A Love that Lasts Forever Ch. 06

"I understand. Trust me I do. When Rhys wanted to go off on his own, I was furious. Things were said that I'll regret for the rest of my life. I thought he would better serve his pack here, working beside me, but then I realized that I was just holding on to tight. I needed to let him carve his own place in the world. Maybe if I'd put my foot down and said no to the bounty hunter thing he'd still be with us. But he would have been miserable."

Quinton inhaled deeply, pushing his emotions down in hopes that Zev wouldn't see how bad he was suffering. "I'm not kicking myself over the choices I made. Despite what happened. Because in the end, Rhys knew what he was doing. Hell, he was doing what I'd taught him to do. Protect the weak. Fight for what's right.

I know your father just wanted what he thought was best for you. It's hard to let go of someone that you've worked your entire life to guide and protect.

Don't take his silence as nonacceptance. I don't know him as well as you but I imagine he's just as stubborn."

Zev snorted a laugh. "Sometimes more stubborn than me."

"Well, that says a lot." Quinton grinned. "Look, I'll never force you to do something you don't want to do. I'll take someone else if that's what you really want, though I do think you're the best choice. But, if you're not wanting to face your father because you think he's going to look down on you for your choices then the best thing you can do is stand before him and show him that he was wrong.

Show him the man you've become. You're not only a beloved member of our pack but you hold a position of authority. A highly respected position. You're second only to me. That alone should earn you some brownie points."

"It should have been Rhys." Zev turned his eyes to the floor. An air of silence hung between them for a moment.

"Rhys made his choice. And I respected it. I'd have loved to have had him as my second but it wasn't the path he was meant to follow. This path was, however, meant for you. Rhys even told me once that the only other man besides me he trusted with his life was you. He was glad when you stepped up as head of security."

Zev sat back, considering what Quinton had said. Rhys had always remained a member of Black River, but his job kept him away for days, weeks, even months at a time. He checked in often but when he was on a stake out there would sometimes be weeks of silence. He knew he always had a home in Black River though, whenever he wanted or needed it. Had Rhys stayed and taken a position within the pack then he would have been the logical choice for the head of security and Quinton's second in command.

With Quinton having no children, Rhys would also have been next in line to become Alpha. He'd given that all up though to pursue his dream. Zev respected that about him. He was even inspired by Rhys. Zev never wanted to work for the DSA, under the ever watchful eye of the shifter council. He certainly wasn't some bureaucratic fat cat, sitting on his ass all day getting rich while so many packs were suffering.

When had shifter society become so damn political anyway? He blamed human influence, and the need for so many to prove their own self worth that they've forgotten the true meaning of being in a pack. Survival yes, but also compassion, acceptance, and brother hood. The strong protected the weak and all pack, not just the higher ups, were sheltered and provided for. Silver Moon seemed to have forgotten that as well, as it was ran as more of a slave camp than an actual pack.

Seth Bowden and his family lived off the forced labor of others, taking everything for themselves and giving back very little in return, and did the council every step in and attempt to change things? Hell no. Bowden probably paid them to keep their noses out of his business. That wasn't a pack. It was a joke. And it was a damn shame that the council, who had been formed to protect shifters, cared more about money and image than actually doing their damn jobs. Zev could never be a part of that and he'd told his father as much.

"Just out of curiosity." He looked up at Quinton now, gauging the Alpha's expression carefully. "Who was it that you had in mind to take with you, other than me?"

Quinton shrugged. "There's Eli, or Morgan I suppose. Morgan being my first choice. Eli is to quick to anger. I need someone with a bit more self-control."

"Morgan?" Zev groaned. "Morgan's a good guy but..."

"Too much of a push over?"

Zev nodded. "He's more observe and report. I usually have him doing perimeter runs but he's not great in confrontations."

Quinton chuckled. "Yeah, in a fight I could see him trying to get us all to sit down and discuss it over tea and cookies. Honestly, sometimes I think he seems more like an omega rather than a beta."

"I've thought that myself." Zev snickered. "But, he's honest and loyal, so I keep him around. Plus, when he's on duty, the security office is always clean and there's usually donuts and fresh coffee."

"That guy needs a mate." Quinton snorted a laugh. "He was way too much time on his hands."

"He's not the only one." Zev gave Quinton a pointed stare.

Quinton rolled his eyes. "Don't start. I'm perfectly happy being single."

"Yeah, when's the last time you got laid?"

Quinton cocked an eyebrow. "There are more important things to worry about than getting laid."

Zev smirked. "No. There aren't. Not really. I can't function in the morning with out coffee and a blow job."

"Keep that between you and Rusty." Quinton shook his head. "It's not really a visual I need right now."

Zev let loose with a loud, long, belly laugh. "You, Sir, are way too repressed. Go find yourself a cute little omega and blow off some steam. Or better yet, let him blow you off."

"Get out of my office." Quinton said with a smirk. "This meeting is adjourned."

