The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 108

CAULDER

The sun still wasn't up when I opened my eyes in the morning. I turned in bed, looking at Harper sleeping by my side. Today was her birthday, which meant her mate bond was supposed to kick in at any moment. Part of me wanted to shake her awake to see if it had already kicked in, but I resisted the temptation and let her sleep. It was her birthday after all.

The mate bond kicked in at different times for werewolves. It always happened on a werewolf's eighteenth birthday, but as far as I was aware, it could happen from 12:01am all the way to 11:59pm. I wasn't sure of the exact reason for the different times, but I imagined it had something to do with the time of day a werewolf was born or maybe the strength of a werewolf's wolf.

I sprung out of bed, unable to sit still. I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to bed, either. The anticipation was killing me. I knew Harper was my mate, but I wanted to see the look on her face when her mate bond was realized. I wanted to see that moment of wonder and take it all in for what it meant. Soon we would be able to mate, and we would be bonded to each other for the rest of our lives.

I couldn't help but smile when I imagined a future with Harper by my side. She would only grow more beautiful as she aged by my side. I saw her helping out with the pack, acting like an amazing luna. I had seen her with children before, and I knew she would do a wonderful job taking care of the pack. I would be stronger with her by my side.

No. Wait.

She wouldn't be the luna, because I wasn't going to be the alpha. I paused in the middle of changing when I realized where my thoughts had been going. I hadn't thought much about being the alpha for a while-not since my parents agreed to consider Remy as the future pack leader. It had felt like such a relief at the time. All of the pressure had been lifted from my shoulders. I was relieved and excited for the freedom my future held.

But after being forced away from the pack, I realized just how much I cared about it. I missed running training sessions, talking to the warriors, and knowing that the pack was okay. It was part of my blood, and now that I didn't feel obligated to take over the pack, it didn't feel suffocating. Part of me kind of liked the idea of being the future alpha.

But there was Remy. She had always wanted to be the leader, and I didn't want to take that away from her. Maybe there would be a way for us to co-lead the pack, but that was a discussion for another day.

After I finished changing, I kissed Harper softly on the cheek and started heading down stairs. I wanted to prepare something special for Harper for when she woke up. She wasn't getting a party like most werewolves did on their eighteenth birthdays. All parties were suspended while the vampires were lurking around our borders. It was too dangerous to let our guard down, even for just a few hours, but that didn't mean I couldn't make Harper's birthday special.

I just had to figure out exactly what I could do that would make it more special than a normal day that didn't put her in an unnecessary danger. French toast was a good start to a special day.

When I entered the kitchen, I was surprised to see my father there already. He was at the coffee pot, brewing a fresh pot.

He turned when he heard me enter. "You're up early."

The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than usual. "Did you get any sleep at all?" I asked.

The coffee finished brewing, and he turned to pour himself some coffee. "Not much, and any I did get was hunched over the hospital bed."

"Has she woken up yet?" I asked. I had checked on my mom before bed. Her vitals had been stable, and Doctor Zayla was confident she would be awake today no problem, especially with her wolf healing abilities.

"She woke up for about an hour last night," he said. He grabbed some creamer and added it to his coffee. "I didn't want to wake you and Remy, since it was late, and we had a long and stressful day. She was asking about you, too, though. Doctor Zayla wants her to stay under surveillance for today and tomorrow at least, since it was a head injury, but I'm sure she would appreciate you visiting her today."

"I will definitely stop by later. I'm glad she's doing okay though. Why didn't you get some proper sleep after she woke up?" Sleeping hunched over a bed sounded pretty terrible.

My father turned and leaned against the counter. "Would you have slept in your own bed if it was Harper in the hospital?"

"No." There was no hesitation in my voice, and suddenly I understood the dark circles under his eyes better. Of course, I wouldn't leave Harper's side if she was unconscious with a head injury. I would have been completely paranoid, even if she had woken up briefly. "I'm surprised you're not with her still," I commented after thinking about the panic and stress I would feel if my mate was in that situation.

