Kameron's POV ...
'How had I allowed something like that to even happen?' I scolded myself.
I walked through the packhouse as I headed for my office. I needed to get out of my house. My wolf was too close to the surface and I was barely holding on. He wanted her and he wanted her badly.
And I would be lying if I said I didn't want her too-because I did.
No matter how hard I tried to fight it, I was always drawn back to Callie.
Tonight was the first night I acknowledged us being mates, and it felt ... good, to say it out loud. Even though saying it out loud made it that much more real.
A week ago, I had been so certain of my choices-and now my head was all over the place.
I was between a rock and a hard place. One had a woman who made complete sense as a mate. She was the daughter of an alpha, came with many benefits for my pack, and ensured that I would have strong pups. She was my chosen mate-the one fate had not designed for me.
Then, on another hand, I had Callie. I knew nothing about her except that I was drawn to her in the same way she was drawn to me. Her sapphire eyes were like the rarest jewels. Her fiery hair was temptation and sin. She was any man's walking wet dream-and she was everything I couldn't have.
I knew I felt strongly for Callie, which was only normal seeing, as we were fated to be together. Part of me wanted to explore the possibility of more with her.
But that would mean turning my back on my responsibilities and taking back my word.
If there was one thing my father taught me from an early age, it was that an alpha never went back on his word. If I was to take back my promise to my fiancée, what kind of alpha would that make me?
Flo had been preparing for our union for months now. It wouldn't be fair just to take that all back after she had been prepping for her role.
I scoffed. 'A role that she was not designed for, I thought. The only one who could properly fill the role of Luna was Callie.
"Dammit, Callie," I whispered to myself as I entered my office.
The woman crashed into my life like a bulldozer. She toppled over every single plan I had set out and turned it all to rubble in my head. Now, I was trying to sort things out and all I could see was her face. She was everywhere around me. Her scent, her face, the sound of her voice ... the only thing that I had not familiarized myself with was her taste.
My mind went back to the almost-kiss. Her sweet vanilla scent had enveloped me in its soft clutches.
I shook my head, "No. You can't think about her like that, Kameron."
I walked over to the window and looked out to the night sky. I saw my house towards the edge of the main compound.
She was in there. My mate was in my house, in the room just a few doors from my own.
I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know where she came from and what she had been running from. I wanted to protect her from whatever trouble she was in. I wanted her to open up to me-but she was so closed off I could barely get anything out of her.
I didn't believe her story about her having amnesia and failing to remember where she was from. She knew exactly where she was from and she was keeping it from me. Which only made me worry for her more.
So many questions swirled in my mind. Had her old pack hurt her? Had they forced her into situations she didn't want to be in? Had she been an abused gamma?
All these questions and the only person who could answer them was not willing to speak. It frustrated me.
I could have just called around to see if the other alphas were missing a pack member that went by Callie, but then, I feared that if she was in trouble, they would take her away from here. From me. So I had to think of other ways of finding the information I needed.
Then it was like a switch went on in my head, an idea came to mind.
I sat at my desk and opened my laptop. I clicked on my browser and typed in the website I was looking for.
I opened the wolf database and typed in my credentials. This was a long shot, but it was worth a try.
The wolf database was essentially a register that had all the information on each wolf within the country. I scrolled through and typed in Callie's name, and nearly 10,000 matches popped up. I had too little information to make an accurate enough search.
I scrolled through the first 900 girls, and none of the pictures looked like Callie. I had hit a dead end. There was no way I was going to go through all 10,000 of those profiles. It was pointless.
I needed to stop tiptoeing around her. I needed to come out and just ask her. The worst that could happen is that she would be silent, but at least then I would have tired.
Having made up my mind, I decided that I was going to speak to her in the morning, whether she liked it or not. I wanted her to know that she could trust me and that I was a safe place for her to lay all her burdens down.
My mind was so conflicted between Flo and Callie that I didn't even notice that I had left my office until the cool air hit my face.
I was heading for my parents' house, which was right across from mine. At first, I hated the fact that my parents were so close to my private space-but then, in moments like this, I was thankful that they were only one short walk away.
I found my dad on the porch sitting on the bench he and I had made last summer. He was nursing a cold beer.
"Hey Dad, "I greeted him as I walked up the porch. I went to go sit next to him. "Where's Mom?"
"She headed to bed early. Said something about preparing for Flo's homecoming or something along those lines."
"Oh," was all I managed to say.
We sat in a comfortable silence as we watched the moon beyond the horizon. Dad took sips of his beer periodically and I sifted through all the pros and cons of each possible decision I could make.
"If you stay too long in your head, you may get trapped there." My father cast his green eyes at me. A smile was playing on his lips as he continued to drink his beer.
"Just have a lot on my mind, Dad. You know, pack responsibilities and the like."
"Would this have anything to do with the rogue that crossed over our borders a few days ago?"
I stiffened and quickly retorted, "She's not a rogue, and no, it has nothing to do with her."
He nodded but I could see the doubt playing on his face. My father had always been a perceptive man and clearly still was.
But, thankfully, he didn't press me on the issue further. I was in no mood to get into it with my father.
"Dad, can I ask you a question?"
He turned back to me and nodded. I let out a long breath before I spoke again. "Do you ever think fate can be wrong?"
I tried to keep my question as inconspicuous as possible. I needed advice from a man who had been in a similar position as I was and had managed to overcome it.
He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "In what sense?"
I shrugged, trying to play it off. "Just in general. Like, our bloodline carrying the alpha gene-that was fate. But do you think fate could have been Wrong there?"
He mused over my question and his wrinkled forehead became even more wrinkled as he frowned. He brought his beer to his lips and took a large swig before setting it down again.
"Fate," he began, "Is one of those things that we may never understand fully. It is complex but it is never without reason. Everything that fate does is intentional and purposeful. Fate makes no mistakes."
I licked my lips, preparing myself for my next question. "What about mates? Can't fate pick the Wrong mate for you?"
He gave me a knowing smile and rubbed his greying beard with his hand.
"For those who have a fated mate, it is one of two great blessings the moon goddess gives us. If you are lucky enough to have a fated mate, then you can be certain the moon goddess made no mistake in picking your partner."
There was a loud pause between us as I took in his words.
My father reached behind me and clapped me gently on my back.
"Unfortunately, you don't have a fated mate, my son, but your mother and I have done our part and picked a suitable bride for you to marry. She will be your equal and she will be your support, the same way in which your own mate would've been if you had one."
I nodded. "I know. It's my responsibility to the pack to see this union through."
"That's right and your mother is overjoyed about your engagement to Flo. She has told anyone and anything with the ability to hear."
We both chuckled. That sounded like my mother. We sobered and fell into easy conversation. We talked about pack business and then started poking fun at my mother's cooking skill-or lack thereof. By the time I checked my watch, it was well after midnight and time for me to head home.
I got up from the bench and said goodnight to my father. I was halfway down the porch when I heard him call my name. I turned around to look at him.
"In my experience son, fate always wins out."
He then stood up from the bench and walked into the house.
As I walked home, his words played in my mind over and over again.
Was my father right? Would fate win out when it came to Callie and me? Or were we destined to fail?
The closer I drew to my house, the stronger her scent got, and the happier my wolf became. A week ago, if someone had told me that this was going to be my life, I would have never believed them.
When I walked through the front door, I was eager to head straight for her room and talk to her-but it was late, and she was most likely sleeping. This conversation could wait until tomorrow.