Calliope - Book 3 - A collection of Short Stories

Caleb stood outside, soaking in the rays of the midday sun. The morning had been cold, but the frigid air was slowly replaced with a warm breeze from the south. He looked off in the distance, seemingly lost in his thoughts. But he could hear something behind him. The soft sounds of grass being stepped on. He listened as the sounds died down. His muscles tensed as he readied himself. When he heard a growl, he rolled to the left, dodging an attack. He watched as the person lunging for him skidded across the sand.

"How?!" The attacker yelled. It was a young woman. Her bright blonde hair was braided down her back, and her two different colored eyes glared at him.

"You were loud, Cleo," Caleb explained as he dusted the sand from his clothes. "I could hear you walking through the grass."

"Dad!" Cleo pouted, crossing her arms. Her face made Caleb chuckle. Her look of irritation matched that of Calliope. "I was trying!"

"I'm sure you were, little love," Caleb smiled as he went to his daughter. "But these things take time."

"Says you," she scowled. "You are a Great. I am sure all of this came to you naturally."

"You can go inside and ask your mother; it did not," Caleb replied, shaking his head. "Your mother spent a long time training me. And even then, after spending nearly 20 years with her, Giizis can still force me to submit. Just because I am a Great doesn't mean things came easily."

Caleb kissed the top of Cleo's head and stepped away. He stretched, preparing to train. Cleo had turned 18 a few weeks back. That was when she shifted for the first time. But she had no gifts; she was not the successor Great.

"Why does momma not come out and train with us?" Cleo questioned as she stretched.

"You've been told how Giizis is," Caleb sighed. "Your mom does not want to risk harming you. If your mother trains, it is with me and only me."

As Caleb prepared to shift, he could hear the screaming of children coming towards him. He turned to see his two youngest running to him and Cleo, followed by Aaron. Liam and Leanna, they were 10-year-old twins. They were returning from classes. In the mornings, they would travel to the town a mile away to learn with the other children. Then, in the afternoons, they would train at the palace with some of the other young pups.

"Where is Eli?" Caleb questioned as he embraced the twins.

"He didn't go to school, Daddy!" Liam answered.

"I am going to get that boy if Calliope hasn't already," Caleb growled as he looked at Aaron. "Have you seen him?"

"Not since last night," Aaron answered with a shrug.

"Take the kids inside," Caleb replied with a scowl. "I'll find him after I work with Cleo for a bit."

In the distance, hiding up in a tall tree, was Eli. He sat on a branch, watching his dad and grandfather speak. He could barely make out what they said. He could hear his name, but everything after that faded away in the wind.

Eli had begun to feel different in the weeks since his sister had shifted. Everything she had told him, the hearing of her wolf, the weird feelings and sensations he was feeling. But he was twelve, nearly thirteen years of age. He knew what it meant. He knew it meant that he was a Great, like his parents.

His eyes snapped to his father when he heard him and Cleo shift. Even from the distance, he could see they were in their sun wolf forms. Cleo's wolf was beige, and she almost blended in against the sand. He watched as Caleb demonstrated to Cleo how to perform a takedown. Eli wondered how long it would be before he would shift.

He shifted on his branch, finding his position uncomfortable. The branch was thinner than he would have liked, but it gave him a clear view of the training grounds. He pulled himself up, trying to locate another branch that might be more suitable. The branch he stood on snapped as he placed most of his weight on his feet. Eli tried to grab the tree or any branch as he began to fall, but with the momentum, he did not have the strength to catch himself.

Caleb stopped training when he heard Eli's screams. He heard branches breaking and then a loud thud on the ground. He ran over to the thicket of trees and found his son's body on the ground. He shifted into his human form and gently cradled Eli.

"Eli?!" Caleb cried out as he tried to see if Eli was breathing. "Come on, son, wake up!"

As Caleb held Eli, Cleo came running up. She gasped, looking at the twisted body of her brother. She sank to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes. She reached out to touch him but then stopped. She saw steam coming from Eli.

