Caleb Wyler
“Welcome Silvermoon to the Alpha Challenge against Caleb Wyler...”
They'd made it into quite the spectacle. I hoped they'd made some money off it at least. Money I'd use to restructure my pack again once I got it back.
Paul, the guard from the cells, stood next to me. He gave me a weary glance as if he was the one about to go out there instead. “You're up, Alpha.” I appreciated his loyalty.
I ran a hand through my hair. this could be the last time I was on my human feet. There wasn't a moment to think it through though, and I shifted mid-jump onto the icy stadium field. Nothing about this would be pleasant. Nothing but winning perhaps.
“First fight. Dower versus Wyler.” The speakers echoed off the stands and came back in my face full force. I squinted up at the bleachers as the winter's sun beat down on the metal, blinding me. Beyond the brightness, stalked my first match of the day. a light brown wolf from the patrol I'd never paid much attention to. I hoped the matches would get better as they went on, because I had my first match pinned and scared shitless within thirty seconds of the fight. He yelped under the pressure of my bite on his throat and shifted into the snow beneath. “Mercy!” He shouted.
I let off the pressure and stepped back, taking this first victory with a grain of salt. Only eleven more to go and the only one I wasn't looking forward to, was John.
The next match walked out with a cheer from the rowdy crowd. It struck a hate so deep, I lunged on top of the male wolf with zero hesitation. I took him down, and though he fought a bit more than the last, it again ended in a begging for mercy. The challengers so far were poor. Of course, you had to be a bit stupid to want to fight me.
Each match after that, and following, became a test of my annoyance. I approached, they attacked. I'd take them down, and sometimes they would fight back, but none got the upper hand. I had two matches left, and since I'd yet to see Bryon or John, that meant I was close to fighting my Beta. The mere idea of fighting to a death with him seemed wrong. Yet here I was. Claws digging into the ice, hair between my teeth, a ragged breath coming from my lungs, fuelled by irritation. I hated every second of this shit-show.
Bryon walked out onto the ice. It meant John would be last but of course, he would be. they were saving the best for last. Clearly, my Beta was the best the pack could muster up. The only wolf strong enough to go up against me. The only wolf I may falter fighting.
“Just you and me now, Wyler!” Bryon shouted across the stadium.
His smugness ripped a new level of anger through me. If I could kill my brother, I could kill this old, washed up wolf before he had a chance to realize it.
I waited for him to shift. He hesitated like it might save him, and I hoped he remembered my promise to him. Hoped it was burned in his memory as I'd held him against the iron bars of the cell.
I ran at him from across the stadium, and he met me halfway, shifted. I jumped in the air to avoid his attack. It was his first mistake.
I swung around to lunge on top of him, grabbing him by the scruff, and pushing him downward on the ice. He got a mouthful of dirt and snow. Idiot.
My growl exited between my drooling incisors. I told you, I'd win.
Bryon tossed me over his head and I lost the mouthful of his coat, landing feet away on my back. The blow realigned a few of my vertebra but not enough to stop me from getting back to my feet.
Silvermoon will never be yours again. Bryon promised me as we circled one another.
The crowd in the bleachers cheered for another move from us, but the old wolf was wavering, and I allowed him to catch his breath. I could drag this out all day if he wanted.
A faint cry I knew echoed down from the bleachers above, and my eyes lifted. I stopped mid-step when I saw her, clutching our pup to her chest as she tried to calm him. The cold wind swept her dark hair across her face, and she tucked it behind her ear to look back at the fight and more specifically, me. The air filled my lungs with violent desire. She stared back at me, and I heard her over the crowd and their annoying cheering, even over Bryon's chattering threats. I heard her so clear, it overrun my adrenaline and the need to rip throats open.
I love you.
Bryon attacked, throwing me down on the ground, an impressive twenty feet across the stadium. My head hit an angle it shouldn't, and my sight went black for a moment. Long enough for him to pin me by my throat and start to puncture the skin. I gasped for a breath.
“Caleb!” I heard her cry my name.
It was a kill move, and he'd caught me off guard. Rightly so, I'd been staring at my mate and pup.
I could feel her pain, see her tears, hear her cries. it pushed me to throw Bryon off and to his back. The delivery of my pitch hit him hard and he whimpered on the ground. The crowd in the bleachers silenced, and I didn't take the time to let them mourn him. I leapt into the air so fast and so powerful that the landing was a struggle. I picked him up in my mouth and dragged him along the ice. The sound of bone snapping when I shook my head to level him made Silvermoon gasp. What did they think would happen... I rolled my eyes.
His wolf mouth of missing teeth gaped, and he shifted into a human gasping for air instead. His chest would collapse from the pressure of my paws. I kept at it though, kept suffocating the life from his soul like he deserved.