"Unfortunately, being the alpha means I can't shirk my responsibilities, especially since we have been gone for several days. I need to catch up on the status of the pack. Reyland and Mason want me to go on a patrol with them to check out the borders and get an idea of what the vampires are doing. I need to look over emails from other packs to see if they are willing to help with the vampires. I need to go over strategies for what to do if the vampires decide to suddenly attack-or the Council of Magic for that matter. I need to figure out if there is a traitor among us." My father listed all of this so casually that I almost missed what he said about a traitor.

"Wait, what do you mean a traitor?" This seemed to come out of left field.

He looked around the room and frowned. He created a private link with me to keep our conversation as private as possible. "The attack from the vampires yesterday was too organized. They were ready for us. They knew what direction we would be coming from, and they were prepared with a number of vampires that should have overwhelmed us. Mason and Reyland agree that there is something suspicious about it, and there are only a few possibilities I can think of for how they knew this information, and none of it is good." I looked around the room. We were the only ones currently in the kitchen, but if there was a traitor in the pack, I understood the need for an extra level of precaution. Anyone could have been listening to us nearby, especially with enhanced werewolf hearing. "You think someone in the pack told the vampires we were coming back yesterday?" I linked back.

"That's my theory at least. Until we know for sure, we need to be more cautious with who we share sensitive information with."

I nodded my head, understanding the importance of the situation. I couldn't imagine anyone in the pack actually putting us in danger knowingly. My parents were an amazing alpha and luna, and everyone I knew loved them, even if they didn't always agree with them. However, my dad had a point. Yesterday, the vampires had been too organized. They knew too much, but I still had a hard time believing someone would purposely give the information out. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe the vampires had found a way to infiltrate us, but we had to be careful about making assumptions.

"It's Harper's birthday today, isn't it?" my father asked, breaking the link connection.

"Yeah, it is. She's still sleeping, but I couldn't stay in bed any longer," I said. I was supposed to be making french toast, but it was probably still too early for that. It was only 4:00am after all.

"Just make sure you treat her right today," he said. I was afraid he was going to go into more detail, but thankfully he didn't say anything else.

"I will." I wanted to treat Harper like she deserved the entire world today, because in my opinion, she did deserve the entire world. I wanted to make sure she knew just how much she mattered to me.

"Hey, if you want to stay with Mom a little longer, I can go on the patrol with Mason and Reyland," I offered. "I'm sure you need some sleep anyway. You'll be more useful to the pack if your head is clear." My father raised an eyebrow at me. "What about Harper? Don't you want to be here when she wakes up?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I did want to be with Harper, but I knew I had some time to kill before she woke up, and I didn't want to be the kind of werewolf that ignored everything for my mate. "She won't be up for at least three more hours, and I want to help out with the pack. I want to make sure everyone here is as safe as possible."

"That would be great. That would definitely help lighten my load." He walked over to me and patted me on the shoulder. "I'm really proud of you, Caulder." There was a look in his eyes that told me he already knew how I was feeling about being the future. I didn't know how he did it, but he always seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. Maybe that was part of being an alpha, or maybe it was because I took after him more than I realized.

I looked like my mother, while Remy looked like our father, but when it came to personalities, I wasn't so sure we matched the parent we looked like.

"Can I go with them, too?" Blade asked. He was standing in the doorway, watching the two of us.

"There's a lot of us up early," my father noted. He glanced at me, and I already knew what he was thinking.

"He's not a traitor," I quickly linked. I trusted Blade more than I trusted a lot of people in our pack. He repeatedly risked his life for Remy, so I couldn't imagine him actively putting her in danger. He was willing to fight his own brother to protect Remy. I would have bet my life that Blade wasn't the one leaking information, if there was someone leaking information.

"I don't sleep much," Blade said. His eyes flicked between the two of us, and I was sure he caught the odd glance between my father and me.