Chapter Forty two.

Elias and Micah say their goodbyes with a kiss-Elias pressing a soft one to my forehead, Micah brushing one against my cheek-before parting ways. Elias heads out the door, and Micah disappears upstairs to work.

With the house suddenly quiet, I decide to be productive, throwing myself into cleaning. Scrubbing the walls, mopping the floors, vacuuming every corner-I lose myself in the rhythm of it all. Before I know it, I've worked my way through five loads of laundry, and the entire house is gleaming. But I don't stop there.

I end up in the hallway, pulling random boxes from the linen cupboard. Dust drifts into the air as I dig through old books and trinkets, my fingers tracing over forgotten memories. Just as I'm about to open a small, leather-bound journal, the unmistakable sound of the front door unlocking snaps me out of my trance.

I freeze, caught.

Footsteps approach, steady but slightly uneven. My heart stutters. For a split second, I consider shoving everything back into the cupboard and pretending I wasn't just buried in nostalgia, but before I can act, Callum rounds the corner.

Covered in blood.

"What the fuck?!" The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them, and I'm already moving toward him.

He looks-horrified. Not just at my reaction, but in general. His expression is distant, his pupils blown wide, his entire body stiff with tension. He's shell-shocked.

"What the fuck happened?" I try again, my voice gentler this time as I reach for him, guiding him toward the downstairs bathroom. He follows wordlessly, his movements sluggish, like he's running on autopilot.

I grab a towel with one hand and turn on the tap with the other, soaking the fabric before carefully dabbing at his face. The blood streaks away in thick smears, revealing paler skin beneath. He flinches, but not from pain-more like the sensation of touch itself is foreign to him in this moment.

I work quickly, helping him peel off his ruined shirt, my eyes scanning for injuries. There's blood, but I don't see any deep cuts-at least, none that belong to him. My stomach tightens.

"Babe," I start softly, wringing the towel between my hands. "I'm gonna need you to talk soon."

Nothing. Just his hollow, unfocused stare.

Trying to lighten the moment, I force a smirk and add, "Is there a body we need to burn somewhere?"

His breath hitches.

And then-his eyes brim with tears.

"Oh, baby," I whisper, dropping the towel immediately. "No, it's okay."

I don't think. I just act. Pulling him into my arms, pressing his shaking body against mine, my hands running soothing circles down his back. The moment his forehead meets my shoulder, the dam breaks. Sobs wrack his frame, raw and unrelenting.

Panic rises in my chest. I've never seen him like this.

Not knowing what else to do, I fumble for my phone with one hand and press the call button for Micah. He's upstairs-he'll hear it. He'll know what to do.

"Yello," Micah answers lazily, the faint sound of his keyboard clicking in the background.

I don't even take a breath before launching into a frantic explanation, words tumbling over each other. I don't get a response-just the sound of his chair scraping back and his footsteps pounding across the hallway.

Less than ten seconds later, he's in the doorway, phone still in hand, his face sharp with concern.

And Callum is still sobbing in my arms.

Micah takes one look at Callum-at his trembling hands, the blood-streaked skin, the way he's gripping onto me like I'm the only thing keeping him upright-and his entire demeanor shifts.

"Shit," he mutters, immediately stepping forward. He kneels beside us, reaching out but hesitating before actually touching Callum. "Hey, Cal. Talk to us, man. What happened?"

Callum doesn't answer. His fingers clutch at the fabric of my shirt, his breath coming in short, uneven bursts against my shoulder. Micah shoots me a worried glance, and I shake my head slightly. I don't know either.

Micah swipes a hand over his face and exhales sharply. "Okay. We're not gonna push you, alright? But we need to know-whose blood is this? Yours?"

Callum lets out a shaky breath, then finally, finally, he speaks.

"No." His voice is hoarse, barely more than a whisper. He shakes his head slowly, eyes still unfocused. "Not mine."

Micah and I exchange another glance. My stomach turns.

"Then whose?" I ask, my voice quieter now.

Callum opens his mouth like he wants to answer-but nothing comes out. Instead, his face crumples again, and he presses his forehead harder against my shoulder. I feel his entire body tense, then shudder.

Micah curses under his breath. "Alright. Let's get him cleaned up first. Then we figure out what the fuck is going on."

I nod, reaching for the damp towel again, gently wiping away more of the drying blood from Callum's arms. He flinches when I get to his hands, but he doesn't pull away. His fingers are stiff, the skin around his nails raw, like he's been gripping onto something too hard.

Or like he's been clawing at something.

The thought makes my skin crawl.

Micah disappears for a moment, returning with a fresh shirt and a bottle of water. He unscrews the cap and presses it lightly against Callum's hand. "Here. Drink."

