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“Supposed to be a secret,” they all say in unison. Might have harped a bit much about it if they all know what I’m going to say. I just don’t want it to be ruined and in this town…it’s not hard for that to happen.

Later as I’m sitting in my office looking over spreadsheets, there is a knock at the door. A quick sniff of the air lets me know that it’s Silas. “Come in,” I say without looking up from my computer screen.

Silas cracks open the door and sticks his head in before pushing it open. “Oh good, you are alone.”

My eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Of course I’m alone, why wouldn’t I be?”

He smiles as he shuts the door behind him. “Cal, you are newly mated. It’s not unheard of for new mates to be inseparable. But, it shouldn’t surprise me the slightest that you would be here crunching numbers instead of with your mate.”

“Should…should I be with her? Am I doing this all wrong?”

He walks over sitting down on the leather couch across from my desk. I don’t even know why I would have a couch, I never sit anywhere other than my desk and never have guests, but it was here when I got the office, so I kept it.

He crosses his ankle over his knee as his left hand clasps around it. “Cal, I know that emotions and relationships are all foreign to you, but feel through your bond if you are doing it right or wrong. There isn’t a right way to do mating or anything. It’s completely up to the couple. Some need more time together, some don’t. I’m sure Selene will let you know if she needs more.”

A rush of air blows out of me. I really don’t want to fuck this up especially now that I finally have the one person I’ve been waiting my whole life for.

“Is everything going okay with you and Selene? The bonding and all of that working well for you?”

I tilt my head as I consider his questions. Silas and I have never really talked this much, let alone about personal things like feelings, relationships, and how I’m doing. Don’t get me wrong, I know that as our Alpha he is going to ask stuff like this now, but I’ve never talked to anyone about this, not until Selene.

“Uh,” I say as I scratch the back of my neck. “Everything’s fine. We have been spending a lot of time together and getting to know each other more.” My cheeks warm as the blush spreads.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Speaking of all that, I actually am here to talk about the incident from Sunday brunch between your mate and your parents.”

“I’m sorry we made a scene. I know that we shouldn’t have handled it the way we did, but she has every right to be upset. Just as much as I do.” I know that he overheard parts of it, and I’m sure he has questions. I am unsure how much I can say, if anything.

Silas holds his hand up silencing me.

“I’m not upset that she made a scene or that I almost had two wolves shift in the middle of brunch. What I’m more concerned with is the things that she said about how they treated you and clearly someone as calm as Selene becoming that aggressive means that there is far more to this story. I’m not asking you to divulge your entire story, but I am asking you as your Alpha what your parents did to you because I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior in my pack by any member.”

“You want to punish my parents and brother for what they did to me?” My voice shakes as the words barely leave my mouth.

“That all depends on what you are about to tell me, Caelon. If I deem their behavior horrendous enough, I will ask them to permanently leave our pack. I took down an Alpha for his behavior, I won’t allow for others to do the same even if it’s to their own pups.”

My mouth drops open, I can’t even begin to understand it. “I don’t know what to say Silas. I’ve never felt seen like I do now. What you are saying is more healing than any action could be. I don’t wish to see them punished even after everything they did.”

He nods his head once before he leans forward, putting his forearms on his knees. “I understand. But this is beyond justyou. How many others are suffering in silence hoping that someone would see them?”

“When you put it that way I feel obligated to tell you.” I squint my eyes at him. He knew just the thing to say.

I tell him everything, even the parts that hurt. I don’t want anyone else to experience what I went through. I can’t imagine the other wolves in our pack going through it too. It hurts to go over it again, even though I know it might help. It’s not easy to talk to the strongest wolf in our pack about how weak I was or really am still. Silas remains quiet the entire time, only nodding his head as I go. Once I’m finished, he clears his throat as he blinks his eyes rapidly. I’ve never seen him cry and I didn’t think I ever would.

“Caelon, I’m sorry you went through that. No wolf should ever have to go through it either. I know the old way of thinking is that a wolf is only strong if he can fight, but I don’t believe that is the only strength a wolf can have. Sure if you plan to be Alpha, maybe physical strength comes into question given our role as protector. But, not every wolf needs to be strong. I believe that each wolf brings something to the pack as their strength, and that’s where real growth happens for a pack. It’s why when Selene asked to do photography I didn’t hesitate to say yes. Each of us is part of a whole working unit, we can’t all be fighters. I never want you to think that you don’t have your own strengths.”

He stands up and walks over to my desk, standing over me with soft, caring eyes as he scans them across my desk. He must find what he’s looking for because he reaches over and grabs my leather ledger before flipping it open to my running numbers for the pack’s budgets.

“This,” he says as his finger runs down the page. “Makes my head hurt just glancing at it. There is no way I would have been able to turn the pack's finances around in six months like youhave. We would probably still be in the red if I had been fully in charge of that by myself.”

He hooks his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of Gail’s office.

“I probably would still be roaming around like a rogue if it hadn’t been for Gail who brought Nova and I together.”

He points across the hall towards Xavior’s office. “Our pups wouldn’t be discovering things about themselves and learning to control their wolves as young as they are if it weren’t for him. I can go on and on about each member's role and how vital it is to the pack. Don’t let these old ideals keep you from believing you are important to me and this pack.”

“Thank you Silas.” I nod my head.

“You’re welcome. Now, if you don’t have anything else you wish to share, I have a phone call to make.”