Chapter 137: Grace
A blush rose to Alana’s pale cheeks, and her eyes met mine through the mirror.
“I don’t know.” The words were barely audible, but I heard them just the same.
“You don’t know?” I replied in surprise. “I don’t mean that I don’t believe you, it’s just that that was a pretty strong reaction he had.”
“I know.” She whispered. “It surprised me too. Ever since he came back, it’s like something has changed.”
“Did you know him well before?” I asked uncertainly.
She shrugged, turning around to face me, taking the brush from my hand and putting it away.
“I wouldn’t say well, exactly.” She responded hesitantly. “When we were little, he and I used to play together. We grew up in this house, forced proximity, ya know? We were the best of friends for a couple years. We never went anywhere without each other. He’s a couple of years older than me, and eventually girls became uncool to him, even if we were just friends. Used to be friends didn’t seem to matter either because he then became one of my biggest bullies for a long time. I’m only an omega. Most people now are kind about it, but growing up, everything’s different. I was teased relentlessly, and because Caleb was Caleb, well a Prince, doing it, the other kids didn’t hesitate either.”
She paused a moment taking a deep breath.
“When my mom died, Caleb changed again. I was 18 at the time. He was one of the few people who went to her funeral. He stayed with me that whole night, never leaving my side. It was the first time I had seen him as like a human in a long time. After that night though, things very much went back to being the same. He didn’t bully me very much anymore. He just ignored me. We were 18 and I was just beginning to work here at the packhouse. I have no proof of this, but I think he’s the reason I got the job on Alpha floor. I didn’t see him very much, I worked closer to Alpha King Rhys, but I had never had too many interactions with Alpha King Rhys when we were younger. Even from a young age, they didn’t play or hangout together. I actually can’t even recall a time I ever saw them in the same place with the same people, unless it was formal event hosted by their parents. They were always forced to attend those and pretend they didn’t hate each other.”
I smiled at the idea of a young Caleb and young Rhys. We rarely talked about the past because for me it was so dark, and I didn’t like to talk about it, unless we were trying to uncover something from it. And Rhys wasn’t big on sharing... But I did want to know all these things. I wanted to know about his childhood, his parents, his siblings. I wanted to know it all.
“Anyways,” Alana continued. “That’s pretty much how things went until he got banished. He surprised me when he came to say goodbye. I mean, I guess he really didn’t have any friends, he had driven most of them away, and I probably wouldn’t have considered myself a friend to him, but I a part of me was grateful that he had thought of me like that. And I really hadn’t seen him very much since he’s been back, but he’s several times he’s asked me to help him with things that he really didn’t need help with, which has been... odd.”
“Have you ever been romantically involved with him?” I asked hesitantly.
She looked at me in surprise, her face turning a wild shade of bright red.
“Once,” She answered, clearly embarrassed. “I was one of his many one-night stands. It was right after the funeral for my mom.”
“You’ve banged a Prince?” I teased.
“Oh my god. Stop it right now.” Alana gasped in mortification.
I smiled.
“Well, he’s acting like someone who has a thing for you.” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “He is not. He’s acting like a fool.”
I laughed at her boldness, and I couldn’t disagree. “Wanna come with me to Rhys’ office? We’re doing research, and you’re welcome to join.”
“No,” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t be good for that.”
“Oh come on,” I waved off her concern. “It’ll be fuunnnn.”
The look she leveled me made me laugh,
“Okay, probably not fun, but at least we’ll be together?”
Alana rolled her eyes, linking her arm through mine as we headed out to the bedroom. To both of our surprise, Caleb was leaning up against the wall, waiting for us.
“Can we help you?” I asked in annoyance. I might have been trying to keep calm before for Alana’s sake, but that didn’t mean I appreciated how he had treated me earlier...
“I uh,” He cleared his throat, “Came to check on you. Both of you.” His eyes flickering from Alana to me.
I looked at Alana trying to gage where she was at with this conversation, but she looked to flustered too.
“We’re both fine, thank you.” I answered for both of us.
“I uh was wondering if I could talk to Alana alone for a minute?” He asked nervously, his eyes not leaving Alana now.
I also turned to my friend. I would not take away this opportunity for her if she wanted to talk to him. She had told me their history, but there definitely seemed to be more now.
A long moment of silence hung over us before she gave a single nod.
“Do you want me to wait for you?” I asked, not wanting to leave her if she didn’t want me to.
“No,” She said softly. “It’s okay. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Okay.” I hesitated, giving her arm a little squeeze before unlinking myself from her. “Come find me before you go to bed. I’ll be in Rhys’ office for a while.”
She nodded hesitantly, but didn’t say anything, and I left her alone wondering if I was doing the right thing.