The pure look of joy that appeared on Caleb's face as he digested what I'd said, eased some of the worry in my chest. In a flash he was in front of me again, sweeping me up in his arms and twirling me around.

Okay, I was definitely going to get a whiplash with him moving so fast all the time. No need to brag, showoff. 

"Are you sure?" he asked, nevertheless.

I smiled at him as he looked so irrevocably happy and nodded. Yes, I was sure. I might not have known him for long, but even without feeling the mate bond, I knew I could trust him. 

"Let's go right now!" He exclaimed, as though he was a little pup who was just promised a new toy. He put me down gently, grabbed my hand and started pulling me all the way back to my house.

Should have simply decided to introduce them this morning, would have saved me from taking this hike twice, I thought bitterly. He seemed to forget I was much more human than I was werewolf and that these walks were far more tiring than they were for him.

On the way to the pack house, we'd been taking more of a stroll, we weren't in a hurry, but now, he was practically dragging me along, eager to meet Alexander, I guessed. It didn't take long for me to lose my breaths and I was desperately trying to get it under control. 

When Caleb finally noticed my heartbeat racing out of control, he turned back worriedly. His gaze briefly lodged on my rapidly rising chest, until he snapped out of it by shaking his head. He raised his eyes back to my face and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry I keep forgetting.. Get on."

"Get on?" I struggled to get out while putting a hand on my chest to calm my erratic heart.

"Yeah, on my back, It'll go much faster then."

I looked down at my dress. It wouldn't be very lady-like, but not having the walk all the way back did sound nice.

Hesitantly, I agreed and with a huge smile on his face, he turned to give me his back. He crouched quite a bit because there was no way I'd be able to jump up.

With a smile, I put my hands around his shoulder,  while gently wrapping my legs around him. His warm hands curled around my thighs and then he rose again. I clutched tighter to him, pressing my front into his back until I heard and felt a deep rumble reverberate through him. 

I stilled, realizing how this was pretty intimate for both of us. I didn't even want to think about my core pressed against his lower back. Goddess, now I did.

"Are you okay? I can get off again if it's too much."

"Nonsense, you're like a feather, you should eat more."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. 

"I think I'm safe, I'm in culinary school after all, I eat plenty."

"A pretty girl that knows how to cook. I think I really hit the jackpot with you." he answered, squeezing my thighs playfully. 

"Whatever, let's go, or are you going to keep standing here all morning?"

"Right, hold on buttercup."

"What, why? I am?" 

I wasn't even able to get the whole sentence out when it felt as though I was flying. Squealing I quickly made sure to hold on tighter and hid my face in the crook of his neck. Again, the deep rumble reached my ears above the sound of the wind as he ran at werewolf speed. 

In what seemed like seconds, we were standing in front of my house and he wasn't even out of breath, or sweaty. I wondered what endurance he had in the bedroom. What? No I don't wonder how he is, there. What? 

I cleared my throat, hoping he wouldn't notice my sudden discomfort and made a move to get off his back. He gently let me, but as he turned around, I knew he knew I'd been.. distracted.

He moved his face into the crook of my neck and inhaled. 

"It's nice to see I'm affecting you too, love."

Blushing bright red, I took a few steps back.

"Right, uhm, I'll go get Alex then. Are you sure you're going to be okay? Maybe you should ask for some reinforcements, what if you lose control?"

He nodded and I watched his eyes glaze over for a few seconds. It was as though mist clouded them. As soon as his eyes cleared, he focused on me again. 

"I've asked Luke and Will to buffer. They'll be here soon. I'm sure they'll be enough, and seeing as they're your blood, they'll feel a stronger connection to Alex than I will and that will make sure they knew who's side they're on if I were to lose control. But I promise I won't."

I nodded, thankful that he was being so understanding.

"Alright, I'm going to go get him and try to explain some of it. He doesn't really know much about our folklore. He hasn't been aging like a werewolf either, I carried him for as long as a human does and he grows as slow as humans do... I decided to spare him as much of our culture as I could, because I fear he won't receive a wolf and I want to protect him from that disappointment."

Caleb contemplated my words as a look of compassion crossed his face. He nodded, but the pity was evident. I sighed and turned to go towards the house.

"Cassie." he said, making me turn back towards him.

"I swear I'll do everything in my power to find out what went wrong with both of you. You have a wolf, so I'm sure Alex does too. We'll go to the oracle, the Elders, I'll even contact witches for you, but we will fix it."

I nodded, thankfully, but not believing a word he said. I had no hope, and I wasn't sure I wanted to risk getting hurt and disappointed again.

***

About fifteen minutes later, Luke and Will arrived and entered the house. It seemed better for them to meet Alex first, because they were family and so their wolves knew to protect him. 

I had told Alex there was someone outside who was eager to meet him, someone who was very important to me, but that if he had any point felt scared, he could just go back inside to Nana.

Being the tough little boy he is, he of course  assured me I had nothing to worry about, he wasn't going to be scared.

So, with a sigh, unsure of what was going to happen, and his hand in mine. I motioned for Luke and Will to go first, forming a human barrier between us and Caleb.

However, as soon as we were fully outside, I could hear growling.

Panic struck me as I quickly picked up Alex to get back inside. This was a bad idea, what had I been thinking! As I turned, a loud rumble that was barely human reached my ears as it boomed:

"MINEEEEE!"

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So yeah, there's that.