Chapter Nine
With the three hunters taken care of, Aries left the room to scout the perimeter to make sure there were no other surprises lurking to take him or Calliope by surprise. Once he was certain there were no other hunters, Aries rejoined his friend who was in the same position he’d left her in. It appeared as if her legs had mended but there were still patches of her fur missing. He walked over to her and slid his tongue along her wounds to speed up the healing.
After several moments, she shifted to her human form. Once he was certain that Calliope was okay, Aries followed suit.
“How about we shower and dress and you can tell me what was going on here.”
Calliope didn’t look him in the eyes for some reason but she nodded. “I’ll lay some clothes out for you since the ones you were wearing are no longer of use. I kept some outfits for you in case you came to visit.”
Aries nodded but didn’t question why she would keep clothing for him at her house. He’d visited Calliope several times over the years and usually, it was strictly for sex. He had never stayed overnight, however. But he decided not to question her motives right now while he was still covered in the blood of his enemy.
Since he’d been to this house before, Calliope didn’t need to show him to the guest bathroom. The spray of the hot water came as a relief to his still aching muscles. He’d exerted more energy than usual to fight off that last hunter. The last time he remembered fighting a hunter that powerful was when he and his cousin Constantine had stumbled on a few hunters trying to capture Sarah.
Their bodies were stronger and could take more abuse. And their offensive attacks were more devastating. The only conclusion he could come to was that the man had been one of Gage’s higher-ups. But what did they want with Calliope and why did she leave the island in the first place when she knew of the dangers of going off on her own. She was one of the packs most trusted fighters and she knew better than this.
By the time he finished his shower, Aries had a number of questions he needed answers to. As she’d said, Calliope had laid some clothes out for her him and they fit perfectly. Judging from the scent and the way they felt against his skin, they’d never been worn before.
He found Calliope in her dining room freshly cleaned. There were was also a plate of food waiting for him. “I thought you might be hungry. I know I am after a battle.”
Aries looked at the steak on his plate and he had to admit it did look delicious. And it was rare, just as he liked it. But as tempting as the meal before him was, he wanted answers first.
“Calliope, who were those men?”
Her head was bowed slightly as she answered. “They were hunters. They were trying to take me with them but I put up a fight.”
Once again he noticed that’s he wouldn’t look him in the eye but that wasn’t the most important matter…yet.”
“What happened exactly?”
“I needed to get off the island so I came here to do some thinking. Unfortunately for me, three hunters appeared in my home. It’s my fault really because it’s not warded to keep out spells. I meant to have it done but I never got around to it. But I didn’t think it was so important.”
“It’s not like you to be so careless, Calliope. What were you thinking to leave the island the way you did? Especially when you know Gage is on the warpath. I’m surprised my Uncle granted you permission to leave the island in the first place.”
“It wasn’t very hard to get his authorization. I told him I wouldn’t be alone and I would return in a week.”
“So you lied to your Alpha?”
“There you go playing the Beta again. Look, I messed up and I paid the price.”
“It’s not like you to be so careless.”
“I just had a lot on my mind.” She cut off a large chunk of her steak and stuff it in her mouth. Aries suspected it was a tactic so that she wouldn’t have to answer him immediately. But he could be patient when the situation called for it and Aries suspected this was one of those times.
“Calliope, do you know why those men attacked you?” he asked when she finished chewing.
“I suppose it’s because they somehow know that I get these premonitions. We both know that hunters value rare shifters above all others to give them their powers. While I’m not as special as an all-black, I guess they figured they could use me.”
Aries narrowed his eyes. “That’s right…you do get premonitions, don’t you? Why did you see this coming? And why did you return to a house that wasn’t warded? Why did you call me to say you need to tell me something? You said it was urgent. In fact, you put it in a way that seemed only I could hear that information.”
She took another bite of her meat. And this time, Aries knew with absolute certainty that she was hiding something from him. He slammed his fist on the table making her jump. “Answer my goddamn questions! And look at me when I’m talking to you.”
When she looked at him, her hazel eyes brimmed with tears. “You never used that tone with me before.”
“You’ve never been deceptive before, at least as far as I know. Was this some kind of set up? You would have me believe that you’d come to a house that wasn’t warded when this pack has been on high alert for months?”
This time Calliope’s tears fell freely but Aries was unmoved. He’d dealt with enough deception in his time to last a lifetime. “My visions are…not always accurate and not clear but sometimes they can give me some insight into what might happen. Something told me that if I was in trouble you would come. You’d come to save me.”
“Of course I would. We’re friends and I’m Beta of the pack which means it’s my responsibility to see to the welfare of the members in my Alpha’s charge.”
“Well, I suppose I have my answer then.” She pushed her plate away.
“All these years, I was nothing more to you than a bedmate. You never said or did anything to make me think otherwise, but I fell for you, Aries. And I foolishly believed that you would come to care for me too. And as long as neither of us had a true mate I could hold on to hope. But started having dreams about the all-black and her destiny seemed to be intertwined with yours. I didn’t understand it at first but I did the other day when you were heading to your home after presumably, you had a run through the woods. I watched you come out with her. And then we spoke briefly and her scent was all over you. I knew then what it meant. I had to get off the island because I couldn’t bear to see you with her. And when I came here, I had another dream of you coming to my rescue. A friend of mine who is a witch removed the ward from my house and then I called you to come. I thought maybe if you saw that I was in danger you would realize that you care for me. As silly and as misguided as that sounded, I had to take a chance.”
