and gore and he laughed again and said that this was what it meant to be an Alpha. He could do as he wanted, as he wished, with no consequence. And that’s not…” Caleb shook his head. “My father was never an Alpha like that. There are some wolves that are. Of course, there are. Such great power is often a corrupting force. But my father…” Caleb paused again and Elinore waited silently, not wanting to interrupt. He seemed to need to gather strength to continue. She did not know if it was physical or emotional strength he tried to rally to continue. Perhaps both. “My father was a kind Alpha. A protector. I said as much to Hayter and he… he… got this look. About his face, about his entire being and he said… he said that’s why my father never saw it coming when Hayter killed him. He was too kind.

“I thought I must have heard wrong or misunderstood, but then I remembered my father’s death and how shocking it was. How I never could puzzle out how he’d come to be killed so close to our home. We’re so much stronger when we’re close to our den. How could my father, the strongest Alpha that I’d ever known, be killed so quickly, so quietly, so near our home? But if it had been by someone he trusted, by his own brother…” Caleb shook his head. “He wouldn’t have had the time to fight back. He would have been too surprised. We’d been so grieved, so hurt and when I think of how we relied on Hayter then! How he comforted us.” Although Caleb’s face was dry of tears, Elinore felt her own tears escape from her eyes, thinking of a Caleb and his mother, in the clutches of Hayter. “And then my mother dying from grief and he was all I had. Hayter was all I had then, and I… I was so grateful to him.” Cable’s fingers tightened around Elinore’s - the tensile strength in his grip so fierce and powerful. “I let him be my Alpha even though something in me recoiled against it. I thought it was grief and guilt - for having another Alpha than my father. But all wolves need a pack and I was so grateful that Hayter was there, to be an Alpha when I did not feel ready for it. I let him be my Alpha,” Caleb repeated. He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath.

Her heart broke for him. To be so betrayed by someone you loved, someone you thought loved you. “You could not have known the depths of his depravity,” Elinore said, her voice low and rough with her own emotions. She smoothed the hair back from his forehead. “Whatever he has done, he was your family and you had no cause to believe him degenerate and foul.”

“I should have known. I should have sensed him lying or felt his betrayal.” His eyes opened suddenly and he tried to sit up, grimacing in pain as he did.

“Please, lie still,” Elinore pleaded. She could not bear to see him in pain. Her nose twitched and she looked down in horror as fresh blood blossomed against the sheets. “Mrs Davenport!” she called, trying to push Caleb gently back down.