Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Daphne''s Point of View
Finally, Hannah and I were done shopping, I was so excited to be home. I had a lot of fun with Hannah,
but nning everything so quickly has been hectic, and truly all I want to do is sink into a hot bath and
let my muscles rx. Hannah grabs the rest of the bags out of the trunk while I carefully retrieve my
dress from the back seat.
The salesdy made sure that it was in a solid white cover so that Caleb would not see it before I was
ready for him to.
“Thank you, Hannah, for shopping with me, and teaching me about the mating ceremony.” I hope she
knows how much I appreciate her.
“That is what family is for silly.”
Hannah''s bouncy nature shines through in her words. She lets me know that she is going to take
everything up to the room, and we walk in the house. I can tell right away that something is not right.
There is a feeling in the house, a tension so thick that it is like a nket of fog. I see Caleb pacing in
the living room, and my heart speeds up.
“Caleb is everything alright?” Caleb stops immediately and looks at me. He looks like he has been
caught sneaking cookies from the cookie jar. If I was not so worried, I might haveughed at his
expression. I watch his face and can only imagine his mind trying to shift gears.
“Did you have a fun trip? Is that the dress?” Caleb puts on a fake smile and is trying to change the
subject. I hate when he acts like this, as ifm a child and cannot stand bad news. Hannah is already
headed upstairs with the rest of the bags.
“Yes, I found a dress, let me take it upstairs and then we can talk.” I want him to know thatI am not
going to let this go. There is obviously something bothering him, and if we are to spend our lives
together, he needs to quit hiding the negative stuff from me. I quickly jog up the stairs, wasting no time
in cing the dress care fully in my closet.
Once I am back in the living room Caleb is seated on the couch. “Come sweetheart, sit and tell me all
about your day with Hannah. Did you like the catering samples?” Caleb is truly trying to hide what is
bothering him. I go and sit on the couch, but I turn so that Iam facing him.
“Caleb the shopping trip was great, the food is wonderful, and it will be fine for the ceremony. Now tell
me what has you pacing in the living room? What is going on?” I cut to the chase quickly,I am not
giving him any room to wiggle out of this conversation. Caleb sighs and puts his head in his hands. I
can tell that whatever is going on is weighing on him heavily.
“Daphne, I wanted to surprise you with something, but I fear that my gift may ultimately cause you more
pain.” Iam confused by Caleb’s words what could he have possibly gotten me that would cause me any
pain.
“Caleb, I do not understand. How could any gift cause me pain?”
“Remember when I said that I would try to find your sister Scarlet, and invite her to the mating
ceremony?” I nod my head acknowledging that yes, I remember the conversation. “The reason you
have not seen Theo thest couple of days, is thatI sent him ona mission to locate Scarlet and invite
her here. Theo is very good at finding people.” I nod my head encouraging him to go on. “Theo has
located your sister, as well as her mate in California. They will be here very early tomorrow
morning.”
“Caleb that is fantastic news, how could you think that this would hurt me. I have not seen Scarlet in so
long, almost ten years. I cannot wait to catch up on her life.”
“Daphne stop there is more.” Caleb’s voice was firm as he interrupted my bubble of excitement.
“Daphne, the thing is ten years can really change a person. I need you to understand that you and
Scarlet are not the same girls that you once were. This is what Iam worried about. She may look
different now, act different, and possibly have different values now.” Caleb''s eyes are hard as he is
telling me all of this, I can feel that he knows more than he is telling me.
“I know that time changes people Caleb, I mean my life changed drastically in a day. I know Scarlet
though, she never hit me like my parents. She did not call me names; she was not cruel to me. I know
that she will be happy that my life has changed for the better. I also feel like you know something that
you are not tell me, and that is hurting me.”
As much asI do not want to admit it, Caleb’s demeanor regarding my sister is ticking me off. How can
he judge her, or wolry about her character if he has never met her?
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“Sweetheart, I am only saying that I do not want you to have an image of your sister in your head that
may not equal up to her in real life.” I hate that he just called me sweetheart, it sounds condescending,
as if he is trying to soothe a child throwing a tantrum, and I find my anger ramping up even more.
“CALEB ENOUGH.” I have never yelled at anyone, but jumping up from the couch all I can see is red.
“How dare you judge her when you do not know her. You have no idea how bad it was when I was
younger. I wanted to die every single day. Scarlet was the only person I had then. She was the only
person that cared if I lived or died. The only person that hugged me.” Tears are flowing down my face
at this point, and Caleb gets off the couch trying to pull me into a hug.
“No do not touch me. I know that my family is screwed up, but not Scarlet. I mean she is dropping
everything toe see our mating ceremony, and your sitting here talking about her as if she is some
devil.” My voice is breaking now, I am crying but I have the strong urge to hit something, anything at
this moment.
