Calliope's Mate - Book 2
Chapter 6

For six months, Calliope would watch Caleb through his eyes daily. She watched him train, learn their skewed versions of history, and how they mistreated him. His mother barely spoke to him. But, his grandmother has not seen Caleb since Calliope's visit.

Caleb no longer slept in his parent’s tent. He slept in a barrack-style tent with single, young wolves. Even when Paige had a cabin built for his family, he was not allowed back. Even his younger sister no longer smiled at him. He was utterly alone.

All this broke Calliope’s heart. But, she could not risk going there, righting the wrongs done against him. She feared her anger would lead to Caleb hating her. And so, she could only watch from a distance.

This made her more determined to make sure when they met, he would leave happy. Make him excited to see her. Despite all the lies and hate he was being taught, she was determined to undo the damage done to her mate.

Calliope lay her in bed, silent as she listened to the morning birds. She had seen Caleb briefly the day before when his pack came to pledge themselves to her. The Alpha kept a firm hand on him, keeping the two apart. With great sadness, she could only talk to him from a distance.

But today would be different. Today was the fighting day at the Moon Festival. She had instructed that Caleb join her on the platform so that he could be introduced as the Great Alpha.

Unlike when she was a child, there was no reason to hide his existence from the world. He was half sun wolf. The sun wolves would not harm one of their own, not when he was to be the next Great Alpha.

She heard a howl outside and looked out the window. The sun was coming up, and the competitors were gathering. It wouldn’t be long before everyone headed down to the arena.

An hour later, she was dressed in a long, white dress. Black thread accented the arms and down the sides of the dress. There was beadwork in the shape of the Royal Moon pack crest across the chest. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her head like a crown.

Once readied, she walked down to the arena. At the front steps stood Alpha Bennett and Caleb. Calliope smiled at Caleb and offered her hand to him.

“Would you like to come sit with me?” She asked him softly.

Caleb nodded and took her hand. The sparks eased their anxieties and cooled her temper towards his pack. With Caleb here, she only thought of him. She led him up to the platform where the Greats sat. The only other person there was Briana. It would generally be Lea here, but she was resting, having recently given birth to a baby boy.

“Who is she?” Caleb asked Calliope.

“That is my second companion, Briana,” Calliope answered.

“What is a companion?”

“Someone who vows to spend their whole life with a Great. And not just their life but their entire lineage. A companion is your friend, your advisor, your protector. Other than your mate, they are the people that we shall trust the most.”

“Do I get a companion too?” He asked with wide eyes.

“Yes,” she chuckled. “I can pick someone out for you, or perhaps you pick them out? It needs to be someone you can trust for the rest of their life.”

Caleb thought for a moment and nodded his head. “I-I would like to choose my companion myself.”

Calliope gave a gentle smile. She knew his pack would never accept an outsider as his companion. It would be someone they knew, which only added to her worry. She led him over to the two thrones that sat near the edge.

She looked at them. Theo’s chair had been removed long ago. But there was no sadness when she looked at it. There was only hope, hope for Caleb and their future.

Then there was her chair. It had also once been removed, as well. She had gone to every other Moon Festival in wolf form. She didn’t need the chair. She chuckled to herself as she remembered the rumors the people would say about her. One of them was that when Theo died, the human part of her soul died, too, leaving only her wolf. She had never shifted in front of those she didn’t trust. No one knew she was blind in her human form. She looked back to Caleb and knelt on one knee.

“Are you ready, little wolf?” She asked as she took his hands in hers. “I’m about to announce you to everyone here.”

Caleb looked at her, and his eyes were sad.

“Can you just call me Caleb? Please?” He asked with a wavering voice.

Calliope’s heart broke into hundreds of tiny pieces. She knew why he wanted to be called by just his name. At home, everyone just called him boy. Boy. He hadn’t heard his name in so long. She steeled her heart, pushing her anger deeper within her. It didn't matter if she got Caleb not to kill her. It didn't matter if he became a true mate to her. He still loved his family. She would never be able to make them pay for what they did to him.

“Of course, Caleb,” she replied with a gentle whisper. She reached up and straightened out his hair.

She stood straight and looked at the large crowds. She raised her hands for silence. Once all were quiet, she stepped forward with Caleb beside her.

“Greetings! And welcome to another Moon Festival! A time for creating alliances, finding loved ones, and showing off skill!”

The crowd cheered in excitement. Calliope had to clear her throat. She was not used to yelling out loudly for many to hear. Theo could mind link everyone here. But she didn’t have that power. She momentarily looked at Caleb, wondering if he would have that gift.

“Before we begin, I’d like to make an announcement! Months ago, the Goddess gave me a gift that I never expected! The gift of a second chance mate! So, I’d like to introduce Caleb of the Eclipse pack! He is my second chance mate; he shall be the next Great Alpha!”

The crowds were loud before, but now the sound was deafening. There was so much excitement that guards from her pack had to go around to help quiet everyone down. Caleb, though, smiled at the excitement everyone had about him. He looked up to Calliope with a grin.

After looking at one another for a few seconds, Calliope mind linked to her beta to continue the announcements. She took Caleb to his seat, and they sat down.

“That was so exciting!” Caleb yelled out as he sat down. “Everyone seemed so happy!”

“Yes, they sure are,” she agreed. “This is the most excitement I’ve seen in many, many years.”

Caleb smiled as he looked back to the arena. The first group of fighters was coming out for hand-to-hand combat. For some time, they watched in silence. But Calliope kept glancing at him, making sure he was enjoying himself.

