Callie POV ....
Kameron left my hospital room once he and Rex spoke about the arrangements for me to move into his home. I tried to protest a few times, but they both agreed that I would be safest in the alpha's house.
My wolf was excited about it, but I was dreading the whole ordeal. Being close to Kameron would only complicate things further. If we were to be confined in the same area for hours on end, I didn't know if I would be able to fight off the mate pull.
"I'm sure he won't come back a third time. I don't need to move in with Alpha Kameron." I had been trying to convince Rex to let me stay in the healing center for the past hour, but he wasn't having it.
"Callie, we are doing this for your own safety."
I sighed. "But why Kameron's house? Isn't there any other place I can go, like maybe a safe house, or even your house? I promise I'll be a great housemate. I'm low maintenance and you wouldn't even know I was there."
Rex shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. My house is even less secure than the healing center. People just come and knock whenever they please since I'm the head healer in the pack. Kameron's house is the best option because it is one of the most secure places in the entire compound."
I would have argued more with him, but I knew it was pointless. He wasn't going to listen. They had both made up their minds, much to my dismay. I was moving in with Kameron whether I liked it or not.
Rex helped me into the wheelchair he brought in after Kameron left. He left the IV out, and, thankfully, he didn't need to treat the claw marks that Jorge inflicted. My wolf was finally healing me. She was still weak but was stronger than she had been for the past few days.
Rex rolled us out of the room and started for Kameron's house.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been overjoyed that I was moving in with my mate-but these were not normal circumstances. Of all wolves in this world, I had to be mated to an alpha.
This would have been easier had my mate been a less high-profile member of a pack. But being the mate of an alpha meant that I was to be his Luna-and that was a lot of responsibility.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Rex asked as he pushed me into the elevator.
"Nothing," I replied. "I'm just thinking about how weird it's going to be sharing a space with Alpha Kameron."
"If you're worried about Kameron, you have nothing to worry about. I've knowm him ever since we were little kids. We basically grew up together."
"So you guys are close, then?" I wanted to learn more about their dynamic. But, if I was being really honest, I wanted to learn more about Kameron.
"Yeah." I could hear the smile in his voice.
"We're basically like brothers. We did everything together. Played the same sports, listened to the same music, and even went for the same girls. That last one caused a few fights now and again."
I didn't like that last part. I didn't like the thought of Kameron with any other female but me.
Yeah, that mate pull was coming in strong. I was never the possessive type but, for some reason, picturing him with another female angered me.
"So, you guys got into your fair share of trouble here and there, I bet."
Rex chuckled. "Yeah, we did. There was this one time when we were younger that Alpha Peter, Kameron's father, was out of town with the rest of the high-ranking wolves, which left Kameron in charge. Kameron organized this big party, thinking we had three days to clean up whatever mess we made. We maxed out his dad's card and we basically trashed the packhouse. We snuck into Alpha Peter's private stash of alcohol and finished every last drop."
"Oh, wow," I chuckled. "You guys really went all in."
"Yep," Rex laughed. "We thought we had time to replace everything before his dad got home, but then he ended up coming back a day early. Safe to say, Kameron never threw another party ever again."
"I can't imagine Kameron as the party-boy type. He seems too serious to be one."
Rex grinned knowingly. "He had to calm down once he assumed the responsibility of alpha. A lot of people depend on him, and he couldn't keep partying and messing with girls every weekend when a whole pack of wolves needed his attention. He grew up. We all had to."
'Did that also include Jorge?" I thought to myself.
"Yes, it actually does. He wasn't always like this."
Dammit. Had I said that out loud?
I cleared my throat, "I didn't mean to say that out loud."
"It's fine," he waved me off. "Jorge wasn't always like this. He was different when we were younger. He was more carefree and didn't care much for the rules and regulations. But then, after we graduated high school and Kameron started to assume more alpha responsibility, it's like he flipped a switch."
"How so?"
Rex didn't speak for some time as he wheeled me down the path towards a house that stood off to the side on its own. We were almost there.
"He started to make everything a competition. He always wanted to be the fastest, the strongest, and the smartest. It was like he wanted to out do Kameron and me. I don't know what point he was trying to prove, but, eventually, that was what led to our falling out."
