Mythical Rebirth

Chapter 16

Caleb chuckled hard. He squeezed my hand before dropping it to settle in my lap. He placed his hands on the steering wheel and shifter to get us following Mateo.

"What's so funny?" I asked slightly annoyed by his reaction.

"Nothing's funny." He gave me a sideways glance and an irritating smile.

"Then why the laugh?" I crossed my arms.

"Your face when you asked me. You were so worried. Little lines formed between your brows and it amused me." He grinned, his eyes glued to the road.

"Definitely not funny," I shrugged dropping my hands.

"I didn't think you'd get so upset over a laugh. I'll remember for next time." He teased.

"Okay... Well has anyone ever imprinted on you?" I asked with a hint of attitude.

"Not that I know of." He shrugged, returning his attention to the task at hand.  He seemed to have gotten a slightly somber tone.

"Do you want to tell me what happened earlier at Galenes'?" He asked softly.

I groaned, "I don't know."

"Well if you're not comfortable there's no pressure. Whenever you're ready." 

His words eased the tension I had been carrying since my heeled jog.

"Salini basically tricked me into going to Galenes' place. They kept saying something about me saving the future or some crazy nonsense. They probably both got high together and decided to prank me or some s**t. But it was weird and awful and the mermaid water stings."

"Mermaid water stings?"

"Is that all you heard?"

"Easy there tiger, it was just an odd statement. Their water, to my knowledge, is just salt water directly from the ocean. It doesn't possess any superpowers or whatever. As far as what happened that seems really out of character for Selini. As long as I've known her, which is like her entire life, she's only talked about you being her best friend. And I've never had a good encounter with Galene. Truly a strange situation." 

"Truly strange indeed."

"So you're in charge of saving the future?" He teased again.

"I suppose so. Despite not even having my Mythic ceremony yet and messing up my first mating encounter by giving into Mateo, I'm super qualified for the job."

"Have you tried shifting into your wolf?" He changed the subject.

"No, actually. I haven't even thought about it... Does it hurt?" I looked towards him.

He was smiling now, "Not a bit. We should try it together sometime. Wolves mating is probably the most euphoric feeling."

My cheeks burned red and I heard laugh under his breath.

"Not funny!"

I watch the cars fly past and disappear as we pulled to the packhouse.

Mateo was standing on the steps, his arms crossed like a mother waiting for her kids that had been out past curfew. All he was missing was the tapping foot and a sandal in hand.

"Why is he just standing there?" I whispered to Caleb.

He shrugged, "Must be a serious matter."

Walking up the steps, Mateo gave a cold look before turning to Caleb, "This is internal information, Caleb. Head pack members only."

Caleb nodded before turning to me and placing both hands on my face to cradle my cheeks. He placed a soft kiss on my lips, so soft it was almost a whisper.

"Wait for me in my chambers." He smiled gazing into my eyes before kissing my forehead and turning to Mateo who was awkwardly watching.

His cold look mixed with what I thought might be disgust with a hint of sadness.

He didn't say a word as he turned and walked into the house with Caleb following close behind.

I stayed outside on the steps wondering what the hell just happened between Calebs' loving gestures and Mateo's stink eye. My phone buzzed in my pocket, startling me since I had forgotten it was even there. 

Selinis' name lit up across the top with a silly picture of us laughing about something I could no longer remember. I hit the volume button to silence it and slid it back in. I decided to take Calebs' instructions considering it might be the only place I could escape Selini besides the library. But she'd be smart enough to go looking for me there.

Walking in I slammed right into a solid wall of muscle. 

"Sorry!" I blurted not even looking at my victim. The foyer seemed to be filled with pack members and I could feel their eyes on me. I had thoughts of snooping around but ran to Calebs' chambers in hopes of saving myself from further embarrassment.

I shut the door behind me and flopped onto the bed, closing my eyes. I felt too comfortable in his space. I hardly knew this guy. But Selini had mentioned that werewolves didn't need much to become acquainted. I always thought it was awkward how fast they hooked up and mated but all mythics have weird habits. He had already seen me in my most vulnerable state so I decided to get even more comfortable. I got up and dropped my pants, took off my bra, and slipped out of my booties. I looked through his dresser and found a t-shirt that looked old enough to be designated as a pajama shirt and threw it on. I hoped he wouldn't be mad and decided that he probably wouldn't even care.

I slipped in between the sheets and opted for a nap wrapped in his scent.

It didn't take long before my mind was filled with absolute darkness.