Tears of the Fallen Ch. 01

She nodded her agreement though she wasn't thrilled they would be going. It was necessary though, so they knew what they were dealing with. Testing her link with Caleb, she found it still closed. "Do you think Caleb is right, that I've changed so much that Anakatrine will take over for good?"

Gard stopped walking, frowning at the question. He chose his words carefully. Despite being livid with Caleb, he respected him as his King, and loved him as his Sire. "I can never be sorry to see Anakatrine. For so long she was the only thing in my life, mine to protect and love like the very air I breathed. I knew her better than Callain ever did, and I know that while there may be times she's required, she knows this is your life, Annie.

He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "She only wants to help you when things become too difficult for your compassionate nature. The problem isn't with Anakatrine, it's with Caleb and Callain. You were right when you accused him of lacking balance. Caleb is such a strong personality he's afraid Callain will become the dominant part and he's projecting that onto you. When he learns to listen to his past self and see that Callain doesn't want to take over, he will find balance and be able to understand the same applies with you."

"How long do you think that will take?" Rhianna's words broke off in a wave of misery.

Gard gathered her to his side, keeping his eyes firmly ahead. "Soon, Annie. I have never seen any two people more suited to be with one other. You've crossed millennia to attain that end. Caleb just needs a little more time."

*****

Caleb stared at the door as Rhianna and Gard vanished from sight. The rage within burned brightly and he couldn't find a way to dampen it down enough to be concerned that his mate was drifting further and further away. He knew the concern was there, it had surfaced enough that he'd pushed at Gard to keep Rhianna safe, however, the emotion was lacking. Any emotion other than fury was lacking.

Around him, he could hear the pack moving quietly, starting to come out of the shock of what they'd witnessed. Thereasa was silent, Liam's low voice whispering to the human. His antipathy towards the woman was still strong but how could he execute her now? She wasn't a vampire anymore and killing humans was frowned upon. If he continued to try to push for justice, Gard's words would come true, and there would be civil war and she would have won.

Rafe moved to Liam. "Take her to my Jeep. We'll be there shortly." His gaze turned to Caleb, waiting to see what his reaction would be. He'd promised Annie he would keep the woman safe. He meant to keep that promise.

Their eyes connected and a long moment passed before the vampire gave a slight nod. The Alpha managed to contain his sigh of relief. It would appear they were not about to go to war with the vampires today. He deemed it prudent to get his people back to the pack as soon as possible. "We're going home."

The Vârcolac appeared to move as one, all coming to flank Liam as he rose gracefully for one of his huge size, Thereasa cradled tenderly in his arms. The woman was limp though conscious, her eyes glazed as if in another place. She put up no struggle being in Liam's arms, lying against his wide chest as if resting against an immovable object.

"If you hear from Annie...?" Rafe let his words trail off.

"I'll let you know." Caleb turned away from him, ignoring the Weres as they left the house. His thoughts were now firmly centred on how to minimise the damage of what had happened. He knew the Weres would remain silent but there were many vampires present today. Demetri and Mara could be trusted, but there were younger Praetorians affected by Liam's loss of control.

Demetri watched his friend with narrowed eyes. He was concerned for Caleb, concerned what this rift with Rhianna would mean for him, not only personally, but also for the rest of their people. If Caleb didn't get a resolution soon, who knew what would happen. "Mara, can you give us a moment?"

It was clear his mate wasn't happy about the prospect but she nodded and brushed her lips against his briefly. "Don't be doing anything stupid now. I like that head firmly where it is."

Her response was enough to bring a smile to his face, and he deepened their kiss, his body naturally reacting to her pull. "Would I be stupid?" he laughed, giving Mara a reassuring hug before releasing her reluctantly. "I won't be long."

Demetri waited until she had left before his glacial gaze rounded on his friend.

Caleb could see the fury in Demetri's eyes, but wasn't willing to hear what he had to say. Holding up a hand, he halted his friend's words before they could leave his mouth. "Don't think about going there."

The expression of disbelief that crossed the other man's face was almost comical. "You really think that's going to work on me after all these years, Caleb? It might work on others but never me; we've come too far for that. What the fuck is going on here? What's all this crap with Annie? How could you just let her go off with Gard like that? If the Council finds out what happened here today, you know her life will be in danger. "

"Of course, I know that!" Caleb hissed, his eyes glowing amber in his fury. "I have to get this fucking nightmare nailed down tight before they find out about it. Protecting Annie at the same time will only distract me and I can't have that right now. She'll be safer with Gard for the moment."