But Caleb wasn’t oblivious to her glances. He could feel the warmth of her eyes each time she looked at him. But he did not mind. He could see her eyes were happy and full of emotions; things he had not seen from his family in some time. After a while, he finally looked at her.

“Can I ask you questions, Great Luna?”

“You may, but only if you don’t call me by my title. You may call me by my name or anything else you’d like.”

“Alright, Calliope,” Caleb nodded with a smile. “How old are you?”

“150.”

“You look very young for being someone very old.”

Calliope could not help but laugh at his statement. This caused Caleb to blush with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured.

“Don’t be!” She laughed. “It is alright. I know I don’t look old. That is how it will be for you as well. You too shall be very old in age, but not look it. But I do feel my age. I feel it in my wolf, in my soul, in my energy. It’s not like I feel less energized, but I feel the power that comes with my age.”

“You said I was your second chance mate. What does that mean?”

“Well,” she sighed as she looked down at Caleb. “It means I had another mate. Someone else who I loved dearly. But he is no longer alive. And so, the moon Goddess created you to be my second chance mate.”

“What was his name? How long were you two together?”

“His name was Theo,” Calliope answered as she smiled to herself. “We met when I was five and he was 138. But we officially mated 13 years later. So, in total, we were together for 75 years.”

“That is a very long time.” He replied. But then he hesitated. He wanted to ask how long they would be together, but he knew what the answer should be. He knew what was expected of him. He noticed her gaze on him. “Did you have kids together?”

“No,” she answered with a hint of sadness. “We did not.”

“Why?”

“Because, as Greats, we do not determine when we have children. The Moon Goddess is the one who does. And for Theo and I, she didn’t want us to have any.”

Caleb frowned. He was taught that the Moon Goddess was vindictive and cruel to those who refused to follow her mindlessly. That she is the reason why his pack were once outsiders.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” he scoffed.

“I know.”

“Do you wish you had children with him?”

“That is a complicated answer,” she sighed, looking out to the arena. “As Greats, you could have many children. But only one will inherit the gifts of the Greats. So, while one child lives long, the rest will not. They would have lived normal lives, dying long before I do. To watch what remained of Theo live their life, grow old, and die would have torn me apart. But at the same time, I do wish I had something of him. Something physical.”

“How did he die?”

Calliope quickly looked back to Caleb. Her eyes, which were sparkling with happiness minutes ago, were now sad.

“Are you sure you want to know?” She asked, hesitating with her question.

Caleb reached out and touched her hand. He hated to see the sadness in her eyes. He didn’t understand why, but it made his own heart hurt. It was hard to breathe when she wasn’t smiling.

“Not if saying it will make you sad, no,” he finally answered.

Calliope gripped his hand gently in hers. She heard a horn sound and turned her attention towards the crowd. She had not been watching the fights, so she was surprised to see the final female champion standing alone in the arena. She looked back to Caleb.

“I have to go fight now,” she whispered.

“Why?” He asked, becoming concerned. He had been told her wolf kills people, that she would kill his own family if she were angry enough. So hearing she had to fight, it frightened him.

“Don’t worry, Caleb,” she said gently. “I’m just going to fight in the challenger fight. I won’t actually do anything. The challenger always submits before any real fighting starts. Don’t worry.”

“Will I have to fight challengers?”

“One day, yes,” she nodded. “But this is all a show. Just a game.”

Calliope stood from her chair as the winner made her challenge. Calliope shifted on the platform and jumped down to the sandy arena. Caleb stood and ran to the edge. This was the first time he saw her wolf. He was in awe of her, but he did not feel fear. That surprised him. He had been warned about her so much he thought he feared her wolf. In reality, he could not help but adore her.

Her wolf was large, larger than any wolf he had ever seen. Perhaps taller than his father’s sun wolf form. And her white fur seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. She was beautiful, and something in him stirred. Something came forward to his mind—a wolf with red eyes. The face was primarily solid black, with white and gray speckles around the edges and down the neck. Then, in a flash, the wolf was gone.

Caleb looked down and noticed the challenger had shifted and submitted. The fight was over before there was any actual fighting. He ran up to Calliope when she made her way back to him.

“Your wolf! She is huge!”

“She is,” Calliope laughed as she sat back down. “Her name is Giizis.”

“Giizis? I like that name!” He replied as he sat beside her. “Did you use any gifts to make the challenger not fight?”

“No,” she chuckled. “We aren’t allowed to use gifts during the fights.”

“What gifts do you have?”

“Well,” she said as she thought. “I can give blessings to make people temporarily stronger. My wolf being big and strong is a gift. And I have impeccable hearing. I can even hear mind links between other wolves.”

She lied to him. Something twisted in her stomach as she did so. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. Even though he seemed happy with her now, he still had a long time before they would mate. Which means he could still betray her and kill her. So, for her own protection, she had to lie to him to hide some of her gifts.

This also allowed her to spy on him and his pack without them knowing. If they knew she could look and hear through Caleb, they would never talk when around him. But if they thought she could hear their own mind links, they might be more willing to speak out loud. Make it so she knew every move they wanted to make. Help her stay a few steps ahead of them.

“What gifts will I have?” Caleb asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

“That I cannot answer. There are so many different gifts out there that there is no telling what you might end up with.”

“I hope I’m strong, like you!”

“I’m sure you will be,” she smiled at him. She was sure he would be strong, but deep down, she wondered if he would be stronger than her. Before Theo’s death, she found out she was stronger than him. And strength was one of his gifts. It wasn’t hers. As long as she was the stronger of the two, she need not worry. Even if she failed, and Caleb did indeed try to kill her, she could defend herself. Though she hoped it never came to that.

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