A Love that Lasts Forever Ch. 10

At least in a forced mating they knew what their futures would be like. Servitude and pups. At least they would have security in their lives. Was that security worth the lack of freedom they could have somewhere else though? In Caleb's mind, no it wasn't, as he would almost certainly have been severely punished if he failed to live up to his Alpha's expectations. Quinton didn't even want to think about what Bowden would have done to the omega when he came to realize that Caleb didn't have the abilities that Bowden desired. Caleb had made the right decision to run. Who knows what would have happened otherwise.

Quinton turned the corner and went straight to his truck that had been parked a ways down from the warehouse. He'd opened the drivers side door but before he could get in he heard a high pitched voice squeal his name. He turned just in time to see a familiar face smiling brightly up at him.

"Shelby?" He exclaimed with surprise. "When did you get back?"

"Last night. Mom and Dad picked me up at the bus station. I would have stopped in to say hi but it was so late and besides, I heard a rumor that someone went and got himself mated." She made a pouty face as she stood there with her hands on her hips looking up at him with mock annoyance. "I didn't even know that you were courting anyone. You could have at least warned me."

"I'm sorry about that. It all happened so fast and it's not what you think, not really. I can explain it all later but right now I'm just so happy to see you." Quinton gave the girl a tight hug then stepped back to look her over. "Damn, it's been a long time Shel. The last time I saw you, you were this scrawny little twig of a thing and now look at you, all grown up."

"It's only been two years." Shelby laughed, "But, yeah, a lot has changed. By the way, I'm so sorry to hear about Rhys. I'd love to get my hands on the bastards that killed him. How the hell have they not been punished yet? It's ridiculous!"

"It's still under investigation." Quinton explained, his voice taking a more somber tone now. "There were extenuating circumstances surrounding his death that the council feels the need to look into further. Honestly, I think they are getting too involved. It should have been an open and shut case but there were certain claims made that have stirred up some interest and now were all under scrutiny."

"Why are they suddenly interested now?" Shelby huffed in annoyance. "It's not like they actually care about what happens in the smaller packs. The council only cares about themselves and what benefits them. If they've taken an interest in your new mate then it means they want something from him. Be careful Quin. The council has destroyed packs to get what they want. They don't care who they hurt as long as they get their way."

"I know." Quinton nodded in agreement. "I don't trust them but for now I have to play their game. It's the only way to keep Caleb safe."

"Caleb?" Shelby raised an eye brow. "Is that you're new mate?"

"Yeah. I've taken him and his pup under my wing for the time being. I couldn't allow either of them to be returned to Silver Moon, not after Rhys sacrificed his life to bring them here and keep them safe."

"So, you sacrifice your own happiness to take on a mate that you don't love?" Shelby frowned some. "That's admirable, I suppose. It's just messed up that the council would force you into something like that. I hope this Caleb guy appreciates what you're giving up for him."

"Oh, he does. And, honestly, it's not all that bad. He's a great young man and Rhylan, his pup, is adorable. He reminds me a lot of Rhys. Besides, it's nice having someone else in the house again. I'll admit that when Rhys was on long assignments it did get a bit lonesome. I was always a bit disappointed when he took off again."

"Yeah, me too." Shelby looked down at the ground, her brows knit together as she pushed the dirt around with the toe of her sneaker. "I always thought that once he had it out of his system, you know, the restless wandering, he'd finally settle down and come home. Maybe if I'd stayed..." She sighed. "I always hated it when he left. I was so angry with him the last time he left. That's when I finally decided to leave for school. I mean, I know it's what my parents wanted and Rhys even encouraged me to go but I would have stayed...for him."

"Even if you had stayed, I don't think it would have made a difference. He wasn't ready to give up that life. Not even for you."

Shelby brushed a tear from her eye as she kicked at the dirt again. "Not for me, but he was ready to give up everything for some unknown omega?" She let out a deep breath, shaking her head angrily.

"I had a hard time believing it at first myself." Quinton admitted with a sigh. "But Rhys and Caleb had something special. I truly believe that they were in love. Rhys finally found someone who could tame his wild heart."

Shelby raised an eyebrow, "Or he found someone who could easily manipulate him." She scoffed.

