Behaving Like That

*NOT EDITED*

"You're his Beta. Mason and Axel: the inseparable duo! What do you mean he kicked you out?" Tyler voiced out my thoughts. I was so confused, and a little part of me was crying out to try and get in contact with my mate to see what's happening. Why would the Alpha of the strongest pack kick his Beta out? That is the craziest and most reckless thing he could have done. And it can't possibly because Mason found his mate, right? Axel knows better than that.

"Listen, Ty, we're really tired, and Vicky is completely traumatized. Just give us a few minutes to rest and we'll tell you everything that has been happening at Blood Venom. But we just need a break," I heard Mason say as he looked at his mate. He hugged her tightly and he kissed her forehead as he gestured to Tyler about Victoria's state. She looked so worn out, nothing like the fire I saw in her when she first got here.

I move my leg and a few leaves rustle underneath my foot, drawing Mason's attention to me.  I ignored the look of surprise on Mason's face for realizing that I'm here. I think he was about to ask me something but closed his mouth, shook his head, and decided against it.

"Alright, why don't you guys go inside? We have a lot to catch up on. Here, let me help you with your suitcases," he offered, as he guided Mason back to the house.  After looking around, I saw that they didn't come by car, so it must have been a very long journey for them to come here, especially if they had some luggage with them. It didn't look like they had a lot of stuff, just enough to get by for a few days at a new place. I silently walked at Victoria's pace, and let her rest some of her weight on me as she dragged her feet. What would make Axel do this?

"Gwen, Mason and his mate are here," Tyler hollered at his wife as we entered the house.

"Uncle Mason's here!" I heard Emory's cute voice squeal as she rushed towards the front door and bounced as she saw Mason. He effortlessly picked her up and tossed her in the air multiple times before kissing all over her face.

"Who's my favorite niece in the world?" he asked her. I knew Mason was exhausted, but the energy he was giving Emory was unmatched, not letting her realize the amount of trouble him and his mate were just in.

"Me!" she energetically giggled, wrapping her tiny arms around her uncle's neck. Well, she was his only niece, but the exchange was adorable, nonetheless. As she hugged her uncle, Emory saw Victoria behind him, and did a shy wave, for which Vicky waved back.

"Hi, I'm Gwen, the Scarlet Guardian Pack's Luna, it is so nice to meet you!" Gwen reached out to Vicky and they hugged.

"You too, I'm Victoria," she introduced herself. "You have a lovely home," she continued, her voice sounding a little weak. Victoria stood back right next to me. Even though we've barely known each other, we truly connected, and now that she was in a completely new place, I think she found me comforting.

"Well, would you like to go take a shower? It looks like you had a long trip," Gwen offered.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I smell bad. It's just that we were on the road for a long time, and it was a very long walk." Vicky's face became beet red as she kept trying to explain herself.

"You don't smell bad, Victoria. Don't worry about it, I just thought that a nice, warm bath would feel better. That's all. I'll go get everything ready for you, okay? Here, follow me, and we will let Mason, Callista, and Tyler catch up," Gwen said, as she headed towards the second floor, grabbing Victoria's hand with her.

"You're here," Mason said. But, he sounded like he was upset for some reason.

"So, are you," I remarked, trying to figure out what's happening. His tone reminded me of the time when we first met, when saying only the necessary words with an intimidating tone was all he needed to do to communicate with me.

"Come on, you two let's sit and talk. There's obviously a lot to discuss," Tyler instructed, leading us to the living room and sitting on the couch. During the entire time that I've known Tyler, I don't think I've ever seen him this serious. What's going on?

"Wait, is Duke awake? I want to say hi to him," Mason asked.

"Later, we need to have this discussion, and Dukey will only be a distraction," Tyler reminded, grabbing Mason's shoulder and guiding him to sit down on the couch.

"Fine. How do you two know each other?" Mason asked Tyler and me.

"Tyler brought me here. He told me that he was Axel's previous Delta, and that he has a place for me. So, I came with him. Why were you kicked out?" I asked him, equally as direct.

"So, you just left the pack with someone you've never met? How could you behave like that? Although I'm not surprised, that's exactly what you did when you first met me," Mason's voice rose. Why is he so angry at me?

