I looked over at Nolan, suddenly questioning whether or not we could trust him. I mean, he had just shown up at our doorstep years after he’d disappeared. I hated to feel like we couldn’t trust anyone. That thought made me feel so lonely. You should be able to trust your friends and family, but we couldn’t risk it again. I understood where Caeden was coming from. It didn’t mean I had to be happy about it though.
* * *
Two weeks passed as Caeden kept himself shut up in his office pouring over anything that could help us kill Travis and his mutants. He barely ate or slept. To say I was worried about him was an understatement.
I stepped into his office and he was oblivious to my intrusion. I leaned over the chair he sat in and wrapped my arms around him. He startled at my touch, but then relaxed.
“Come to bed,” I whispered. “You’re exhausted, Caeden. Shifter or not, this isn’t healthy behavior.”
“I need to find something,” he whispered.
“Find what? Can I help you?” I questioned. At this point, I was desperate to do whatever it took to make him leave his office.
“No,” he shook his head. “I’ve read over these books hundreds of times,” he pointed to the book in his lap and even more covering the floor, “there’s nothing in them that’s helpful.”
“And yet, you keep reading them hoping for a different outcome?”
“Silly, I know,” he laughed humorlessly.
I hated seeing him tear himself apart like this. I knew he was the Alpha, but we were a pack and we should be doing these things together.
“Let’s go to bed,” I reached for his hand and he placed his in my open palm, “and starting tomorrow we do this together.”
He smiled a genuine smile. “Deal.”
Three.
“Do you think we can trust Nolan?” I drew random designs on Caeden’s naked chest when I asked the question. I couldn’t make myself look in his eyes. This was a question that had been haunting me since the conversation between the three of us in Caeden’s office two weeks ago.
“I’ve had my…doubts,” he admitted, his chest rising and falling heavily. “But yes, I do believe we can trust him. Maybe him more than anyone else.”
“Why?” I questioned as the morning light began to stream through the windows.
“He’s…Nolan. There would be no reason for him to betray us.”
“Then why would the elders betray us?” I continued to trace my finger over his chest.
“Because they don’t want me as Alpha,” he whispered.
I sat up, my hair sweeping down and around my shoulders. “That makes no sense.”
“Yes, it does,” Caeden sat up too. “As soon as my dad died, they were determined to make sure I wouldn’t become Alpha, but there was nothing they could do.”
“Explain,” I pleaded. Everyone always seemed to forget that I didn’t grow up knowing I was a shifter. There were so many things I had no clue about.
“You see…if we have a son and something would happen to me, he wouldn’t be able to take over the position of Alpha until he was seventeen and even then he’d have to go through trials to prove himself.” He ran his fingers through his hair and continued, “In the meantime, someone else would be assigned as a temporary Alpha. Since I was seventeen when my dad was—murdered,” he forced the word out, “there was nothing the elders could do, but give me the position.” He swallowed thickly. “Luckily, since I was of age, they didn’t put me through the trials. But they did think I was too…soft hearted for the position.”
“What’s wrong with that? The fact that you care is a good thing,” I placed my hand over his heart, reveling in the steady thumping.
He placed his hand over mine. “They said it makes me weak and easily distracted.”
“Who the hell are these elders?”
“They’re composed of our grandparents,” he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
“I thought your grandparents were dead or something? You never talk about them.”
“My grandparents have all passed away. The elders are made up of what’s left of our generation’s grandparent’s. It’s Bentley’s grandpa that hates me the most. He felt that Bentley’s dad should have been Alpha instead of me.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “I’ve never quite understood the politics of this world.”
“It sucks,” he frowned. “I hate it, to be honest. I’m sick of the elders trying to control everything so much. Did you know, we’re not allowed to be involved with humans and if they find out they’ll kill you?”