Caleb had been kept away from the pack by his need for a thrill and something new for many years. He had been away from the pack for what felt like an eternity, lost in the allure of distant horizons.
That was how he met Sophia. He'd been lost somewhere in a Rogue pack. She'd saved him from death that day, and he had rescued her from the pack subsequently.
Upon his return to Redwood, he was met with a heartbreaking and utterly devastating scene. The once-thriving pack lay in ruins, his parents were gone, his brother not entirely human, half of the pack dead while the other half lay well in death's door with the states they were in.
Caleb's thoughts drifted back to that cursed day, forever seared into his memories. He had returned to Redwood, partly because he missed his family and because he'd found his mate and had been excited to show her off, also to celebrate his brother Cedric, who, he'd gotten word of becoming the new Alpha.
It was supposed to be a happy day, a joyful reunion with an addition to the family, but instead, they were greeted with a scene that felt like the closest thing to having his heart ripped out and force-fed to him, still raw and bleeding.
The Ember Coven, a group of powerful warlocks, did not have the best of relationships with Redwood for a long time. Their leader, Phineas, saw Redwood as a challenge to conquer. Before then, Redwood was known for one thing, and that was its harmony with nature.
It was this harmony that was rumored to be the source of its peace and stability. There were also rumors of its lands bearing a source of old powerful magic. The Ember coven had also coveted that source for a long time. Their bad blood was chalked up to land disputes, and nothing too serious.
But it turned out that in Caleb's absence, a war had broken out between them. Even though Joseph, his father, and the Alpha before Cedric had tried to make peace in an attempt to discontinue the war, it never bore any positive results.
The Ember Coven were intent on letting it drag on until they got what they wanted, which wasn't an easy feat for Redwood to surrender without putting up a fight.
Sometime along the line, Phineas, the leader of the Ember coven, was suddenly struck dead. With the main instigator gone, the unrest subsided, and the entire Redwood pack released a collective sigh of relief, thinking it was over.
But the worst was yet to come, and it did come on Cedric's coronation day. Phineas's soulmate, Guinevere, blames Redwood for his death. Filled with sadness and anger, she set out to get revenge. She kills Alpha Joseph and his mate with her own hands, turning what should've been a happy day into a nightmare for everyone present.
But she doesn't stop there. Guinevere lays a curse on Cedric, making him lose his human side and turning him into what can only be described as an unforgiving beast that haunted and sought the blood of his own pack members. The once-happy Redwood Pack becomes a broken and desolate place.
Caleb still remembers how he felt when he learned about all of this. After being away from Redwood, exploring and adventuring, he'd been enraged and beyond devastated at the state he'd found his pack and only surviving family.
The worst part was that no one had been willing to let him in on all that. He didn't know of the wars or Phineas' death, even though he'd maintained steady communication with the pack and his parents, albeit in his absence. He didn't even know who Guinevere was. Worst of all, he didn't even get to bid his parents a final farewell.
Caleb is still rooted in the Garden, reliving the pain and guilt he felt back then. He wanted nothing more than to bring back joy and love back to Redwood.
Every time he looked at Sophia, he felt the guilt grow within him. This wasn't how he'd wanted or expected things to go with her back to his home with him. Sophia had been held captive in a Rogue pack all her life, and she had only known suffering.
He brought her back knowing all too well the loving bond his pack shared, hoping for her to become a part of that, share in the good times with his family and help her forget about her ugly past, not struggle once again to pick up the broken pieces of what was left of his pack, torn apart by war and hate.
The vibrant hopes of a joyous return turned into a nightmare of loss and despair. The betrayal, the bloodshed, and the curse that afflicted his brother cast a dark shadow over Redwood.
Caleb grappled with the harsh realities on his return, questioning the purpose of his existence when he couldn't even be there when his home needed him the most, so now, all he'd done and every decision he's made so far was a trial at salvation.
Caleb finds himself taking on a role he naturally would never have expected of himself. Becoming the new Alpha, especially of such a broken pack, came with a lot of responsibilities. It wasn't what he wanted, but he knew he had to try and fix all that was broken within the pack.
The weight of guilt and self-blame for what had happened to his family burdened him every day, serving as a driving force to try and do better. However, with the way things continued to swivel out of control, if he didn't know any better, he would be of the idea that he was the accursed one.
The unpredictability of his older brother, Cedric, was a constant shadow looming over his head. He couldn't even recognize him. He was seldom quiescent enough to even look at faces, talk more, begin to recognize them. Caleb desperately wanted to help him, but the great weight on his shoulders felt like it was squeezing the air out of him.
Some pack officials wanted him to just put an end to it, let Cedric go and not continue to take the risk of him getting out of his bounds and continuously harming the pack members, but that would mean killing his own brother. Greedy as it might seem, that would also be him signing his whole life off to the responsibilities that came with remaining the Alpha of Redwood.
Now, another addition to his long list of worries was Marisol, the daughter of the most powerful Alpha. Truly speaking, he was keeping her here against her will, and if her father were to sense even the slightest hint of an irregularity, they would be in deep trouble. The fear of failure and the dire consequences of it continued to haunt every second of his day, making it impossible to think of anything else.
Night falls over Redwood, and Caleb still remains a solitary figure in the garden. Nothing else is more urgent than his troubles and thinking about them as if that would provide immediate solutions anyway. In the quiet of the night, Caleb finds himself lost in the shadows of a past stained by tragedy, unable to see a sliver of hope to dream of a brighter future.