Callum obeys, albeit slowly. He takes small sips, his hands still trembling around the bottle. He hasn't let go of me yet, and I don't make him.

"We should call Elias and Theo," I murmur. "If this is serious-"

"No." Callum's voice, though still weak, is firm this time. His grip on me tightens. "Not the Alphas."

Micah frowns. "Why not?"

Callum exhales shakily and pulls back just enough to look at us. His eyes are red-rimmed, dark with something unreadable.

"Because if they know," he says, voice barely above a whisper, "they won't be able to stop themselves."

Micah stiffens beside me.

I swallow. "Stop... from what?"

Callum looks down at his bloodstained hands. His fingers twitch.

And then he finally says it.

"From killing them."

Micah and I both freeze.

The room seems to shrink around us, the air thick with something unspoken.

Callum won't look at us anymore. His fingers twitch against his knee, the blood on them now half-dried and dark. He's barely holding himself together, and I can feel the weight of whatever happened pressing down on him, threatening to break him completely.

Micah is the first to recover. He shifts, settling into a crouch beside Callum, his expression unreadable. "Who, Cal?" His voice is quiet but firm. "Who would they want to kill?"

Callum swallows hard. He exhales shakily, his fingers still trembling in mine. "I wasn't there for the club," he murmurs. "I was just passing through-cutting behind Blackridge to get home faster."

Micah's expression tightens. "You shouldn't have been walking there alone. Even in broad daylight."

I may be new to the area but even I knew over near blackridge is bad news.

Callum flinches but doesn't argue. His eyes are distant, unfocused, like he's still caught in whatever happened. "I wasn't paying attention at first. Just had my head down, walking. Then I heard voices-arguing." He swallows. "And then someone grabbed me."

My breath catches. "Grabbed you?"

Callum nods, his hands clenching into fists. "I didn't even see them coming. One second I was walking, the next-I was slammed into the wall. There were two of them." His breathing is uneven now. "They were Alphas, their Scents like Ash and Rust, they were saying something, but I wasn't really processing it. One of them had a knife."

Micah swears under his breath, but I stay quiet, squeezing Callum's hand to keep him grounded.

Callum licks his lips, glancing down like he's only now remembering the blood on his hands. "I fought back. I didn't have a choice. I don't even remember how, but I got one of them off me and ran." He swallows hard. "I think I hurt him."

Micah's jaw tightens. "How bad?"

Callum shakes his head. "I don't know. I just ran."

I brush my hand against his arm, my voice gentle. "Did they follow you?"

"I don't think so," he whispers. "But what if they do? What if they know who I am?" His hands start shaking again. "I didn't recognize them, but they might've recognized me. What if this isn't over?"

Micah exhales sharply and steps back, his scent desperately working overtime trying to calm the room, though the bread bitter and yeasty from stress, his arms crossed tight over his chest. His frustration is practically radiating off him. "Callum, listen to me," he says, his voice low but firm. "You can't just sit on this. If these guys know who you are, or even think they do, this isn't going away."

Callum shakes his head, running a blood-streaked hand over his face. "I just need time to figure this out," he mutters. "I don't want Elias or Theo involved."

I exchange a glance with Micah, but he beats me to it. "That's not your call to make," he says flatly.

Callum flinches. "Micah-"

"No," Micah snaps, cutting him off. "You were attacked, Callum. You don't know who they were, you don't know what they wanted, and you don't know if they'll come back. You think Elias would want to be kept in the dark about that? Or Theo, fuck especially Theo?"

I flinch at the idea of how our protective Alpha would react to being left in the dark from a threat to his pack.

Callum clenches his jaw, looking away.

I reach for his hand again, softer than Micah but just as firm. "You know he's right," I say gently. "Keeping this from them doesn't protect them. It just keeps them unprepared."

Callum closes his eyes, his breath shaky. "I don't want them dragged into this."

Micah scoffs. "Elias and Theo are already in this, whether you tell them or not. The difference is, if you do tell them, they can actually do something about it."

Callum exhales, his shoulders slumping. I can see the war going on inside him, the battle between his fear and his instincts.

I squeeze his hand. "Callum," I say softly, "you trust Elias. You trust Theo. Trust them to help you."

His throat works like he's swallowing back emotions he doesn't know how to deal with. Finally, he nods, just once.

Micah doesn't waste any time. He pulls his phone back out, scrolling for a number. "I'll call Elias," he mutters. "You call Theo."

Great.

I guide Callum into the shower and then reach for my phone.

Because Micah is right.

Elias and Theo need to know.

~~~~

I am back! 👋

Poor Callum 😩

Enjoy. ❤️