赤裸裸的滑稽故事

“You’ve been home for an hour. So how did you already get me into a meeting I don’t know about,” Caleb laughed as Galen led him down the long hallway. “What is this about anyway?”

“You’ll know once we get inside,” Galen answered evasively.

Caleb stopped, lifting his brow; he eyed Galen with suspicion.

“Galen…”

“Caleb…”

Caleb growled.

Galen sighed in response. He stepped back close to Caleb.

“Trust me,” he said quietly. “The person you are meeting with didn’t want to be seen entering Summer territory, but the reason they are here is important to us all.”

Caleb didn’t like entering a room unprepared for what or who he would find inside, but he did trust Galen. He took a deep breath and continued down the hall.

This was one of the wings that was hardly used. Old and outdated, it was one of the original guard towers. It was scheduled to be torn down in the next two years to make way for something new.

Galen opened the door, stepping aside to allow Caleb to enter before following him in and closing the door, locking it.

“Well, I can see why this meeting was so secretive now,” Caleb began when he saw who it was that waited for him.

Axel turned to face Caleb. He wore his hair tied back in three thick braids. His scar was on display for all to see. Caleb had already seen it at Galen’s wedding. Even then, it had surprised but not shocked him.

He didn’t know the significance of Axel exposing his scar. Still, the confidence he had gained since doing so was more than evident in how he carried himself. Caleb almost smiled in appreciation for what he saw as a boy growing into a man before his eyes. A feeling he was pretty familiar with.

“Two alphas meeting privately during a declared Peace could be a suspicious activity,” Caleb said.

“Observing the outer packs without their knowledge could be an aggressive act,” Axel replied pointedly._.

Caleb turned to Galen, who suddenly found great interest in the floor under his feet. Then, he turned back to Axel, and he became serious.

“Why are you here?” Caleb demanded. “Is this a threat?”

“A threat?” Axel asked, taking a step towards Caleb. “I am here about a threat, yes.”

Caleb growled.

“Not to threaten,” Axel scoffed.

Caleb took a deep breath through his nose and crossed his arms.

“Just say what you came to say.”

“I overheard Galen talking about the three missing packs on the phone with you,” Axel said. “I asked him to clarify.”

Caleb looked back at Galen once more. This time Galen found the ceiling of particular interest.

“Funny, he didn’t mention that to me.”

“To be fair, I was on vacation….” Galen said quietly.

Caleb growled.

“I asked that he keep our conversation to himself until I had a chance to look into it myself,” Axel clarified.

Caleb turned back to Axel, concern in his eyes.

“Look into it yourself?” he asked. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Axel stated.

“You approached the outer packs?” Caleb asked.

“Saul and I visited half of them,” Axel said.

“Are you insane?!” Caleb growled.

Axel growled.

“You put the treaty at risk!” Caleb shouted angrily. “I know you are new at this, but even you can’t be that stupid!”

Axel took another step forward, snarling.

Galen growled in response.

Axel turned his eyes on Galen. But Galen held his ground. Growling back at the new alpha, though, it was becoming difficult. Finally, Axel narrowed his eyes and took a step toward Galen.

It was Caleb that saw the way that Galen’s knees shook. He looked back at Axel with alarm.

‘He is actually bending Galen’s will… How?’ Caleb wondered.

Caleb stepped between them, snarling back at Axel. Cutting the flow of power between the two men.

Axel clenched his jaw and took a step back.

“Do you know any of them?” Axel asked.

“What?” Caleb asked.

“The smaller packs, do you know them? Have you met them?”

“We provide all packs with–”

“I didn’t ask about what you provide them,” Axel growled softly. “I asked if you have met any of them. Walked among them, gotten to know the people, the alphas?”

“No, I haven’t,” Caleb sighed.

“I have,” Axel replied. The look in his eye told Caleb how serious this conversation was for him.

“I went to check on those packs because they are people I know. That I have worked with, talked with,” Axel continued. “Including the three Galen’s men identified, Saul and I found four more. Seven packs, gone. Seemingly without a trace.”

Caleb straightened his back.

“How is that possible?” Caleb asked. “The three that we found already seemed too many to be a coincidence…. But seven?”

“It’s not a coincidence,” Axel said.

“How do you know?” Caleb asked.

Axel turned back to where he had stood when Caleb first entered the room. He reached for the bag on the ground.

“The attack just before the wedding,” Axel said as he looked inside the bag. “Did you see Granger?”

“No,” Caleb replied. “I never saw him. However, Ashleigh said she felt his presence.”

Axel nodded.

“Right, because they’re mates too,” he said.

Caleb clenched his jaw tightly.

“I think you know, that’s not exactly true,” Caleb said in a low growl.

“It’s not exactly untrue either,” Axel replied.

“What is the reason you’re here, exactly,” Caleb demanded.

Axel turned, holding an arrow in his hand. He offered it to Caleb.

“Do you recognize this?” he asked.

Caleb turned the arrow in his hand. He recognized that it was handmade but saw nothing familiar about it.

“Should I?” Caleb asked, handing it back to Axel.

“What about this?” Axel asked, handing him something else.

Caleb took the item. It was a piece of torn leather. He turned it over and found something familiar to him. It was an etching. It looked like a mountain peak with a crescent moon above it.

“This came from the rogues that attacked Summer,” Caleb said. “How did you end up with it?”

“That image that branding comes from the Whiteridge Pack,” Axel said. “They are skilled leatherworkers, and they take pride in their work. So, they mark it.”

Caleb furrowed his brows and looked at the image again. It was definitely the same.

“The wolves that came to Summer that night weren’t rogues. That was the Whiteridge Pack, led by Granger.”

“How can you know that?” Caleb demanded.

“The reports from the border said that the rogues that escaped were led by a red-headed man,” Galen interjected.

“Kirnon, the Alpha of Whiteridge, had red hair.”

“That doesn’t mean–”

“Did you know that Granger handmakes most of his arrows?” Axel interrupted. “You can tell they’re his by two things. The first is this little carving in the arrowhead, a letter G.”

Axel lifted the arrow, showing Caleb the arrowhead, where he could, in fact, see a carved ‘G.’ It was only then that Caleb noticed that it was stained with a faintly red hue.

“The second thing is right back here,” Axel flipped the arrow to show the feathers. He pointed to a light blue spot on two different feathers. “He said they were his eyes, making sure his prey was really dead.”

“Where did you get this?” Caleb asked.

“I pulled this from between Kirnon’s ribs after I found him and about forty other members of Whiteridge in a shallow grave.”

After Galen’s call, Caleb had suspicions. He had hoped they were wrong.

“Galen said that there were over two hundred in that attack, and there were no reports of children.”

Caleb nodded.

“Whiteridge didn’t number two hundred, even with their children,” Axel said. “It stands to reason that it wasn’t just Whiteridge, but at least one more of the missing packs involved. And the children have to be somewhere.”

Caleb felt the bile in his stomach rising. The anger inside of him had been growing with each word out of Axel’s mouth.

“You’re saying… that Granger somehow convinced these packs to turn on Summer, and then he killed those that survived? And he might still have their children somewhere?” Caleb snarled.

“No,” Axel said firmly. “I don’t think Granger is that smart or that capable. So I’m saying he found someone that is.”