Mated To An Enemy

It took a few minutes to calm themselves. There were more apologies and tears, but soon enough, Fiona and Ashleigh had pulled themselves together, both feeling that the first steps of mending their relationship had been taken.

Caleb stepped forward between them, putting an arm around each of them as they looked at the house together.

“You said it wasn’t finished, but it looks pretty finished to me,” Caleb remarked.

“Well,” Fiona said, “As I said, the main structure was finished two years ago, including the plumbing and most electrical work. Most of what was left to do was in the garage and then cosmetic touches. I’ve had a team working on it in the past few days, but it will still take another week or two before it’s move-in ready. I had to add a few new upgrades.”

Caleb raised his brow with curious delight.

“Upgrades?” he asked.

Fiona smiled.

“The first floor was originally meant to just be a garage. Of course, it would only be able to hold an ATV or bike since the path up here isn’t large enough for a car. It bothered me with the first design, but I wasn’t sure how to change it until I talked to Landon and Alice about it a few days ago.”

Caleb and Ashleigh exchanged curious looks.

“So now,” Fiona continued, “the first floor will be comprised of a training gym and sparring room, as well as a monitoring station linked with the whole of Summer and restricted access to Alice’s network.”

Ashleigh’s eyes widened.

“She’s giving us access to her network?” she asked.

“Restricted access,” Fiona repeated.

“That’s still… wow,” Ashleigh replied, sighing in disbelief.

“I don’t know what all that gives us access to,” Caleb said, “but knowing Alice and seeing Ashleigh’s reaction, I’m guessing that’s a pretty big deal.”

“Landon was, not very subtly, envious of the upgrade,” Fiona grinned.

Caleb chuckled.

“I doubt that this was purely a gesture of goodwill,” he said, “I’m sure Alice has a reason she’s allowing us access.”

“No doubt,” Ashleigh smiled.

Caleb couldn’t help but smile at Ashleigh’s reaction. For him, it wasn’t long ago that even mentioning Alice’s name would send Ashleigh into a frenzy of anger and suspicion. It was nice to see that Ashleigh had made peace with her sister-in-law.

“The top floor is clearly what remains of the treehouse,” Ashleigh said, “what about the second floor?”

“The kitchen wall expansion of the treehouse couldn’t be salvaged with the new designs, so the second floor is designed as a standard apartment. The living room, kitchen, and dining room are all on an open floor plan, and that’s where we see those three large windows. And then in the back is a utility room, bedroom, and bathroom.”

“That’s amazing…” Ashleigh smiled.

Before Caleb disappeared, so much had happened that they had very little time to think about the future. She had never even considered a house.

They had shared his room in the city's center and the treehouse outside. Both spaces were suitable for only two people. They would have needed more space if they had planned to have a family.

“The third floor, as you know, is what I was able to salvage from the treehouse,” Fiona said. “I’ll be honest, it’s not the same.”

Caleb and Ashleigh looked up at the top floor.

“The inside of the house looks a little rough right now, like I said, a week or two before it’s ready, but the top floor is safe to view. It might be better to take you up rather than explain the differences.”

Caleb and Ashleigh looked at each other, recognizing their nervous excitement. They laughed.

“Let’s go,” Caleb said with a grin.

The stairs led into the wide living room on the top floor. Both Caleb and Ashleigh immediately recognized the wide window they used to stare out. They were higher now than they had been in the tree. The city, the forest, the hills, and even the lake in the distance were all viewable from this vantage point.

Looking out the window, though the view was different, the feeling was familiar. Caleb took a deep breath, letting it back out as though he could relax in a way he hadn’t been able this whole time.

“As you can see,” Fiona called out from the top of the stairs, “the living room was left pretty much the same, but now the bedroom is its own room.”

Fiona pointed toward a door on her left. Caleb looked over, remembering where the bed had been, now surrounded by walls.

“The bathroom is in there as well,” Ashleigh commented.

“Yes,” Fiona said. “Master bedroom, master bath. It was upgraded a bit as well.”

“What are those?” Caleb asked, pointing across the room to two doors.

One was where the kitchen extension had previously been integrated. The other was a few feet down where Caleb’s desk and computer had once been set up.

“That one is an office,” Fiona replied, pointing to the farthest door, “and this one is another bedroom.”

“You built onto the original structure,” he said.

“Of course, dear,” Fiona smiled, “before we were limited by the tree, but this a proper home now.”

Caleb smiled and nodded.

“It is that,” he said, looking at his mother affectionately. “Thank you.”

Fiona felt her heart swell with emotion. She swallowed it down and took a deep breath.

“The rooms aren’t furnished just yet,” she said, “but there is one more thing I would like to show you.”

She opened the office door and stepped inside, with Caleb and Ashleigh following close behind. The room was empty except for an old bookshelf. It was worn, and there were signs of fire damage, but its shelves were filled with what appeared to be leatherbound books.

Fiona approached the bookshelf and looked at the books affectionately before she reached out. As her fingers pressed against the spine of one of the books, she let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

“This bookshelf was the only thing that survived the lab's destruction,” she whispered.

Caleb furrowed his brows, and his eyes widened as he realized what she meant. He moved beside her, looking down at the books he now recognized as old journals. He hesitantly reached his hand out to touch one of them.

“I think,” she continued softly, “he would have wanted you to have them.”

As Caleb’s finger grazed the spine of his father’s journal, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes.

The remains of the treehouse, the last of his father’s journals and bookshelf. His family's legacy had been built into the bones of this house.

“Thank you,” he whispered, reaching out and squeezing his mother’s hand gently. “Thank you so much.”

Fiona felt the weight she had long carried in her chest begin to ease as she held her son’s hand. These journals were the last of Cain’s possessions. She had held onto them all these years, desperate to keep him and Caleb with her.

But now, she felt like she could finally let them go. She knew that Caleb could appreciate them without being bound by them.

“Caleb,” Fiona whispered.

He turned and looked at her.

Fiona smiled and touched his cheek.

“You are no longer the Alpha of Summer,” Fiona said softly, “and you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I do not intend to force or influence you to do anything.

"I just wanted to make sure that you and Ashleigh knew that no matter where you go or how long you are gone, you always have a home to come back to.”