Zev stood up, still laughing. "I'll give your request some serious thought. No promises though. I still don't like the idea of seeing my pops again, but if it helps out our new omega, well...we'll see."

"Thanks, man. I owe you."

"Oh, and I'll collect. Consider yourself elected for babysitting duty in the near future. Rusty and I have been needing a date night. No pups allowed."

"Now that's just bad parenting. I can't even keep plants alive. You gonna trust me with your child?"

Zev winked. "You need the practice. You're an uncle now and don't think for one second you're not going to want to spoil the shit out of that little guy. Besides, with Rhys gone, he'll need a strong alpha in his life."

"He has Caleb."

"Caleb's an omega. It's not the same."

Quinton shrugged. "Babies don't like me. I can dote on him from afar."

"Yeah." Zev laughed. "You keep telling yourself that. I've seen the little booger. He's the spitting image of his father. If you think you can ignore that, you're sorely mistaken. Babies have a way of burrowing into our hearts and holding on for dear life. I never thought I'd make a good father, until Shay was born. But, the first time I held him, I was in love. I'd kill anyone who threatened my family. Little Rhylan may not be your pup but he's your blood. And I know what family means to you."

Zev exited the room before Quinton had a chance to argue. Not that he really had an argument anyway. Zev was right. Family was everything to Quinton. Rhys pup was blood and Quinton would do whatever he could to protect him, as well as Caleb. That's why he wanted Zev at his side when he went to speak to the council. Caleb's whole future rested on the outcome of that meeting so Quinton needed the shifter council to be in his corner, not Seth Bowden's.

He just needed to figure how to convince them that staying in Black River was in Caleb's best interest. But, would they even listen to him? Would they care? Those were the real concerns at hand. Seth would likely throw money at them. If he thought Caleb was worth it. Quinton was hoping that Seth would give up, not wanting to shell out more money than he already had on a shifter whom he deemed as little more than just property.

Quinton found it unlikely that Seth would be willing to just give up and go home now though. Not after everything he'd put into getting Caleb back. It wasn't just about Caleb now and the mystical abilities that he supposedly had. It was about principal. Rhys had taken something that belonged to Jace and by extension, to Seth.

Everything Quinton knew about Seth told him that the man just wasn't going to let that slide. Even if he did agree to let Caleb stay, it wouldn't be for free. So, now Quinton had something to decide. How much was Rhys widowed mate worth to Quinton? And, how much would he be willing to pay to keep him there?

***

What Caleb had expected Rusty's parent group to be and what it actually was were two very different things. The meeting was being held at the home of a female omega called Dana. She was in her early twenties, as most of them were, and had a short, blond, bob.

Dana welcomed Caleb to her home and then he was introduced to the rest of the group. There were two other females, Alice Owens and Leah Coffey, and three males: Timmy Skerrett, Ciaran Greene, and Evan Morrissey.

"Everyone." Rusty announced as he made his way around the room. "This is Caleb..." He stopped and looked at Caleb, questioningly. "I'm sorry, I don't know your last name. Are you using Hallorann?"

Caleb shook his head. "It's Giles. Rhys and I never officiated our mating. He'd planned to do that when we got here, before he..." Caleb looked down sadly, willing his tears away.

Rusty put an arm around him and smiled. "Caleb Giles." He finished the introduction. "The newest member to our group."

"Welcome to omegas gone wild." Dana held up a glass of wine and the entire group dissolved into laughter.

Twenty minutes later and Caleb was right at home in the group of other omegas. A couple of them he'd seen at the daycare but hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to them much. The rest were new and friendly faces that he quickly had grown accustomed too. They were all too sweet not to love.

The wine that Dana had been drinking was offered to any who wasn't still nursing. For those that were, they had their choice of sparkling grape juice, apple cider, decaf coffee, or tea. Caleb choose the tea. It was so good. Mint medley. More expensive than the plain black tea available at Silver Moon. Like everything else he'd experienced, he would savor the taste and lock the memory of it away so that he had something to help him remember his brief taste of freedom.

Caleb glanced down sadly into his half empty cup and sighed. The others who had, a moment before, been chatting happily about nap time rituals, quick and easy diner recipes, and hunky alphas on the security team stopped abruptly and looked over at Caleb, their expressions thick with concern.

"What's wrong?" rusty asked him.

Caleb shrugged. "Just thinking. Everything I've seen and experienced has all been so wonderful. Even the people I've met. You've all been so great. Now that I've had a taste of what life is like outside of Silver Moon, I have no idea how I'll ever be able to handle going back. I've changed so much in just a short amount of time. I know I won't be able to survive. Especially not without my pup." He sat his cup down, and wiped at his eyes with a shaky hand.

The quiet of the room was suddenly broken as all of the omegas present began to lament, in unison, their outrage over Caleb being forced to leave his pup behind and return to a pack that basically treated omegas like garbage. Caleb was a bit surprised that so many outside his birth pack knew so much about the place.

Apparently Silver Moon was widely ridiculed throughout many of the northern packs for their treatment of not only omegas but of lower class pack members as well. Other packs didn't like how Silver Moon catered to the rich and left the poor to live in squalor.