“Daphne, please calm down. I did not intend to hurt your feelings, and I was not trying to talk ill of your
sister. It is clear that she means a lot to you.” I can not stand the tone of his voice right now. Rationally I
know that he is just trying to calm me down, but that is not registering with me right now. Now l am
riding the roller coaster that my emotions have gone on.
“Stop treating me like I am a child Caleb. You do that all the time. I know that you know more than you
are telling me, but you are hiding it from me. How am I supposed to be the Luna of
this pack if you cannot even trust me enough to talk to me?” I can see that my words have struck a
chord within him.
He stops in front of me, speechless for a moment. I take this opportunity to turn from him and stomp up
the stairs. I do not want to see Caleb right now. I m the door to our bedroom, and it dawns on me
that I am throwing a tantrum like a child.
I go into the bathroom and start filling the tub. After shopping all day, the stress from the mating
ceremony, the news about my sister, and fighting with Caleb I am exhausted. I need a bath, I need to
rx, and I need my mind to stop going a million miles a moment.
Tears are still streaking down my face as I drop a little jasmine oil into the rapidly filling tub and start to
undress. Sinking into the steamy hot bath, I try to calm my mind.
Taking a deep breath, I rey the conversation between Caleb and I, getting to the root of my anger. I
can see
why Caleb was scared to talk to me, he does not want me to get hurt. I understand that feeling. I should
have talked to him about how I was feeling instead of blowing up at him. It is frustrating that he treats
me likma ss doll. I can handle problems, and if I am going to be Luna, he needs tomunicate
problems to me instead of trying to hide them. I am old enough to know that life will not always be
rainbows and butterflies.
Sinking farther into the tub, I think of Scarlet. Perhaps I have idolized my sister for so long because she
was the only person at the time that was nice to me. I know that Caleb is right, and that time can
change people, but I do not think that she has changed into a malicious person. I am excited to see her
and I hope she feels the same way. I know that I need to apologize to Caleb and have a real
conversation with him about my feelings. Sighing I let the water surround my body and rx my
muscles. Admitting that Iam wrong is hard, but I do not want there to be strife between Caleb and I.
I drain the water in the tub and step out.
I dry myself off quickly, resolved in the fact that I need to make things right between Caleb and I. I wrap
a robe around myself and exit the bathroom, going in search of Caleb. I do not have to look far he is
waiting for me in the bedroom. Looking at his face, I can tell that our argument has affected him too.
“Daphne I am sorry.” Caleb is quick to spit out.
“Caleb stop, you need to sit down. We need to have a talk.” Although I am not yelling my voice is firm. I
need to have a serious discussion with him. We both sit on the couch in our room. A part of me really
wants to crawl on hisp right now and bury my face in his shoulder. I am ashamed of my actions
earlier.
“Caleb I am sorry; I shouldn''t have yelled at you in the living room.” Caleb moves as if he is going to
interrupt me, I raise my hand stopping him. “No please I need to get this out. I was angry but not for the
reasons you think. I have noticed that you keep things from me that are not good, or that you think will
hurt me. I get upset because it is like you see me as if 1am a ss doll. l am stronger than you think I
am.” Caleb looks down at his hands, I can see that he is trying to process my words.
“Caleb in a few short days we will have our mating ceremony, where in front of our pack, our allies, and
your friends we dedicate our lives to each other. This ceremony also puts me front and center as the
Luna to this pack. No one is ever going to respect me, if Ido not know what is going on with this pack,
both the good and the bad.” Caleb nods, and I can see that he is listening to my words. I am
encouraged that he is taking my concerns seriously.
“You have to quit hiding things from me, so that we can work as a team in protecting and growing this
pack. I also need to apologize about Scarlet. I think I have idolized her for so long because she was the
only person that showed me kindness when I was younger. She may have changed in thest few
years, but I am hoping it is not a malicious change. I also want to thank you for finding her. I think it is
important for her and I to catch up, even if we choose not to continue a close rtionship.” I can tell
that Caleb is impressed with my words. He can see my resolve to be a good Luna.
“Daphne you are right, I am sorry for the way I have been treating you. Iam learning to open myself up,
but you are right I do try to hide unpleasant news from you. I guess in a way I have viewed myself as
the white knight and you as the damsel in distress. My own ego getting in the way of myself.” Caleb
wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I bury my head in his chest.
I am relieved that after earlier we cane together like this. I am still embarrassed about yelling at
him, but he is right we are both learning. I can hear his heart and it brings me peace. Like a bomb
dropping out of the sky, I realize that I think I love Caleb.m not ready to tell him yet, but he is the one
that puts my mind at ease. He is the one that makes me happy. My heart is light, and I find myself
smiling. Soon I feel Caleb shifting and he is getting up from the couch. I was not expecting him to lift
me up from the couch as well.
“Caleb what are you doing?”
“We have both had a long day, and we are exhausted so I am putting my beautiful mate in bed where I
can snuggle her.” Caleb isughing as he puts me under the covers. He quickly strips down and joins
me. We spoon, and I soon find myself drifting off to sleep.