Chapter 38 Don't Fall in Love

Chapter 38 Don't Fall in Love
Kyle and Orion exchanged puzzled glances at Calix, who had been lost in thought the whole time and hadn’t brought up the meeting’s agenda after hastily summoning them both into the warm tent.

"Should we come back later?" Kyle asked.

"It looks like it," Orion replied.

Calix, realizing the implication, snapped out of it and forced himself to shake off his increasingly chaotic thoughts.

"No, sorry, I’m a bit unfocused. I barely slept at all last night," Calix said, straightening his back from the comfortable cushion.

A small fire in the corner of the tent burned steadily, minimizing the cold mountain winds. Remembering just how cold the farthest reaches of Frostfang were, he marveled at Ruella’s resilience, trapped in the middle of a snow-filled forest without warm clothes and with her body covered in wounds.

Once again, Calix’s mind wandered.

"Damn it," he cursed suddenly, startling both Kyle and Orion.

Kyle furrowed his brow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking about something else just now."

"Thinking about Ruella?"

"How did you know?" Calix asked back in horror, as if it weren’t the most obvious thing in the world.

Instead of answering, Kyle just gave a wry smile and shrugged.

"Enough, enough, let’s just start the meeting now," Orion said.

Calix stood by the table, both hands resting on the wooden surface. His face now looked serious.

Kyle sat casually in his chair, one leg crossed, looking far more relaxed than the situation warranted and so did Orion. Both of them remained focused on Calix.

Calix took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening as if he were considering something of immense importance.

Then he said, "I’m going to approach Ruella."

The words just fell out.

Kyle immediately raised his eyebrows, and Orion furrowed his brow.

"Approach?" Orion repeated, his tone instantly sharp. "What do you mean?"

Calix couldn’t take his thought off the image of Ruella inside his head. "I want to know her true intentions, and getting her very close to me will make that easier. I mean, I have to make her trust me until she lets her guard down."

"By… getting close to her?" Orion snorted softly. "That’s a bad idea."

Kyle didn’t seem to mind, but he didn’t understand why Calix-who hated her so much and wouldn’t even stay in the same room with Ruella for a single second would suddenly choose that path to find out the true reason for her visit to the Silverpaw Pack even though she knows that her Pack is Silverpaw Pack's enemy.

Orion shot him a sharp glance. "This isn’t a joke, Cal. It’s too risky. What if she’s the one who manages to pry information out of you instead of the other way around?"

"Are you doubting your own Alpha’s abilities, Orion?" Kyle replied casually. "I think it makes sense. I mean… after all, Calix is her mate, but such a sudden change is bound to make her suspicious."

Calix finally lifted his head, looking back and forth between the two of them. "You’re right, Kyle."

"Of course I’m right, I’m a Gamma who always managed to find the weak spots in every battle formation during our training at the academy," Kyle said proudly.

"Yeah, shut your big mouth," Orion said.

"She won’t open up if we keep treating her like an enemy," Calix said. "If she does have a hidden agenda, I’ll find out sooner this way, and I’ll approach her gradually."

"And if she still doesn’t open up or you don’t find anything, what then? Are you just going to let her stay here with you?" Orion interrupted quickly.

There was a moment of silence.

Calix didn’t answer right away.

Kyle looked at Orion, who seemed to be impatiently waiting for Calix’s answer. He realized that Orion was the one who had always rejected every candidate for Luna without the ritual, and always insist to do the ritual, but after performing the ritual and receiving the answer, he was the one who refused it outright.

"You want Rubina to be Luna, don’t you?" Kyle fired off the question with a smile.

That smile was exactly what annoyed Orion.

Orion let out a harsh sigh. "What are you talking about? I’m discussing the threat to our pack, which could be in danger, but you’re bringing up something else."

"Yeah. Don’t talk nonsense. Rubina is like a little sister to me," said Calix.

Kyle simply nodded, making a gesture with his hand to cover his mouth.

Orion stepped closer, staring straight at Calix.

"You’re the Alpha. If you get too close to her, you’re leaving yourself open."

"I know what I’m doing," Calix replied calmly.

Orion gave a short, humorless laugh. "Really?"

Kyle glanced at Orion, then back at Calix. "I’m on your side, Cal."

Orion turned immediately. "Of course you are. You always play it safe so I look like the jerk here. Come on, guys, open your eyes. Let’s think of another way."

Kyle shrugged. "I’m sure Calix has thought this through, and I mean, so far, instead of being the perpetrator, Ruella has always been the victim. How many times has she been hurt since she arrived at the Silverpaw Pack? Right?"

"That’s because she’s good at acting," Orion replied coldly.

"Yeah… if that’s acting," Kyle leaned back in his chair, "then she’s the best actor I’ve ever seen."

Calix remained silent, letting them talk.

Orion shook his head. "I still disagree. It’s too risky. And Kyle, you’ve been hypnotized by that woman. She’s already managed to fool you."

"We don’t have many options," Calix replied briefly. "So I’m still going to do it."

The decision had been made, counting Calix, there were two votes in favor and one against.

Orion stared at him for a few more seconds, then sighed and stepped back slightly.

"...do as you please," he said finally. "But don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Calix gave a faint smile. "Don’t worry."

"By the way," Kyle said then, breaking the tension that was starting to build, "what actually happened in the forest yesterday?"

Calix tossed the scroll into the fire and answered, "Rogue," he replied briefly.

"Rogue?" Orion frowned.

"There’s a Rogue who kidnapped Ruella, and he also attacked me in the forest," Calix continued. "But I’m sure he didn’t do it alone, there must be a group. They didn’t intend to hurt Ruella, they were targeting me by luring me into using her."

Kyle immediately sat up a little straighter. "And you didn’t tell us?"

"I intended to tell you later," Calix replied.

He didn’t tell them everything. About his father, whom the rogue mentioned with a tone full of vengeance. About the reason that had made Calix question the truth all this time.

That didn’t need to be brought to this table, he thought. He would handle it himself.

Orion crossed his arms again. "That doesn’t make sense."

Kyle glanced at him. "What part doesn’t make sense? As an Alpha, Calix must have plenty of enemies too. Not all werewolves like him."

"But more people in our pack dislike Ruella," Orion continued flatly. "So it’s not surprising that someone would want to get rid of her. In fact… hurt her."

Calix didn’t answer, but his jaw tightened slightly.

Kyle caught that reaction briefly and let it go, he knew well enough that the discussion about Ruella had already begun to affect Calix.

"Alright, the meeting’s over."

Kyle stood up immediately, stretching his shoulders. "Why does it have to end now? I’m in no mood for duty."

Calix chuckled softly as he put on his coat, preparing to leave the tent.

"Calix."

Calix stopped at the tent entrance and turned around when Orion called out to him.

"What else?" he asked.

Orion replied, "Don’t fall in love with her. Remember, she’s the daughter of the Bluemoon Pack."

Silence.

Kyle just stood there watching the two of them.

"This isn’t about feelings," Calix said.

"Make sure it stays that way," Orion replied.

Kyle chuckled softly. "Woah, some intense family drama," he said before walking away.