Calliope's Wolf - Book 1
Chapter 24

After Calliope’s attack, Theo left to help the other Alphas out to the west, whose lands were ambushed by rogues and sun wolves. But by the time he got there, the invaders were gone. No fighting, no stealing.

For months, it was like this. Constantly running in through the borders, and once caught, running straight out. This has happened before, but this time it seemed more organized. They would start with one pack and slowly invade the packs to the north. There were never more than a dozen rogues and sun wolves.

Six months after Calliope’s attack, the invasions became much worse. They would sneak in at night, and by morning, there would be reports of missing female humans. At first, it was just a handful, but within a few weeks, the number of kidnappings totaled in the hundreds. All the packs were on the west side, bordering the outer territories.

Theo went into the outer territories several times, searching for where the women were taken, but there were no signs of them. There were no large camps of sun wolves. A few small ones dotted the area, but there would only be old or sick sun wolves in them as if they were sent there to distract, not fight.

When they came across these small camps, they would question everyone, but no one cared to talk. They only awaited death. Most of them weren’t far from it naturally. But Theo would leave them be. He didn’t want to kill them, fearing the slaughter of his own would happen in retaliation.

Months of searching turned into years. After the mass kidnappings, things settled down, but this only worried Theo. With each year that passed, more sun wolves were being born. He knew this; everyone knew this.

Several times a year, he traveled out west, out in the outer territories. Sometimes, he would be gone for months, searching for where they might have gone and settled down. But he never found them, nor traces of any humans. All humans to the west side, if they weren’t killed or kidnapped, resettled elsewhere in the regions.

It wasn’t just Theo that went into the outer territories. Many of the packs sent out warriors. It did not matter where they went into the outer territories; they never found anything—no signs of the missing humans or young sun wolves.

There was always nothing, no leads. It was frustrating for everyone involved. The sun wolves to the east seemed to dwindle in size, and many of the rogue camps had disappeared from inside the territories.

Every pack, every Alpha, and every Luna offered assistance. They offered warriors, scouts, spies, and anything they could. There was no one that Theo couldn’t turn to. There was no one who would not answer the call for help.

Years of searching and years of worry continued. Year after year, concern began to rise regarding the number of sun wolves. How many were they at now? How old are the children? 5? 10? 15? They would soon be wolves themselves. Ready to fight.

In those years, Theo made sure that his wolves began rigorous training. He instructed every Alpha and Luna on how to train their children and young wolves. Every year, the packs reported their number of trained warriors, and each year the numbers rose. All they could hope was that their numbers at least matched, if not exceeded, that of the sun wolves.

Theo and Calliope began to offer more training camps at the palace. Fresh, young wolves, no matter their status, were allowed to train in their home for two weeks at a time. If they couldn’t replace the sun wolves, they wanted to ensure they could also fight them when the time came.

All these years of worrying, training, and searching put a strain on everyone. Especially Calliope. She was never allowed to leave the pack lands. Theo would tell her that she was needed at home to protect the palace. But that reason only went so far for her.

For 21 years, while Theo left the pack lands, traveled, and searched, she stayed home. She stayed home and watched her oldest friend, Riley, die of old age. She watched her current companion, Abigail, have children. She watched the walls of the palace, the sky, and the Moon. She was stuck in a prison.

Sure, Theo gave her small tasks: planning training and helping to plan his trips. She looked at maps so much she didn’t need them anymore. They were burned to her memory.

After these 21 years, she began to feel distant from Theo. It was like he was a visitor of the palace. He would stay a few weeks, perhaps a few months. But he only spoke of one thing and asked the same questions repeatedly. Where could they be? How many are there? Questions and questions, but there were no answers.

Their passion had watered down with worry and anxiety. Calliope felt useless, felt hurt. She couldn’t understand why she had to stay home. At some point, she stopped bringing it up. Theo would get angry or incredibly sad when she brought up the topic. But he never budged. So, after a few years, she stopped asking. She let him leave on his search missions and let him make the decisions.

What Calliope didn’t know was what Theo knew. The vision that his mother had, the words of the oracle. He wanted to prove them wrong, prove everyone wrong. But in the process of preventing Calliope’s death, he didn’t realize what it did to her. He didn’t seem to notice her heart break around him. He was too focused on keeping her alive. In these last 21 years, he was too fixated on what wasn’t there.

For roughly 18 of these 21 years, everything seemed calm. Too calm. But that calm finally broke. After 18 years, sun wolves and rogues were reported in Theo’s territories. Out west, to no one’s surprise.

This is the first time since the human kidnappings that they were spotted in his territories. Reports said there was a large camp, one that has periodically moved slowly closer and closer inside the region. Farmlands were raided, and the abandoned human villages were destroyed for the remaining scraps.

It seemed the outer territories were running low on resources; they needed to raid their lands to provide for their numbers.

Theo gathered a group of 12, including him, to scout the camp. He wanted to look at the camp and determine their size and strength. Sure, he could have called for warriors from the nearby packs to go after them, but he didn’t want to leave another pack vulnerable to an attack.

Calliope felt a surge of excitement. Something has happened in their territories for the first time in 18 years. She wanted to help, to get out of the palace. She knew Theo would tell her no, make her stay within her prison.

But perhaps Theo wouldn’t tell her no if she joined them after they left the palace. She could quickly run and catch up to them, and he couldn’t send her back if they were hours away. Right?