It's strange to see an alpha and a beta not be close," I mused. "Usually, alphas and betas are the best of friends, but with Kameron and Jorge, it's the exact opposite. It's like there's silent tension between the two."
I heard Rex sigh. "Well, that's because Jorge wasn't meant to be beta. I was."
I craned my neck around to look up at Rex.
What did he mean, he was meant to be beta? If he was a beta, why was he a healer, then?
He cast his brown eyes down at me. "I know what you are thinking. Why am I a healer if I could have had the position of beta?"
I nodded.
"I never wanted to be beta-even as a child, I knew that the position was not for me. My father tried many times to convince me that it was my destiny to be second to Kameron. It was in our blood to be betas. For a moment, I was about to take the position-Iwas ready to take it."
"Then what happened?" I pressed.
"There had been a breach on the south borderline, near the lake where many of us hung out during the summer. It had been a rogue attack. A girl, Sydney was her name, had gotten attacked by the rogues before the patrol wolves took him out."
"Was she hurt?"
Rex nodded; his eyes were now looking forward. I could see the sadness that overtook his gaze as his mind to him back to that day.
"Yeah, pretty badly. The rogue bit right through her leg and ruptured an artery. She was bleeding out. The healers were back at the main compound, and they were coming, but she was losing blood so quickly that, by the time they would've gotten there, she would've been dead."
I raised my eyebrows. "Would've?"
"I was able to save her. I had taken a course in emergency first aid at the beginning of that summer, just out of curiosity's sake. I never thought I would ever put those skills to use for something like that. If I hadn't acted that day, Sydney would have died and our pack healer would have never met his mate that day."
"What?" I said, shocked. "Sydney was a healer's mate?"
Rex nodded glancing down at me. "Yep. If she had died that day, her mate would never have found her-but, luckily, that didn't happen. Fate had another plan for them. They're actually married with three little pups, and one more on the way."
"Wow, Rex." I was completely shocked. "What you did was amazing."
"I just did what needed to be done. But that was the day that I decided I could do more good as a healer than as a beta. My place was not on the battlefield or behind a desk figuring out budget plans for the pack. My place is in that healing center."
"So, how did Jorge become beta?"
"Kameron needed a beta since I was training to be a healer, and he chose Jorge. He may be a grade-A a*hole, but he's still one of the best warriors we have in this pack."
I nodded. I guessed it all made sense now. I was still suspicious of Jorge, but at least nowI understood why he and Kameron seemed to be like two opposing forces.
"Not many people would have given up such a high-ranking role so readily."
He looked down at me again for a moment and winked.
"It's a good thing I'm not most people, then."
Rex wheeled me the rest of the way to the house that sat at the edge of the compound. Unlike the other houses that had a more suburban feel to them, this one was larger and had a contemporary modern aesthetic.
"You said he lives alone?" I asked, looking at the sheer size of the house It seemed big enough to fit at least ten people.
Rex wheeled me into the house; the front door was left unlocked for us. I expected the house to feel somewhat cold and museum-like. I always thought of big houses as being austere and uninviting.
But Kameron's home was the exact opposite of that.
Hardwood covered the floors and the walls were painted a warm, pale brown color that added to the aesthetic of the overall space. A sparkly chandelier hung from above, and pictures and paintings lined the walls along the stairs that lead to the second floor.
Rex wheeled me down the hallway toward what I presumed would be my room. We reach the last door at the end of the hall and Rex opened it to reveal my new living quarters.
It wasn't anything grand, but it was still a nice room. A double bed sat in the middle of the space.
A small desk was set to the side with a black reading lamp on top of it. There was a dresser close to the door and what looked like a clothes hamper in the corner.
"I know it's not much, but I can't carry you upstairs right now, so you will have to stay in this guest room for the time being."
"It's okay," I said with a smile. "This is more than fine, really."
It was certainly a huge upgrade from the caves and tree trunks I had become accustomed to over the years.
"Okay, then-let's get you settled in, shall we?"
Rex walked around the wheelchair and helped mne to my feet. We walked to the bed so he could lay me down. Then he began to do another checkup before he would have to leave.
I looked to the window and saw the moon slowly beginning to show as the sky darkened.
'Moon Goddess, what have you gotten me into?' I thought to myself.