Chapter Forty Three.

We sit in the lounge room all together, Callum freshly showered tucked in between me and Micah.

Callum swallows hard, his fingers curling into the fabric of his pants. He doesn’t look at any of us as he starts speaking.

“I was cutting through Blackridge to get home faster,” he mutters. “Wasn’t paying attention, just walking. Then someone grabbed me.”

Elias’ expression sharpens, his whole body stiffening. “Who?”

Callum shakes his head. “I don’t know. There were two of them. Alphas. One shoved me into the wall, the other went for my pockets. I thought it was a mugging—until I scented them.”

Silence.

Theo’s jaw tightens. “They were Alphas?”

Callum nods, exhaling sharply. “Yeah.”

I shift closer to him on instinct, my Omega instincts screaming at me to comfort, to soothe. But Callum doesn’t lean in the way he usually would. He’s still too tense, too shaken.

Elias takes a slow, measured breath, but I can see the way his fists clench. The way his pupils darken, his scent growing sharper, more dominant, filling the space with a silent warning.

“Keep going,” Theo says, voice unreadable but laced with barely restrained fury.

Callum hesitates. “They were saying something, but I—I was too focused on getting away. One of them pulled a knife.” He glances down at his hands, like he’s still seeing the blood even though it’s been washed away. “I fought back. Got one of them off me, shoved the other hard enough to break away. Then I ran.” His voice is hoarse now. “I don’t think they followed me, but I didn’t stop until I got here.”

Micah presses closer to him, offering warmth and scenting him subtly. A soft, grounding thing. Callum doesn’t pull away, but his shoulders remain taut.

Elias is silent for a long moment, then he steps forward, slow and deliberate. “You should’ve called me the second this happened.”

Callum flinches. “I didn’t want you to—”

“I don’t care.” Elias’ voice is sharp, edged with something dangerously close to fury. He is whiskey and fire, dominance thick in the air, barely leashed. And if I couldn’t feel his worry through the bond, I’d be petrified. “You were jumped, Callum. By Alphas.”

Callum nods, swallowing.

Elias’ jaw tightens. “You think we wouldn’t want to know about that?”

Callum looks away. “I didn’t want this to turn into something bigger than it already is.”

Theo exhales, arms crossed. “It’s already bigger, Callum. You don’t get randomly jumped by Alphas. That’s not how this works.” His eyes are unreadable, but there’s steel in his voice. “This wasn’t an accident.”

I glance between them. “So what do we do now?”

Elias doesn’t hesitate. “We find out who they are.”

Callum tenses. “And then?”

Elias meets his gaze, unflinching. “And then we make sure they don’t try it again.”

Callum doesn’t answer, but I can see the conflict in his expression.

Theo is watching him closely. “You’re still not telling us everything.”

Callum’s jaw tightens. “I don’t know everything.” He exhales, rubbing a hand over his face. “I didn’t recognize them. And I don’t know if they recognized me.”

A sick feeling twists in my stomach.

Elias is still staring at Callum, his gaze intense. “If they were just random bastards looking to start trouble, we’ll find out. If this was something else—” He exhales slowly, his control razor-thin. “We’ll handle it.”

Callum swallows, finally leaning into Micah’s touch. “I don’t want a war.”

Elias looks at him, and something in his expression softens just slightly. “You think I do?” His voice is quieter now, but no less firm. “I want you safe, Callum. That’s all that matters.”

Callum exhales shakily.

Elias looks at Theo, “I’ll start asking around.”

Theo nods. “I want names by morning.”

Micah shifts closer to me, scenting the air, his own Omega instincts flaring. “Tonight, we stay close,” he murmurs, looking at Callum. “No one sleeps alone.”

Callum hesitates, then nods.

And even though no one says it out loud, we all feel it—the shift in the air.

Whatever happened tonight, it’s only the beginning.

~~~~

The following couple of days are tense, the pack house locked down under Elias and Theo’s command. No one comes in or out without their say-so, and the constant buzz of tension has settled into every room like a storm waiting to break.

I’m lying on my bed, painting my nails, phone pressed between my shoulder and ear as Morgan’s voice fills the space. She’s pissed—rightfully so, given that she had to hear about my official mating with Theo and Callum’s attack from Clara instead of me.

I had to call in to work. You try dodging a curious or concerned Clara.

“So is Callum okay?” she asks, her frustration finally giving way to concern.

I let out a slow sigh, blowing on my nails. “Yeah.” A beat. “Sort of.”

The truth is, I don’t know how to answer that question. Physically, Callum is fine—no serious injuries, nothing that won’t heal—but emotionally? He’s a ghost of himself.

I glance toward the door, listening to the quiet hum of the house. Both Alphas have taken over the lounge room with work, their presence a silent but constant reassurance that we’re protected. Micah is holed up in his office, still buried under a deadline. And Callum... Callum is nowhere. He drifts. He doesn’t cook, doesn’t study, barely even looks at his garden.

I swallow, the weight of it pressing against my chest. “No,” I admit, voice softer. “Not really. We’re…” I hesitate, my throat tightening. “We’re really worried about him.”

Morgan is silent for a beat, then her tone shifts, soft and full of understanding. “Oh, honey.”

That warmth, that Morgan-ness, nearly undoes me.

“You poor loves,” she murmurs. “It must be so stressful! Any idea who it could have been?”

I hesitate, shifting on the bed. “No. That’s the worst part.”

Elias and Theo have been working nonstop, calling in favors, digging through every possible lead, but nothing has turned up. The Alphas who attacked Callum were strangers. No pack affiliation, no names, no clear motive. Just Alphas, waiting in the dark, and that fact alone makes my stomach churn.

Morgan exhales. “You know I can ask around, right? My Alpha..uh..ehm..friend has got connections—might hear something Elias and Theo haven’t.”

I hesitate. I should clear that with them first, but at the same time… we need answers. And right now, I don’t care where they come from.

“…Yeah,” I say finally. “Yeah, that would help.”

“Done,” she says immediately. “And, babe? Make sure you’re looking after yourself too, alright?”

I close my eyes, exhaling slowly. “I’ll try.”

It’s the best I can do.