Chapter Forty-Four

Caleb's Point of View

For Daphne's sake I am trying my hardest to get along with her sister and Dorian. I ensured that she

has enough money to treat her sister to some shopping and a nice lunch. Theo and I discussed

having a guy day with Dorian, neither of us wants to but we are curious about him. Daphne and

Scarlet have already left for the day. I find Theo and we go in search of Dorian.

We find Dorian in the kitchen harassing one of our Omega members.

"All I want is some damn lunch.” Dorian is yelling at Annie, who looks terrified.

"DORIAN" I used my commanding voice, knowing that he will pay attention. “No one here is a slave.

My Omegas do not make me food unless they want to. Here we do things for ourselves. Annie I am

sorry about the confusion this is Dorian, Daphne's brother in law. I will handle it from here, you go

ahead and run along. Tell your folks I said hello and look forward to seeing everyone at the mating

ceremony.” Annie quickly runs out of the manor house via the kitchen door. Finally, I turn my

attention to Dorian. He is looking at me like I grew another head. As bad as I want to punch him in

the nose for being a pompous ass, I love Daphne and I am going to try to make this work.

“Why don't you have a seat Dorian, would pastrami sandwiches on rye work for you?" Even Theo is

shocked that I am being this calm, I just hope that Daphne realizes how much I love her. Dorian

thinks about it a moment, but eventually pulls out a chair around the island and sits down. I start

getting ingredients out of the fridge and placing them on the counter.

“So, Dorian tell me about California, and the Cedar Wood pack. How are things going down there?”

I find that most people let out small details when they start talking about themselves and I am very

interested in Dorian.

“It is good, smaller than your pack here, but hopefully that will change soon.” There is something in

his tone, that makes me want to press farther on and find out more.

"Oh, what are your plans for extending?” I am careful to keep my voice neutral.

“My first step is to handle the rogue situation that we have. As I am sure you heard our previous

Alpha was killed by rogues.” I nod my head letting him know that I had hear those rumors. “Once

that is settled, I am sure that our pack numbers will rise. Plus, hopefully Scarlet will bear me an heir

soon.” I can tell that the heir subject is touchy because he is practically growling when he finishes his

sentence.

"What do you like on your sandwich?” While Dorian was talking, I have cut up lettuce, tomatoes,

and cheese to go on the pastrami. Theo is still quietly listening leaning against the cabinets.

"Just meat and cheese, maybe some mustard.” I finish prepping the sandwiches and place our plates

on the island. Theo comes over and sits down finally.

“So, your big ceremony is tomorrow, I bet there are a line of broken hearts huh.” Dorian’s words

turn my blood into ice. I can see why Theo does not trust this man; he is a dog.

“No there will not be a line of broken hearts. I respect women and did not play around. There was

only one woman before Daphne, we were young and dumb. It broke my heart when she found her

mate. After seeing the guilt that she felt for not waiting for her mate, I decided not to hurt another

person like that. So, I abstained, content to wait for the day that I would meet the person destined

to be mine.” Theo is the only person that really knew the story of how I lost my virginity. I do not

mind telling Dorian, in hopes that perhaps he will learn some respect for women.

"Oh man that is cheesy. There was a whole line of broken hearts when I mated with Scarlet. Shoot

there are still broken hearts out there man.” I was disappointed as Dorian continues talking about

his various conquests of females when he was younger. My disgust for him grows by the moment.

"We should go paint balling.” My head jerks up because this is the first time that Theo has spoken.

We had not talked about paint ball earlier but imagining hitting Dorian with some paint is a great

image.

“Yes, I love paintballing.” Great so Dorian is down. We split up to change clothes and then we head

off to the paint ball field. Paintballing turns out to be a great idea. All three of us let off some

frustration and tension. Soon we are all covered in paint, although I firmly believe that Dorian got it

the worst. We head back to the house to shower and change, thinking that the girls will be home

soon.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard the banging, and yelling. I raced out of the room

and found the commotion in the den. Against one wall was Hannah, crying softly, a tear in her shirt.

Theo has Dorian up against the wall, choking him. From the blood coming from Dorian’s nose I can

tell that Theo has gotten in a few hits beforehand.

"What the hell is going on?” Theo does not remove his hand from Dorian’s neck. Although everyone

has stilled in their movements, Theo is intent on killing Dorian.

“This bastard tried to hurt Hannah.” Theo's voice is dead cold, and I know that he is about to lose

control soon.

"Hannah tell me what happened sweetheart.” I walk over and position myself so that I am blocking

her view of Dorian.

“I was looking for my book, I thought everyone had gone out. He came in and thought that I was

some kind of slave or something. He cornered me by the couch, and tried to kiss me, telling me that

he is some Alpha and I must please him. When I refused, he tried taking my shirt off, and that is

when I kicked him in the balls. I tried to run out of the room, but he caught my ankle and I tripped

and then he was on top of me.” Hannah is full out crying at this point. I pull her into my chest and

give her a moment to gather herself. “That's when Theo heard us, and he came in and saved me.”

Hannah is shaking and now I can understand why Theo is enraged.

“I am sorry Hannah, I promised you a long time ago that nothing would hurt you. I want you to go

get cleaned up, I need to deal with this now.” I give her a long hug and send her on her way.

Turning I can see that Theo still has Dorian by the neck, his eyes are a deep onyx.

"How dare you come into my home, and assault ANY of my family.” Dorian has crossed a line and I

am going to see that he remembers not to cross it again. “Theo move out of my way.” Theo tries to

resist but I am his Alpha and he is loyal to me. Slowly he uncurls his fingers and moves slightly to

the left of Dorian. I do not warn Dorian before I deliver a blow to his guts that doubles him over.

"You are a sick coward. You do not deserve the title of Alpha.” Dorian is still doubled over, but I have

lost my patience with him. I grab his hair yanking him up to look at me. “This is my pack, my home,

my family. I will not think twice over ending your life to protect theirs. The only thing saving you

right now is my mate, and that is barely a thought. You will return to your room and pack your

things. Scarlet is welcome to attend the ceremony, but you are not welcome here.” I drag the

quivering bastard out of the room by his hair, tossing him into the guest room. I do not dare leave

him to wreak havoc anywhere else in my home.

As I am waiting for him to pack his bags, I worry over how Daphne is going to take the news. She

may be upset for a while, but I hope once she talks to Hannah everything will work out. Theo has

left, I can only assume to check on Hannah and ensure that she is ok. I hope that this incident has

not ruined our ceremony. Once Dorian is finished, I grab his bag and escort him downstairs.

“I am not leaving without Scarlet.” I am surprised that Dorian has the guts to say anything to me.

“You will leave, I will inform her as to why you are leaving. She is welcome here, but if you ever grace

my sight again, I will end your life.” I stare him dead in the eye, I want him to know that I am serious.

As luck would have it as I am leading him out of the house the girls are pulling in. Dorian demands

that Scarlet leave with him, but she refuses. Theo and I move in front of the girls when Dorian steps

forward threatening. Dorian makes a cheesy comment about how we will regret this and I have my

warriors ensure that Dorian is out of our territory.

I know that the girls are tired from today. I send Daphne up to shower. I need to speak with my

warriors before I can crawl into bed with her. I quickly assemble my teams, ensuring that our

patrolling guards are alert to the situation. I also contact Marcus whom I know is nearby and he and

his men are also patrolling. If Dorian makes a move, I will know about it well in advance. I then

check in with Theo making sure that Hannah is ok, and that he is calm. He assures me that they are

both well. With this knowledge I finally trudge up to bed exhausted. All I want to do is wrap my

arms around my beautiful mate and sleep.