“Alpha...” It was the mercy I knew I'd hear, but I'd made him a promise. I slipped my muzzle close to his ear and growled.
“Please.” He begged my forgiveness and my eyes drew up to the silent crowd. Compassion led to my mercy of him, and I stepped off the old, weathered male-wolf with a growl. I should have killed him. he'd convinced my pack to go against me, but this wasn't just about that. It was about showing them I could control a situation more than my emotions. which is why they'd kicked me out in the first place, wasn't it? Because I'd put my emotional regard for Lara and Krissy above them. So here I was, showing mercy to my pack- not just Bryon, even though it included him unfortunately.
When I stepped off him, he crawled away on his hands and knees. The pathetic display didn't warrant my aid. I let him snake the ice alone until the patrol ran out to help him. I took a glance at the silent bleachers and then my mate. Her shoulders moved up and down from distress, and it bothered me.
One more fight, I told myself.
The speakers crackled on with a lacklustre announcement. “The Beta versus Caleb Wyler.”
I turned to face John as he walked out into the stadium. I didn't know how it would play out but I wanted nothing to do with the match. He strode toward me, Bryon still only feet away. I swallowed the salvia in my mouth that tasted of blood and hair, preparing to fight someone I'd once trusted so much. He'd saved Olivia and my pup. I owed him anything but a battle.
“Caleb.”
I stood with my muzzle down, eyeing him, waiting for him to make the first move. He walked straight for me. no hesitation, no second thoughts, and dropped to his knees in front of me.
I stood over him motionless. What the fuck are you doing, John--
“You are our Alpha!” He shouted loud enough the crowd simmered a few more decimals. “My loyalty stays with you, and it always will.”
I stepped back from him in shock.
He got up and faced the crowd of pack members. “If you believe Caleb Wyler isn't the Alpha for us after this gong-show, you are all deranged more than I thought. He's proven himself multiple times that he can lead better than any of the likes of you. We should be honoured to have him.” My Beta gave Bryon a sideways glance. “He is your Alpha, Silvermoon. He is your only Alpha.” He turned back to face me, and with his normal lowered voice said, “I suggest in the morning we draw up paperwork so this can never happen again, because it's been a shit-show and I haven't enjoyed a minute of it. Getting my slit throat was the best part.”
The crowd’s silence bubbled into applause, and they stood to their feet. The hundreds of hands clapping drowned out my acuteness on Olivia, and I looked up to see her gone. My eyes scanned the bleachers in panic. I'd won but I couldn't have cared less. Only one thing mattered and that was Olivia.
“Alpha.” Johnathan nodded to behind me, and I turned around to see Olivia with our pup, running toward me.
“Caleb...” She was within feet when I shifted to catch her in my arms.
I shut my eyes on contact with her. Using my sense of smell and the touch from my hands to relish in the moment of holding her again. She put her mouth on mine and we kissed- while I found the pup between us, careful not to crush him. I pushed the hair out of her face once our lips parted and I looked her over to make sure she was alright. She might have been a bit pale, but otherwise, she'd survived the nightmare perhaps better than I had. no doubt she'd suffered more than I. Being left to care for two children by herself as a brand new mother, Olivia had more perseverance than I had realized.
“Caleb.” John cleared his throat as a pack SUV rolled up to us. He was already back on the clock as my Beta. “Here...” He handed me a pair of sweatpants and boots from the trunk.
Olivia stayed clinging to my chest as I took the clothing items from John. “Thanks, John.”
He nodded to me. “Do you want them in the vehicle?”
“Krissy is waiting...” Olivia looked over to the little girl standing on the sidelines with a patrol member. “I'll go get her. Can you take him?”
“Yes.” I looked up to her after slipping on the pants and boots John had offered me. She handed me our pup with gentle hands, and I kissed her in the pass off. The truth was, I'd be kissing her from now until eternity, and that filled me with contentment. Her footsteps trailed away as I moved the fuzzy white blanket to see my son's wide eyed expression. He was chubby-faced and full of life, Olivia had taken amazing care of our baby amongst the chaos since his birth.
“Uncle Caleb!” I looked up as my niece ran toward me, and I moved down to catch her with my free arm. Krissy tucked herself into me, crying. “I thought you were gone like mama...”
I kissed her forehead, and looked up to see Olivia waiting nearby. the tears streamed her cheeks were like bullets hitting my chest. I took Krissy's hand. “Are you cold?”
My niece nodded with her blubbering lips, and I stood to hand the child off to John, who put her inside the SUV.
“What did you name him?” I asked Olivia as she walked to me.
“I didn't,” she whispered, wiping her cheeks to hide her distress from the others around us.
“So, I still need to name him?” The loyalty from her came not as a surprise but as a compliment.
“Yes,” she laughed, cupping one of my cheeks and kissing me.
