Calliope - Book 3 - A collection of Short Stories

Trigger warning: There will be a retelling of rape / child abuse. It is not happening in our current story line, but rather happened in the past

Calliope panted as she sat on the edge of the training grounds. A month had passed since Alice's arrival. Almost daily, she would train with the girl, teaching her hand-to-hand combat as well as how to fight while in wolf form. It surprised many that Calliope became Alice's trainer. The Great Luna has only ever trained with her mates. Giizis would always assert her dominance over her children, grandchildren, or any other wolf. Except for Alice. There was something about her and her wolf, Ema, that Giizis did not seek to dominate. Perhaps it was because Alice was her successor? Either way, Calliope did not know; Giizis could not speak to tell her.

She drank some water and watched as Alice sat with a young girl named Rebekah. The two of them cooled off under a shaded tree. Rebekah was a grandchild of Calliope, and at 18, she left her family pack to live at the Royal Moon pack. This was initially meant to be a temporary situation, at least until she found her mate. Rebekah had a large wolf, one who was strong and had great instincts. She was also brilliant, and politically adept. She was meant to be a Luna. But now Calliope was curious if perhaps she was meant for something more. Alice still did not have a companion. Calliope had been searching for someone to keep pace with the young Great Luna. But she would confer with Caleb first, get his opinions on it, before approaching the girls with the idea.

Calliope stood from the ground, dusting the sand from her clothes. She was smiling as she thought to herself. But then that smile faded when she saw Eli standing off in the distance. His eyes were on Alice, but he dared not approach. She hated seeing the disgust on his face. The anger that brought fire to his eyes. She had seen that same look of rage before, in Caleb. But that was many lifetimes ago.

She wished that her son could work through his issues with Alice. She was a kind girl who thought of others first, whose smile was bright and contagious. She was eager to learn, eager to please. But if Eli’s anger and distancing hurt her, she never said. It was hard to gauge whether she was hurt or upset. Alice had a way of putting aside her own feelings to make it so others did not have to worry about her.

Calliope walked inside, but she could not help but hurt for them. She knew what it was like to separate yourself from your mate. She knew how much it hurt to feel the pull, but not give in. But the only one to blame was Eli. He was stubborn. Yet all she could do was sigh. If they were going to be mates, they needed to work things out. She could not step in and force them together.

That evening, everyone gathered in the dining hall to eat. As Calliope ate, her eyes were on Alice and Rebekah. Caleb had agreed that they would pair up well, but it was decided they would wait until Alice officially joined the pack. Until then, she was a guest, and not officially the Great Luna. As she thought to herself, she could hear Eli complaining to Caleb.

“I need to train, too,” he grumbled, pushing his fork around the plate. “But I can’t when she is out there.”

“And whose fault is that?” Calliope growled.

“I told you that I was sorry,” he replied as he glanced at his mother.

“You keep telling me that, but why not tell Alice? You tried to attack her, not me.”

Eli shrugged as he looked away from her. Calliope scowled as she looked back across the room. Her eyes stopped on Millie. Her face was red, and she looked unwell. Calliope walked over to her out of concern as Alice felt her daughter’s forehead.

“Is Millie alright?” Calliope inquired as she knelt beside the girl. She could see that she was sweating and that her breathing was labored.

“She feels really hot to the touch,” Alice answered worryingly.

“She is running a fever. Come with me to the apothecary room,” Calliope instructed. “Let’s get her some medicine.”

Alice carried Millie as she followed Calliope. They went into a small room that had jars lining the walls. Calliope gathered a few things and brought them to a small pot. She lit a flame as she poured in some water to boil.

“I’m going to make her a tea to help reduce her fever,” Calliope explained as she looked at Alice. “Willow bark to help with the pain. Meadowsweet to help with any potential swelling. Honey will help kill off any bad bacteria. And then ginger, to help improve the taste.”

“This is too kind of you,” Alice murmured as Millie whined in her mother’s arms.

“Has she been sick all day?” Calliope inquired.