“I guess that would explain why you had clothing ready for me. And why the house wasn’t warded. But it doesn’t explain why you would think a plan like this won’t make me anything other than furious. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about you Calliope was your good sense. And yes, I saw you as more than just a lover. You were my friend. And for you to pull a stunt like this that put not only me and yourself in danger, was foolish. What if I wouldn’t have made it on time? When I couldn’t even move because they’d beaten you pretty badly, never mind that you managed to take one of them out. You could have died! I could have died and for what? Some silly crush?” He banged his fist on the table again.
Calliope bowed her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I know it was stupid. I knew it the second those hunters appeared and I’m sorry for putting you in danger. I’ll understand if you want to exile me from the pack,” she whispered.
As angry as Aries was, he still cared for Calliope and despite this stunt she’d just pulled, her friendship and service to the pack meant a lot to him. “It’s not my place to exile you from the pack. It’s up to the Alpha. But I won’t tell him what happened if you promise never to do something this dangerous again."
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.”
A long silence stretched between them before Calliope finally whispered. “So now what?”
“You’ll have to come back to Circe.”
She stiffened. “And see you with her?”
“Calliope, you knew from the start that there would never be more between us than what I had already stated. I never wanted a mate but now that the fates have decided to give me one, she’s all I can think about. The thought of being with someone besides her is almost painful. I didn’t expect to feel this immediate pull toward her. In fact being away from her now when I know our enemies are circling us causing me and it’s causing me anxiety, so I’m going to need you to swallow your feelings and come back with me to the island where you’ll be safe. When Gage is taken care of I don’t care where you go but until then deal with it.”
“I don’t have a choice do I?”
“In this matter? No. I don’t want to have to worry about you on top of all the other problems we’re dealing with. Besides, hasn’t it occurred to you that perhaps Gage has people monitoring the ports? How else would he have known to follow you? You do realize that hunters easily blend in with humans. You could encounter one and then be attacked before you even know it. We may not be able to spot their kind right away but they can certainly tell what we are.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Of course you didn’t. Because you were too busy setting up some harebrained scheme to get my attention when you could have simply told me how you felt. Get your things and let’s go. In the meantime, I’m going to make a couple calls to have some Underground agents look into this. At the very least they could track down any spies in the area.”
As Calliope gathered her belongings, Aries made his phone calls. He needed to get back to Circe as soon as possible to check in on Nina and to get answers. He couldn’t shake the ominous warning of the hunter and Aries had a sinking feeling that it had something to do with his mate.
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A bereft feeling rested in the pit of Nina’s stomach. She couldn’t figure out what it was. Aries had said he would come for her today but he had yet to show up. Thankfully the Alpha hadn’t come to interrogate her although Sarah did return for a visit. She found Sarah to be a comforting presenting. It was the same way she’d felt when she was around Anisa. It made sense that she Sarah was her daughter.
She tossed and turned on the bed until finally, she couldn’t stand to be in this room any longer. She’d spent most of her life in isolation but she’d never felt more lonely than she did right now. Sliding out of bed, she ventured out and went downstairs. She expected the Alpha to come out of his study and barrage her with questions but he didn’t. She didn’t know what compelled her but she but she went to his office and knocked on his door. There was no answer so she opened the door and stuck her head inside. He wasn’t there. She frowned. Now that she thought about it, the guards that usually stood outside of the officer weren’t there and the two pack members who had stood outside of her room was absent as well. An ominous sensation settled over her that she couldn’t shake. She searched the house looking for other signs of life but there was no one. Nina ventured outside and the island was eerily silent not just from the lack of activity from the island inhabitants but from everything. There were no animals going about their routines and the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the rocks was absent. Suddenly everything went dark except for a peel of lightning that illuminated the sky. A torrential rain commenced beating down on her skin like tiny pebbles.
Nina turned back to the Alpha’s house but it was gone and she found herself in a black abyss even though the storm continued to rage. Déjà vu hit her and it felt as if her worst nightmare was coming true.
“Mother, a soft voice cried out to her.
Nina stiffened when she heard the voice that only seemed to come alive in her dreams. She turned and saw a child, only ten summers old.
“Micco,” she whispered unable to believe her eyes.
She walked closer to the child but he flinched away before turning his back to her.”
“Micco. My love, it’s me. Mama is here.”
“You didn’t save me, Mama. You let the bad man get me. You were supposed to protect me.”
“I’m so sorry. I told them to take me instead.”
“You let them hurt me, Mama.” Micco’s voice sounded forlorn, ripping into her soul with each syllable.”
“I’m so sorry. I’d do anything to take it back. I will do anything to save you.”
“It’s too late.” He turned around and the sight of him made Nina gasp. His eyes had been gouged out and blood ran from the empty sockets. His throat and chest were ripped open. He raised an accusatory finger. “You let me die.”
Nina screamed and kept screaming, unable to stop until she felt someone shaking her.
“Nina! Wake up!”
She opened her eyes to see Aries sitting next to her. The concern etched on his handsome face did something to her she didn’t expect. Before she could stop herself, she burst into loud body-shaking sobs.