When the Wolves Howl

14. "Maybe it's a witch thing?"

Chapter XIV: "Maybe it's a witch thing?"

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[Caleb's POV]

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When he woke, there was an incessant drumming in his ears. It took a while for his vision to steady and his heart rate to return to normal. He'd never felt that kind of fear before-something so all consuming and physical in his chest. The bond was on fire, wrenching his insides agonisingly.

More than ever, he wished he'd rejected her the moment he laid eyes on her. It would have saved him the worry she never failed to bring into his life. She had to either be utterly stupid or masochistic. What else would explain her outright moronic plan to to jump out off a goddamn window?

She was stupid and reckless.

"What the hell was that?" Logan asked, hovering over Caleb where he collapsed onto the ground-not a particularly enjoyable voice to hear first thing after waking up. He'd been rendered absolutely useless, falling unconscious and dragged unwillingly into her godforsaken dream. Nightmare was a better term. Never had he ever dreamt of such dreadful things like she had. The things he saw... Caleb tasted bile at the back of his throat.

Asher and Logan helped him up to his feet. They were in the kitchen with his mother and Caitlyn, discussing the upcoming Council meeting when he'd been hit with a sudden wave of dizziness that knocked him out. He'd woken up in her dream completely out of it, watching a little girl cower in a corner absolutely terrified. Caleb never thought he could feel such anger towards anyone-not even his own father.

Part of him wished he'd gotten his hands on her parents before his father killed them. A ridiculous notion, he knew.

His mother hovered around him. She was right to be worried. If Caleb was going to be dragged into Alyssa's nightmares, that would be a serious problem. It wouldn't help with the bond either. It still blazed inside him, like an anchor pulling him down.

Experiencing that once was more than enough. He silently prayed he wouldn't ever again.

"Are you alright?" Asher asked, handing him a glass of water.

"Can we not talk about this?" Caleb asked tiredly. He really didn't want to discuss any of it. It felt too personal... too real. Thinking about telling the others made him restless and the bond stretched uncomfortably. Would it be too much to just go to bed and forget about everything that just happened?

"Don't be a stubborn ass," Caitlyn snapped. Those were the most words she'd said to him in the last two days. She wasn't talking to him much anymore. She didn't blame him for the whole damned spectacle with their father, but she wasn't happy either. He'd been giving her as much space as possible-not a difficult feat for him when he did his best to avoid everyone in the pack. "Tell us what that was."

"I don't know," he bit out. That was mostly true. He didn't know what was going on-or how any of it was happening in the first place. "I was somehow... dragged into Alyssa's nightmare or whatever the hell that was."

His mother looked even more worried than before. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

He let out a hot breath and slumped against his chair, his energy completely sapped. He wanted to go for a run. Shift out of his human skin that felt too tight around his bones and just run.

"She was trapped in some kind of nightmare. I could see her, but I don't think she saw me. She was slipping away. I just watched at first but then she was slipping away and I needed to get her to wake up." Caleb put his head in his hands. It was one of the most painful things he'd ever felt, when the bond went so tight he was sure it would rip his ribcage open and gut out his heart. She was dying. She would have died.