“She was a bit lethargic this morning, but I didn’t think anything of it. I assumed she had gotten up to play in the middle of the night. When I got her from the nannies, she was red. But again, I thought she had been playing. I should have been paying better attention to her.”

“Sicknesses happen,” Calliope assured Alice with a smile. “Even after six children, I could not predict nor prevent every little thing. Plus, getting sick once in a while is good for their immune systems. Or so the new theory goes.”

Once the liquid turned dark brown, Calliope took it off the heat and poured it into a bottle. She put a cork on it and handed it to Alice.

“Give her two spoonfuls when you put her to bed. I’d say every few hours, she can have two more. Just be careful. I put a good bit of Willow bark in it, so she might get a little light-headed if she takes too much. Come get me if she gets worse.”

“Thank you,” Alice smiled as she clutched the bottle tightly. She left the apothecary room and went straight to her chambers.

Alice tucked Millie into bed. The little girl groaned, fighting against taking the medicine that Calliope had made her. But once she drank the two spoonfuls, it did not take long before her eyelids felt heavy. It only took a minute of humming before she fell asleep. Alice smiled as she kissed Millie’s forehead.

She quietly left, making sure to leave the door cracked. If Millie woke up in the night, she would probably call out for her mother. Alice cleared off a couch, preparing it for her to sleep on for the night. But, before she laid down, she stepped out onto the balcony. She wanted to get some fresh air and have a moment to herself.

Alice leaned against the railing, looking out at the palace grounds. She stood there for several minutes, lost in her own thoughts. Then, suddenly, there was a tingling sensation that radiated through her body. She closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of mint and pine. It caused a cooling sensation in her chest on the warm summer night.

But then she froze. The smell of mint and pine meant that Eli was nearby. She looked over the railing, down toward the ground. But there was no one that she could see. She looked around at the other balconies on the second floor, but again, she saw no one.

“How is Millie doing?” A voice asked from above.

Alice jumped, startled by the sudden question. She turned around, looking up to the third floor. But then her eyes went higher. Eli was sitting on the roof's edge, his legs hanging off. He was looking down at her, watching as she clutched her chest. He could hear her heart racing, making him chuckle to himself.

“You scared me!” She growled. “What are you even doing up there?”

“I like to sit on the roof at night when I want to think,” he replied with a shrug.

“Your room is across the palace; why are you up there, above my room?” She questioned.

Eli furrowed his brows as he pondered the answer to her question. Why was he above her room? He was curious about the girl, but really, it was Alice’s scent that drew him there. He was pulled there, essentially against his own will. This was the first time in a while that he was this close to her, and there was a yearning to be closer. Reluctantly, he slid from the roof, falling down two floors onto her balcony with a loud thud.

“Mom told me that Millie was very sick,” he said as he dusted off his clothes. “I was just curious if she was feeling any better.”

“A little,” Alice answered hesitantly. She eyed Eli, unsure of what he was doing. She stepped away from him and went back to leaning against the railing.

“I am sure after a day or two, she will be back to running down the corridors,” he said as he leaned as well. He glanced at her briefly but turned back to look at the forest. “How is training going?”

“Do you care?” She questioned harshly as she looked at him.

“In a way, I do,” he shrugged. “You only shifted once before coming here. But you are to be the next Great Luna. That means you need to be strong.”

“Do you think I'm weak?”

“Yes.”

Alice bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to control the anger that began to fester. He thought she was weak, but he had no idea what it was like for her growing up. He was a spoiled kid, who got everything he wanted. He had the best teachers and tutors. Everyone ran to be by his side. She was not weak. Perhaps to his physical standards, she was behind, but she was stronger than he knew.

“You don’t even know me,” she growled lowly. “You don’t even know what I have been through and survived. You call me weak, but really, you're just narrow-minded.”

“Then tell me! What is it that you have gone through? I know nothing about you!” He retorted angrily.

“That is because the moment you found out that I had a child, you pushed me away! You have been nothing but distant and cruel to me since we met!”

“What do you expect? You slept with a man, if not many, before finding out that you have a mate!”

“You don’t know what you are talking about,” she murmured as she looked away from him.

