Chapter: 45
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Caleb growled, and flung him aside, Rafa flew backward and crashed into the side of the cabin, hitting the floor hard, the sound echoing loudly through the area, and leaving a large gaping hole in the wall behind them. Rafa sat up, his vision swimming. He coughed hard several times before pushing himself onto his knees, trying to regain control over his body. He gasped painfully and staggered, falling to his hands and knees as his legs failed to support him any longer. He whimpered weakly, his limbs trembling uncontrollably. He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave of dizziness passed. His breathing grew harsh, the pain becoming unbearable, his throat burned as if he swallowed a firewhisky, the scent of copper and iron filled his nostrils, and his mouth tasted bitter. He opened his eyes once again and looked up at the sky, the clouds were thick, dark, and heavy, threatening to pour down more rain, lightning flashed across the darkened horizon making everything look purple and red.

"You are my Mate... My Fated Pair... How could you do this? WHY?!" A scream ripped through the air, followed by several other screams, but Rafa barely registered them, his senses clouded by overwhelming pain. He tried to crawl forward but fell again. He could not find the strength to move.

"Werewolves have done nothing but cause my family pain... I was just a boy when my father walked out on us, ON ME!" Caleb's raspy voice echoed throughout the woods, bringing back horrible memories. The images kept flashing through his mind. Of his little feet following after his father, and the man not acknowledging his little boy, because a Mate Rejected him. He walked out, abandoning them as if they didn't matter... Like he didn't matter. "I cried, I begged him to come back, but he wouldn't even look at me, wouldn't even turn around or send me back, like a zombie he walked, and wouldn't stop until I lost him forever! Do you have any idea how that felt?!" He roared and his anger made him appear bigger than before. He stood there shaking while clutching his chest, tears streaming down his pale face.

And Rafa, for some reasons beyond him, cried along with him. "So, all along you have been working with your mother, to kill me, and all the Werewolves whom I protect? Since I am the Alpha of Alphas, whatever affects me affects all, this is your plan with your mother, huh? Did it not worry you even just a little bit that I am your Mate? Did you not think this through for once, the actions you were taking? Did you ever love me?" Rafa's voice cracked at the last sentence, the tears spilling from his eyes without restraint.

"I was a child!" Caleb yelled. "I never asked for it... I just wanted to be loved by him... For him to stay with us!" He cried. "Was that too much to ask?!"

"An Alpha Rejected your father big fucking deal!" Rafa growled brokenly. "Why should I be the one who pays for one Alpha's mistake, huh? Why should everyone else pay? If you could point me in the direction of that Alpha who Rejected your father, I swear to the Goddess I would have ripped him to shreds where he stands!" Rafa screamed in anger, spitting at Caleb who took a couple of steps back, glaring at the Lycan before looking away, rubbing at the blood smeared across his chin.

"Killing you would kill him, so it's a win-win!" Caleb sneered.

"The way I treated you, all of it, was it all a plan of yours to disorganize me, guilt tripping me into confusion? You came back after the night I sent you away, was all your plan to get back at me, to get into my Heart and Home, to steal from me the Book that would grant you victory in your lifelong quest!" Rafa felt his heart shattered from where he knelt, was it even possible for one to hurt this badly? He felt dizzy from the pain.

"When I brought the Book Of Neer to my mother, and we saw that through a Lycan's Soulmate... A Lycan can be defeated. I wondered if you ever picked one, it was written in the book that Lycans are often fond of Marking a Soulmate, one they will share all with. Pain and health. Laughter and tears. Life and death. Light and darkness, and should one meet an untimely demise, the other will follow," He began to walk toward Leon once again, Rafa growled, struggling to crawl his way to the Tiger before he made it to his Lion, his gaze shifting from Caleb to the unconscious body of Leon. "When I sensed him within the cabin, I knew I recognized something, he was strong, very strong, but nothing a god can't handle, in the end, he is but a puny Werelion." Caleb grabbed Leon's throat and began to pull him off the floor until his feet dangled mid-air.

"How did you learn about the Book?" Rafa asked, watching helplessly as Leon shook as Caleb's grip on his neck tightened.

"I am Xiher, I know these things, but my mother, she heard about it from Dare, and she was very pleased when I brought her the Book," He pressed harder into Leon's neck and he began to make choking sounds.

Rafa clutched his throat, struggling to let loose the grasp of the Tiger on his Soulmate's neck but it was useless since it wasn't his neck the Tiger held. "Watch mother as I put these miserable animals to death!" He charged Mariana who still lay motionless on the ground.

["Alpha?!"]

Rafa hissed when the voice of his Betas came bursting through his mind.

["Alpha, please give us permission to touch your Mate!"] They chorused once again and this time, it was Conri who replied.

["Have at him!"]

["Copy!"]

