Just trying to get this story in gear because there's so much that's going to happen and I can't wait to write about when they're older and just UGH it's exciting for me.  Okay, enjoy :) 

Chapter Quote:
"I'm too honest to be positive."
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Chapter 3

Two years later... 

Caleb 

"Hello?" I looked up from my computer to see who the quiet voice belonged to, although I had a pretty good idea of whom it was.  Sure enough, Josilyn was standing shyly in the doorway that led to the backyard.

"Hey Josie, what's up?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you've seen Hunter.  I need help on my math homework and he offered to help me.  Is he around?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs.  Just go on up."

"Are you sure?" she queried.  I smiled.  Josilyn was the most innocent in the pack, possibly the most caring if you didn't count Elsa.

"I'm positive.  My brother and I may not be on the same page anymore but I still know him more than he likes to admit.  You're fine.  Go." Josie smiled and padded up the stairs.  A few seconds later Noah came in.

"Hey man," he greeted me, going to our fridge and pulling out a Diet Coke. "What're you doing?"

"Homework.  You going to see Ember?  Have her help you with history again?"

"I don't like what you're insinuating there because first off, no, I'm not here to see her, and second, Hunter would kill me if I had a thing for Em."

"First off, then who are you here to see?  Second, my brother would not kill you."

"I'm here to see you.  Heard about the argument between you and Hunter," Noah remarked, sipping his drink and leaning against the counter in front of me.

"Who told you?"

"Ember.  She said it was one of the worst.  What happened?"

"The usual.  He blames me for Anna's death, I should've protected her better... stuff I've already thought about.  Mom broke us apart when we started getting physical," I replied as nonchalantly as I could.  Hunter's words bothered me, but if I had any chance of being alpha, I couldn't let anyone know that what he was saying was getting under my skin.

Noah shook his head. "This isn't good Caleb.  And that wasn't your fault and he knows it.  He still misses her, and it doesn't help that he was so close with her.  He's taking his anger out on you when he shouldn't.  He's just being a jerk brother."

"It's been two years.  It's more than being a jerk brother."

"He's trying to get under your skin, give off that 'tough alpha' persona."

"He's doing splendidly," I said.  With a sigh, I added, "He's my brother so it hurts coming from him more than most.  Listen, I need to get back to doing my homework.  Elsa and I are going on a hunt later.  Ember and Hunter are going as a pair too.  Want to join?"

"Yeah.  I'll join you two this time since I was with Hunter last.  One of you is going to be alpha and since I'll obviously be the second, I need to practice serving under both of you."

"I feel like I should choose someone else for my beta role for the sheer fact that you're so cocky about this," I joked.

"Shut up Laroche," Noah laughed.  He headed upstairs to see Ember despite what he said earlier in the conversation.  I went back to doing my homework for science class.  I was a freshman in high school now, and I was in biology.  Science and math had always been my strong point.  Hunter was good at math and English.  Ember was good at science and history.  Elsa was good at everything.  After Anna's death, Elsa had thrown herself into school work along with her tae-kwon-do lessons.  Her determination to learn how to defend herself made her a black belt in two years, faster than anyone else at the training center.  They told her she could start teaching classes once she was old enough to work.  My sister had changed.  She'd grown up faster, and even after two years, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had caused her to become like she is now... I loved her all the same, and she still loved me.  In fact, we were closer than ever, but I felt like I caused Elsa to grow up too fast.

Three hours later, I was done with my homework and called Elsa downstairs.  Hunter, Josilyn, Ember, and Noah came down as well.

"You want to come hunt with us Josie?" Hunter inquired.

"No, I-I'll stay here.  Tend to my roses.  Um, could you help me later?  I need to dig holes for some new rose bushes," she answered.

"I'll help.  Right after the hunt, okay?"

Josilyn nodded before leaving our house.

"Okay, so me, Ember, and Noah, and then Elsa and Caleb?" my brother suggested.

"I'm going to join Caleb and Elsa today.  I need to make sure I can work as second under either one of you," Noah piped up.  Hunter nodded.  The five of us left the house and shifted into wolves.  I went for a dark grey today.  Elsa went for white as she usually did.  In the summer you could spot her easily, but come winter, even following her scent, she was damn near impossible to see.  Hunter went for black.  Noah was light grey, and Ember was black as well.  We split up into our groups.  We were hunting big today, deer or elk but probably the former.  Elk were dangerous to hunt even in a big pack.