"There's no way." Rusty snapped. His face turning red with anger. "It won't happen. Quinton would never allow them to take you."

"My father sighed a mating contract." Caleb told him. "Before I even ran, he'd signed it. Legally, I belong to Jace Bowden."

"Well that's just horse shit!" Alice yelled, starling the others. "I mean, they can't do that, can they?"

"Technically, he's right." Timothy said, pushing his reading glasses up his nose as he addressed the group. Caleb found out quickly that Timothy was the brains of their operation. He was not only book smart but also logical and very perceptive. Most of the group would go to him for advice on one matter or another.

"Silver Moon does have a legal claim on him, but we have a moral one. As in, Black river, I mean. His pup is here and legally belongs to Black River. I don't think Silver Moon would stake a claim to the the pup anyway, and even the shifter Council knows not to separate a pup from it's bearer. I think our Alpha could use that to fuel his cause."

"But what if the council decides to side with Silver Moon?" Caleb looked worried. True that his pup would always have a home in Black River but he just couldn't imagine being taken from his and Rhys child. It would destroy him.

Timothy thought for a moment before answering. "Well, if Quinton challenged it, and he will, he could always claim mistreatment or failure to provide. You'd have to show proof though. A legitimate reason for why you ran, other than you just didn't like him."

Caleb leaned on his hand and scowled. "How about Jace telling his brother that he'd rather feed me to his pigs than take me as his mate?"

"That's a legitimate excuse to run." Timothy said. His eyes growing wide. "You feared for your life."

Caleb nodded. "And the life of any omega pups we might have had. He said he'd drown them."

"What an ass!" Dana yelled. Pouring herself another glass of wine. "Caleb is so not going back to that place. They'll have to get through us if they try to take him!" She was well on her way to being tipsy but that didn't stop the group from echoing her sentiments...loudly.

They was getting riled up and most were ready to fight. Caleb adored them. Never in his life had he witnessed such comradery on an omega's behalf.

"Claim asylum." Timothy said suddenly. "That's the best advice I can give. Go to Quinton as soon as you can and tell him you want to formally claim asylum at Black River. Because you're an omega, you won't be allowed to stand before the council yourself, but Quinton is now your temporary guardian since Rhys's death. He can make the claim on your behalf. Just tell him what you've told us and he can take it from there. The council will question Bowden, of course, but if they find that your fears have merit, they'll have no choice but to grant your request."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. It was a good plan, and with Silver Moons track record it wouldn't be hard to prove that Caleb was in literal danger if returned to his birth pack. Especially since he'd run away. There was no way that there were going to be no repercussions for his actions. He just hoped that the alphas sitting on the shifter council were as kind hearted and understanding as the ones in Black River seemed to be.

"It's Bull that Caleb can't stand up for himself." Alice said. She stood up to retrieve the pitcher of tea and refreshed the glass that were held out, waiting for her. "When are things going to change? We're pack members, like everyone else, yet we don't have the same rights. Does that not sit well with anyone else?"

"We have more rights here than most other packs but you're right." Timothy said, thanking her for refilling his glass. "Omegas are still viewed as non-persons and that needs to change. It's like we're all living in the middle-ages here."

"It's stupid." Ciaran was next to speak. "It's like they think just because we have a womb we lack brain cells."

"Human women were treated as badly." Leah chimed in. "They fought for equality so why can't we?"

"Shit yeah!" Rusty jumped up and pumped the air with his fist. "Let's fight it. We can rally all the omegas. Start protests and marches. We'll take it to the supreme courts!"

Timothy rolled his eyes. "Rusty, shifters don't have a supreme court. Now sit down before you hurt yourself."

"What about a tribunal or something then." Rusty argued as he sat back down and sipped the apple cider that Caleb was starting to think had fermented. "There has to be something higher than the council."

"Clan of Elders." Timothy answered with a dismissive shake of the hand. "But you only use them in extreme cases. They don't like to be disturbed."

"Well. I'm disturbed!" Rusty protested.

Timothy grinned. "You will be, if you bug the elders."

"I didn't think the Clan of Elders was even a real thing." Evan confessed. "I've always been told they were a kind of like a bedtime story. You know, a made up entity to keep other shifters in line."

"Oh, They're real." Timothy assured him. "I just don't know of anyone whose met one and actually lived to tell the tale."

***

As Caleb made his way back to the dorms he had a new sense of empowerment. Timothy's idea of claiming asylum was a sound plan. He'd speak to Quinton about it in the morning. Honestly, he was willing to do just about anything to stay in Black River with his pup. Going on the run again was still an option but he decided to push that to the far back of his mind and only consider it as a last resort.

He would never go back to Silver Moon. Never. No matter what happened in the days to come he knew, without a doubt, that no one was going to separate him from his pup. And, wolf God help them if they tried. He'd come too far just to lose him now. He'd fight Silver moon, and he'd win, one way or another. Failure just wasn't an option.