Caleb growled when the first fist slammed into his back, causing him to drop Leon onto the floor, Rafa hurriedly went to check on Leon to be certain he was still breathing and while he tended to the Lion, his Betas fought with the Tiger. The claps of Thunder and the roars of Fire surrounded him as each wolf tried their best to beat Caleb. But none of them were able to win against the Weretiger, but they were good enough to cause a diversion, long enough for Rafa to regain enough strength to deliver the final blow.

["NOW!"] Dominic called and Rafa leaped from his spot, charging straight toward the still-crouched figure, teeth bared. When he reached him, he wrapped a leg around the Tiger's waist and threw himself into him with enough force to send them both flying across the clearing, and into the dense underbrush. They landed heavily in a tangle of limbs amidst the thorny bushes, grunting as they rolled around. They struggled to keep hold of their respective prey, and Rafa managed to pin Caleb beneath him, holding both of his wrists above his head, and applying more pressure to prevent any escape attempts from the tiger. As much as he hated his Mate for what he had done to him, he couldn't stand seeing him in so much pain that he was clawing at the dirt and moaning.

"Did you know she spelled you as a child to hate your Mate if they happen to be a Werewolf?" He asked, glaring deeply into Caleb's blue eyes.

Rafa hoped he would deny it. Anything to restore the much hurt he had caused, but when the Tiger spoke, he lost the last of his resolve.

The Weretiger scoffed. "Of course, I knew!" He exclaimed in rage but was too exhausted to fight back. He sighed and shook his head in disbelief as if Rafa had just told him some kind of ridiculous joke.

Rafa felt as if his words suddenly stopped being of value anymore. He tightened his grip around Caleb's wrists, the pain shooting through his own veins. "Why then are you dancing to her tunes?"

"Because I had my own plans..." He muttered, glaring. "To kill you to get the Alpha who Rejected my father, and took him away from me!"

It felt like a sword had just been stabbed into his heart at those words and his grip on the Tiger almost slipped, but he gritted his teeth together and forced himself to tighten his grip once again. "As your Mate and Alpha, I command you to submit!"

Caleb laughed mockingly, "You seem to have forgotten you Rejected me, you have no authority over me!"

Rafa grinned, "Did I really?" He asked, his grip softened.

"W-What do you mean?" Caleb stuttered.

"At any particular time did you feel like you were Rejected?" He asked, glaring deeply into his eyes. "You know like your father did when he was Rejected," He smiled when he saw the Tiger's eyes bulge. "I believe you experienced first-hand what Rejection could do to a Were."

"No!" Caleb cried. "Why?"

"Because I loved you too much to hurt you that way, but I still had to let you go somehow to get to your mother," Rafa replied, and with one last glance, he commanded. "Submit."

Caleb gasped when he saw the Lycan's eyes shifting colors, and he felt his strength seeping away. It started slowly; a slight shift and then the force draining out of him, the pain, the exhaustion, the weakness, and fear that overwhelmed him began to creep into his bones, numbing his body and forcing him to lay completely still, unable to struggle. His eyes widened at the realization that something was happening to him, not just losing the fight against Rafa, something that wasn't supposed to happen... Not only that, but now he was starting to feel powerless, more vulnerable. He shuddered as the weight of Rafa's body on top of him became heavier and heavier, he struggled weakly underneath him, trying to pry the Lycan off but was failing miserably.

Rafa watched until his transition was completed before he got off him, and stumbled backward, staring down at the Tiger who held his neck exposed in a sign of submission. "From now onwards, you are hereby demoted from Luna to a servant in River Bay, and Her neighboring Packs, you will be used, abused, treated without respect, and given little more than scraps of food or water..." Rafa stated coldly. "...And your mother will be locked away, tortured and beaten until she dies!" Rafa turned on his heels, and stomped away towards Leon's lifeless form, leaving Caleb lying in the snow and dirt, crying, and gasping for breath.

Tears poured down his cheeks as the guilt slowly consumed him, crushing him in its cruel embrace, and drowning him until he could hardly breathe. He looked up when he heard his Mother moan softly as her eyes fluttered open and her head slowly moved side to side. "Mother?" He cried bitterly. "What have I done?" He choked back a sob and shut his eyes.

She groaned loudly, tears dripping down her face as she crawled over to him. He quickly moved over on his stomach, opening his arms wide allowing her to wrap her trembling arms around his shoulders, and rest her tear-stained cheek atop his shoulder. Her arms were shaking uncontrollably, but she still managed to whisper his name softly. "My Caleb," She cried. "Forgive me... Forgive me." She chanted.

Rafa went on his knees and picked his Lion off the ground, carrying him gently into his arms, he turned to his Betas and gave them a nod before casting a portal and stepping into it. Having absorbed both Xiher and Scarred Witch's magic, he felt stronger, more powerful. "Let's bring you to the Doctor," He muttered with a brush of his lips against Leon's hair.

Leaving mother and child in the hands of his Betas.

They know what to do.

It was time to return home and fix what has been broken.