ALPHA: Heir Of The Four

Chapter Thirteen | Part II

Chapter Notes: Caleb's POV

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- 'If we're going to die, bury us alive. . .' -

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My heightened senses never failed to alert me when someone or something was near and they clearly had no intention of doing so either. So when a slight chill ran down my spine, I knew it had nothing to do with the almost non-existent night breeze weaving in and out of the surrounding statuesque trees. And when a warm tingle danced along my skin from head to toe, I knew that it had everything to do with the light footsteps headed my way. She was coming to find me and I had no other choice but to finally face my mate.

     I couldn't tell you how long I had been in the hauntingly silent forest; time had been the last thing on my mind, so losing it did not conjure so much as an inkling of my concern. But for however long I had been stuck out there, drowning in past memories and suffocating from the smothering clutches of regret, I was masochistically thankful for the distraction. I had gladly welcomed the pain from the past because it meant that I wouldn't have to deal with the painful present. That I wouldn't have to see it staring back at me with big brown eyes and pouring out in the form of tears. That I wouldn't have to witness it as it oozed out from the pores of her brown skin or as it blemished her delicate face. So I had gladly bid my time out in the woods and accepted my punishment because there was no amount of pain worse than having to face the kind inflicted on the ones you loved by your own hand.

     But my time was up.

     I didn't bother to move from my current position, seated on the grass with my legs outstretched and my back propped up against a tree trunk. Instead, I waited for the footsteps to carry her closer. Normally, I would have been angry at her for coming out here alone at this time of night, angry that she still refused to stay put like I instructed, but the time for anger had sailed away long ago. Despite the fact that she had taken the initiative to seek me out, I needed her now more than ever. And if the moon sitting in the sky directly above me was more than just a coincidence, then I was going to take it as a sign that my mate was exactly what I needed in order to silence my pain. Forever.

     Ava-Rain, tears of my moon.

     My redemption.

     I saw that more clearly now than ever before. From the moment we met, I had rejected Ava-Rain not just consciously but subconsciously as well. I said that it was done in order to protect my pack and to protect secrets that would destroy everything that so many people had fought to keep hidden, but that was the truth as much as it was bullshit. I walked away from her in that club because I had not been ready to accept her inside of my heart. And even when I realized that existing without her in my life and by my side was impossible, I still kept her at a distance. I allowed her touch to only reach so far. Allowed her light to only shine so bright. Allowed her warmth to only invade me to a certain point. And that point, I had determined while sulking in the forest, was where the concrete wall had been put in place to keep Ava-Rain out and keep Emmy Grace contained within. Almost as if it was my subconscious' way of ensuring that the two never crossed paths, if that made sense.

     But in order for me to move on, in order for Ava-Rain to have the mate she deserved,  what was about to happen had to happen. I was going to hurt her and saw no way around that. I was going to attack her with honesty, drag her down and through the dirt with cold hard truths. I was going to become the personification of every thing she feared the most. I was going to do everything I swore to protect her from. I was going to break her because, I realized, my redemption laid solely on her destruction. Because to destroy her would mean destroying myself and I could not begin to heal until the worst of the damage had been inflicted.