Rogues

Chapter LII

- Caleb -

            Alaric summoned the council alongside their successors for a meeting first thing in the morning. I couldn't even say goodbye to Nathan before he went to school because Convel showed up at my doorstep. My mate was still sleeping, recovering from after such an amazing night. He looked so peaceful and beautiful that I decided to let him sleep the remaining thirty minutes he still had left. So, I quietly put on some clothes and left, careful not to wake him up.

It worried me deeply that Alaric would summon us so early; it must be of paramount importance if he did after the weeping cherry tree ceremony just yesterday. Once we arrived at the Alpha's office, I found out that everyone was already there. Gregory, Lawrence, Nymeria, Luke, and... Maya? What is she doing here? They were all standing in place, waiting for us patiently. For a minute, I thought that this was an intervention for me. I worked my hardest to control my heartbeat and my scent, not to show any sign of worry. Taking my place, the room felt quiet for a while until Maya began speaking. Then, she did the only thing I wasn't expecting and admitted being mated to a domestic.

- What do you mean, you are mated to a domestic? – Alaric's voice yells angrily at the healer. His voice filled the room with a loud disapproving tone.

I can't help to feel a little relieved that I was finally not the one who screwed up. These past weeks I've been messing up; it feels nice to catch a break. Now, I have no idea how the council is going to deal with this. Sure, they reluctantly accepted my relationship with Nathan, but those were special circumstances. Maya is a healer, which means that the pack will do right about anything to protect her and keep her away from harm.

The room fell quiet, and Maya's head turned down as a sign of respect. My eyes immediately drift to Luke. He's standing next to Gregory, with a stoic expression written on his face. Did he already know about this? Because he certainly doesn't seem troubled, perhaps they already spoke about this. His support would mean a lot, especially because this is a big deal for her.

- Speak child. – his voice commands angrily.

- I'm sorry. – she starts by apologizing. – It happened a while ago and I didn't know what to do. I tried to ignore the bond, but it only grew stronger until finally, it was too much to avoid. – she explains, her head still looking down.

- Since when? – the alpha asked through greeted teeth.

- Two months. – she admits and Alaric grows furiously, only making her feel even worse.

- For heaven's sake. – he cursed. – Caleb, did you know about this? – he questions, and all the attention was now on me. Fuck, I'm so screwed.

- Yes, she told me about it yesterday morning. – I responded, keeping my calm. – She asked me not to say anything because she didn't want to take importance away from the weeping cherry tree ceremony. She thought it would be best to tell you afterward sir. – I add.

It's not completely a lie. I've been suspecting about her and Jake for a while now, but I never had any concrete evidence to support it. There were clues, like repeatedly waiting for me to come back and her occasionally sneaking around, but it wasn't until yesterday that we finally touched the subject. So, no, I'm technically not lying, just withholding the complete truth. I just hope he doesn't push any further into the subject. I might be able to lie, but based on how badly things ended last time, I'd rather avoid it from now on. A pack is about trust and complete honesty and as future Beta in Command I should inspire confidence and trust in the pack. Which means, no more lying.

- Okay... – he dismissed. – What about you? Did you know this about your sister? – he turned to Luke. The future Gamma passed saliva and spoke.

- No sir, she never mentioned anything to me. – he assured. I listened closely to his heartbeat, and it didn't falter. He's telling the truth. What the fuck, why is he so calm about this. – Although to be completely honest, I did suspect something was going on. I'm sorry for not bringing it to your attention before alpha. – he added. Maya's eyes widened with surprise, with no idea that his brother thought such things.