"No." Quinton shook his head. "I don't think that was the case at all. Caleb was in a bed situation and he did ask Rhys for help but he didn't manipulate the situation. Rhys saw Seth Bowden for what he was and couldn't, in good conscious, hand Caleb over to him. Caleb is strong, he's a survivor but he's not deceitful. You'll see when you finally get to meet him. I really think you'll come to like him."

"Great." Shelby smiled a little too confidently. "I'd love to meet him. Let's go now, unless you have something else you need to do right now."

"Um, well, actually I was kind of in the middle of something." Quinton stumbled over his words as he tried to come up with a good excuse. He was headed towards the house to see Caleb but having Shelby tag along hadn't been in the original plan. He found himself a little baffled at his own reluctance to bring her along. It wasn't as if he were meeting Caleb for a romantic rendezvous or anything. Still, bringing along Shelby seemed somewhat out of place when he had counted on he and Caleb being alone together.

What the hell was he thinking anyway? He suddenly felt like a teenager sneaking off to meet with his crush in secret. How absurd was that? That was it. He needed to stop that kind of thinking. Caleb was a friend, nothing more. For wolf Gods sake, he was his brother's widower! Maybe having Shelby come along wasn't such a bad idea after all. At least her presence there would keep Quinton from making a fool of himself. Damn his alpha instincts. That's all this was. His wolf heard the word mate and was making more out of the arrangement than what was actually there.

"Actually, sure, now's as good a time as any."

Shelby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I thought you had somewhere to be."

"It can wait." Quinton told her.

"You sure?"

"Yep. Climb in." He motioned towards the truck. "He's at the pack house."

Shelby went to the passenger side of the truck and climbed in next to Quinton. "This should be good." She smirked as he started the engine.

Quinton glanced at her, questioningly.

Shelby shrugged. "Getting to meet the guy that stole Rhys right out from under my nose. He'd better be worth it. That's all I'm saying."

***

Caleb had just finished straightening up the living room when he heard the front door open. That seemed odd. Quinton told him that he'd likely be gone most of the day and Caleb didn't expect any visitors. Not that he'd have minded someone stopping by, he just wasn't expecting it.

He picked Rhylan up from the spot where he'd laid him on the floor with some toys and put him in the infant swing that Rusty had given him. Rhylan really seemed to like the swing as he fell asleep almost as soon as Caleb put him in it.

With the baby taken care of, Caleb walked out of the living room to greet who he figured was Quinton coming home for some reason.

"Did you forget something?" Caleb asked with a slight grin. He stopped, a bit surprised when he saw Quinton standing by the front door, a young female beta standing beside him. "Oh, I didn't know you had company." Caleb blushed some.

"Caleb, this is Shelby Kensington. She's been away at school but just got back last night." Quinton introduced Shelby, and immediately Shelby stepped forward, extending her hand to Caleb in an invitation.

Caleb accepted her hand graciously with a bright smile. "It's wonderful to meet you Shelby. I'm Caleb Giles-well, Hallorann now."

"A pleasure." Shelby smiled as she looked Caleb up and down. "When I'd heard that Quin had finally been snatched up, I had to meet the man that was responsible. I never thought I'd see this one..." She pointed to Quinton, "Settle down and be domesticated."

Caleb felt his ears burn some as the blush rose further up his neck. "Oh, well, I'm sure you've heard that it's only a temporary arrangement. We're more like roommates really. At least that's how Quinton explained it. We only have to appear as a mated couple for the council. It's the only way they would allow me to stay."

"I see." Shelby gave him a scrutinizing stare. "It certainly says a lot about Quin that he would sacrifice so much for a shifter he barely knows."

"I owed it to Rhys." Quinton interjected. "He's really the one who sacrificed everything to see Caleb and his pup safely to Black River lands. I'm sure he'd want me to do everything in my power to ensure that they're well cared for and protected."

"Of course." Shelby said with, what sounded to Caleb like, false sincerity. "It's only natural that he'd want a better life for Caleb. He is, after all, the omega that stole Rhys' heart. I'm just not so sure that his plan included his mate entering into another mating so soon after his death. It does seem a bit odd doesn't it? To an outsider it might even look like Caleb here discarded one brother for the other."

Caleb narrowed his eyes as he stared at Shelby. "What exactly are you implying?" He asked her.

