“Thank you for meeting with me.” Rae stood outside her door with Caleb. She’d asked him to come by so they could discuss a few things that had been bothering her.
“It’s no problem, but I only have a few minutes, gotta go pick up Calli soon. What did you want to know?”
He was such a strange man. Rae studied him. She didn’t envy Kaylynn at all. She was all sweetness where Caleb was bitter and domineering. How did that relationship even work?
“I wanted to know more about the mating thing that happened between Connor and me.”
“I see. How is my brother doing these days?”
She shrugged. “He’s okay. He’s become a bit restless though. Skin feels itchy, he’s jumpy and gets irritated a lot. We think he just needs to Change.”
“He hasn’t yet?” Caleb’s features remained neutral, but his voice sounded incredulous.
Just can’t wait to make him like you, can you? She bristled. “No. He hasn’t. But I’m sure he’ll come to you soon enough.”
He said nothing, just waited for her to continue. Sighing, Rae looked towards the closed front door. “Would you like to come in?”
“No.”
“Okay, fine!”
They stood there for a while, saying nothing and just as she was about to tell him to forget it, he asked, “You had a question for me about the mating ritual?”
She was angry now and didn’t feel like talking to him anymore, but he had come all this way. “That stuff that you made me do; how did you know?”
“Rebecca told me. Calli and I had to go through that.” He said that with sadness in his voice. He and Kaylynn were together now, but had something gone wrong?
“Didn’t it work for you?”
Caleb stared at her, like he was debating saying something. “It was a traumatizing experience for her. Something I wish she hadn’t had to go through.”
“Couldn’t you have done it some other way?”
“There is no other way,” he said shortly.
Rae was sorry she’d asked and said as much. Caleb just shrugged but didn’t say anything. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it. “So Rebecca helped you?”
“It’s what she was there for. Although it was the first time she’d ever had to tell one us what to do. My side of the family has never had much luck with women.”
That was an understatement. Before Kaylynn and Caleb, the London family were basically sending their eldest sons to exile. “So what happens now?”
“Nothing. You love him, accept him for who and what he is. End of story.”
Author’s Note: I’ve been posting these little one off conversations for two reasons: 1. They are important to the story and 2. Since I’m still having trouble with writing Anthony’s story, I want to give you something to read while we wait. These last two extra scenes were supposed to be hidden, but I decided, what the hey!
ETA: This conversation happens about 6 months to a year after the Witch’s Moon in Rae’s story.
The Torres Legacy 
Is there text for the brothers one? I only see the picture there. Tidbits are better than no story, but I am hoping for a writer’s break-through for you and a story for Anthony before too long.
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No text, that image is actually in Chapter 1 of Anthony’s story. I guess I could give you that scene, or a bit of it.
hmmm…
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Rae still has a lot of animosity towards Caleb, doesn’t she? She thinks Caleb is bitter and domineering even with Calli? That’s so far from the truth. It shows that Rae hasn’t given Caleb a chance to show more than one side of himself. I think if the four of them spent more time together and Connor and Rae gave Caleb a chance, they’d probably end up getting along. Who knows.
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I guess I should clarify the timing of this scene. This is maybe 6 months to a year after the witch moon in Rae’s story. So the children are still very young.
That being said, her opinion of Caleb has not changed much. Connor and Dre, however, have an amazing relationship with him, although they are not bound to him, because they are not pack, he’s pretty much their alpha. Anthony and to a smaller degree, Eva, also have a good relationship with him and his family. Caleb and Calli are very close to them. I think because Rae is away so much, they’ve all gotten a chance to bond except for her.
Calli would tell you that Rae is a work-in-progress, Caleb would say she’s a stubborn woman, and Eva would have some choice words for her mother as well. But Tony and Dre would have nothing bad to say about Rae, although they might comment on her absence.
And Connor…well, it’s complicated.
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Thanks for that. I can get confused when we keep switching storylines and especially when we travel backwards & forwards in time. I must be a linear thinker. 😉
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It’s confusing for me too, I’m constantly counting out the years to make sure my stories line up. I’m regretting this a little now. But, I shall persevere!
My goal is to get Anthony started by Monday.
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Rae’s opinion of Caleb has certainly been a roller-coaster…that’s family for you though.
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