Page 70 of His Sold Fated Mate

He answered, but sounded half asleep. “Lord, Aubrey. I was sleeping.”

“Cal…” My voice broke.

“What happened?” His voice quickly shifted into worry.

Tears broke free. “It’s Klaus. He’s… he’s not himself.” I wiped at my eyes. “Can you please come to Riley’s pack? We… I… We need you.”

I paced because I didn’t know what else to do. The others huddled together, trying to figure out how to move him. But I knew the only one who would know Klaus like I did was Cal. He would know how to help.

I heard footsteps and turned as Cal came running down the stairs. He looked confused as he stumbled to a stop. “Aubrey, what’s going on?”

He quickly spotted the others, and his shoulders dropped. I wet my lips. “The dark magic attached to him. They were trying to figure out what to do. They need to know if we have room in the infirmary for him.

Cal nodded. “Yeah, we do.” He moved closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine. I’m not the one that you need to be worried about.”

Cal crouched down. “I know, but I also know that Cal would want me to watch out for you.”

I felt more tears break free, and Cal pulled me into a hug. I sobbed into my arms, afraid I was going to lose someone so important to me.

Troy drove me home. I sat speechless for most of the drive. I kept seeing Klaus’s face switch as he grew angrier. Troy pulled up in front of the house. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with Elize and me? We would be more than happy to have you.”

I shook my head. “No, you guys are bringing Klaus here, and I’d rather be here. I want to help with whatever I can.”

Troy nodded. “He’s going to be okay, Aubrey.”

I nodded, hoping that was true. Troy and Riley managed to break free. But I also knew that Elize and Janella had more control over their magic. I just got mine free. We weren’t the same.

“Thank you for driving me home.” I pushed the door open and slipped out. I headed up the sidewalk and unlocked the front door.

I stepped inside the house and frowned. It felt so large and empty knowing that Klaus wasn’t here. I took in his shoes by the door and his jacket from this morning that he forgot.

Peanut came out of his office and meowed. She walked toward me, rubbing her body against my leg. I bent down and picked her up, holding her close to my chest. “I miss him.”

I sighed, heading up the stairs with Peanut. I headed into my room but paused in the doorway. I took a few steps back and stopped at Klaus’s room.

I pushed his door open, and the smell of him seeped out. I stepped inside, taking in his space. His hamper was full of his laundry, with his clothes hanging on it. His bed wasn’t made, and I could still smell his aftershave in the bathroom.

I walked over to his bed and leaned over. I inhaled his scent and crawled under his sheets. Peanut sprawled out on the pillow next to me. I hugged his pillow, feeling like part of him was here. His comforter was heavy and weighted.

I felt my eyes growing heavy, but before I drifted off, I heard knocking on the door. I frowned, tempted to just ignore it. But the knocking continued. Peanut even popped her head up at the noise.

I crawled back up and marched down the stairs. I opened the door to Cal. I frowned. “Cal, what are you doing here? You said you were going to watch after Klaus and take care of things.”

Cal nodded. “I was. We got him in the infirmary, and he asked me to stay here and watch after you.”

I frowned. “I don’t need to be watched after. I need you to watch after him.”

Cal shook his head. “I’m just doing what he asked. He might not be in the right headspace to be Alpha, but I will always follow his orders, Aubrey. If he wants me here watching after you, here is where I will be.”

I sighed, pulling the door open and letting him come in. I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I also didn’t want to be alone. “Do you want to use Klaus’s room?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m just going to sleep in the living room. I don’t want to get in the way of your routine.”

“You can use my room. Or Klaus’s. Honestly, Cal, you can have a room.”

He shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but if Klaus catches wind that I was sleeping in a bed while in this state, he might actually kill me before I could explain. I’ll take the couch.”