“I had a lot of time to think...” My lips brushed hers as I spoke, capturing her undivided attention. “I like the name Zane.”
“It's perfect,” she breathed and our mouths met again.
The happiness between us became infectious, or perhaps disgusting, to anyone watching but I couldn't care less. I'd just got Alpha back to the biggest pack in North America, and I had proved my worth to them in the process. I'd never be undermined again, I'd make sure of it. I took Olivia's hand and pulled her toward the vehicle. She got in, and I handed her our swaddled pup once she'd settled into the leather seating beside Krissy.
John waited to close the door and I turned to him before climbing inside. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” John shook his head.
“Your loyalty went above my expectations. You didn't have to do this today.”
“They all needed a reminder in pack etiquette.” John smiled. “I think it worked.”
I held out my hand and he shook it. I was lucky to have John and Olivia, both much too loyal to me than I could have asked for. They had kept me alive in what seemed an impossible feat to overcome. I got inside the SUV when Olivia called to me.
“Here, I'll hold him.” I took our son from her and cradled him against my chest. She settled her head near the baby once the door shut, and I wrapped an arm around her to hold her close. “Everyone hated me, Caleb.”
I sighed from the guilt of that truth.
“They wouldn't even talk to me...” Her voice wavered. “It was so lonely.”
I took her chin from my chest. “You'll never be treated like that again.” She bit her lips as her tears fell. I kissed them away with my promise. I'd promised her a lot in the time we'd been together but now, I held the ultimate ability to promise her whatever I wanted. Word would spread like wildfire within our neighbouring packs- even across the continent- that I had been challenged, that my Beta had stood against it, and that I had won. No one would challenge me or my name now, which protected her and our offspring indefinably.
She tucked herself into me as we kissed with the rocking of the vehicle. This relief was the ultimate prize. Olivia's happiness and devotion came with a sweetness I would continue to enjoy. My love for her held me captive.
She shut her eyes in the quietness of the truck, and Krissy too dozed off against her. They were exhausted from the bullshit. I was exhausted from the bullshit. I decided right then I'd take a week off before I rearranged Silvermoon and pushed out all the members I felt lacked loyalty to me.
John pulled the patrol vehicle up to the pack house, and I stared at the front door from within the truck. My heart beat something stupid.
“Olivia...” I whispered as I rubbed her shoulder to wake her.
She adjusted in my arms and her head fell into my lap.
“Fuck...” I shifted my lap and already half-hard cock away from her cheek. “We're home, Olivia.”
She sat up with a squint. “Oh...” Her hand slipped against me, and she looked down with a blush. “Caleb...”
“The adrenaline might have faded, but the testosterone hasn't...” I grumbled and opened the door to get out. She followed, grabbing my arm and slipping against me.
A redness had freckled the tops of her cheeks with desire. “I can take care of that, sir.” She took our sleeping pup carefully from me.
“Get inside.” I growled as she turned me on even more.
“Where inside?” Her eyes were heavy with lust as she looked down to my cock again.
“Just go.”
She turned and walked to the front door.
I took Krissy's hand and led the little girl in. We had to recover. my cock being serviced was the least of our problems. Yet Olivia made it seem so goddamn important. The deep breath I took was an attempt to calm my urges. She waited just inside the hallway, and John helped her take off her coat. My first inspection of the house proved no different.
“The staff has removed most of Bryon's items,” John informed me.
“Oh good,” I grunted.
“Anything else then?”
I gave John a shake of my head. “I think we're good for today.”
“Yeah, thank you, John.” Olivia slipped against me as Krissy took off for the living room.
“My toys!” The little girl danced down the hall.
“See you tomorrow.” He left us with a nod, and we both watched the door close.
“He's asleep.” Olivia adjusted the pup in her arms.
“Want to put him down in the nursery?” I rubbed her back, and we moved toward the stairs together. I watched her ass move in the tight jeans she wore. Her figure had bounced back from the birth or perhaps she just carried pups that well. I bet on the latter.
Olivia walked into the small room next to our suite and put Zane into the freshly washed sheets in the bassinet. The house staff must have gone into overdrive when I'd won back Alpha. In an impressive forty-five minutes, the house seemed back to being mine.
Olivia turned to me once she'd settled the baby down, and she drew closer, her mouth hungry for a kiss in the darkness of the curtained room.
I took her cheek and directed her mouth on mine, kissing her. We had more hormones than we knew what to do with. Sparked by the heat of our mating instincts, we couldn't stop them.
I took her against the pale green wall of baby room wallpaper and flattened her gently to my chest. I worked the sensual grooves of her ass, and bit the scar of my mated mark along her neck. She moaned softly into the silence around us, driving me wild. My hands wrapped her waist and hoisted her up.
