The Alphas Prize

Chapter 11: The library - Part 2/2

I continued to stare when I heard the door creak open. I whipped around to find Calyx standing there.

"What are you doing in here?" He questioned in a sharp tone.

I shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. So, I was snooping around and found this beautiful place." I said, gesturing around the room.

His expression turned neutral. "You shouldn't be snooping around, especially by yourself." He attempted to assert himself.

I waved him off. "Yea, yea. Who are these people?" I pointed towards the portraits above the fireplace.

Calyx sighed. "Those are mine and Cain's parents. My mother Kasdeya, and my father, Langston. They died a few years ago during a battle with another pack." He stood there for a moment, staring longingly at the painting of his mother; a look of sorrow featured his expression.

I glanced between him and the paintings. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What were they like? If you don't mind me asking."

He gave me a half-smile "My mother; was amazing, radiant, classy, strong, beautiful and everything in between. But, my father was the complete opposite; he was powerful, strong and an all-around asshole." Calyx stared at the painting of his father, and his lip began to twitch into a snarl.

I could see the pain on his face and the hurt in his eyes. "I see. Do you miss them?"

Calyx looked at me for a second before looking back at the paintings. "My mother, yes. My father, not so much."

"I couldn't imagine losing any of my family members; they mean everything to me," I said truthfully; just thinking of them made me miss them even more and had me wishing that I could see them again.

He turned to me, "I'm sorry you were taken from them, Freja."

I sighed. "Yea, what are you doing up, by the way?"

"My room is next door; I heard noises, so I got up to see what it was. Plus, I couldn't sleep either." He shrugged.

"Ahh, makes sense." I nodded, knowing someone probably would have heard me.

He glanced around the room and smiled. "This was my mother's favourite room in the house; she could sit in here all day reading by the fire. She would get lost and entranced by whatever she was reading. After she died, this room became a painful reminder."

Calyx's face dropped, and he was overcome with despair; I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him and gave him a warm smile.

A deep, angry voice came from behind us as I was about to say something. "What the hell is going on here?"

Cain! Oh, great, and he appears cranky; what else is new.

I rolled my eyes. "I couldn't sleep and was snooping around. Calyx heard me and came in to see what it was. Then I asked him about the portraits; he was just kindly telling me about your parents." I told him the truth, knowing we had nothing to hide.

Cain stood there quietly, looking back and forth between Calyx and me.

After a moment of awkward silence, Calyx cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going back to my room."

Calyx then quickly left the room, and I wanted more than anything to be hot on his heels, but judging by the look on Cain's face, he wasn't going to let me away so easily.

I pursed my lips. "How come you are awake?" I asked.

He rubbed the nape of his neck. "I rolled over and realized you weren't there, so I came looking for you." Although the expression on his face told me he was a bit embarrassed to admit that to me, I smiled inwardly at that.