So are Hunter and Josilyn a thing now or something?  They've been hanging out a lot. Noah commented.

We'd know if they were.  Hunter wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about finally being with the girl he likes.  But he's never had a girlfriend and Josilyn's too shy to tell him she likes him, so I think it'll be a while before anything happens between those two. Elsa said.

Can they just get together?  I'm tired of seeing them get all doe-eyed around each other.  Seriously, everyone else can see the major crush they have on each other.  Why can't they?

Not everyone has the ability to realize someone likes them.

Like how Thea likes Caleb?

She does not! I protested.

Oh my god, yes she does. Elsa said, agreeing with Noah.

I'm not interested even though she is very attractive.

Why not? Elsa prodded, putting her nose to the ground to get a scent.

Because Riley likes her.

So what if he likes her?  You're going to be alpha.  You can have whoever you want. Elsa pointed out.

Why are you so sure I'm going to be alpha?

Because mom and dad want someone level-headed as alpha, not temperamental like Hunter.  I mean if he ends up dating Josilyn at some point, she'll get him to calm down somewhat and maybe he'll get better as he gets older, but mom wants you as alpha.  I heard her say as much.

What aren't you telling me?

They're... planning something else.  Don't quote me on this.  They got very hushed when speaking about it so it was hard to hear but I think they're planning to rebuild the southern compound.

Noah and I halted.  Elsa stopped and stared.  I shifted into human form.  My comrades followed.

"They're planning to rebuild it?" I stated.

"Yeah.  From what I understood, it's because mom and dad can't decide and they think both of you would be good.  And considering our pack is pretty big with all the kids, they think it'd be easier to manage.  Mom's worried that someone would try to attack it again though.  But you can't tell anyone!  We're not supposed to know!" my sister warned.

"I won't, it's just... wow." The three of us shifted back into wolf form and headed deeper into the woods.

Up ahead.  Big herd. Elsa announced.

I smell them.  Okay, Elsa charge them from the north.  Noah and I will come in at angles and get the weakest link.  Ready?

Always! My sister darted off, not making a sound as she ran to the other side of the heard.  I lost sight of her which set me on edge briefly.  I didn't like not knowing where she was.  Elsa was my baby sister.  I wasn't going to lose her like I lost Anna...

However, a few minutes later, the deer herd scattered as a white wolf streaked after an elder deer.  Noah and I charged, blocking off any escape the deer had.  We took it down easily.

Now the fun part is getting it back home. Noah laughed.

Go help Ember.  She just told me she made Hunter leave so he could go help Josilyn with her garden.  I don't want her by herself.  She's about a mile west of here. I ordered.

Her knight in shining armor is coming! Noah bounded off.  Elsa and I shifted.

"He does realize Ember doesn't need a prince in shining armor, and in fact, would probably end up having to rescue her own prince?" Elsa queried.

"He'll figure it out soon enough.  Come on, let's get this back home."  We started dragging the deer carcass back to the compound.  I could tell my sister wanted to say something and rather than continue in an uncomfortable silence, I asked, "What's on your mind?"

"Are you okay?  What Hunter said to you earlier was brutal," Elsa answered, looking at me.

I stopped walking. "Elsa, we've been through this.  I can handle what he says.  Sure it hurts but I'm used to it by now."

"That's horrible.  You shouldn't be.  You know I don't blame you though, right?"

"Yes, and that's all I care about.  Come on, let's get home before- do you smell that?" I glanced around uneasily.

"Smell what?"  My sister asked.  I walked a few steps away to the area I thought the scent was coming from.

"I don't know.  I can't place my finger on it.  Or paw.  Whatever the term Guardian's use for that.  Let's just hurry." I turned around.  Before I could say a word, a mountain lion was on top of my sister, jaws about to clamp down on her neck.  I didn't even shift as I barreled into the cat, simply wanting it off my sister.  It hissed and growled at me as I rolled off, getting out of its swiping range.  Those claws were nasty...

"Elsa, you okay?" I asked.  When no response came from my sister, rage ripped through me.  I was not losing another sister.  I'd die before that happened.  Changing forms, I attacked the mountain lion.  It was still disoriented from my previous attack so I had no problem giving it another injury.  I danced around it, lunging, biting, and then jumping back.  Soon the mountain lion tired, and with an angry glare at me, ran off into the woods.  I made sure it was gone before turning to Elsa.  She was waking as I knelt next to her.  There were long gashes on cheeks and arms from the cat's claws.