Her breath splattered my face, and I kissed her... everywhere. I was going to mate her in the nursery while our pup slept... it was a little fucked up, but it didn't stop me. My teeth sucked a hickey into her neck as I removed the jeans from her legs, a bit difficult, but she was so small I hardly had to use much muscle to hold her up and get the job done.
“Caleb...” She tore her fingers through my hair in anticipation of my cock. Her greedy thighs humped and drove forward, it made me smile. I wasn't sure if she'd be sore from the birth still, so I slid her down slowly. She seemed unbothered by the penetration as she sucked in a breath of ecstasy.
“Good girl...” I murmured into her ear. “You feel amazing.” Which felt like home to me, but I couldn't quite find the right words for that emotion, so I left it at amazing. She was amazing though, and so damn hot. She whined, and crushed her mouth on mine as I fucked her slow against the wall, enjoying every second of her gushing heat moving along my thick cock. I needed her to cum, I needed to feel her wrap and milk me for all it was worth. I moved her faster, pulling her thighs against the friction of our bodies.
“Alpha...” She cried in a whisper.
“Yes, tell me.” I growled. “Tell me.”
“It's so...” She tensed against the pull and push, “good...” The orgasm burned through her, tightening on my cock like I'd chased. My instincts did the rest, and I emptied my balls against her cervix as she moaned in the reprieve.
We panted on each other's faces. The quickie had done its job. She smiled at me with that elated happiness only fucking her did. We were home.
Our mouths met and our tongues tangled together in the moments following. I dropped to her feet when my cock finally slipped from her. Her toes gripped the carpet beneath as my cum leaked down her thighs. She giggled, and stayed leaning against the wall for me to look at.
“I love you, Olivia.” I told her, watching her legs slip against each other with the mess of my seed.
“I love you too.” She swung her arms around my neck, and I caught her, while pulling up my sweatpants from my thighs.“Let's take a bath.” I lifted her back off the ground, and she kissed me as I walked us from our bedroom door to the bathroom. I dropped to her feet at the tub. “Get it started, I'll go check Krissy.”
She nodded, and I walked away. I remembered a time when she would have pouted about me leaving her to do another task. That was how much she'd matured. Her selfishness had morphed into a desire to care for me and the children. There wasn't anything in the world that could kill that high for me. She was everything I'd dreamed of. Fuck, I would have been her slave if she asked me too because of it. Lucky for me, she preferred to take the bottom role in our relationship.
“Krissy,” I called as I walked down the hall to find her in the living room playing with her toys as a near she-wolf folded towels.
“Uncle Caleb, all my toys are here!”
“I need to talk to you.” I crouched down to make sure she was alright. she seemed okay upon first look, but I couldn't be sure. “Krissy, you're going to live here with Olivia and I now.”
“I know....” She played with the hair on one of her dolls. “Aunty Olivia said Mama can't come back for me.”
I sighed. “Come here.”
She walked over, and I gave her a hug. “At least you came back.”
My heart pounded, and I shut my eyes. “It will be okay now.”
“I know.” Krissy parted from me and took my cheeks. “I love you, Uncle Caleb.”
“I love you too.” I kissed her forehead, and she went back to playing. I looked to the she-wolf across the room. “Will you keep an eye on her?”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled at me, and I walked away with a deep breath that felt like a weight being lifted. As bad I felt Lara being killed, I felt sure Krissy would not suffer. I climbed the stairs, vowing to take care of my niece, and make sure she got that better life.
Olivia was in the filled tub of bubbles when I walked in.
I stripped my sweatpants as she watched. “You told Krissy about Lara.”
“I had to,” she said softly as I approached.
I nodded as I got into the bath with her.
She swallowed her emotion. “She wouldn't stop asking me about her.”
“You did the right thing, Olivia.” I took her feet under the water and started to rub them.
Her eyes shut as she relaxed her head back. “It feels like a dream... being back in this tub with you.”
I knew what she meant. “At the least the nightmare is over.” Her feet moved out of my hands, and she climbed into my lap to put her cheek on my shoulder.
“I'm so happy to be home.” She cuddled into me, and I kissed her forehead while wrapping my arms around her under the warm water.
“You'll be home forever.” The promise drove strength into my core because it wasn't just for her, but me as well. I took her chin and kissed her. As our lips continued, my fingers traced down her neck to the swell of her breasts. I rolled her nipples between my thumb and index finger so she'd moan for me.
“You're bad, Alpha Wyler...” her smile broke our kiss.
“Get in my lap, I'll show you bad, babygirl.” My smile etched hers, and she slipped into my lap to straddle me. Her soft giggle broke the tension around us as she eased onto me. I'd gone from being locked in a cell, fighting for my position in the pack, then making love to my Luna, all in one day. That ending no Alpha could complain about.
END.