"What I do is none of your business, Mason! I was doing what was best for me, and I was going to leave anyway regardless of whether I was with someone or not. Tyler offered to give me a place to stay. Why would I say no to that? I didn't want to go back to Mystic and there was no way I was going to stay in Blood Venom," My voice rose as well. What the hell was his problem? When I left, Mason and I were friends. Then, all of a sudden, he is acting like he hates me.

"Of course it's my business when you're the reason my mate and I were kicked out of my pack!" Mason shouted again, leaving me in complete shock.

"I can't believe you're freaking blaming me. What the hell are you even talking about?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"Okay, Callista, Mason, I need you both to calm down because I don't like where this is heading. Nobody is blaming anybody. Let's reel it back in, and calmly talk about this," Tyler calmly mediated, as he kept looking between the two of us and scratching the back of his head.

"How did you even leave? Axel set up guards around the house and throughout the territory. There is no way you were able to get past our warriors."

"We used the tunnels. I knew that it would be the only way to leave undetected. A while ago I was helping Axel with some paperwork, and I found the entire blueprints for the tunnels. I found out that they stretch all the way to the edges of the Blood Venom territory. That's where Tyler met me," I confessed, looking down. I don't know why I felt guilty, but the feeling was just not going away.

"Axel doesn't know that you know about the tunnels," he stated.

"No, he doesn't. I thought that this would be the perfect escape plan. But, I wasn't planning on leaving. I thought that I would pass the Trials, and I wouldn't have to go. It was a spur of the moment type of thing. I swear!" I defended myself, refusing to cry.  I have to stay strong.

"Callista, when Axel found out that you were gone, he ordered a bunch of our pack members to look for you in our pack lands and the neighboring territories. But, we couldn't find you. We didn't know that you had outside help, and a getaway car, apparently," he said glancing in Tyler's direction.

"So, we were looking for you in places that you would be at if you had been walking. Axel estimated the wrong distances and time because he wasn't aware how you left. We spent a ton of time looking for you in the forest of the Blood Venom territory, because we didn't know you had left underground. God, how could I not think about that! I was the one who introduced you to the tunnels to begin with," Mason continued. I saw him clenching his fist, obviously getting angry that he didn't think about checking the tunnels. Although, I doubt they would have found me anyway.

"But, what does all this have to do with you getting kicked out?" I asked.

"After a couple of days of not being able to find you, Axel grew pretty reckless and angry. He was spiraling, and I guess he thought that I wasn't being useful enough in finding you. So, he became super angry with me, even though there wasn't anything else I could have been doing. Eventually, he found out that I mated with Vicky, and I think that struck a nerve, because the next thing I know is that he was kicking us out. You know how he wasn't very fond of me having a mate. I guess when you left, he felt like he got the short end of the stick and wanted me to leave. Unfortunately, it was an Alpha command, so I had no choice but to do as he said."

"Why didn't you call me and tell me what was happening, Mason? If you did, you would have known that she was here, and Axel wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble," Tyler interjected our heated conversation.

"Well, Axel assumed that there is no way she would have made it to your pack lands, so he only contacted packs who he thought she would have been able to reach had she been walking. It seems so stupid now, but he didn't want to waste time talking to far away packs who Callista wouldn't have reached," Mason explained, "He also didn't want a ton of people knowing that his mate was missing. It could put an Alpha in a pinch if his mate was used as leverage."

"I'm so sorry, Mason. I didn't know he would do that. He told me he would reject me if I failed the Trials because he didn't want to lose his Alpha position. I didn't want to get rejected in front of everyone, especially after I have been marked. It's already too painful being away from him, and I can already feel the mark beginning to fade." I looked at my hands, realizing how much I was wringing them nervously. My voice was low, almost a whisper, I wish they understood my position.

"Callista, I don't know what he would have done, but judging from his current state, I don't think he planned on rejecting you . Besides, if he keeps this up, he won't be Alpha for long," Mason said with a low, scared voice.

"What do you mean he will no longer be Alpha?" I said shocked.

Sincerely,

Micky :) <3