Ava’s POV
I watch Cameron take the stairs three at a time and take a few breaths to calm myself from the last kiss.
I should really go find Lily.
I turn as I hear footsteps coming down the hall and see Alpha Caleb coming towards me.
“Ava!” He takes in my new dress. “Glad I ran into you, could you come into my office for a moment?”
“Oh! Uh, okay.” I hesitantly walk with him down the hall to his large office that I had spent nearly every day in for the two years we dated after he became Alpha. I’d sit at a second desk doing my homework while he did his Alpha duties, occasionally taking breaks to fool around.
What could he want to talk with me about? Was I in trouble? Was he upset I haven’t been helping Lily enough today?
I nervously bite my lip as he opens the office door for me, closing it behind him and making his way to his desk. He leans against it and looks at me, his face soft.
“So…you and King Cameron?” He studies my face.
“Uh, y-yes. Yes. I think so.” I don’t know why I just said that. I mean, yes, we are mates. He said I would be his queen. I don’t know why I still feel nervous about the possibility of him rejecting me.
I chew on my lower lip.
Caleb puts his finger on my lip to stop it, just like he always used to, just like Cameron did earlier.
I look at him in surprise, and he pulls his hand away, looking surprised himself.
“Sorry.” He grins sheepishly. “Old habits…”
I nod, feeling a little flip in my belly. This is the first time we have been alone together since my birthday, the first time we’ve really talked.
I look around the office, the first time I’ve been here since he mated with Lily. My desk is still here, but now it’s covered with fabric swatches and magazine cut-outs for Lily and Caleb’s commitment ceremony.
I look back at Caleb who was watching me.
“I miss talking to you.”
I swallow. I hadn’t expected that. His voice is deep and soft, his eyes earnest.
He has no idea how much that would have meant to me before this morning. It can’t mean as much to me now that I have found my mate, could it?
Even as I think this, I feel the familiar pang in my stomach that I felt every day for the past four months. The pain that I had from having no one but my sister to talk to, my best friend never being around anymore.
Because even though we were dating, Caleb had also been my best friend. When he mated with Lily, I not only lost my boyfriend, but my best friend.
“I miss talking to you, too.” My voice is husky and I look away when I say it, feeling guilty.
I need to change the subject.
“So, you came back early. Cameron said the Red Night pack couldn’t be tracked?” I look back at Caleb.
He frowns and rubs the back of his head.
“Yeah, that’s not common.”
I nod. “Lycan?”
He looks at me for a moment before replying. “Yeah.”
We look at each other for a few silent seconds.
“I’m glad you made it back okay, I was worried about you and the others.”
Caleb smiles at me. “Thanks. We really didn’t do much fighting. The Red Night pack was pretty skilled at staying hidden and picking victims off one at a time.” He frowns as he recalls it. “I’m grateful none of our men got picked off, but the Blue Moon pack wasn’t as lucky. Several members who lived on the outskirts of their village were killed before we even arrived.”
I give a shudder at the thought.
Caleb puts his hands on my shoulders and rubs them up and down my arms for a moment before he stops, realization of what he is doing on his face as he feels my body stiffen.
He withdrawals his hands and gives another sheepish grin. “Old habits…”
He sighs as he looks at me. “I’ve tried my best to avoid you, it’s hard to let go of feelings for someone that you loved so much and for so long, regardless of finding your mate.”
I can’t believe what he is saying. All these months. All these damn months I have wanted him to say these things to me, to offer me some satisfaction that it wasn’t that easy for him to just abandon me and all the feelings we had for each other.
But now?? Now when I just found my own mate?
“Caleb, I wanted you to say this to me months ago…”
“I know, I know. I’m a coward.” Caleb shakes his head in disgust at himself.
“I regretted it the very next day. I knew I should have rejected Lily. I knew I should have stayed with you, but I thought there was no way you could forgive me.”
I’m staggered by his confession, physically knocked backwards in my shock.
Caleb looks in my eyes and grabs my hands.
“I’m going to be devastated when you leave.”
I swallow. I have no words. None.
His eyes bore into mine. “I love you Ava. I always have, I never stopped.”
I’m staring at him with my mouth open, when there’s a knock on the door.
Caleb lets go of my hands and stands up, walking around his desk and taking a seat before calling, “Come in.”
Ralph pokes his head in the door and smiles at me.
“Aww Ava, you changed!”
I shake myself slightly, glance one last time at Caleb, and glare at Ralph as I walk towards the door.
He steps aside to let me through.
“You still look nice though.” He winks at me as I pass.
I roll my eyes and shut the door behind me, taking a few steps down the hall before stopping and leaning against the wall, closing my eyes.
What. The. Hell.
I rub my face with my hands as I try to absorb what just happened.
The amount of agony that Caleb put me through the last few months, ignoring me, the torture of helping my sister plan the ceremony to bind the two of them together, the physical pain I felt from his rejection…and he has the nerve to tell me he made a mistake?
Anger builds up inside of me. He had months to say something! Months!
Now! Now when I find a mate of my own, one who is gorgeous and powerful, NOW he tells me he made the mistake.
Damn him!
I clench my fists and consider going back to tell him what I really think about his confession, when I hear a familiar clicking noise coming from down the hall.
Lily! Poor Lily! Her mate just told me he loved me. I watch as she pulls at her skirt and smooths her hair before she looks up and sees me, hesitating in surprise.
“Oh! Ava!” She glances around her. “I mean, there you are! I’ve been looking for you.”
Wait a minute, why was she down the left corridor? Wasn’t she supposed to be in the kitchen?
“Lily, what were you doing?” I watch as her face flushes slightly.
“I’m…making preparations, of course!”
Oh my gosh.
“Lily!”
“What?” She jumps guiltily.
“Were you with Ralph?”
She puts her hand to her chest, as if offended.
“Me? With Ralph? Of course not!” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and lifts her chin. “If you must know, Ralph was kind enough to let us use some of the Beta halls bedrooms for overflow for the guests. He was showing me which ones I could use.”
I gape at her in disbelief and shake my head.
What the hell is happening around here?
“Let’s go check on the dinner.” Lily wraps her arm around mine and leads us down the hall.
As she rattles on about place settings, I make up my mind. There is no reason to tell her about my conversation with Caleb. She obviously has enough going on that she doesn’t need to worry about that.