He nods slowly. Seeming to find enough life in the partial truth, I breathed to piece it together. I don’t know how, but he understands. He sees it, sees me. And it’s nice that what I see staring back for the first time is not judgment.
“Your abilities are impressive. They say people can only do or teach. It’s rare someone excels at both. You are rare.”
“Wow. Thank you, Your Majesty. That... means a lot.”
“You’ve been doing well. I’d like you to start considering a full-time position at my pack as a warrior.”
“Oh, I’d be honored, Your Majesty. But—But I don’t know—”
“Hey. No pressure. Just think about it. Let me know.” The king jogs away to help others.
It’s then I lock eyes with Caleb. I tug on the wrist wraps—the ones I pulled from Alaina’s old closet—nervously.
Caleb sees this, and it’s like he can see right through me that I’m hiding something. He squints his skepticism.
Did he see?
“It’s pretty hot to be wearing wrist wraps, don’t you think?”
I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out where we stand. Are we together? Are we over? If we were never reallytogether, would it even be considered a breakup? Or did we just have a fight?
Meanwhile, he’s pretending like nothing happened. No “Can we go somewhere to talk?” No apology, explanation, nothing.
“That’s all you have to say to me? It’s too hot to be wearing wrist wraps’?” I shake my head. “You know, if that’s all you were going to say, you shouldn’t have even bothered.”
Caleb looks hurt, which baffles me even more. He opens his mouth to say something, but the king’s command stops him.
“Mutt! Jay! Come here.”
I walk past Caleb, making a beeline for the king.
“I want you to learn this lesson, mutt. When it comes to training your pack, it’s important to know what motivates them. To do that, I’m going to have Jay assist me.” King Dax smirks, and Caleb pales. The king gently pulls on my arm to move me directly in front of him, facing Caleb.
Caleb appears to be sweating. He seems incredibly nervous and... fearful? Should I be scared? Am I in danger?
I’m thinking I maybe should run when the king says, “I’m not going to hurt you.” He says it like he’s had to say this time and time again. “This is a good lesson for you, too, Jay. If you decide to become one of my warriors, training others to fight will be one of your duties.”
Caleb’s eyes flick from the king’s to mine, his brows furrow, clearly curious about what the king is talking about. I shift uncomfortably, avoiding his stare.
“Take the mutt, for instance.” The king moves around me to circle Caleb. “No matter how much I push him, he’ll take it like a good boy,” the king sneers in his ear.
The king disappears behind him, and Caleb shows no fear, no concern. Nothing but focus. And it’s kind of hot how brave he is.
I think back to the story Sam told me. Caleb was the only one to stand up to the king twice and live. Nobody does that.
Except him, my wolf purrs at Caleb’s dominance.
Even hotter, the king shoves him slightly and Caleb, like the solid guy he is, doesn’t let it affect him. He remains stoic. Unbothered. Secure in himself. The king is right—it does nothing to affect him.
“Now, why do you think that is, Jay?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Focus, Jay. Caleb isn’t motivated by what anyone does to him or says about him. Why do you think that is?”
I stare into Caleb’s eyes, and my entire body softens at him seeing me. “Because he’s secure in himself. It’s not the way to get to him.”
Caleb’s eyes soften at my compliment. Suddenly, I don’t feel confident I can withstand being this close to him, his stare. It’s starting to become too much.
