Trust

Chapter 17

Lucas was cold when he woke up the next morning, Res was half under him looking for warmth. Lucas pulled himself bed and tucked the blanket around Res before looking around.

Cas was gone.

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Cas, finally back in human form, sat on the piano bench in the library. The whole house was still asleep, Cal included. Normally when something like this happened, he'd wake his brother up but now he couldn't

Going into Cal's room before they completed the ceremony was a death sentence, waking Cal up would only put him in pain and right now Cal needed all the sleep he could get, and the last thing Cas wanted was to put him in pain. Then, Cas just didn't want to talk.

The image of Lucas backing away from him kept flashing in his mind. The doorbell chimed and Cas sat through till the end before making a move to answer it.

He opened the front door to Xavier, who looked him up and down.

"Is it okay that I'm here?" He questioned, not wanting to cross any boundaries.

Cas nodded, gesturing for him to come in, "They're asleep in my room."

They took a seat in the living room after Cas offered him a drink. Cas laid out on one couch as Xavier sat across from him on the other, "How are you doing?" He questioned, curious of Cas's odd behavior.

Cas glanced at him rolling his head to the side before looking back up at the ceiling. That was fine Xavier willing to wait. He let out a breath before starting, "I scared him. He actually wanted to get away from me."

"Lucas." Xavier stated for confirmation, "When did this happen?"

"In the forest when I was taking him and Res back here."

Xavier hummed, "I don't think he was scared of you Cas. Lucas doesn't always cope with stressful situations and last night he was probably scared but not of you. You weren't acting like yourself last night, that was obvious, and maybe that scared him. But you also have to realize his best friend and Beta was taken form home. His brother was in danger, people he considered family had been lying throughout his entire life. Just talk to him Caspian, there's always more to a story and trust me, if that wasn't true Tommy would've killed you for what you did last night."

Xavier tried to end on a light note, making Cas chuckle at the dark humor.

"Why does he have it out for me?

Letting out a breath Xavier answered, "That's a long story for another time, just know our pack and your father's pack was once very close.

Cas nodded as even more questions formed in his mind, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn't right for him to pry into his past when Cas wouldn't even talk about his. They'll get there eventually out today was not that day.

Creaking steps sounded and they both scented the air, catching the familiar scent of Jonah and Callum. Xavier stood as they entered the living room. His eyes shined with pain as he caught sight of the pup he failed.

Cal followed behind Jonah, his eyes still very much red. Jonah had healed since last night, but some bruises still remained, last night was the worst punishment he ever received. In his head, it was entirely his fault, he should've known telling them was a bad idea.

Cas nodded his goodbye and slipped past Cal and Jonah, heading up to his room to check on Lucas and Res.

"Jonah." Xavier said softly, "I was hoping I could talk to you."

Jonah nodded, messing with the sleeve of Cal's shirt as he sat opposite of Xavier. Cal settled down next to him, remaining quiet as he put a comforting arm around Jonah's shoulders.

"I'm sorry for not noticing. I'm sorry you didn't feel as if you could tell me." He started, "Now, I need to ask you some questions but if you don't want to answer then you don't have to."

"Okay." He agreed, his voice remained quiet.

"How long have they been hurting you?"

Jonah chewed on his lip, sending jolts through Cal's heart, "A bit before I met Lucas, but it didn't really... escalate... until after."

"Until after you and Lucas became friends?" Xavier's brow furrowed, "Do you know why?"

Jonah slouched further in on himself, this conversation was very disrespectful to his alpha, "Any mistake I made, Lucas would've told you and you would have noticed I was a defect. They didn't want me to make any mistakes."

"I think that's enough for now, I'll come back or call later if I have more questions." Xavier stood, prompting Jonah to do the same.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered.

Xavier crossed the space between them, giving Cal a once over before wrapping his arms around Jonah, "You did nothing wrong, and I promise you won't have to see your parents again. The Alpha Association will deal with them."

After a few minutes, where Jonah was able to calm down, they separated. Cal stood slowly, his jaw clenched as he took Xavier's place and wrapped an arm around Jonah.

"You can come back to the Pack Plantation whenever you want okay." Xavier said.

Jonah wiped his sleeve across his face, "What- What if I want to stay here?"

Xavier looked between the two boys, honestly, he wasn't surprised that they were together. There wouldn't be an issue, considering Cas would eventually be part of the pack anyway and it wasn't as if Jonah was out of territory, "If you'd prefer that, then that's okay. Just know that if you ever want to stay with us then you can. That and the Beta house will be open to you."

Jonah nodded his head silently and turned into Cal's chest. Cal gave an uneasy smile to Xavier and watched him head up the stairs.

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Cas stood outside his bedroom door, faintly hearing Xavier begin to talk to Jonah. He didn't know if Lucas was awake. This had to be the first time he hated that his room was soundproof. He hesitated at the door, if Lucas was awake what would he say? 'Sorry your stuck with a psychotically possessive mate.' Taking a deep breath, he turned the handle and stepped into his bedroom.

Lucas was awake, sat on the bed, watching his brother sleep. The soft click of the door made him turn his head, catching sight of his mate. He repositioned himself on the bed to better see Cas as the door clicked once more. As Cas' eyes met his, Cas stepped toward him before witnessing Lucas shift on the bed and cast his eyes away.

He was uncomfortable.

Cas' back hit the door as he moved away, pain filling his chest more as his shoulders curled. He swallowed tightly before speaking, "I wanted to apologize for scaring you last night." He started. After waiting for a minute where he gained no response he continued, "I'll leave you alone if you want me to. I'd understand if you didn't want to see me."

Lucas didn't say anything, and Cas didn't know what to do. Xavier came up to get Res; Lucas ended up going with them. This left Cas alone, dwelling on the mess he made.