She watched as Theo assembled his group, consisting of him, his current companion, and 10 of their strongest men and women, minus the Beta. She sent Theo off with a heartfelt goodbye and an embrace. Her heart raced. It was the first time she would go against him like this. Calliope was a passive mate, never one to argue or take charge. But today, she would; she would put her foot down as the Great Luna.

After an hour of them being gone, she went outside and shifted. She ran out west, following Theo’s faint scent. The Beta quickly noticed what she did and mind-linked to Theo.

Theo angrily had his group stop and wait for him. He turned around, meeting Calliope halfway. Once she saw him running to her, she stopped and looked at him happily. But the happiness subsided with his snarling.

What are you doing? He growled over mind link.

I am coming with you. She says as Giizis stomped her foot to the ground. She did not hunch over as Theo towered over her.

NO! he yelled through the mind link. I forbid you from leaving palace grounds! Turn around and go home now.

I will no longer sit here and be useless. I want to help!

You can help by staying home and protecting the palace.

Screw the palace! I want to be with you, helping you!

Theo’s wolf growled at Calliope. Giizis sized him up and moved to him. She wasn’t going to back down. Both wolves glared into the other’s eyes. Calliope was angry, and this bled through into Giizis. All of her pent-up anxieties, rage, and depression weighed heavily on Giizis, and she was ready to let it all out.

Do not do this, Theo begged.

No! You must let me protect my people, too! Protect you!

Amarok snapped angrily at Calliope. This caused Giizis to attack him out of frustration. She went for his front legs, snapping at them fiercely. Theo had no choice but to try to body-block her and keep Giizis from getting a bite in.

This is what he would do when the two of them trained. He would let Giizis try to bite him, but he could always dodge her attacks to protect his body. But this time was different. Giizis rammed against him, causing him to stumble. She could grab his front leg and toss him hard against a tree.

The tree shook from the impact, with branches and leaves falling to the ground. Theo was surprised; she had never once gotten him off his feet. He looked up in time to see Giizis lunge towards him. Before he could move, she grabbed the back of his neck. She sunk her teeth in him and refused to let go, even when the smell of blood hit her nose.

Stop! Calliope yelled to Giizis. Tears were streaming down her face. She felt like she was splitting apart. Please! Stop! I don’t want to fight him!

Giizis refused to let him go, not in his wolf form. It wasn’t until he shifted to his human form that she dropped him from her mouth. Theo was steaming, his body healing from her quick attack. Giizis was stronger than he had realized. He sat down on his knees, blood streaming down his neck and back. He looked up at Giizis with surprise in his eyes. She had been holding back all these years. Was her wolf stronger than him? How much stronger was she? Did she still hold back even now?

Giizis allowed Calliope to shift back to human form. She collapsed to the ground, crying. Theo got up slowly and sank to the ground beside her. He pulled her gently into his lap.

“I just wanted to help,” she sobbed into his chest.

“I know,” he sighed. He pulled her tight against him. “I just need you to stay home.”

“Why? Please just tell me why. I promise, if you’re honest with me, I’ll do as you say,” she pleaded as she looked up to his face.

“I can't,” he said as he shook his head.

“Then I won’t stop fighting. I will shift again and follow you. But if you tell me the truth, I will listen.”

Tears slipped down Theo’s cheeks. He had hoped never to tell her, but she wasn’t giving him a choice. He heaved a heavy sigh.

“I’ll tell you,” he said, his voice shaky. “But once I do, I want you to return home and not leave. Got it?”

“I promise,” she said as she took his hand and wiped his tears. She pulled his face to her and kissed him. It was a sad kiss.

“Years ago, when my mother was still alive, she held your hand to get a vision of your future, of our future. But, she saw something, something that I’ve tried to protect you from.”

“What was it?”

“She saw you held down by silver hooks and chains. She saw other wolves with you. That it seemed like an ambush; she saw you die.” Theo leaned his head against her shoulder. “She saw it was after my 200th birthday. That’s why I didn’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to die. I can’t be alone, not again.”

Calliope wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. She finally understood why he always left her here, why he seemed so distant about it.

“I’ll stay,” she said through tears. “I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t your fault, little wolf.” He said as he took her off his lap. She helped him to his feet, his body still shaking from the emotions and her attack.

“No, I know when you want me to do something, all you do is think what is best for me. It’s just, that I felt so pent up, and my anger was building.”

He lifted her chin so they could look into each other’s eyes. His bright green eyes looked sad.

“I need to leave while the lead is still fresh,” he said. “We can talk more about this when I return, ok?”

“Go, I’ll be home, I promise.” She said with a forced smile.

Theo gave her another kiss before shifting back to wolf form. He ran back to the west to join his group. Calliope didn’t even bother to shift. She walked as she cried, thinking over what Theo had told her.

Her death? He has been protecting her from dying. She can’t be angry about that. She is angry he didn’t tell her sooner, but even then, that anger turned quickly into sadness. It was such a burden for him to carry alone. When she made it to the palace, she went into her bedroom. She lay on the bed with a groan. She looked up at the ceiling. She wiped away her remaining tears and took a deep breath.

I may not go, she thought to herself. Her eyes turned white, and she began to look through Theo’s eyes. But I can at least watch.