"And then what?" Demetri persisted, his own fear for Annie making him feel helpless, which in turn, pissed him off. "The way you're treating her is wrong, Caleb. Of all of us, you and Annie are the heart of all that is right with the changes happening to our people. If you break...not just you, but Anakatrine and Callain too, where does that leave the rest of us? Everything that has happened the last quarter of a century, you pushed us into it kicking and screaming for our own good. Are you going to throw all that away?"

Demetri's words broke the fragile control he still possessed. Caleb spun around, picked up a chair and tossed it across the room to crash into the fireplace. He let out a loud roar, his fury finally erupting, as he picked up another and it joined the broken pieces in a pile. How could she do this to him? How could she defy him, and throw everything they had away? Rhianna was the other half of his soul. She made him who he was, tempered the monster within, soothed the beast on the rare moments he surfaced. Now she was gone and the monster ruled because the man couldn't face the fact that he may have just lost the most precious thing in his life. The rage within was everything, blinding hot fury flowing like molten lava in his veins.

Caleb gave vent to his fury, his talons shredding fabric as he systematically took the room apart. He wasn't aware that he was crying as he carved chunks out of the wall with a broken lamp. He wasn't aware of the animal sounds issuing from his throat as he wreaked havoc. All he was aware of was that his Annie was gone and he didn't know where she was.

He had let her go, left her protection to another. He had let Gard just walk away with his mate and did nothing to stop it! If anything happened to Annie...he couldn't finish the thought. If he tried to, he was afraid of what may happen.

"Temper tantrum over?" Demetri's coldly amused words seeped into his brain and he came to his senses, surveying the carnage in the room. The living room was like a war zone. There wasn't one piece of furniture intact and half of the wall at the fireplace was full of holes. Mac was going to be pissed. Thankfully, none of the Praetorians had ventured in to see what was going on. He may have hurt them if they had.

Turning, he saw his friend leaning casually against the doorway, well out of harm's way. His body language was nonchalant though he knew Demetri was alert underneath, ready to move if he were to lose it completely and attack him.

Taking a deep breath, Caleb reined in his feral side. It was difficult but he managed it eventually. It was as if allowing his vampiric side to work out some of the rage had permitted some reason to return.

As he slowly calmed down, he felt the weight of sorrow he'd been hiding from. He ached inside, wanted Rhianna to be close, and missed her terribly. However, he knew they needed some space; that he needed to work through all the emotions he was suppressing before that could happen. He needed to find some balance and the best way to do that was to work on protecting his mate first from the Council, and to deal with the aftermath of events later when he was calmer. Taking control of situations always helped to balance him.

"We need to keep this quiet, Demetri."

His friend relaxed, standing up straight as relief flowed through him. The coldness was dispelling from Caleb's expression, a hint of normalcy returning. For a while, he'd been concerned that Caleb would cross over completely and he'd have to intervene. However, it appeared his friend had pulled himself back from the brink. "The Praetorians won't talk. I'm fairly certain of that. Mac and Karn will be able to contain any potential issues here. "

He crossed the room to stand before the other Ancient, stepping over the broken furniture. "Annie?"

Caleb sighed, running a hand wearily through his hair. "We'll work through this somehow. She's my world, Demetri. I can't be without her, but I just can't be with her right now. I know you don't understand that. Hell, I can't understand it myself. I long for her and yet when she's here I want to throttle her. Not Annie, but Anakatrine, if that makes any sense?"

His friend rolled his eyes, exasperation written across his face. "No it doesn't, because they're the same person in my eyes. You're the only one who seems intent on making the distinction, my friend. When you can see that...maybe, you'll come to your senses and end this foolishness. I only hope there will be something to salvage by the time you get there."

Content that disaster had been averted for now, Demetri spun on his heels and headed out to find Mara. He was concerned for Caleb but also angry with him. The heart of the vampire nation was missing, and only Caleb could return it to them. Now if he would only stop pissing about and get on with it.

Caleb scrubbed his face tiredly, following Demetri from the ruined room to get started on damage control. He knew his friend was frustrated with him. He could understand it but he couldn't bring himself to go looking for Rhianna yet. He wasn't sure he had enough control to react rationally at the moment, but soon. Being apart from his Annie was not going to be easy, for either of them. The sooner things could be fixed; the better it would be for everyone. He only hoped there was something left to fix when he did finally go looking for her.

To be continued...