赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“Alpha Tomas took great pleasure in explaining to me how quickly my wound had healed once the very last drops of the boy’s blood ran through my veins,” Caleb growled quietly. “He decided that the best way to punish my intrusion was to force me to be a part of his disgusting crime.”

Bell could no longer hold back the tears.

“He knew that because I wasn’t the Alpha of my pack, I had no right to interfere or take action against him. That my job was to keep the peace between us.”

Bell looked up over her knees. Through her blurred vision, she saw his clenched jaw and fists. He was still angry over what had happened, even after four years. It gave her a slight sense of relief.

“But he didn’t know me,” Caleb snarled. “I attacked him on the spot.”

Alpha Tomas was a strong man, a cruel man. Bell was shocked that Caleb had not only attacked him but survived.

“How is it possible I don’t know about this? Any wolf attacking an Alpha should have been news. Still, an Alpha’s son attacking another Alpha… that’s practically an act of war,” Bell stated.

Caleb nodded.

“It should have been,” he replied, “but Alpha Tomas kept it quiet. He locked me up for a week. I was beaten and whipped, over and over. He was having fun while he waited for my father to respond.”

Caleb stood up. He put an arm on the mantel, feeling the heat of the fire against his body. He remembered how wet and sticky the ground of the cold dark room had become as his blood soaked into it, again and again.

He had never backed down. On the contrary, every time they came to him, he would never submit, taking an even more vigorous beating than they had planned to give.

“Your father let Alpha Tomas beat you for a week?” Bell asked.

“No,” Caleb chuckled. “Alpha Tomas told my father that I had stuck my nose where it didn’t belong, and I would be punished for it. My father agreed that I should be punished. But, promised not to interfere until I could admit my mistake and ask for help.”_.

“So… he did let you get beaten?” Bell asked, confused.

Caleb turned and held her gaze as he spoke.

“He gave me time.”

“For what?” she asked.

“To cleanse myself.”

Bell furrowed her brow. She didn’t understand what he meant until suddenly, she did. Then, her expression softened. She gasped softly and felt a slight pang of sadness grip her heart.

“You were trying to get his blood out of your system.”

Caleb nodded. He moved back to his chair, taking a drink of his water. Then, he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and looking to the ground.

“I wasn’t ungrateful,” he said, “I was glad to be alive. But my life was not worth his. It was too high a price.”

Bell looked away.

“What happened? After that week.”

“I told Alpha Tomas I was ready to ask for help,” Caleb said, sitting back in his chair. “He smiled, thinking he had beat me. I’m sure he thought he had something to hold over my father at that point.”

“He didn’t?” Bell asked. She had assumed that no one had heard about the incident because Alpha Cain had rolled over and given in to Tomas.

“No,” Caleb chuckled, “when my father arrived, he very calmly looked me over, then sent me away. I wasn’t able to witness what happened, but when they came out, Alpha Tomas had a bloody lip and a stifled rage in his eyes.”

Caleb smiled to himself.

“I don’t believe it,” Bell said. She wasn’t looking at him, but he could hear the tears, the anger in her heart. “Alpha Tomas wouldn’t just let something like that go.”

“I didn’t say he did,” Caleb replied. “There were negotiations and debates between our packs for two months after that day. I don’t know what exactly my father gave Tomas, only that whatever it was, it didn’t affect my people or anyone else’s. It was a personal exchange between them.”

“Your father must have loved you a lot to risk a war because of how you were treated.”

“He did,” Caleb replied softly, “the bloody lip, that was for me. But the negotiations, the debates, those weren’t about me.”

Caleb leaned forward again; he reached a hand to Bell. The warmth of his hand fell just above her foot, it surprised her, but she did not recoil from his touch.

“Alpha Cain demanded an explanation of what I witnessed, and then he demanded that this barbaric act be stopped immediately,” Caleb said.

Bell turned. Their eyes met. He held a soft expression, hers, new unshed tears.

“As I said, I don’t know the details of the deal they made from my father’s end. But I do know that for at least the past three years, members of the Autumn pack with a rare blood type are no longer in danger of being enslaved for their blood. Now, all blood types are registered, and incentives are offered for participation in donations.

“Safety protocols were put in place and monitored in Summer to ensure that no one wolf is giving too much or having too much taken. We have also had some success in replicating the healing properties of this rare blood type, allowing us to offer synthetic blood to offset the need for donation.”

The tears fell once more. Bell felt a weight relaxing from her shoulders. She put her head back down against her knees.

“All I mean to say by sharing this story. Is that I know that anyone who may have lived in Autumn more than four years ago, especially with a particular blood type… had a rough life.”

Though his tone and words were careful, they stung and shamed her.

“And if such a person were still willing to offer their own blood, after everything they suffered. Especially to someone that I care about, like Ashleigh. I consider them a friend, and I owe them my own life.”

A long silence passed between them. Finally, Caleb nodded his head to her before standing to leave.

“Does Galen know?” she asked, her head still hidden against her knees.

Caleb smiled softly before answering.

“The Emergency Medical Stations I asked about earlier contain blood bags and a transfusion kit. I had them commissioned after my time in Autumn,” he replied. “Any wolf of Summer that heard about an emergency transfusion would assume that a kit was used.”

Bell turned her head but did not lift it.

“He doesn’t know what happened in Autumn?” she asked.

“I wasn’t Alpha at the time, and he was on rotation amongst the humans,” he said. “One of the stipulations made by Alpha Tomas was that no one else could know what happened.”

“Sounds right,” she sighed sadly, turning her head back against her knees.

Caleb looked down at the woman before him. Strong yet frail, a healer that needed healing.

“You could, you know,” he said, “tell him. He would understand.”

Bell snorted a bitter laugh. She lifted her head, resting her chin on top of her knees.

“He would burn down the whole of Autumn,” she smiled to herself.

“Yea,” Caleb chuckled. “He probably would.”

“And he would never look at me the same,” she said quietly.

Caleb couldn’t deny it. He knew she was right. Galen wouldn’t reject or abandon her for her past. But he would treat her with care. Without meaning to, he would pity her.

“It is your decision,” Caleb said. “But, if you care for him the way I think you do, the way I know he does. You will at least consider it.”

“Maybe,” she said, “I don’t know.”

Caleb nodded, having nothing else to add.

“I should go,” he said. “I don’t mean to intrude on you any more than I have.”

He turned to walk to the door.

“Wait…” she said quietly.

He turned back to her.

“Can you stay with me? Just for a little while,” she asked, looking up sadly into his eyes.

***

“Renee!” a familiar voice called out from behind her.

“Granger?” she called back as he ran up to her.

“Hey,” he smiled, “listen, could I get you to do me a favor? I need to check on a patrol along the border, but I really wanted to check in with Bell about Ashleigh’s condition.”

“I heard she was in the hospital… how is she?” Renee asked.

“I don’t really know. I wasn’t even able to see her before I had to return to patrol,” Granger sighed disappointingly.

Renee felt jealous and happy for Ashleigh to find such a loving mate. However, she perked up and immediately decided to do her best to support them.

“What can I do?” she asked.

Granger smiled.

“Can you go see Bell before she goes to bed? See if there is anything else she can tell you?” he asked.

Renee quickly agreed and left to find Bell. Granger watched her go, smiling as he remembered watching Caleb sit down on the couch beside Bell.

He didn’t know or care what they talked about. All that mattered was someone other than him, seeing them alone together.