Page 46 of The Alpha’s Seer (The Shifters of Stormhollow #1)

Chapter Forty-Six

CALIX

My mother is waiting for me in her cabin after refusing to step foot in the packhouse ever again. She looks more relaxed now, but there’s something about her face I can’t help but detest; it’s like she’s haunted. Haunted by the ghosts of those bastards and what they did to her.

“Hey,” I say as she smiles and opens her arms to me, her familiar scent now back, without theirs tainting it.

Thank the Goddess.

“How are you settling back in?”

She’s started knitting again, something she used to do in the evenings, something my dad and brother teased her relentlessly about. She’d laugh and roll her eyes, telling my brother that one day she would be knitting booties for his kids. That shut him up.

The memory stings.

“I’m doing alright, Calix.” Mom waves her hand around the cabin. “This is perfect for me, right by the lake too.”

Grey glimmers in her hair, the wrinkles on her pale skin forming when she frowns. “I’m not used to the daylight yet, though.”

I scowl and sit on her sofa, rubbing my chin. I want to ask her about the baby she was forced to have, but I can’t bring myself to say it.

There’s a soft knock at the door, and her eyes widen in fear before Blair pokes her beautiful head in.

“Hi! I hope you don’t mind the intrusion, but I made cookies with Soren.” She walks in, placing a plate of warm cookies onto the counter as my mom hugs her tight.

They’d bonded in captivity, something I never thought I’d say. But I love them both, and the fact they love each other? Icing on the cake.

“It’s never an intrusion, Luna Blair.” My mom smiles and studies her. “Have you eaten?”

My heart stammers at my mother calling my mate Luna. I never imagined I’d have a mate, nor a mother again…fuck.

Blair laughs and pats her stomach. “Only a hundred cookies.”

We laugh, and it feels good. Different, but good. I study Blair and wonder how soon I can fill her with my babies. She catches me looking at her and grins, rolling her eyes when she hears my voice in her mind telling her I want her bent over our bed tonight.

I haven’t had her since she’s come back to me, not in the way I need, and I worry it’s because I killed Leon. He was her brother, after all, and I know how much she loved him. The only ‘family’ she had left, and I’d taken him away from her.

He’d hurt her. He could’ve killed her, my wolf reminds me, growling lowly. We did the right thing.

It doesn’t matter though; I still feel guilty. Blair gazes at me, her eyes softening when she sees the guilt in mine.

It’s okay, Calix.

She hasn’t once said she forgives me, and I won’t ask for it. I can’t expect that of her.

“Are you eating with us tonight, Willow?” Blair asks my mom, moving to stand beside me.

I inhale her scent and let it calm me as they talk food. My mind drifts into the realm of Faolan and his fucking chumps, then to the missing children.

I still can’t believe he did all of this—the killing and raping—because his mother left him. But she didn’t just leave him—she set the pack alight with him in it. Something I can’t believe any woman could do, let alone Blair’s mother.

Don’t tell Blair, my wolf begs me again, and I reassure him I won’t.

“Steak, of course!”

“Of course,” my mother says with a smile. “I’ll try.”

Blair gives her a warm smile, yet I’m saddened that my mother doesn’t want to be near the packhouse. I get it—bad memories—but it’s our home. That Faolan bastard already took my family away from me—I refuse to let him take my home. If only my mother could see it the same way.

“Calix, walk with me?” Blair tilts her head and turns to the door before I can respond, my brow furrowing.

I say goodbye to my mother and close the door softly behind me, fixing Blair with an inquisitive stare. “Is everything okay?”

Blair hugs herself and bites her lip, checking around us before inhaling deeply. “I had another vision.”

I still, wondering when such a thing could’ve happened—she didn’t say anything to me this morning.

“Of?” I ask, every cell in my body bracing for her answer.

I can’t imagine what it is this time.

Blair hasn’t had any visions for a long time—so why now?

Luna Marie and Alpha Drox had returned home, as had most of the packs now that the threat had been eliminated.

Except, surprisingly, for Alpha Asher. I’d expected him to be the first to leave, but he’s not shown any signs of leaving. Nor has his pack. I don’t mind, but it strikes me as odd.