Shelby grinned smugly. "Well, forgive me if I'm wrong, but from what I've heard, you were originally contracted to mate with Seth Bowden's younger brother, Jase. That was, of course, before you ran away."

"What's your point?"

Shelby shrugged. "It just seems a bit unusual, don't you think? But what do I know?" She chuckled as she cocked her head to the side, brandishing an assuming little half grin. "Maybe you just have a thing for brothers."

"Shelby, that's enough." Quinton sighed. "I didn't bring you here to interrogate the man."

"Sorry." Shelby turned and looked up at Quinton, narrowing her eyes. Her face took on an entirely more serious expression and Quinton could almost see the gears turning in her head. "I didn't mean to be rude or even unwelcoming." She turned back to Caleb as she spoke. "I just don't have a very good filter. I tend to say whatever is on my mind and right now I can't help but think that when there's smoke, that usually means there's fire."

"I get it." Caleb crossed his arms over his chest and glared back at her. "You're suspicious of my motives. Understandable. I mean, we all know how conniving and self-serving omega's are. I can't really blame you for being concerned. You can never really trust an omega after all. Anyway, it was a real pleasure meeting you, Shelby. But, if you'll excuse me, I have to go twist my mustache and hash out the next step in my nefarious little plan." He smirked, rolling his eyes as he turned on his heels and sauntered out of the room.

"What the hell was that all about?" Quinton stood there, staring at Shelby, his hand on his hip.

"I was just assessing the situation and making observations."

"This isn't a crime scene." Quinton pointed out.

Shelby shrugged, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "I can't ignore the facts here Quin and even you have to admit, something about that guy smells a little fishy."

Quinton smirked. "Maybe he's making tuna salad for lunch."

Shelby quirked and eyebrow. "You can joke, but I plan to get to the bottom of this."

Quinton sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "There's nothing to get to the bottom of Shel. Trust me. I've been through it already. When Caleb first arrived here I was out for blood. I really believed that he'd somehow set Rhys up. I just couldn't accept that what he was saying was true. That he and Rhys had fallen in love and that Rhys was his mate and the father of his pup. Once I got past the anger though, everything kind of fell into perspective. I know it's hard to see the truth when the hurt is still so new but you have to trust me. Caleb is just an innocent victim in all this."

"Innocent, maybe. Victim though, no way. He may seem small and helpless but there's a fierce wolf instead that's ready to strike if cornered. I saw it in his eyes. He's a fighter and he might just be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Quinton coughed out a laugh. "Your detective skills are a little rusty there, hon. He's about as dangerous as a new born kitten."

"Really?" Shelby grinned, shooting Quinton a sideways glance. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

***

Caleb went to the living room and flopped down on the couch. Rhylan was still sound asleep in the swing. Caleb smiled. His pup looked so cute in the blue and white stripped sleeper he was wearing, his head lolled to the side, resting against the cushioned seat of the swing, the shock of black hair, so much like his father's, a visible contrast against the yellow cushion.

"I did the right thing." Caleb whispered to himself. "I just have to keep believing that." Of course coming to Black River was the right thing. Even agreeing to mate Quinton, though not an ideal situation, was the right decision. Rhylan belonged to Black River now, according to pack law, and there was no way that Caleb could have gone back to Silver Moon abandoning his pup. That was not what Rhys would have wanted. So, why did he suddenly feel so guilty?

Caleb knew deep down that he'd done nothing wrong but the words Shelby had spoken kept echoing over and over again in his mind. Even now, she was in the other room trying to convince Quinton how dangerous Caleb was. He rolled his eyes. How could anyone think an omega was dangerous? Still, her words must have stirred something inside of him, otherwise he wouldn't have been so upset by them.

For her to say that Caleb had discarded one brother for the other was abhorrent, cruel even. He'd just lost his mate for wolf God's sake! Did the woman have no compassion at all? And the way she spoke of Rhys' and Caleb's relationship. It was so...cavalier. It was obvious that she thought Caleb had used Rhys and apparently was now using Quinton. And, maybe he was, to some degree. But could anyone really blame him? Given the alternative.

