The Mate He Left Behind

Ticking Time Bomb

His breath fanned across my cheek, sending a treacherous, electric shiver down my spine. For a fraction of a second, my traitorous inner wolf whined in the back of my mind, begging me to lean into him, to let his unyielding strength carry the massive weight I’d been dragging around on my own for five long years.

But the intoxicating moment shattered the second I remembered who I was dealing with. I placed both hands flat against Caleb’s solid chest and shoved hard. He didn't stumble, barely moving an inch, but he took the hint, taking a reluctant step back to give me room to breathe.

"You're out of your mind if you think pinning me to a wall makes me forget what just happened in there," I whispered fiercely, smoothing down the front of the emerald dress to hide how badly my hands were shaking. "You almost started a civil war with your own council, Caleb."

"I established a boundary, Maya," Caleb replied, his voice a low, unapologetic rumble. "They needed to know that you and Leo are untouchable. I don't care if I have to burn this entire pack to the ground to make them understand that."

"You can't just burn everything down when things get complicated!" I shot back, my voice rising a fraction before I forced it back down into a harsh whisper. "And you certainly can't declare that a five-year-old is starting combat training without consulting his mother first."

Before Caleb could answer, a small tug on my skirt pulled my attention downward.

Leo was standing right beside my legs, his big green eyes blinking up at us, completely oblivious to the heavy, suffocating tension stretching between his parents. He was clutching his favorite stuffed rabbit tightly against his chest.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Leo mumbled, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. "And I don't like the loud people."

Caleb sighed, running a heavy hand through his dark hair. The ruthless, terrifying Alpha who had just brought the senior council to their knees vanished in a heartbeat. In his place was a man trying to navigate an emotional minefield.

He dropped down onto one knee, completely ignoring the expensive fabric of his trousers against the cold stone floor, bringing himself down to eye-level with our son.

"Did the loud people scare you, buddy?" Caleb asked, his voice dropping into that incredibly soft, gentle tone he reserved only for Leo.

Leo shook his head, hugging his rabbit tighter. "No. But that old lady looked like a wicked witch from my storybooks. Is she a bad guy? Are we going to have to fight her?"

A sharp, genuine laugh escaped Caleb's chest a rich, deep sound I hadn't heard in half a decade. It made my heart do a painful, stupid flip against my ribs. "Yeah, Leo. She's a bit of a grumpy witch who forgot her manners. But you don't ever have to worry about fighting her, okay? I won't let anyone in this house hurt you."

Leo tilted his head, thinking it over. "I have my dinosaur in my bag. He bites."

Caleb smiled, the harsh lines of his face softening completely. "I think your dinosaur might be a little too scary for her. Keep him as a backup."

"Or Mommy?" Leo asked innocently, his green eyes serious. "Will you protect Mommy too?"

Caleb looked up, his burning green gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that stole the oxygen from my lungs. "I will protect your mommy with my life," he promised, his voice vibrating with absolute certainty. "Never again will anyone disrespect her."

I swallowed the thick lump forming in my throat and grabbed Leo’s free hand. "We need to go back to the room. I want to get out of this dress, and Leo needs to eat a breakfast that isn't served with a side of death threats."

"I'll have food sent up to the suite," Caleb said, standing back up to his full, towering height. He gestured down the hallway, keeping a protective hand hovering just inches from my lower back as we started walking.

As we navigated the wide corridors, pack members quickly stepped out of our way. Warriors and servants alike pressed their backs against the stone walls, bowing their heads in deep submission. Caleb's warning in the dining hall had already spread like wildfire. No one dared to even look me in the eye.

"They're terrified of you," I muttered under my breath so only he could hear.

"They respect their Alpha," Caleb corrected smoothly.

"There's a difference, Caleb. Fear isn't loyalty. If you lead by fear, they'll just wait for the right moment to stab you in the back."

"In this world, fear is what keeps you alive, Maya. You've been hiding in the human world for too long. You forgot how ruthless our kind can be."

Once the heavy double doors of the Alpha suite clicked shut behind us, locking the rest of the world out, I turned to face him. The food had already been delivered by a terrified omega who fled the moment we entered. I got Leo settled at the small dining table by the window with a plate of pancakes, then marched right back to Caleb.

My protective maternal instincts flared up, hot and unrelenting.

"We need to talk about this training thing right now," I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. "I wasn't joking in the hallway. He’s five years old. He likes dinosaurs and coloring books, not combat and pack politics."

"He's the Alpha heir," Caleb said, his tone serious but completely devoid of anger. He closed the distance between us, his voice dropping to a low, private murmur so Leo wouldn't hear. "Maya, pure-blood Alpha heirs don't shift at sixteen like normal wolves. Their first shift happens young. Very young. Sometimes as early as six."

The blood drained rapidly from my face. My stomach dropped into my shoes. "What?"

"It is violent, bloody, and entirely uncontrollable if they aren't mentally and physically prepared for it," Caleb explained, his eyes darkening with traumatic memories. "My first shift nearly tore me apart. I was in agony for days because my father thought throwing me in the woods to figure it out alone would make me stronger. I won't let that happen to him."

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I whispered, my mind spinning out of control. "My father was a wolf. He never mentioned anything about early shifts."

"Your father was a standard pack member, Maya, and you are half-human. The biological rules of pure-blood Alphas are kept strictly within the high families. It's a closely guarded secret because a young, unshifted Alpha is incredibly vulnerable."

"Vulnerable to who? The council?"

Caleb nodded grimly. "If the elders think he's weak, or if you hold him back from embracing his wolf, they won't just try to replace him. They'll try to eliminate him. A weak heir makes the whole pack look vulnerable to our enemies."

"You dragged us into a death trap," I gasped, the sheer horror of the situation crashing over me.

"I brought you under my protection!" Caleb growled softly, grabbing my shoulders to steady me. "Out there in Seattle, rogue packs would have smelled his Alpha blood eventually. You couldn't have hidden him forever. I am the only one who can teach him how to survive it. I'm not turning him into a soldier, Maya. I'm trying to keep him alive."

I stared at him, tears of frustration burning the back of my eyes. For five years, I thought I had protected Leo from everything. But I was human-blooded. I had absolutely no idea what was ticking inside his DNA like a time bomb.

"Okay," I finally whispered, the fight draining completely out of me. I leaned back against his grip, feeling incredibly small. "Okay. But I have rules, Caleb."

"Name them," he said instantly.

"I'm going to be there for every single session. You don't get to shut me out of this. And if I say he's had enough for the day, it stops. You might be his Alpha, but I am his mother."

Caleb stepped right into my personal space, closing the gap between us entirely. He reached out, his rough, calloused thumb gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. The familiar touch sent a wild spark of electricity shooting straight to my heart.

"I'm never shutting you out again, Maya," he murmured, his gaze dropping to my lips before rising back to meet my eyes. "From now on, you're right by my side. Exactly where you belong."