For the second ti in twenty four hours Caleb had no idea why he was suddenly being yelled at, but this ti he wasn’t prepared to simply let it go.
“What is your problem?!” he shouted back at her. “What the hell could I have possibly done to offend you, and apparently, your entire pack?”
Ashleigh scoffed at him once more.
“You mock my traditions like they are nothing!”
“They make no sense!” he shouted in frustration. “You are a warrior, I am trying to give you a weapon, a tool that fits your style of fighting. And you’re mad at because of so ridiculous tradition!”
“Ridiculous?!” she questioned angrily.
“Yes!” he called back.
“It is not ridiculous!” Ashleigh snarled. “It is a sacred promise to protect each other!”
Caleb snarled in frustration, swinging his arm, and knocking over a row of practice axes.
“Why does it matter?!” he scread, “you don’t consider a mate so why the hell does it matter if I give you a weapon?”
In his anger, he didn’t notice the pained expression on Ashleigh’s face.
“You already accepted the weapon he gave you; I know you don’t give a damn about !”
Caleb turned away from her in his fury, his chest heaving up and down, a sign of his own emotional struggle. Ashleigh felt a heavy gripping sensation around her heart.
“I… it… it’s not about that,” Ashleigh stuttered out..
She was struggling to keep her attention focused, fighting the urge to correct the inaccuracies he had in his mind.
“It’s about your disrespect of and my people! You think you are so much better than us!”
“What?” Caleb turned to her full of surprise.
“You and your pack have all this technology, all this security. You don’t struggle for anything!” she shouted. “Your borders are defended by electric fences and caras. While we have basic wooden fences and a quarter of our soldiers on rotating patrol twenty-four hours a day.
You can make weapons whenever you want, a process so easy you can walk into another room for ten minutes and co back with a new weapon! We have whole teams of people constantly making and repairing our weapons by hand!”
Ashleigh paused, staring at him angrily. She had been bothered the entire ti she was in Sumr, every new piece of technology felt like an insult to her.
Winter struggled with everything due to their harsh climate, even their food production was limited and difficult to predict. Their farms were mostly in the southern territories and often the first thing to be raided by rogue wolves or scavengers.
Farming in the northern territory was almost impossible due to the extre winds and blizzards, but hunting was best. There was an exchange between the two, but with the highest population of all the packs, it was still a struggle to keep everyone properly fed.
“Every pack has its struggles, Ashleigh,” Caleb replied. His voice wasn’t angry, it was neutral.
“It’s easy to say that when you have everything.” Ashleigh hissed.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You are a selfish bastard!” Ashleigh shouted.
“I’m selfish?” Caleb asked, neutrality leaving his voice. “How am I selfish?”
“Do you even know the kind of aid you could provide? The lives you could save with the stuff you throw into a storage room!” Ashleigh pointed at the closet filled with sh suits.
She thought back to the graves she had visited before coming to Sumr, the ones who hadn’t been as lucky as her. If they had access to the suits that Caleb selfishly hid away, they might have survived.
“Your dical facilities alone are beyond my wildest dreams; your training systems could change everything about the way the packs protect themselves. All of it is so every day for you. But for the rest of us? You have no idea,” she shook her head.
Caleb was quiet, she assud he was feeling sha. She wondered if she had gone too far, but it was too late to take it back.
He let out an exasperated sigh.
“I had no idea you thought so little of ,” he replied softly. “Please, if there is anything else. Don’t hold back.”
‘He doesn’t care at all.’ Ashleigh growled in her mind. ‘Even now he is mocking .’
“You arrogant prick!” she shouted.
“Selfish and arrogant. I am quite accomplished,” Caleb said with a sarcastic smile.
Ashleigh was getting angry again, but there was nothing left she wanted to say. She turned to try and leave the room.
“Are you done?” Caleb called after her. “Good. I have so questions for you now. In Winter do you have electricity? Lights, heat, anything that uses power?”
‘This bastard!’ Ashleigh growled internally.
“Answer the question,” he said, holding her gaze with no emotion showing.
“Yes!” Ashleigh shouted, “I told you we are no—”
“You had your turn to speak!” Caleb shouted, a slight vibration in his voice making it clear that he was serious. “Now it is my turn, you will only respond to my questions. Do you understand?”
