Dark Hunger

Later that night, they lay bundled up together in the tent's small bed. She ran her fingers lightly through the hair of his chest and down to the navel. "What made you want me to practice at this hour of the night?" 

"I want you to practice as much as you can, Lizzy. I don't know what is going to happen in the near future but I want my wife to be prepared for the worst." A shudder passed through his body when he recalled what the soldier mentioned about hatred amongst Ixoviyans for Elize. "Now that you are a Lorean, you need to know how to survive in this world." 

"Tell me about you, Caleb. I want to know more, such as how did you meet Pia and what was it that you liked or disliked about her?" 

Caleb had been avoiding that topic for a long time. He wasn't sure how she would feel about it. But now that she asked him, he liked the way she worded it—very direct and it meant that he could tell her everything about Pia. It also meant that he couldn't lighten the burden in his heart. He took a deep breath and said, "I met Pia through a common acquaintance. It was my mother who had arranged the meeting. Pia was an aspiring model and she was the daughter of one of my father's wealthy close business associates." He flipped on his back and cradled his head over his arms. Elize put her head on his arm and sidled closer. "They say that getting a mate in the Lore is rare. And it is true. Most of the Loreans are without a mate. I too believed in it. My mother and father wanted me to marry because I was the older child and my father also needed to show stability for his heir apparent in our Silver Crescent werewolf pack. I just flowed with what my mother presented to me. Pia came out as one of those girls who were polished and kind-of cut out for the society. We fell in love." 

Elize froze when Caleb said, 'we fell in love'. She wasn't expecting that and jealousy was stirring up. 

"Things were going fine, until Dawn appeared in Daryn's life. She was his mate but Dawn was bitten. She wasn't a natural born werewolf. With Dawn's presence in Daryn's life, Pia felt threatened about her position. Since I was the older son of my parents, the title of the Alpha of the pack would have come to me and obviously Pia would be the Luna. However, because Daryn married his mate, the preference went to him. And that's because the Lore prefers mates over anything else. Pia spewed her venom, she used every dirty tactic possible to create rift between our family only to solidify her position. She made Dawn's life a living hell, and in turn mine also." He stopped as his throat bobbed. The pain was still fresh in his heart. Elize placed her hand on his heart and he released a sigh. "The worst was when she faked her pregnancy and told others that it was Dawn who was responsible for her abortion." 

"Oh my god!" Elize said, jerking her head up. "That is disgusting!" 

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Disgusting is a mild word for it. Dawn was actually pregnant that time, and Pia once again felt threatened because she wasn't becoming pregnant. And the reason was not that she couldn't, but because she didn't want to spoil her figure and she was on medication… secretly."

"You didn't know about that?" Elize asked. All her jealousy vanished. She was left with pity for Caleb. He deserved so much more. Her heart stuttered when she recalled to have stayed away from this beautiful man for three months just because she was against him turning her into a vampire. 

"No, I didn't. Pia played a very dirty game with one of her friends. She staged her abortion and we saw blood on our bed. It wasn't her blood, it was the blood of a chicken." 

"Eeks!" 

Caleb pursed his lips. "When I came to know about it, I just exploded. I didn't know how to face Daryn and Dawn. I didn't know how to face my father and I didn't know whether I wanted to continue running the business also or not." 

"I am so sorry, Caldy," she said, nuzzling the side of his chest. "And you got blamed for being the bad brother?" she asked with disbelief. 

"My pack saw this as a sign of weakness—not being able to control my wife and cheating on the pack's emotions." Caleb had been trying to shed his guilt. He had tried to convince himself that it was mostly Pia's fault and there were too many factors in play. Yet, over the last few months, he saw that whatever he did, whatever choice he made, had many repercussions. 

As if understanding his emotions, Elize said, "Please don't feel guilty about it, Caleb. None of this was your fault. You were made to wear a glass that filtered the truth." 

"I should have controlled her…" his voice trailed off. "But she left me and then she came to Ixoviya on my mother's request and that too, to participate in a competition for Daryn's hand." 

"Oh god! Do you blame yourself for what she chose to do or for her death?" 

He gave her a grim nod. 

"And you've been carrying this guilt for so long?" 

Another sad nod. He met her gaze. "But none of this has anything to do with you." 

"Then you are mad, completely insane!" she blurted. 

He raised his eyebrow. 

"Pia didn't deserve you." Now she wondered if she deserved him as well. "You are the most beautiful man inside out, and I can turn into a vampire a thousand times for you!" There was so much sincerity in her eyes that Caleb gave her an amazed look. "Please don't feel guilty darling, because that would just make me sadder than I can ever be." 

"Lizzy…" he was stunned by her revelation. 

Elize brushed his hair from his forehead and stroked them gently. "I am sorry for not understanding you and making a decision in haste." Tears threatened to come out of her eyes as she felt her throat burning. "I was blinded by my faith, by the rigid and inflexible norms of our society. I mean, look at my brother and Nessa. They were driven by those norms and then some more." She was embarrassed how her brother twisted his beliefs and turned greedy. 

"No Liz—"

She shook her head and then cupped his face in her hands. "But I promise you one thing—I will spend the rest of my life knowing you better and loving you more. And I will follow you wherever you go, even in death." Saying that she wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. "I love you, Caldy. Never should you feel once that you are alone. I will walk this earth with you… always." 

Caleb was stunned. He stayed there frozen to his place, reveling in her warm embrace. He didn't want this moment to ever end. Soon his chest was wet with her tears and he knew that she was crying for the last time on this matter for both of them.. He slid his arms around her.