Callie POV ...
Kameron left me in my new room a while ago and told me to get some rest. I lay in the bed and tossed and turned for what felt like hours. I felt restless.
I almost kissed Kameron. I was still trying to wrap my head around that. I hadn't meant to lean in, but I did. I hadn't meant to close my eyes and wait for his kiss, but I did. I hadn't meant to want his lips on mine, but I did.
And then he rejected me.
"Screw this." I got up from the bed and made my way to the large floor-to-ceiling windows. The moon was high in the sky, and the stars were scattered all around it. I remembered the nights I would spend in the forest. I often looked at the darkened sky at night in search of the brightest one.
I sometimes told myself that that star was my parents, letting me know they were watching over me and guiding me from above. I knew it was not really them, but I liked to imagine it. It made me feel less alone.
A knock sounded at my door, and for a second I thought it was Kameron-but it wasn't.
"Come in," I answered, turning to face the door.
I was surprised to see the young gamma girl from the healing center walk into my room with a tray in her hands.
"I brought you some dinner. I thought you might be hungry," her voice was gentle and soft.
"Thank you," I said with a smile
I hadn't had any real food since I got here. I had been fed through a feeding tube on the first day, and my wolf hadn't been hungry for some time.
But, now that she was on the mend, she was famished
The girl moved to set the tray by my bedside table and bowed her head at me. She then turned and headed towards the door.
"Wait," I called to her.
She turned and looked back at me, waiting. Her sky-blue eyes held so much warmth and kindness in them. They reminded me of Rex's.
"Can you tell me your name?" I asked.
"Arianna."
"I never got to thank you, Arianna," I said, moving toward her, "For trying to help me with the whole Jorge situation. And I'm sorry you ended up getting hurt."
She seemed a bit taken aback at my words.
"You don't have to thank me. I was only trying to do the right thing. Jorge is not a kind man and no one deserves to be treated the way he was treating you."
"Well, thank you nonetheless," I said as I moved towards the tray she had set down for me. "Would you like to stay? I could use the company."
She looked conflicted. "I'm not sure if that would be allowed."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Why wouldn't it be allowed?"
She looked down at her feet as if she were ashamed of something. She played with her fingers and bit down on her lip.
"I'm a gamma, the lowest ranking in a pack. You are staying in the alpha's house, so you must be high-ranking. It could harm your reputation if you are seen with me."
"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you serious? That has to be some kind of joke."
Arianna looked up at me and shook her head. "It's not. A lot of people in the pack don't associate with me for that very reason. I'm seen as the weakest one in the pack, and therefore the most easily disposable."
I walked over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders. She was a little shorter than I was and the innocence her face displayed made me want to tuck her under my arm and hide her from the world. She seemed to be about the same age as me, but I felt this overwhelming need to protect her like a big sister would her little sister.
"Well, I don't think you're disposable at all. In fact, you are my own personal hero."
I felt her shoulders sag slightly as relief washed over her.
"So, what do you say? Will you stay with me for a little while? You could tell me all about the pack and Alpha Kameron."
Her face split into a bright smile and she nodded. She moved to the edge of my bed and sat there while I went over to the tray she had set down for me. I lifted the lid off the bowl.
"Mushroom soup?" I was surprised.
She stood quickly. "If you don't like it, I can go and prepare you something else. I just thought maybe you would want something light, seeing as you haven't eaten much within the last few days. I will take it back right away."
She tried to reach for the tray but I stopped her.
"Arianna, it's fine. I love it," I assured her.
"Mushroom soup is actually one of my favorite foods. Please sit down and stop worrying."
She sat down reluctantly, fidgeting with her
fingers.
I sat beside her with the tray in my lap. I tasted the first spoonful of the mushroom soup and moaned as the salty deliciousness hit my tongue. I hadn't had real food in so long. I got used to the taste of raw flesh and blood.
I continued to eat the soup like it was going to run away from me. I only slowed when I felt Arianna's heavy gaze. I turned my head slowly in her direction and raised my eyebrows.
"What?" I asked once I swallowed.
She averted her gaze from me quickly and started apologizing profusely.
"You don't have to apologize Arianna. I'm only asking 'cause you're staring at me like I ate yourncat or something."
She shook her head, offering me a timid smile.
"You're just very beautiful. I've never seen anyone with your eyes."
Thank you." I placed a hand on top of hers to stop her from picking at her nails. "And you are just as beautiful, if not more."
