Chapter 10
“It feels weird going out after all this time. The sun is so bright now. I can barely see.”
Cal watched Ali smile at the sun and then shade her eyes when the light was too much for her. It was something that made him smile, the small pleasure that she got from just the simple things. It was something that he hadn’t paid attention to in a long time.
Ali had slept with him again the night before. She didn’t say why, but a little while after he laid down for the night, Ali had knocked on the door and then asked to come in. Her voice had been so small that it had really gotten to Cal. Everything about her was getting to him, and he wasn’t sure what to do.
“You were starting to get pretty pale the last couple of days. I’m worried that you might be coming down with something.”
Ali wasn’t sure if that was the reason or not and she certainly didn’t want to be getting sick. She thought it was something far worse, so maybe she should hope for sickness instead. Ali didn’t comment on it one way or another, but the sun did feel good. It was just a lot hotter and brighter feeling than ever before. So much so that she had to go in after a little while because her eyes were hurting, and her skin felt like it was burning. It was hard for her to see straight and she moved to the shade of a tree and sat down on the grass.
Cal was concerned for her and knelt next to her, asking her if she was okay.
“Yeah, I just, I don’t know. The sun just feels really hot today. I guess it was more than I was ready for. It’s been a couple of days, but it usually doesn’t affect me in this way. I used to be able to stay out in the sun all day.”
He was looking at her with a bit of worry. The sun wasn’t that hot or that bright. She did look paler than before, and she’d only been at the compound two days. There was no reason for her to be feeling this way. He had a fleeting thought that went through his mind, but he quickly dashed it away. He’d already made sure that wasn’t a problem. So, what was wrong with her?
Cal helped her back into the house, and she felt cool to the touch. This wasn’t the way an overheated woman should feel, and he worried more. He didn’t say anything out loud but set her down to rest before going out for a little while. Cal told her that he would be back in a little bit and hopefully he would have something to make her feel better.
He wasn’t sure why, but the only person he thought of to help him was Michael. He knew more than anyone else and had ways of healing people. Ali needed something, even if he didn’t know what that something was.
Michael was waiting up for him when he knocked on the outside door. He heard the man’s strong voice calling back to him. Cal didn’t have to say anything. Michael already knew that it was him and Cal figured that he most likely knew what it was that he wanted as well. It was unnerving, but it sure did cut through all the small talk. It made it easier for him to get the help he needed, even if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
Cal didn’t want to hear about how everything was wrong. The vampires were closing in and that’s what he should be thinking about. He shouldn’t be thinking about the girl. She was just supposed to be bait, but they both knew better. The two men looking at each other knew full well that she meant more to him than she should.
“So, you’ve come here because you found out?”
“Found out what?”
“That the woman you brought back, the one you’re falling for, is turning into a vampire.”
That was not at all what Cal was thinking, and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that. It was bad enough to think that Ali was sick, but that sort of sickness, there was nothing that he could do about it besides put her out of her misery. That was something that made him shudder to even think about it.
“You must be wrong, Michael.”
Michael assured Cal that he wasn’t wrong at all. He’d known for a while.
“Take her, Cal, and get out of here. I can’t promise her safety, even if I speak up for her. It’s our way and the only thing that is going to help us now is you getting her out of here so that the baby can be born.”
“The baby?”
“You’ll see. It’s going to change everything, but for now, just go. I can’t explain because there is no time. Your secret is out.”
“You knew for how long?”
“I knew the first time that I met her, the day after you brought her back. I could smell it on her, but it was so faint. Now it is stronger, and the change is inevitable. The baby she’s carrying must live. You must keep her safe Cal. No matter what happens. I will do my best here, but you are going to have to keep her away for a while.”
“So what nonsense are you talking about a baby?”
“It’s going to happen tonight. I was going to let it play out, but since she’s changing now so rapidly, you’re going to have to get her out of here. Use the mating room tonight and make her your mate.”
“But she will never be accepted. Maybe before, but now? There is no way that they are going to be okay with me mating with a vampire.”
“This is the way it has to be. I know it’s going to be hard on you, but you will have to let the pack realize how much you’re needed. There will be betrayal by someone close to you. This will come to pass and then you will come back to reclaim what’s yours. The baby will bring it all together. I’ve seen this in my visions and I know that this is what must happen. I knew it as soon as I smelled her on you. She was the one that was going to change everything.”
Cal had gotten far more than what he came to get. He’d come for advice and now he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to leave the pack right now because of the imminent threat of the vampires. He worried that something would happen while he was gone.
“Can I really just leave? What will become of the pack?”