Ashleigh clenched her jaw before nodding.
“Good,” Caleb said. “Do you have electricians? Or a power plant?”
She shook her head.
“Where does it co from?” he asked.
Ashleigh didn’t respond. She had never thought about it. She didn’t know the answer. All she could do was look away from him.
“Don’t know?” he asked. “The answer is simple. Right here, from Sumr.”
Her eyes widened and she turned to face him.
“We supply the power to all of them. Spring, Autumn, Winter. Sumr is the source of all their power needs. A treaty we agreed to a long ti ago. Even when war has broken out between the packs, the power has always been supplied.”
Caleb moved away from her toward the storage room, she watched him carefully as regret began to settle into her heart.
“The sh suits, those are provided to every pack, every year. But you’re right, we do keep so of the upgrades to ourselves. But these? These were offered to every pack.”
‘What does that an?’ Ashleigh furrowed her brow, wondering to herself.
“Do you know how we get all this technology? Do you understand why we and not the other packs are the ones who develop it?”
Caleb looked carefully at her, trying to decide how much to share with her. He sat down on top of the table and let out a deep breath.
“Every single wolf of Sumr spends at least three years living among the humans. Away from the life they have known, away from their family and friends. Three years, the only allowed contact with ho is through their den mothers.
We don’t go to have fun, visit vacation destinations, or experience that crazy human life. No, each one of us is committed to learning everything we can in that ti. We study science, physics, math, dicine, and military tactics. We spend years preparing for our ti there and then we are sent to the place that matches our skill set.
We attend their schools, join their workforce, and their military. We learn all that we can and then we bring it back here and try to adapt it for the wolves.”
Ashleigh found herself leaning against a wall listening to his every word. She had no idea that Sumr was so imrsed in human culture, or how they could spend so much ti away from their pack.
“You say that Sumr has no problems, but have you looked? Yes, our borders are secure, yes, we have a strong military, and our dical facilities are unrivaled. But tell , in the two weeks you have been here, have you seen freedom? Joy? Celebration?”
She thought back on what she had witnessed in her ti, but all she could see was military training, dical marvels, structure, and routine. The only tis she had seen what she would view as freedom and joy were the monts she spent watching the children on the playground.
“The lives of every wolf of Sumr are dedicated to service. We take pride in that; it has always been our way. But my people are so focused on serving our pack, our species, we have forgotten the basic needs of life. We don’t have traditions; we don’t have celebrations. We have honor and discipline.”
Ashleigh was lost. She had been so sure about the things she accused him of, so sure about her views of the two packs. Why was it so different? Why was he making her heart ache?
“What did you an… when you said that every pack was offered the suits?” she asked.
“Exactly what I said,” he sighed.
“No,” she replied, “no, we don’t have these. Winter was not offered these suits. If we had… no. You’re wrong.”
“I said the suits were offered. Whether they were accepted is up to their Alpha.”
The anger flared through her once more.
“How dare you!” she shouted. “My father would never put his people at risk!”
“It’s not the first ti,” Caleb stated. “We have offered Alpha Wyatt a multitude of technological advancents over the years. He has rejected most of them. And over the past couple years, every one of them.”
“You are lying!” Ashleigh hissed. “You didn’t offer him the suits because of this ridiculous grudge you have against him!”
“Ridiculous?” Caleb growled. “So, I am a monster for saying that your traditions are ridiculous, but you dare to look in the eye and call the matter of my father’s murder ridiculous!?”
“No!” Ashleigh shouted back. “Don’t twist my words!”
“Then what are you saying, Ashleigh? Because my selfish arrogant brain isn’t understanding!”
Her frustration was growing, any regret she felt had burned away with her anger. She pushed off the wall and ca close to him, gritting her teeth and snarling as she spoke.
“My father had nothing to do with your father’s death!”
“I didn’t say he did.” Caleb snapped back.
Ashleigh was surprised once more.
“But… I… I don’t understand,”
Caleb stood up holding her gaze as he looked down at her.
“Do you want to know the real reason why I hate your father, Ashleigh?” Caleb asked coldly.
Ashleigh swallowed nervously.
“Yes.”
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