“Yep, you are most definitely fucked,” Mojo said.
Caleb slammed his forehead down on to the wooden bar, groaning. Mojo hid a smile and rubbed his stubbled chin with a rough hand. Sometimes a man had to be broken down to be rebuilt.
“You are absolutely right. I fucked up big time. If I were her, I would never forgive me. I don’t deserve it,” Caleb said, his voice muffled by the bar.
Mojo looked up when another man walked into the bar from the doorway where he had been standing and listening. He nodded as Bran took the seat next to Caleb. Caleb looked over, surprised.
“I realized I had the car halfway home and that meant you wouldn’t have a ride. Mojo is right though. You really hurt Kate. But you are also hurting,” Bran said and took the beer that Mojo offered.
Mojo went to the sink to finish cleaning the glassware, giving them the illusion of privacy.
“I haven’t been part of a pack in so long it’s almost like I have forgotten how to be around people. Renee was the only one who stayed around and personally, I think she just liked being contrary,” Caleb said.
Caleb liked being more dominant in the bedroom, but Bran was still their Alpha and he found himself depending more and more on the man’s inner strength.
“Why did you leave your birth pack?” Bran asked.
“I didn’t agree with the way my dad ran things. My mom always agreed with him, even if she felt otherwise, probably to avoid arguments. It was his way or get out. He was very close-minded and power hungry. Unlike the Arkadian pack, packs outside of Arkadia are constantly flexing pack muscle for even two more feet of pack territory. By the time I graduated, I had had enough. I took an academic scholarship to the School of Art at Australian National University and never looked back. I met Renee when I was doing sketches in Nepal. The rest you know.” Caleb took a drink.
“You never went back?” Bran asked.
“No. I probably never will. That man was hard and cruel. I never want him around the boys.” Caleb shook his head.
“My father was very similar to yours. My mother died when I was young, so all I had was him. When I turned thirteen and hit my growth spurt, it became evident I would be Alpha one day. My wolf was twice the size of my friends’ wolves. That was when my father started to change toward me and the pack. He became more defensive and aggressive. When I was sixteen, Riley approached me and told me that my father had beaten and attempted to rape his sister.” Bran stared down at the bottle.
“I went to Ma and Pa, who agreed to go with me to approach my father. He flew into a rage, accusing me of trying to take over the pack. He challenged me then and there. Riley stepped forward to act as my second. I held back until I realized he was really trying to kill me. In the end, I had to kill him to survive.” Bran looked at Caleb.
“How did you manage to run the pack when you were only sixteen?” Caleb asked quietly.
“A lot of the pack members stepped forward and helped, including the Raymonds. Ma and Pa helped as well. But I was just going through the motions. I don’t feel like I really started living until I met Kate.” Bran smiled.
“How did the two of you meet?” Caleb asked.
“Well, I was minding my own business taking a run out on the territory when I scented a strange wolf. I tracked her down to the large oak tree on the property. She was lying down, exhausted. When she saw me, she stood up and growled. I caught her scent and knew she was my mate. We both shifted and mated the entire night. In the morning I found out that her old Alpha had beaten her and tried to force a mating on her. He had convinced her that she wasn’t womanly and no one else in their pack would want her. He told her she was too tall, too outspoken, and not very feminine. Your comment may have cut deeper than you realize. She has always doubted she was woman enough for me. I’ve been working this past year to make her see exactly how beautiful she is, despite not being a girly girl,” Bran explained.
“And I probably undid any progress you have made with her.” Caleb rubbed his hands over his face. “Bran, what in the hell am I going to do? Being with you and Kate is the first real sense of home I’ve ever had. Even with the leopards, I felt like an outsider,” he said dejectedly.
“You are going to beg. Yup, lots of begging and you’re going to give her her favorite chocolate, which old man Gilberton happens to keep in stock since he knows Kate is addicted. The damn stuff is imported from Belgium. Then we’re going to put our heads together to think of the perfect apology gift.”
Caleb looked at his Alpha.
“Will that work?” he asked.
Bran nodded. “I’m pretty sure it will work. Kate has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. If you are truly sorry and prove to her that you are really okay with her being the boys’ mother, then she will forgive you. I’ve fucked up more than once. Trust me, that chocolate can work miracles.”