"Dad! Look!" She said as she pointed to his body.

Caleb looked down, shocked to see steam coming from Eli. Steam... that meant he was healing. That meant his wolf was healing him.

"Let's get him inside," he said as he gingerly lifted Eli in his arms.

As he rushed to the palace, he could hear Eli groaning in pain.

"Hold on, Eli," Caleb said as he quickened his pace. "I've got you."

Cleo rushed to keep up with her father. Even in his human form, he was fast. She had to shift to her moon wolf to match his pace. She opened the door when they reached the palace so Caleb could head inside.

"Cali!" He yelled out as he brought Eli to a rug. Though he laid him down gently, Eli was crying out in pain. "Cali!"

"I'm here!" Calliope called out as she entered the room. Her brows furrowed as she saw Eli screaming on the floor. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He fell from a tree, momma!" Cleo answered as she knelt beside Eli's head.

Calliope gasped as she hurried to his side. She placed her hand on her swollen stomach as she got down on the floor.

"Cleo, go grab the pack doctor!" She commanded.

"No, Cali. Look. Look at the steam." Caleb interjected as he took her hand.

Calliope's gaze snapped to Eli. Her eyes went wide as she saw his body emitting steam. She placed her hand on his arm; he felt hot to the touch. And she could feel the faint aura of a wolf. Another Great. He was hidden away in Eli, but bits of his wolf were coming forward.

"Cleo, go fetch the doctor now! Mind link him so he can meet you halfway!" Calliope repeated. She turned her gaze to Caleb. "He hasn't shifted. He won't be able to fully heal until then."

Cleo nodded and quickly ran out the front entrance. Calliope could hear her shift before sprinting away. She turned around to look at her young companion.

"Dawn, clear off that table." She instructed as she slowly rose to her feet. "Caleb, gently bring him over. We need to check to see if he is bleeding. The doctor will need to help set any broken bones, but we can at least tend to the smaller things in the meantime."

Dawn cleared off the table as she was instructed. Calliope held Eli's hand as Caleb lifted him. He screamed, the pain becoming unbearable for him.

"I'm sorry, Momma!" He cried out. "I'm sorry!"

"Hush, baby, you're alright. Your father and I are here," she reassured him.

"I should have told you," he sobbed as Caleb laid him on the table.

"We can talk about this later," she replied firmly. "Can you tell us what hurts?"

"My legs," he groaned as he tried to sit up. "And my head."

"Okay, baby, hang on," Calliope whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair. She was looking for any lacerations, but thankfully, she did not see any bleeding. She and Caleb looked over his body slowly, but there were no wounds or scratches.

"His wolf might have healed the minor cuts," Calliope stated as she gently rubbed Eli's hand.

"Momma!" He cried as he began to lose consciousness. The pain he was feeling was agonizing for his young body.

"I know, I know," she whispered, caressing his cheek. "Cleo will be back with James any moment now. Just hang on, talk to me, my sweet boy."

Eli whimpered as he lay on the table. After several long minutes, Cleo returned to the palace, followed by James, the head pack doctor. He was an older man but moved with urgency when he entered the palace. When he was done accessing Eli and his legs, he reached into the black bag he had brought. He pulled out a vial with white liquid and handed it to Calliope.

"Pour this into his mouth, Great Luna," he instructed. "It will help with the pain."

Calliope did as she was instructed. Eli grimaced at the bitter taste as it was poured into his mouth. Caleb helped keep his head steady so he did not spit any out. It did not take long for the effects of the vial to hit Eli as he drifted off to sleep. With him out, the pack doctor was able to set his broken legs. But James' eyes were on the steam coming from the boy's skin. Yet he dared not ask about it. Both Caleb and Calliope were too upset with their son in such a state. So the doctor wrapped Eli's legs in casts in silence, daring not to speak.

