Chapter 10—For Kara.
1143 Words
Chapter 10—For Kara.
Tristan
I could still hear the muffled sobs breaking in the hall through the closed doors as I led Callie to a secluded place as she insisted.
I shut the office door behind me then turned to her. "Here will do." I pointed out.
Callie reached for my hand, her fingers brushing the edge of my shirt.
I stepped back. "You said it was urgent," I reminded, keeping a straight face.
Her face fell, a frown deepening as she studied me, "You've been avoiding me, Tristan." She sounded wounded, hurt like a child who had been denied their favorite sweet even after they had been good.
I leaned back against the chair, crossing my arms. "I've been busy trying to get things in order after that... after—" My jaw tightened. "After ending up with a second mate I wasn’t ready for. Worse still, the daughter of my enemy. You of all people know how much everyone is against it... You included."
"That's not what I mean and you know it." Her eyes narrowed. "Ever since that night..."
"It was one time, Callie." My voice cut through hers before she could complete the statement. It was one time that I regretted, one time that gripped my heart with guilt. I shouldn't have, she was Kara's sister. She was supposed to be off-limits. "It never should have happened."
Her brows drew together, anger sparking beneath the hurt that reflected in her eyes. I didn't want to see this look in her eyes, knowing that I was the reason she had it.
"Shouldn't have happened?" She whispered. "Tristan, you and I fit like a pea in a pod and you know it. If we were together, we would be unstoppable."
"Stop it, Callie!" I yelled. Just the thought of Callie beside me in Kara’s place made my stomach churn.
She looked at me with a reborn strength, challenging. "You know that's true. We both understand each other."
I nodded. We understood each other because we shared the same pain, the same grief— we were two shattered hearts of the same wound. But a Luna? My Luna? Nah, never...
"You know what this looks like, don't you? To the pack? That the Banewolff Alpha takes his ex-mate sister as his Luna? It would tear this pack apart." I deadpanned.
Callie’s lips parted, the protest already forming, but I raised a hand to silence it. “We’ve been over this, Callie. It goes no further. Please, Callie, don't make me repeat it.”
For a heartbeat, she just stared at me, her breathing shallow, anger simmering like embers behind her eyes. Then she exhaled sharply, as if forcing herself to let it go.
"So that’s it," she breathed through her nose. "You're going to pick her. That... to replace my sister."
"No one is ever going to replace Kara.” The words crashed out of me, sharper than a whip. “Ever. Don’t you say that again." I spat.
"As much as I hate the Ferguson princess, I still need a Luna." And it pained me to admit it but an Alpha without a luna was like a ship without an anchor. I've already been receiving threats, subtle challenges from lesser packs. It wouldn't be long before one chooses to challenge me full on. Of course, they were aware I had no Luna so my strength isn't at its full potential.
"Right..." She nodded, her eyes flickering around as if she were in deep thought. I watched her, if she wasn't Kara's sister maybe someday along the line I would have made her my Luna but I couldn’t taint Kara’s memory like that, and that's the reason that Ferguson princess needs to go.
I couldn't be with her killer either.
A tense silence stretched between us, my eyes landed on the clock noting it was a few minutes past midnight. "Is this why you brought me? Is this what couldn’t wait?"
Callie sucked in a breath and then shook her head. "No. That's not why I needed to see you," then her eyes flicked towards the door and then the windows as if afraid someone would eavesdrop. "Do you remember what we discussed... some days ago? About someone who could help you sever the bond?"
A cold prickle ran down my spine but I nodded nonetheless, "Yes, yes, I remember."
"Well," she said calmly, her tone dipping into something sly. Gone were the anger and hurt and instead "I was able to get in touch with him and convinced him how urgent he is needed," I nodded, eager to know where this was going even though I already could sense it.
"He said he should be here in a couple of days but first there are conditions, Tristan."
My heart kicked hard in my chest. A sharp pang spread through my ribs at her words like… loss. Grief. I schooled my emotions, pretending that her words had a different effect than she expected.
"What are the conditions?" I questioned.
She shook her head giving me a sad disappointing look. "I don’t know. He said it was something he was only going to discuss with you. And if you're truly ready to get rid of the mate bond, he needs to know."
If I was ready to get rid of the mate bond? I was ready, I never wanted it even though I knew it was time to have a new Luna, even though I knew the elders had only been lenient on me because they knew how much Kara's death had dealt me a strong blow.
How much I'd long for her killers to suffer, to go through that pain she went through in her dying times. How much I wanted her to get justice. So why was I feeling this way? Why was the thought of getting rid of the mate bond hollowing me out?
Why did the thought of being free, unshackled by a mate bond I didn’t want feel like a loss?
"Tristan," Callie stepped closer, her voice softening as it cut through the deep thought I was in. "You aren't second-guessing this, are you?"
I shook my head sharply. "No, I'm not. I want it gone. Tell him I'm ready to do whatever it takes." Whatever it takes to get rid of her before the mate bond activates fully. Before I let my enemy get a place in my pack.
She nodded satisfied. "Good. I will make sure he knows."
She moved to the door, pausing with her hand on the handle. "Tristan," She called.
"Yeah,"
I looked up.
Her eyes softened as if she understood me, as if she could see the battle going on inside me. "Remember… this is for Kara."
I nodded. "For Kara."
Always for Kara even if it destroyed me too.
- Writer