Yeah, Caleb was prepared to do whatever it took to stay with his son. At this point, Rhylan was the only thing that mattered. Plus, Quinton had agreed to the mating as well. It wasn't like Caleb had forced him into it. It was the council and Lorcan Kavanaugh that had really forced the issue. Did any of them really think that Caleb would refuse? Even if he'd been allowed to take his pup with him, no. There was no way he wanted Rhylan to grow up in Silver Moon and, especially not as Jase Bowden's son.

Caleb had been put in an impossible situation with really only one reasonable choice. It was only for three months though. He had to keep telling himself that. Three months and then the council would be out of their hair and life could go on as normal. Quinton would be free and Caleb could start settling into his new life in Black River. He could get a job, a small apartment, and maybe in a few years a small house. One with a nice sized yard that Rhylan could play in. That's all he really needed. It was the life he'd envisioned with Rhys.

The only thing missing from that life was Rhys, himself. Caleb sighed, leaning against the back of the couch as he rubbed his temples. Nothing had gone the way it was supposed to have gone. He wasn't supposed to be sitting in Quinton's living room mourning the man he loved. Rhylan wasn't supposed to grow up without his father. And Quinton wasn't supposed to be stuck with an omega that he never wanted.

Caleb looked up at Quinton came around the corner then sat down on the couch beside him.

"I'm sorry about Shelby." He told him. "I wanted you to meet her but I didn't know that she was going to give you the third degree like that."

Caleb forced a smile. "She'd make a great investigator." He said.

Quinton nodded. "She majored in criminal justice and psychology. That's why she left home, to attend school."

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Lawyer?"

Quinton leaned back against the couch, sighing as he shook his head. "She's leaning more towards law enforcement. Specially apprehension of suspects. Bail jumpers and things like that."

"A bounty hunter." It was a statement more than a question. Caleb already knew where the conversation was headed. He'd had a sense about Shelby from the moment he'd met her. Her scent was enough to tell him that she was suspicious of him but he also got the distinct impression that she didn't like him. At the time he couldn't understand it. They'd only just met. But now, it was all starting to make sense.

She was Rhys partner, or wanted to be. That's why she was studying things related to law enforcement. But, now that Rhys was dead, did that change things for her? Would she still pursue a career in law enforcement? It was no wonder that she was angry with Caleb. She probably felt that he'd ruined everything for her. He couldn't help but think though that there was something more upsetting her than just her loss of a potential business partner.

Caleb sucked in a deep breath then exhaled slowly, steadying his nerves some. "We're they lovers?" He asked.

Quinton was a bit taken aback by the question. "No." He answered quickly. "Not really. I think that Shelby wanted them to be but Rhys saw her as more of a little sister than anything else. He's always been more attracted to men anyway but Shelby always hoped that they'd become more than friends."

"Is that what sparked her interest in law enforcement?"

Quinton nodded. "Though, I think her interest was more in Rhys than his line of work. Maybe she felt that working with him would make him see her in a new light. I really don't know for sure. I tried to stay out of his love life if at all possible."

"But you do think that Shelby was in love with him?"

"Yeah." Quinton sighed. "I think she was and still is. She just recently found out that he was killed so I'm sure the hurt is still pretty fresh. I'm not saying that to excuse her behavior but just so you'll understand where she's coming from."

"Oh, I understand where she's coming from all to well." Caleb smiled bitterly. "I may not always show it, but the hurt and anger is still pretty fresh for me as well. I just know that I can't change what's happened so all I can do now is focus on Rhylan. He's what's most important to me now."

"I can understand that." Quinton admitted. "It's like, if you can keep busy, keep your mind focused on other things, then you don't have time to focus on the pain."

"Exactly." Caleb looked up at Quinton and this time his smile was genuine. "You do understand how I feel. It's comforting to know I'm not alone in this. I've always been the kind to suffer alone in silence but it's not easy. Especially when I have no one to talk to about the things that are bothering me."

"You can always talk to me." Quinton placed a hand on Caleb's shoulder. "It's hard when I think about how I'll never see him again. I keep thinking that he's on one of his assignments, tracking some bail jumper or looking for a missing kid and once he finds them he'll come home. Then reality hits and I realize that he won't be coming back, not ever."

Caleb nodded in understanding. "I think the same thing. I keep waiting for him to walk through the door and scoop me up in his arms but deep down I know it won't happen. I just don't think I've accepted yet that he's really gone."