"How is he?" Caleb asked, breaking the silence of the room.

"Thankfully, the only wounds I could find were his broken legs," James answered as he finished the last cast. "Once I am done, you can take him to his room. I suggest he stay bedbound for a week, and then I will come back and check on him."

No one wanted to ask the question that lingered in everyone's minds. How long would it take for him to heal? Asking it would mean acknowledging that his wolf was coming through. It would mean admitting that he was a Great—their second-born child. Everyone's eyes looked at Calliope. She was always the one with answers, the one that everyone followed.

"Cali?" Caleb questioned. He did not need to say more.

"We wait until he heals before announcing anything," Calliope whispered as she smoothed the hair on her son's head.

She did not know if she was happy or heartbroken over Eli being the next Great Alpha. Living for as long as they did was a curse. Especially for her, knowing that she would outlive both Eli's reign and the subsequent Great's. She was not happy that he would have to watch his siblings die, that he would have children that he would have to watch grow old while he never aged. But this was their destiny. Their destiny. They were to have children to pass on the dual-shifting gene until all in the world were like them. She leaned over, kissing his face gently as tears fell down her cheeks.

By the evening, Eli was resting in his bed on the third floor. The twins had just left his room, leaving him alone for several minutes. He took this time to rest his eyes, even though he could not rest. He was tired, but his body fought against sleep. The medicine had worn off, and now it felt like sleep eluded him. His eyes reopened when he heard light footsteps. He glanced over at the door, noticing his mother walking in with a bowl in her hands.

"I brought you some stew. Are you hungry?" She asked as she paused in the center of the room.

"A little," he smiled slightly.

Calliope walked over to the chair that was beside his bed. She sat down but winced as her hand went to her stomach. She gave a heavy sigh as she rubbed her belly.

"Are you alright? Are you going into labor?" Eli questioned anxiously.

"No, no," Calliope smiled as she spoon-fed him. "The baby is just moving around a lot. Too much excitement all in one day."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled between bites.

"I told you not to be sorry," she scolded gently. "You did nothing wrong."

"But I knew I had gifts," he argued as he began to cry. "I've known for a few weeks."

"It is not a bad thing that you hid them from us," she reassured him. "You're allowed to figure things out on your own if you so choose. But just know that your father and I are here to help you. We are the only ones who understand what you are going through."

"I know," Eli sighed. "I just didn't want to take away the attention from Cleo or the new baby. I didn't want it to seem like I was jealous."

"No one would think that, Eli," Calliope asserted as she set the bowl down before sitting on the bed beside him. She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. "You are my child, just as much as everyone else."

"So, what happens now? When will I shift?"

"Well, it varies," Calliope answered as she thought to herself. "I was the youngest Great ever recorded to shift. Most tend to shift around 16 or 17 years of age."

"What is it like? Being a Great?"

"Well, I've never known anything else," she shrugged. "I found out when I was five years old. I grew up knowing what I was to become."

"Why did everything happen to you so early? Is it a bad thing that we are finding out now?" Eli questioned, thinking something was wrong with him.

"No," Calliope chuckled. "There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it is a good thing that you are figuring this out now. A Great's gifts are an indication of what is to come in their life. My gifts were strong, and I came into them early because of the fighting that was to come."

"So, me being able to climb, would you consider that a strong gift?"

"I would consider it more of a defensive gift," she replied. "So, probably not. But that doesn't make you or it any less special. Again, I would prefer you not to have strong gifts. It means I did what I was destined to do. I would rather you never have to fight or struggle in life."

"What happens next?"

"First, you heal," she smiled as she kissed his temple. "Then, when you are ready, we will announce it. You have an opportunity that your father and I never had. You can take things at your own pace. There is no threat of war or betrayal that you must endure. You can take the time it takes to learn to rule and be a wolf that everyone wants to look up to. And I shall be with you, every step of the way. From beginning to the end, you shall never be alone, my sweet boy."