Chapter 39

**CALEB**

"So how are you two doing? Since you finalized the mating process I haven't seen my son."

Sitting on his brown leather sofa, I roll my eyes and he doesn't miss it.

"Well, everything's going for the best. We've found our marks and our organization." Elena replies with a polite smile.

"And you're managing your business from a distance."

She nods. "I take part in meetings via videoconference, they send me the minutes and all the documents I need by e-mail, and there's the telephone too."

There's a touch of insolence in her voice, but he doesn't seem to hold it against her; on the contrary, he seems amused.

"An old fart like me tends to forget that these things exist," he replies with a smirk.

Okay... now that's the weirdest scene I've ever seen and never thought I'd witness. Is he flirting with her or am I dreaming? What the fuck is happening? I know that she looks a lot like her mother but she's not her. She's mine.

I clear my throat to get his attention.

"So, old fart, what are you doing all day recently?" I ask, and the look he gives me is quite different from the one he had a moment ago towards my mate.

"I'm chairing the council of elders so I've got quite a lot on my plate and I've been asked for some advice at the Silver Pack. I'm leaving tomorrow for about ten days."

"And why do they need your advice?" I ask him, frowning.

"They want to increase the pack's security and consolidate their alliance with the neighboring pack." He shrugs. "I helped make this pack what it is so I'm not surprised they're seeking me out."

He quickly changes the subject to focus again on Elena, her work, her life in New York and her move here. At no point does he mention Finn and Theo as if we were a real couple and he was genuinely trying to get to know her better.

When he invites us to the table, I join him in the kitchen as he removes his roast from the oven.

"Okay, what are you playing?" I ask, resting both hands on the counter.

"Nothing." He sighs, shaking his head. "No matter what I do nothing goes with you. I'm always hiding something but believe it or not I enjoy talking to her. She's beautiful, smart and conversational. The only black spots are her last name and her two other mates."

I throw my hands in the air. "Seriously?! We're still on this. If I don't mind sharing her I don't see how it concerns you and as for her last name... will you ever tell me why you hated James so much?"

He looks at me in silence and skirts around the worktop with his dish in his hands.

The dinner couldn't have gone better, the conversation is as polite as can be and the subject of Elena's parents has been avoided, but I do have a nagging question about who he sold his old car to.

Once we've finished dessert, the chocolate fondant that Elena devoured in two bites, I use the excuse of having to help him slip away to the kitchen with him, while Elena has gone to have a glass of lemonade on the terrace.

"By the way, I didn't know you'd sold your car to someone in the pack," I tell him as I set a stack of plates on the counter.

"Because I didn't." He responds by placing the cutlery in the dishwasher. "Shouldn't you be keeping your mate company? I'll be right over, just tidying up a bit."

"Who did you sell the car to?" I ask him behind his back but he turns around quickly.

"Why the sudden interest in this old car?" I stare at him, clenching my jaw. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know how you'd take it." He shakes his head, tossing a dish towel beside the sink. "Your mother called me, so I helped her by giving her the car."

I look at him, letting this information soak into my brain. First of all, he's in touch with my mother, so even before the phone call I overheard and he helped her out.

"She's still in touch with you but I...on the other hand..."

"She's better off out of your life, believe me..."

"Do you need a hand?" Elena interrupts as she enters the kitchen.

"We were just about to join you. Would you like some coffee or tea?" He grins at her with a big smile on his face.

My mother is the driver of the car that was outside Elena's the other night. And I can't understand why. Why did she ask my father to help her when they hated each other and she just took off without looking back? Why didn't she ever contact me? Why was she outside Elena's?

It doesn't make sense. I just don't get it. After boiling some water and making two coffees, my father and Elena went back outside.

I notice his phone on the kitchen counter and pick it up, looking for my mother's number. He hasn't even bothered to write her down under another name.

I send myself the contact and delete the message before putting the phone back where it belongs.

"What are you waiting for? Are you coming?" My father asks me from the door leading to the terrace.

I turn and follow him out.

In the car on the way back to Theo's, Elena places her hand on my thigh.

"I think it went pretty well." I nod absently. "What's going on?"

"Remember when Finn blew his top and came home late?" She nods. "Well, there was my dad's old car outside your house and... I found out tonight that he gave it to my mom."

"A brown car with stickers from the team of..."

"Yes... why?" I cut her off.

"Because that car was following me when I went into town for my ultrasound."