Midnight Wolves

Chapter Twenty Six: Take

By the time they'd caught up with the others, they were already at the packhouse. Jenson watched his mate steadily, Kennedy was leaning against the brick building without a care in the world, and Vik was tense, worry radiating off of him. Callie walked straight to his side, his arm darting out to wrap around her and pull her in for a hug.

He released a relieved sigh into her hair, his arms tightening for just a moment before releasing her. Some of the stress lines were gone from his face, his frame slightly more relaxed. She couldn't help but cup his face with her hand before letting him go.

"Let's head inside, there's much for us to discuss," Tara said, sharing a smile with her mate before undoing the door and walking inside. They trailed in after her and all took a seat at the small wooden table in the kitchen. It was too many people for such a small space, but it gave Callie an excuse to sit right beside Vik, so she didn't mind, and nor did her wolf.

"Why don't you tell us what you know Callie, and we'll fill in the gaps where possible?" Tara pressed, all trace of their earlier conversation wiped from her face.

Callie took a deep breath and glanced at Vik who smiled in encouragement. "I know that my father was going to save my mother from an arranged marriage but that she did it herself, and turned up on the Magnum parklands where my dad was already alpha, I think, and told him to claim her, I think."

Tara nodded.

"I know that they were a war pack up until that point and when they had me, for my first birthday, they entered into the treaty that split the pack lands into two - between the Magnum and Shadow Valley - well, your, packs. I know that sometime around my third birthday, my mother was killed and I was taken. I was there, I think, when he killed her. I remember red hitting me, something wet and sticky." Vik's hand gripped hers.

"Then there was a man and we were running through trees, until we weren't. He was injured, my mother had damaged his back I think and when he put me down I bit him, hard. Really hard. And then he left. I waited for my mother to come and get me, but she didn't. The next bit is hazy and I think I was in my wolf form for a few years because it wasn't until I was much bigger, older, that I remember being human. By then I'd learnt to survive so the loneliness wasn't so bad."

Vik's hand was warm on hers, he held onto her tightly - a lifeline as she drowned in the memories. Her tears splashed against the table, she hadn't realised she was crying.

"How long were you alone, Callie?" Jenson asked quietly.

Callie shrugged and stared at the table top. The wood was well-worn, scratches and dents marking its passage through time. "I was about 19 when they found me, so I guess about sixteen years."

Only in saying it out loud did the length of time she was alone truly sink in. Vik's hand squeezed hers tightly and when she looked at him she could see her pain reflected on his face. Could feel what he'd do to take away that burden from her. As she would for him and the death of his moonmate.

Together, she realised in that moment, they would get through it all.

Vik's parents sat in silence, their hands clasped together on the edge of the table. They shared a silent look before Tara drew in a deep breath. "Your parents were very close friends of ours. Jenson and Marcus were meant to be enemies just like their fathers had been, but...well you tell it better, dear."

Jenson smiled warmly at his mate and Callie's chest tightened, she wanted that close connection to someone.

"We were both raised in a war, for decades all the packs in the area fought non-stop. Marcus and I knew each other from various treaty sessions that were held – they were always trying to come to some mutually beneficial arrangement but it never worked. At first we were enemies just like we'd been taught, but there's only so many hours you can expect two teenage wolves to spend stuck in endless meetings before they sneak off. When Marcus caught me unprotected, I really thought he'd kill me. Instead, he offered me a cigarette."