"You can't keep me locked up in here!" Caleb beat his fist against the door in frustration. "I want to see my pup."
The beta who had led him to the room-no, cell-walked away without a backwards glance. Caleb let his head rest on the cold metal of the door. He needed to be with his pup. It wasn't a matter of wanting to be with him, he needed to.
No one would even answer his basic questions. Was the pup okay? Who was taking care of him? Was he eating good? Caleb hadn't nursed in so long that his chest was aching from the building pressure and worse yet, he was starting to leak. The least they could do was allow him to pump. At least then he could be sure his pup was getting his milk. He cringed at the thought of feeding him formula. He didn't even know if the pup would accept human formula. That thought had Caleb worried more than anything.
He couldn't understand how these people could be so cruel. It was unreal. If he didn't get to see his pup soon he was going to go mad.
Caleb pushed himself away from the door and walked to the small cot in the corner of the room. His previous room was more accommodating. At least it had a more comfortable bed. It hadn't taken him long to realize that he was sitting in a holding cell. It had the same drab, grey, color scheme as the interrogation room. The only window was a frosted glass window in the door, about the size of a 13 inch computer screen.
He sighed as he seated himself on the thin mattress. This was not how he'd imagined his time in Black River beginning. By now he and Rhys should have been moved into a small cottage with their child. Rhys family would have been coming round to check on them and, of course, to see the new addition to the family.
Caleb laid back, folding his arms behind his head. He didn't even know if Rhys had family other than his brother, Quinton. He'd never spoke of anyone else. It occurred to him suddenly, and a bit sadly, that he really didn't know much about Rhys past. He always thought he'd have more time to get to know his mate, once they weren't running from Silver Moon anymore.
He'd imagined a nice, quiet, peaceful life with Rhys and many more children in the future. Caleb had always wanted a big family. He just had never wanted to raise them in Silver Moon. The way that Rhys had spoken of Black River though, it seemed the perfect place to raise a family. Now though, he was starting to wonder if he'd even ever see his pup again.
He closed his eyes and tried to bring up a mental picture of his pup. His time with him had been so brief. He should have paid more attention to his tiny features and those huge, blue, eyes that were so much like his fathers. The pup was definitely Rhys son. Anyone who denied that was a fool. He had Rhys dark hair and fair skin. Even his features reminded Caleb of Rhys.
"Hold on to that memory." Caleb whispered to himself. "It may be all you have left."
***
Quinton stood outside the door to holding cell number four and peered through the frosted glass to the omega inside. He could just barely make out the boys small frame curled up on the cot. He reached for the door handle, but then pulled his hand back. He was still so angry at the kid that he wasn't sure he could trust himself to enter the room alone. Part of him wanted to just sit and talk to the omega but another part of him wanted to choke the life out of him.
Quinton recalled the look on Malcolm's face when he told him the omega had been moved from the clinic to one of the holding cells on the lower level.
"It isn't right." Malcolm had said, his mouth curved into an angry sneer. "The boy isn't a criminal. For Gods sake Quin, he came to us for help."
"Until I can figure out what his secret is, I can't trust him to be around other pack members. It's for their safety."
That seemed a good enough excuse to get Malcolm off his back. The gamma just threw his arms up and walked away, knowing that it pointless to argue with Quinton when he was like this. He had his mind made up and there was no way he would back down now.
It wasn't a complete fabrication. He was worried about the rest of the pack though, he some how knew the omega wasn't really a danger to anyone. At least not physically. But he also didn't trust the omega not to run off, probably back to his pack, though that seemed unlikely as well. At least, if Hollister was correct about Caleb being scared of his Alpha, the chances of him running were slim to none. Where else would he go?
Mostly though, Quinton just wanted the boy to suffer. He wanted him to know the kind of pain that Quinton was feeling right now. The pain of loss. Rhys was his brother, but Quinton had practically raised him after their parents had died. Losing him was worse than just losing a sibling, it was like losing his son. Separating the omega from his pup was the only way that Quinton could think of to revisit that pain onto Caleb.
Unfortunately, seeing the omega suffer didn't have the desired effect. Instead of feeling better, Quinton felt worse. The pain never subsided and the anger he felt continued to fester within him, but was Caleb really to blame? Was it possible that he was just a victim in all this? Quinton couldn't know the answer to that until he'd figured out Caleb's role in all this and that wouldn't happen until Quinton could get the kid to start telling him the truth.
He could do this. He just had to go in there and talk to him. Talk to him without jumping to conclusions or accusing him of anything. He needed the kid to trust him but how to do that, he had no clue.
With a heavy sigh, Quinton steeled his nerves, then pushed the door open.
Caleb looked up with a start when the door opened. A flood of light from the hall spilled into the darkened room, illuminating the hulking figure that stood in the doorway. At first, Caleb was frightened. He had no idea who had just entered his cell or what their purpose was but then, as his eyes adjusted, he realized that he was staring at Quinton Hallorann, Black River's Alpha. Fear melted away only to be replaced by anger.
Caleb sat up, his fists clenched at his side as he narrowed his eyes. "You." He hissed under his breath. His eyes clouded with tears as he began to shake. "How can you do this to me? Have you no heart at all?"
Quinton let out a breath as he switched on the light then moved further into the room. "And what exactly did I do to you? Don't you like your new accommodations?" He smiled, smugly, then pulled a chair up to the cot and sat down. "I'm sure even this cell is nicer than anything you had at Silver Moon."
"I don't give a shit about the room." Caleb yelled. "Lock me in a dungeon for all I care, just don't keep me from my pup!"
"Your pup is fine." Quinton had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. Omega's really were too emotional. "Anyway, I didn't come here to get into a screaming match with you. I came here to get some answers."
Caleb threw his arms up in desperation. "You're a broken record, you know that? Answers to what? I've already told you everything I know. You keep thinking I'm involved in some huge conspiracy but I'm not. What I told you was the truth. Rhys and I..."
"Yeah, yeah. You're a broken record too. You and Rhys came here for help. You ran away from your pack and Rhys saved you from the big bad wolf." He gave a soft chuckle at that but clearly, from the look in Caleb's eyes, the omega didn't find the comment as amusing as Quinton obviously did.
