8 - Facing the Truth

Cale’s POV

I drove Lisa’s car to her apartment. One of the guys from the pack had picked it up, fixed it and dropped it outside my apartment. I could smell her all around me and it made me regret my decision to bring her that car. I could feel here everywhere, it was like she was wrapped around me like a vine.

The conversations I had with her at her parents house were still on my mind. She was really something else. She knew what would happen to both of us if she told people about me rejecting her, but she kept quiet. I would face more problems than her, and she knew it. Over the last three years, she hadn’t said a word to anyone.

I admit, seeing her with her best friend, that guy Joey really ticked me off. Their closeness made me jealous. I wanted to be the one who made Lisa laugh like that. I wanted to be the one who made her smile, I wanted to be the one she had inside jokes with. It almost ripped me apart when she said she hoped Joey would be her mate. It made sense. Somewhere, deep inside I felt bad that he wasn’t her mate. He wouldn’t treat her like me, that was for sure.

I knew she was still at her parents house, and her dad had told me that he would give her a ride when he came in later to talk to the warriors in the pack. I could smell Kate, her roommate in her apartment as I parked.

I walked up the stairs, knocking on the door.

Kate opened the door, her face instantly changing to anger when she saw me, “What do you want?”

“I came to drop Lisa's car,” I said, handing her the keys.

“Why do you have her car?” she narrowed her eyes, “You didn’t kill her, did you?”

I rolled my eyes, “No need for the dramatics, Kate. I was on my way to her parents’ house and saw that she was in the middle of the highway with a flat tire. I offered to drive her there, and one of the pack members’ picked up her car and got it fixed.”

“Okay,” she replied, but I saw the distrust on her face, “Thanks.”

I turned to leave, but turned back around, “Kate?” she glared at me, “Please take care of Lisa.”

She nodded, closing the door. Kate had seen Lisa suffer the most and I knew it made sense for her to be angry at me. I was angry at myself. I hated what I was doing, but I had no other options.

I reached the main office of the pack, waiting for Lisa’s dad. The warriors were already waiting in the meeting room. Our offices were set in normal buildings. We were registered as a company, and most of the pack was hired by this company. This way, we didn’t draw too much attention to ourselves.

My pack was one of the strongest packs in the world. We formed alliances with packs from across the world, and worked with each other to ensure our world stayed in a state of harmony. But with rogue werewolves forming packs and harbouring vendettas for no reason, the packs had to stay more vigilant.

We had already upped our security around our perimeter. The warriors took shifts and ensured that there was no breach. Our biggest concern was keeping the younger wolves away from the areas that we didn’t have eyes on. This wasn’t something we could tell our pack as it would cause panic.

This is where someone with experience like Lisa’s dad came into the picture. He had seen everything, and he provided great insight into how to control the younger members of the pack without causing alarm.

As the warriors updated me on the situation and the security measures, my assistant announced Lisa’s dad.

“Mr. Flynn,” I stood up, shaking his hand.

“Cale, gentlemen,” he nodded at the rest of the room.

“Thank you for coming,” I said, offering him a seat, “We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this issue.”

“Perfect,” Mr. Flynn said, opening up a notebook, “Now, I’m not one to create powerpoint presentations like you young lads, so this will have to do.” His opening comment got a couple of chuckles from the room.

“We need to start training our younger ones, not in complete combat, but the basics. The smells to look out for, the warning signs and basic combat. For this, I would suggest opening it up as an activity and also as a chance to be mentored by a warrior.”

I looked around the room to see if any of the warriors had any problem with this. They all nodded, and I could already see them forming strategies in their heads. After the Alpha and his Luna, the warriors were the most respected people in the pack. Years of training went into becoming a warrior, and they also had a reputation much like CIA or MI6.

“The women of the pack also need to be included in this program,” Mr. Flynn stated, and in that moment I realised that this would worry him more because he had a daughter.

“Reach out to families who live near the borders of the pack and show them what to look out for.”

I nodded. This was a great idea.

“Our first priority is creating awareness, it’s ensuring everyone is trained. We don’t want to raise suspicion and make everybody paranoid.”

He looked at me, “If I could speak with you privately? I think my job here is done. I know the warriors will do a good job of implementing these steps.”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded, standing up and leading him to my office. I was surprised that he wanted to speak with me privately.

As soon as we entered my office and the door closed behind him, he spoke, “When were you planning on telling me that my daughter was your mate, son?”

I froze. I wasn’t facing him. How did he know this? I took a deep breath and turned around, “Sir?”

“Don’t play dumb, Cale,” he sighed, “I saw you both at my house. I would have never got to know this otherwise. Did you reject her?”

I swallowed, “In a way.”

“Why?”

“We already have so much happening here,” I responded, being truthful about my reason for the first time, “I don’t want to put Lisa in danger’s way. The first rule of war is to grab the Luna. I can’t let anything happen to Lisa.”

“You have got it all wrong,” he chuckled dryly, “The Luna makes the pack stronger, she brings power to the pack.  Luna’s are connected to the energy of the moon, and once she and the Alpha are together, the pack only grows stronger.”

“Sir-”

He cut me off before I could finish, “I’m not going to tell you what to do or not to do. I’m giving you cold, hard facts. Packs succeed because they have both an Alpha and a Luna, but because they have an Alpha who will get weak over time without his Luna. Think about your decision, and I’m not saying this because she’s my daughter.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, finally understanding what he was trying to say.

“See you soon, son,” he said, shaking my hand and leaving me with my thoughts.

He was right. Once you found your mate, you only became stronger. And with an Alpha, that was ten times more. A Luna provided more strength, they had a mate connection that no one else did. They could read each other's mind, feel each other’s emotions and make each other better. Did I make a mistake because I was too scared to let anything happen to Lisa?

The door opened and my Beta, Alex poked his head in, “A Kate is here to see you.”

“Kate?” Lisa’s roommate?

“Yes. She said it’s urgent and you will always regret it if you don’t listen to her.”

My stomach dropped. This was something to do with Lisa. “Send her in,” I managed to say despite the terror filling me.

Kate walked into the room and locked the door. She looked more frazzled than I had ever seen her. And this wasn’t the ‘I didn’t have time to dress up’ frazzled, this was as if she had almost run all the way here.

“Okay, listen up, Alpha,” venom spit out of her mouth. She was fucking pissed.

“I shouldn’t tell you this, Lisa will kill me, but I don’t have any other options. You need to get your shit together, and it needs to be fast.”

“What?”

“She’s giving up her wolf, she’s going to become a human.”