"Elsa, are you okay?  Please say something," I begged.

She groaned. "I'm fine.  Are you?"

"Don't worry about me.  Let's get you some blood and then get you home."

"How about we just get home?  I don't want to be in the woods any longer in case that bloody cat comes back."

"But-"

"But nothing.  Let's get home." Elsa attempted to stand up but she would've fallen over had I not caught her.  Scooping her into my arms, I carried her back to the compound.  Ember and Noah happened to be right behind us.

"What happened?!" Ember exclaimed, opening the door.

"Mountain lion.  It attacked her from behind.  I got it away from her.  She needs blood now though.  I'm going to go get mom and dad," I said.

"No need to.  I smelled the blood," my mom announced, walking into the room with my dad at her heels.  Looking at me, she added, "Caleb, go get some towels from the closet and run them under warm water.  Ember get some antibacterial cream.  It'll help the healing go faster."

My sister and I quickly followed our mom's instructions.  You tend to do that when an alpha gives you an order.  At that moment, Hunter came into the house.  My mother tensed immediately, but she wasn't the only one.  I felt myself getting nervous.  I could feel a fight coming on.

"What happened?" he demanded when he laid eyes on Elsa.

My sister answered. "Caleb and I were attacked by a mountain lion.  We had our backs to it.  It came out of nowhere.  If it wasn't for Caleb, I'd be dead.  He got it away from me."

"Did you kill it?" Hunter asked, his blue eyes settling on me.

"No," I replied.

"Why the hell didn't you kill it?  It's obviously a menace to us and anyone else that comes across it."

"Because I was more worried about getting Elsa home and fixed up," I snapped. "Or in case you didn't realize, she's bleeding."

"Don't get snarky with me.  You're the reason Elsa is in this predicament!" He fired back.

"Says the guy who left Ember alone to drag the deer by herself," I retorted.

"She told me to go, and I made sure there was nothing that could harm her before I left!  Why is it whenever something happens to Elsa, you are always there at the scene?"

"Hunter, stop," my mother warned.  My brother was too far gone in his anger though and so was I.  I was done with being the thing he took his anger out on.

"What are you saying?" I inquired, taking a step towards him.

"What I've always said.  I don't want to lose another sister because you couldn't protect them.  Don't you think we've had enough death in the family?  You're not fit to be alpha.  An alpha protects their own.  You can barely protect our sister, let alone an entire pack.  You already let one member of this pack down."

"Oh shut up Hunter.  It's been two years.  I know I caused Anna's death and every time I close my eyes at night, I see those bastards killing her.  I cause myself enough torment thinking about it and I don't need you damn well adding to it!  I will never forgive myself for letting Anna get killed but for the love of god, would you stop reminding me about it!"

"Anna didn't deserve it!  She was nine years old and not only that, but Elsa lost her best friend, her sister, her other half!  Anna should've lived!"

"Don't you think I've thought of that?  Anything you say, I've already thought it," I said.

My brother paused before, "It should've been you."

"Hunter!" Elsa and my mom shouted.

I ignored them. "You're right, it should've.  I've thought that every day since it happened."

I turned around and stormed upstairs.  I heard my mother giving my brother a harsh scolding and while most of the time I would've enjoyed listening to my brother get in trouble, that wasn't happening today.  I was too upset.

"Caleb!" Elsa called, running up the stairs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just really want to be alone right now," I said.

"Don't listen to him.  He's being an ass.  I don't blame you, no one does except him and I don't understand and-"

"Elsa, listen, I appreciate the pep talk but I really want to be alone right now," I interrupted.  She halted in her speech, staring at me with big blue eyes.  She looked hurt but I didn't care.  If that was what it took to get me some alone time, then that's what had to happen.  Elsa looked about ready to say something else but she refrained and instead said, "I'll be downstairs if you want to hang out.  I love you."

She walked back down and I entered my room, shutting the door.  I went directly to the punching bag I had in the corner of my room.  I took of my shirt and let my frustration out.  Something had to change.

Something was going to change.
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Poor Caleb.  Hope you enjoyed :)