Why was he still here?

For someone so independent—

“The children.”

I snap back to the moment, blinking at Blair.

“The missing children?” I question, reaching for her trembling hands.

“They’re in a house, like a packhouse.” Blair frowns and twists her fingers. “They’re guarded by wolves.”

I stiffen. “How many children?”

Blair pales. “Many.”

Fuck.

At least one of those children is my sibling, but I can’t question my mother in her current state. However, I have to know…

“Your brother was there.”

“What?” I inhale sharply, thoughts of Rebel causing my heart to ache. “Rebel?”

Blair frowns. “No. Your half-brother. He’s got your eyes, Calix.” Her eyes fill with tears, which I brush away with my thumbs, exhaling a heavy breath.

The thought of my sibling growing up without his family cuts me, but he’s also half Faolan. Faolan impregnated my mother, and he’d taken great pride in telling me before I killed him. Before Alpha Asher and I killed him.

“We need to help the children.”

I sigh. Alpha Asher had said the same thing, but what if they’re tainted? What if they are like their fathers?

“Calix, they’re innocent.” Blair places her hand on mine and strokes my skin softly. “They will become a product of their environment.”

I grunt in response. I suppose she’s right—Faolan was brought up by his psychopathic father. Would he have been that way if he’d had his mother? The thought stings. Why did Blair’s mother try to kill her child?

Blair stiffens. “You know something, don’t you?” Blair wraps her fingers around my hands. “About my mother.”

It’s my turn to frown. “Why do you ask that?”

Blair gives me a sad smile, one that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Because I saw her in my vision, and she told me that you know.”

Our eyes meet, and I curse my mate’s gift for the millionth time.

“What do you know, Calix?” Blair presses, squeezing my fingers. “Don’t keep anything from me. Ever.”

The thought of what I’m keeping from her comes to mind, and before I can stop them, the words tumble from my lips.

“I killed your brother,” I grit out as hurt flashes through her eyes.

“I know,” she says flatly, staring at the ground. “We don’t need to talk about that—”

“If you want to talk about this, then we should be able to talk about that. How I killed the only family you had left.”

Blair gasps and presses a hand to her chest, fresh tears filling her eyes. “No, Calix, you—”

“No, Blair.” I tip her chin back so I can stare into her beautiful eyes. “I could’ve tried to save him, but I didn’t, because there was always going to be that part of him I couldn’t guarantee he could hold back. The part of him that would kill you without a second thought.”

We gaze at one another until Blair nods stiffly. “I knew that, Calix.”

I frown.

“I have visions, remember?” Blair laughs hollowly. “Not all of them are of the future.”

Oh, fuck me.

So she knew I had killed her brother mercilessly, but she also knew why.

“So have you had any other…” I wave my hand in the air with exasperation as I search for the right word. “Dreams of the past?”

I want to know if she’s heard Faolan’s words. The words I want to protect her from.

Blair shakes her head but stares at me defiantly. “No, but you’re going to tell me. Because if you don’t, I’ll find out.”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair, wondering why the fuck my mate has to be so stubborn and…right all the time.

Her scent hits my nose when she steps forward, her hands cupping my chin as she rises to kiss me. I dip my head and press my lips to hers, my body reacting to her instantly. Her lips still taste salty from her tears.

“Fuck, Blair.”

She moves back, pressing her hand to my chest before smirking at me.

Even her teasing is better than seeing her cry.

“Ah-ah-ah, my mate. You tell me what I want to know, and then you get the goods.”

I quirk an eyebrow at her, already warming to her game. I like playful Blair. It’s been too long since I saw her.

“The goods, huh?”

She nods, and her eyes glitter. “I wanna make babies with you, Calix.”

I groan and drag her into my arms. She knows the thought of her carrying my child makes me want to fall to my knees and beg for it to happen.

This woman.

“Alright,” I agree. “Prove it.”

Blair shakes her head and moves back, dashing into the woods. “Only if you catch me, Alpha.”

“Oh, I’ll catch you, mate.”

I watch as she giggles, running as fast as her thick thighs will carry her, and I play along, giving her a head start as I watch her, my arms crossed.

“I’ll always catch you.”