I saw the color rise to her cheeks as she averted her gaze from me. I pulled away and went back to eating my soup. After I finished, I turned to Arianna.
"So, tell me about yourself, Arianna."
She shrugged. "There isn't much to tell, really. My parents died during a raid when I was about six. I was left with nothing and no one. The pack had to take care of me. Since I no longer had the backing of my father's status as an omega, I was reduced down to a gamma."
My heart bled for her. I knew exactly what it was like to lose both parents. It was like your heart was being ripped right out of your chest and then stabbed right in front of you.
"I'm sorry about your parents, Arianna. That must have been really hard for you."
I could see her fighting against the tears as she tried to hold herself together. It was a pain I knew all too wel. I set the tray aside and enveloped her in my arms. At first, she didn't respond to my embrace, but then after a few minutes, she eturned it. Her frame was so small against mine.
We stayed like that for a few moments before I pulled away. Arianna brushed away a few stray tears before collecting herself.
"It wasn't all bad. Alpha Peter made sure I had everything I needed. I got to go to school with the other kids and I had shelter, food, and clothes. It was hard for some time, but then eventually I got used to my new status within the pack. They ignore me and I do the work that is assigned to me."
"Does Kameron treat you well?"
She nodded. "He does. He makes sure that all the gammas are treated fairly in the pack. He can't protect us all from all the harassment that we sometimes get from higher-ranking wolves, but he does his best."
That made my heart swell. From what Kameron showed me, he was not a cruel man. It was nice that he respected all members of his pack equally.
"So, he's a good alpha, then?"
"He is," she said with a smile. "He treats all his pack members with respect. He genuinely cares about our well-being and safety. Whenever one of us is in need, Alpha Kameron never hesitates to step up. We can only hope his Luna will be as kind as he is."
My heart jumped. I was meant to be his Luna, yet I had no intention of staying here for long. A pang struck my heart as I tried to keep my emotions neutral.
"Well, I hope for your pack's sake that, when he meets his Luna, she will be as good to you all as he is."
She waved me off. "I forget that you aren't actually a member of our pack, so you wouldn't know. Alpha Kameron has found his mate already. He is engaged to Florence Elm, daughter of Alpha Byron Elm from the neighboring pack. They're getting married soon, I believe. Obviously," she continued, "lt's an arranged marriage, seeing as Alpha Kameron is mateless, but I still think it's romantic."
Her words felt like a sucker punch right to my gut.
Any frivolous dream or fantasy I had about Kameron and I shattered to the floor into a million different pieces at that moment.
"He's engaged?" I felt the bile rise in mythroat.
How could he be engaged to someone else when Inwas his mate?
My mind went back to the almost-kiss and how he pulled away from me at the very last second. He moved away from me like I burned him and he wanted nothing to do with me.
It wasn't that he didn't kiss me because he didn't feel anything at that moment-because I knew he felt something.
He didn't kiss me because he was committed to another.
"Yes," Arianna squealed in excitement. "Isn't it exciting? Everyone has been saying it's going to be the wedding of the decade. There is a rumor that Alpha Bryon has set an insane budget for the ceremony just so Florence can have everything she wants for her big day."
I felt like I was struggling to breathe, but Arianna didn't seem to notice. She continued to talk animatedly about the wedding preparation and how she wished she would have a wedding one day.
"Callie, are you okay?" Arianna looked at me, concerned.
"I'm just tired." I fought against the emotion lodged in my throat.
"Okay, I think it's time I leave you to get some rest. You've had a long and eventful day."
She helped me lie down and then went to collect my empty plates. She stared down at me with concern painted all over her face.
"Is there anything I can get you or do for you to make you feel better?"
I shook my head. Not unless she could fix the shattering of my heart.
"But I did hear some good news. Alpha Kameron has been asking other Alphas about you in hopes of finding your pack. At least this means that you will be able to get back home and they can help you regain your memory."
She thought the news she was giving me would make me feel better, but all it did was add to the crippling pain that I was already experiencing.
I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes as Arianna left my room with my plates. I slowed the first tear and only let it fall when I heard the door shut.
He was engaged.
He was promised to another and I had been a fool.
This was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. My emotions got in the way and now Kameron was communicating with other alphas about me.
It was only a matter of time before he spoke to Damien.
I stayed here for one too many nights. I should have left Kameron's pack the second I woke up in the healing center. I stayed to appease my wolf, and now, not only were we in more danger than ever before but our heart had been broken.
I needed to leave and I was going to do it tonight.