“Then explain it!” He shouted as he turned to face her. He went to grab her arm, but she quickly flinched away from his hand. He froze, suddenly realizing that she was trembling. It caused his heart to hurt to see her scared of him. This isn’t what he wanted. Every part of him wanted to hold her, yet there was still a flame of anger that lingered within him. But he did not want it. He wanted to get past it. Eli stepped back and took a deep breath. “Help me to understand, please.”

Alice turned away from Eli as she did her best to hold back her tears. It hurt to hear him yell at her. To listen to him use her past trauma as an excuse to act the way he did. But then, his voice softened, sending a shiver up her spine. She had never told anyone about the man. She had pushed the memories away, just as she did her wolf. But she wanted to tell someone. She did not expect Eli to suddenly change, but she knew that it would be a weight lifted from her shoulders. Perhaps she could finally move past her pain; make it so she did not have to hide behind the facade of a strong woman, if only for a moment.

“When I was fifteen, some random man came by the cabin. He said he had been traveling for a while and asked me for some water. I saw no harm in it, so I offered him a cup. He drank it and left. I thought that was the end of him. But he came back the next day. And this time, he had something for me. He had killed several rabbits. He asked me if I wanted some of the meat. The thing was, I had not had any meat for a few weeks, so of course, I said yes. He showed me how to skin them; then he cooked them over a fire outside. It was nice. And again, he left for the night.”

“I did not see him for several days. Until he suddenly showed back up. He told me that he had joined the Nightshade pack and bought a parcel of land nearby. Said that he was having it cleared and a cabin built. But he wanted a place to stay in the meantime. He asked if I would share my home with him and said he would pay me. He even showed me the bag of money, and again, I felt as if I could not deny him. I needed it.”

“For the first few nights, he stayed on his bed. But then, one night, he came to my bed. He… He wanted to get in it with me. I told him no at first, but then he asked if I liked the food that he was bringing me, the new clothes, the new wash basin. He said I needed to learn manners and gratitude.”

Alice’s voice wavered as she shakily took in a deep breath. She could feel Eli was close to her, but she dared not to look at him. She was afraid to see his face, to see what he thought.

“So, he climbed into my bed,” she continued warily. “That first night he just touched me, made me touch him. The second night, he did more. This went on for months. I tried to tell him no. I tried to get him to leave, but he always held things over my head. I felt as if I could not escape.”

“But, one day, I fought his advances. I was tired of it. I wanted to be left alone, so I slapped him. He was so angry. I had never seen anyone this angry before. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me outside, toward the stump where I chopped wood at. He forced me to my knees and held my arm on the stump. I saw him… I saw him pick up the axe. I begged him, pleaded with him to forgive me. But he didn’t listen.”

“When he raised the axe above his head, that is when I felt Ema awaken within me. Before I had a second to think, I shifted for the first time. And I was so angry at him. He… I killed him before he could do anything. I tore him limb from limb. I was so angry, so upset, so broken.”

“What did you do with the body?” Eli questioned softly. It was barely an audible whisper, as if speaking too lo would scare her.

“I tossed the pieces down the river. I cannot tell you if anyone ever found him. But, after that day, I was too scared to shift. I feared that others would find out what I did. I was scared that I would be punished. So, I did what I always do: I isolated myself. About a month or two later, I realized I was pregnant with Millie. At first, I wanted to end it. I didn’t know if I had the strength to raise a baby that was created with that man. But I couldn’t do it. And I’m glad I didn’t. It does not matter what others think of her, of me; she is the best thing to ever happen in my life.”

“Alice…” Eli uttered as he took a step to her. But then both he and Alice looked inside. Millie had called out for her mother.

“I need to go to her,” Alice murmured as she went inside. She shut the door, locking it behind her. Her lips quivered as tears slipped down her cheeks—tears of pain, of her own grief, of relief. She had wanted to tell someone what had happened to her for so long. She just wanted someone to understand. Whether or not Eli did, she did not want to know; not tonight. Alice climbed into her daughter’s bed as she cradled Millie. She held her all night, soothing both of them with soft singing.