What She Deserved

CHAPTER EIGHT

CALLIE

I headed to my room, feeling lightheaded and shocked. I had expected something bad was going to happen but not like this. I had imagined there were only some displeased wolves who wanted to get our attention and that the problem could be resolved diplomatically.

Not likely, you probably hoped that happened, my wolf said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes at her.

Once I was in my chamber, I headed for the closet and took out the biggest backpack I could find. Surprisingly, it was the same backpack I had left my former pack with. The Silver Moon Pack, before being kidnapped by the Blood Moon Pack. I shivered as I recalled the final battle. It wasn’t something I wished to go through again and yet, things weren’t looking so good a year after.

I took the most practical clothes from my belongings and rolled them up so they could fit more tightly in the bag.

When I stepped back into the bedroom, I saw I was still alone. I thought I had heard someone coming but it must’ve been my imagination. I set the backpack on a seat facing the balcony and stepped outside. It was a nice day; the sun was shining brightly above us and there were no signs of clouds. It was a day to spend outside, playing, running, taking in the sun. I heard laughter coming from down below and saw a couple of pups kicking a ball around, they looked excited and happy.

A slow smile crept to my face as I watched as if I were in a trance. Someday that’ll be Xander’s and my pup, my eyes widened at the sudden thought. I hadn’t thought of having pups soon, the idea frightened me, especially now that things didn’t feel safe enough.

I heard the mothers of the pups call them inside and the children’s little legs rushed towards the door. My eyes were fixed on the ball the pups had left on the garden below while they had lunch. It was a sensation inside of me that urged me to try and move the object. But that’s impossible, there’s no way I can move it by just looking at it. I am feet away! I contradicted the idea.

Rose shouldn’t be able to see the future either and she can. She said you had powers too, the voice inside of me urged me. I knew it wasn’t my wolf speaking to me, she wouldn’t keep this big of a secret from me. No, the voice belonged to somebody else, but I couldn’t tell who.

“What are you doing?” Xander asked from behind me, making me jump. I quickly turned to look at him. He was watching me with a confused expression on his face. “Are you alright?” he asked slowly, and I quickly nodded my head and walked back inside, not even bothering to look outside. Maybe if I had turned my head for a second, I would have been able to see that the ball I had been staring at, was now stuck on a tree nearby. And no one had been around to see.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking of the future,” I said with a sigh and he nodded his head.

“What about the future? You seemed to be very immersed watching the pups playing,” he said slowly as he eyed me closely, trying to read my intentions.

I blushed and shook my head, “it’s not like that.”

He laughed and nodded his head. His strong arms reached for me and pulled me closer to him. “Calm down, my love. I’m only teasing you. Pups are not part of the plan just yet.”

I nodded and let out a sigh of relief. “Are you hungry?” Xander asked me suddenly.

“I’m starving. All these unscheduled situations have kept me from eating,” I said with a smile and he nodded his head in understanding. “Shall we go to the dining hall and get something to eat?” I suggested.

Xander hesitated for a moment, “we could or…” he trailed off as he stepped aside and I saw that on the small table in our room, there were two filled plates. “I figured you must be very hungry, and since you are going away for a while, I thought we could spend the day here. Just us,” he said with a smile as he ran his hand on my back tenderly. I shivered as a blush appeared on my cheeks.

I grabbed his hand and led us to the table. The food looked delicious, then again, we had great cooks at the mansion. My stomach began to growl as I sat down, and I didn’t hesitate to start eating. Xander chuckled at me but didn’t say anything as he stared at me in awe.

For a couple of moments, we didn’t say anything, no silence between us was ever uncomfortable.

“I didn’t know you had powers. I never imagined Rose would have them either,” Xander said, trying to start a conversation.

I nodded my head, “my either.  I think it’s strange, for only us two to have powers. Maybe we are the first werewolves with powers.” My eyes widened as I finished my train of thought. Xander turned away and I thought I had heard him say, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” But he changed the subject before I could ask.

“Have you thought about what it could be? Your powers, I mean. Rose can travel all throughout the timeline, so I am guessing yours will be different,” he said with a pondering expression on his face.

I shrugged, “at first I thought I could move things with my mind, but I tried and failed so it must be something else.” He nodded his head and I could tell he was thinking about something intently. His eyebrows creased together; something was definitely bothering him.

 “Is there something wrong, love?” I asked slowly, pushing the empty plate away from me. I felt more energetic now that I had finally been able to eat something. I laid back on the chair while I waited for Xander to say something.

He shook his head and quickly masked his worry with a bright smile. “There is nothing to worry about, my love.” I raised an eyebrow but didn’t push the subject. I tried reading his mind, but he made sure to think of something else to hide what the cause of his worry was.

I sighed and nodded. “Alright, so we have,” I turned to look at the clock on my nightstand, “five hours until we go. Have you informed Joseph about the situation? Is the jet all set?” I asked the mental list in my mind had to be completed before we left.

Xander laughed and nodded his head, “always worrying too much about planning.” I glared at him playfully and he stood up and held out his hand for me to take. “Everything is set, Callie. You will be in Scotland tomorrow night.”

My eyes widened; I knew Morgana lived someplace far away but I hadn’t expected we would have to leave the country to get to her. “Wow, Scotland. Somehow, I imagined she was closer,” I said with a shrug, trying to mask my nerves.

