Chapter 13 

-Myles-

My wolf hates having to watch Caro leave in the morning, but of course we both know that it has to be done. Our wolves laid snuggled up together the entire night, and after an emotional few hours, it was just what I needed. The storm was…hard, as always. But I feel absolutely awful that Caro had to come here in the pouring rain, have one of our wolves act like a shit, and then I managed to trigger him too…but we talked about it, and it’s ok. I know I shouldn’t blame myself too much for something which I didn’t know was a problem. Even if I should’ve used some critical thinking.

I wanted to give Caro a goodbye kiss, but I’m still too scared to initiate something in case I make him uncomfortable. And I know I need to to some degree; I can’t leave everything up to Caro. But at the same time…if he wanted a goodbye kiss, surely he’d say so? No, he wouldn’t. I know he wouldn’t. He couldn’t have gotten that far by now, I could probably catch up to him…no. It’s ok, there will always be next time. Next time, I’ll be bold. Now though, I have something important to do. 

Going to find Xabien, I knock lightly on his office door once before entering. We have idle chit chat for a moment; how I am after the storm, did Caro leave all right, et cetera. Sitting down in front of Xabien, I clasp my hands together.

“Do you know which wolves were on patrol last night? In Hibbi’s group?” I ask tentatively. I don’t like getting my own pack mates in trouble, but they really crossed a line here. No one should be made to feel uncomfortable here, especially not my mate. I’ll be lucky if he ever comes to visit me here again, let alone decides to move here.

“Hmm…it was Hibbi, Rye and Tex, I do believe. Why do you ask? You look serious?” 

Caro said it wasn’t Hibbi or Rye, so that leaves Tex. 

“Tex didn’t exactly give my mate the warmest welcome,” I say slowly. Xabien doesn’t need to know about what made Caro the most uncomfortable - the breath on his legs - why that bothers my mate wouldn’t make sense to Xabien anyway. But the rest is bad enough that he’ll see why I’m upset regardless. 

“How so?” Xabien asks, sitting forward a little, frowning.

“Caro said Tex growled at him, even after Caro had shifted back into human and explained that he was my mate. And also that Tex snapped at his legs as he was walking, which is why he was in wolf form when he arrived in your office.”

Xabien’s frown deepens and he stands up, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s not acceptable behaviour at all. Especially since Caro is so nervous around other wolves already. Is he ok?” He asks a little more gently. I really appreciate my best friend. He’s supported me through everything; we grew up together, practically brothers.

“Apparently Hibbi was aware of something going on, but didn’t see what. Maybe ask him? I just don’t want Caro to feel like he can’t come back here,” I admit, pressing a hand to my face. “It was a huge deal for him to come here, and be around so many other wolves, and to run through that storm for me…only to be met with antagonism right from the get go. He did say Hibbi was friendly, so that’s something, I guess,” I sigh. Xabien rests his hand on my shoulder, giving me a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m sure he’ll come back. As you said, it took a lot for him to come here. But he did come here, for you. He’ll come again.”

I really hope so, anyway.

After leaving Xabien’s study, I do my usual rounds through the pack house to make sure that everything is alright. A few wolves stop me to ask about my mate - apparently a few people saw him yesterday when he arrived, and today when I said goodbye. And everyone is nosy, so. They all ask the same questions: when did we mate, why hasn’t Caro moved to our pack yet, what pack is he from - that kind of thing. I give them the shortest, politest responses; my head is too preoccupied with thoughts on how to approach the whole issue with Tex. Xabien will be the one to do the main confrontation, of course, but…it was my mate that Tex was rude to, so I will obviously be present for whatever reprimanding will occur.

“Hey Myles!” Someone calls out to me as I’m walking through the main hall. Looking up, my eyes find Hibbi.

“Hi, Hibbi,” I smile. “Has Xabien spoken to you yet?” The wolf nods, walking with me outside where we can have a slightly more private conversation. 

“He wanted to know what I’d seen of Tex yesterday, when we met your mate. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really aware of what happened - I noticed Caro shift back into a wolf and guessed that Tex was being a prick, but I didn’t hear the growl or anything. The storm was loud and I was walking a little ahead of them,” they explain, looking a little guilty.

“It’s ok, you’re not at fault here. Sounds like Tex was doing some weird power play bullshit, probably because his mate was there? Maybe they shouldn’t be put on patrols together anymore,” I suggest and Hibbi nods before sighing.

“It’s a shame because they’ve always worked great as a team but you’re right - that kind of behaviour could start real problems. I mean what if we had a representative from another pack or something and Tex was acting like a shit? It immediately makes the whole pack look bad, as well as being an unpleasant experience for the individual.” Hibbi chews on their lips, “is Caro ok? I didn’t see him this morning before he left.”

Not wanting to get into it, I just nod. “Yeah. Shaken up, but ok. It’s just…” I let out a sigh. “He was really nervous about coming to my pack, and this won’t exactly have been a great introduction. It was kind of a stressful evening all around,” I explain. “I was sort of hoping that slowly he’d start wanting to visit more often, since he lives amongst humans currently and y’know, wolves are pack animals and all, but…he didn’t come away from this visit feeling all warm and fuzzy inside,” admittedly, that wasn’t entirely because of Tex, but he was a large part of it.

“That’s completely understandable, both on your part and Caro’s. He seems really sweet,” Hibbi grins, elbowing me in the ribs jovially. “And he clearly likes you a lot, so that’s great. But I do still find it crazy that Tex was so hostile to Caro, even after he’d introduced himself as your mate. That’s just weird. Maybe he’ll explain it to Xabien?” 

Shrugging, I cross my arms over my chest. “Yeah, probably. I just hope it was Tex being a shithead, or a bad day, or something, and not. I don’t know. Any actual reason.” But what reason could he even have to immediately dislike my mate? It’s not like Tex and I are close or anything - in fact, I’ve only spoken to him a handful of times. His mate, Rye, is much more outgoing, so I usually talk to him if I have to relay something to either of them. So…what does Tex have against Caro?