Xander shook his head, “she moves around a lot. She used to live in the New World until she said it was like watching history repeat itself all over again and she left.”

Right, sometimes I forget that even though Morgana looks close to our age, she is actually thousands of years old, I thought in my mind and my wolf chuckled.

“How long do you think we’ll be gone?” I asked with a sigh as I pulled my mate closer to me.

Xander held me tightly, “I hope not long. My wolf and I are going to miss you a lot.”

I inhaled his scent deeply, my wolf instantly purred and howled at her mate. I smiled and let this feeling burn itself into my mind. “Let’s make this moment count then,” I whispered without thinking twice.

Xander pulled back to watch me carefully. Studying me. “Are you certain?”

I nodded my head. And without another word, Xander was kissing me softly. His arms were a cocoon of love around me and I felt more alive than before. Slowly he pushed us down onto the bed and I wrapped my legs around him, urging him not to stop. He didn’t. And at that moment, nothing could pull me away from my mate.

…

At around four o’clock an alarm blared, making me jump since I had been sleeping peacefully in my mate’s arms. I yawned and looked over at him. Xander was already looking me with a sad expression.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I said softly, placing a kiss on his forehead.

Xander nodded and was about to ask me if I wanted him to join me but I quickly shook my head. “I need to think for a minute,” I said, and he nodded his head in understanding.

I disappeared inside of the bathroom and turned on the shower. As steam began to form around me, I started to cry. I didn’t know why I was crying; I wouldn’t be gone forever, and I would come back as soon as I learned about my powers and we found out who our enemy was. Control yourself, Callie, I scolded in my mind.

I quickly got out of my clothes and into the shower. As soon as the warm water touched my skin, I let out a sigh of relief. I took my time cleaning myself up and a quarter until 5, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Xander was already washed and dressed. It always astounded me how he was always dressed formally. Sometimes I felt too underdressed when I was with him. He usually wore black-suited pants along with a slim shirt that made the muscles of his torso stand out. He looked so handsome dressed like that.

Xander suddenly cleared his throat and I realized I had been staring. His bright smile illuminated the room and he chuckled at me, “how is the sight?”

“Yummy,” I said without embarrassment and he laughed before getting to his feet.

“The others are on their way to the van, we should go as well,” he said, his voice suddenly turning serious.

I nodded my head and grabbed my backpack from the chair. “Let’s go.”

The others still hadn’t arrived when we reached the garage. Xander was talking to Joseph who was nodding his head obediently. He wanted to see us off and wish us luck, besides us, he was the only one who knew what was happening.

“Hey, sorry we’re late. Clarisse was sleeping,” Helena said sheepishly as she reached us. Clarisse was in her arms, gripping her mother with an iron hold.

“No worries, Rose isn’t here yet,” I said with a shrug as I smiled at Clarisse. But the little girl wasn’t in the mood for social interactions, I could see she was sad.

“We’re here,” Rose called out as she ran our way, Evan trailing behind her.

“Is everyone ready?” Xander’s voice filled the hallway, he looked around the group until everyone nodded. “Good. Joseph, we’ll be back shortly,” Xander said and the Marques nodded his head and bowed slightly.

As we walked towards the door, Joseph wished us well on our journey and told us he would do his best to fulfill our duties as well. I stiffened, I didn’t want to leave him with all our responsibilities, I would make sure Xander helped him out as much as he could.

The drive to the airport was silent, everyone was holding onto their loved ones. Xander was the one driving and I was seating shotgun. We were holding our hands firmly, not wanting to let go.

By the time we arrived at the airport, the jet had been filled up and they were just checking to make sure everything was alright before we took off. Mike reached me first and pulled me into a tense hug, “take care of yourself, my Queen. The kingdom needs you,” he said and pulled away, not even meeting my eyes before he moved onto Rose.

I looked at my mate who seemed to be having an internal battle. His wolf was urging him to make me stay where they could protect me. Without saying anything, I reached for him and pulled his body closer to mine. Our hug was tight and filled with emotion, with affection.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” I whispered in his ear, trying to reassure his wolf I wasn’t leaving forever.

Xander nodded his head, “just come back to me in one piece. Be safe.” I nodded my head and kissed his cheek softly. Then he turned and his lips met mine, I got lost in the moment as we kissed like it was the last time we’d be able to do that in a long time, which it probably was.

“Tell me if anything happens here, I am sure there will be another message soon,” I said as I pulled away, breathlessly.

Xander nodded his head and his shoulder slumped in defeat, “the same goes for you, my love.”

“We should get going,” I said and his arms around my waist only held me tighter. I chuckled and shook my head.

I turned to look at my friends and nodded my head at them. Slowly, Rose began to pull herself away from Evan and Helena from Jake. Clarisse was crying in her father’s arms, reaching for her mother. I was the last to pull away and I gave Xander another look, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Callie,” he whispered back, and I broke free from his hold.

The three of us walked to the awaiting jet, the engines were already on. “Welcome, Your Highness. We expect to have a smooth flight. Is there anything I can get you?” The woman in the plane asked and we shook our heads.

“Maybe later, but thank you, Michelle,” I said as I read her nametag. Michelle smiled and walked back to her seat and put her seatbelt on once we were all set. I looked out the window one last time and waved at the men who were still standing where we left them. Xander waved back and tried giving me a reassuring smile but I could see how much it pained him.