Chapter 244 -82 The Alberts


    ~Leo~


    I did not know how to feel about what Casper had just told me. I was in shock, and the room was


    silent. Even David, who always had a joke, noticed a problem and held his tongue.


    "Is anything the matter, Leo?" Sylvester asked me, and I knew it would be rude not to reply.


    "I haven''t seen my parents in almost seven years. They left the moment they handed the pack over


    to me. They weren''t even around for my wedding," I said, and my voice cracked because of the


    emotions that I was feeling.


    "I thought they were dead until they called me a few days ago, telling me not to trust anyone and


    that they are on their way. Now they are here," I said, and David whistled.


    "You are one lucky man," He said, and I could understand him because he never knew his mother,


    nor did he spend time with his father.


    "Yeah, It would have been if they weren''t mixed up in this shit," I said, and Sylvester was surprised.


    "Andrew said they were a part of the cult and are recently on the run," I confessed.


    "Fuck Leo, hope they didn''te with trouble. Those things are scary," Dominic said, and I stood


    up and shook my head.


    "I guess I should go and see them. I hope they can lead us in the right direction," I said, looking at


    Sylvester.


    ''Please do not let Andrew and y know my parents are here. I must know what is happening and


    if I can trust Andrew." I said, and he nodded.


    He had concern in his eyes. I could see he understood my plight, and I was grateful none of them


    pushed too hard for information.


    "What if they are here to spy for the cult," Vino asked, and I could understand why he would ask a


    fucked up question like that. His mother was a traitor, after all.


    I thought of many ways to answer him but decided not to. His mother was dead; there was no point


    rubbing it in.


    "I doubt they would harm their son, Vino. Not everyone is messed up like Jennifer," Dominic said,


    and we were all silent.


    I wanted tough because Dominic took the words out of my mouth, but the situation was too


    sensitive.


    I had indeed read some of the dairies the woman kept. Marcel and Theo often used them to crack


    jokes, and I knew what Dominic said wasn''t an insult. The woman was genuinely sick. I honestly


    wondered how Maurice and her husband coped with her.


    "Go ahead. We will return to the pack house, and just like we agreed to do with Devin, we will brief


    you on our ns when you join us. I hope your parents have something good to tell us." Sylvester


    said, and I nodded.


    I left the office and headed for my bungalow.


    My heart was in my mouth while I walked.


    A lot had changed over the years. I had married and gotten divorced. I had loved and lost. I had


    gained power,nd and wealth. I had increased what they passed to me and forged new alliances. I


    had new morals and values. I had new friends, and I had a new family. A lot had changed in my life,


    and I knew a lot had changed in theirs too.


    I was angry that they had kept me in the dark all these years. I hoped what Andrew had told me was


    not true, and if it were, they would have a rational exnation.


    Above all, I hoped I could trust them and that they were not here to persuade me to act against


    Sylvester because I would choose my friends over them. They were my new family now; they were


    my support and backbone. I won''t team up with anyone against them.


    I got to my house and opened the door.


    There they were, sitting on the three-sitter couch in my living room.


    My mother looked at the door with swollen eyes and stood up.


    My father did the same. They looked sorry and ashamed. They looked sad. They looked afraid.


    "Leo," my mother said; she had aged a little since Ist saw her.


    She had grey hair in the front of her head now, thick and long, but her hair still had the healthy


    Volume it had.


    Her blue eyes were faded, and I knew age was the factor.


    My father still looked like he did. But the lines on his face told of his age. His hair was thick and


    dark, his brown eyes were brilliant, and he looked in shape. They both still looked in good condition.


    I believe the years had favoured them until recently.


    My mother left my father''s side and came to hug me.


    She wrapped her arms around me and rested her head against my chest. She began to sob, and I


    slowly wrapped my arms around her to console her.


    I rubbed her back gently while she held on tightly. I looked at my father, and his eyes were misty.


    Words could not be spoken. He had nothing to say.


    My mother finally broke the hug, and My father approached me.


    He looked at me with respect and nodded with approval.


    "I am proud of you, son," he said, not wanting to waste the moment. I pulled him in for a hug.


    "You should have stayed in touch," I said, and he hugged me tightly.


    "I know, son; I am sorry. We both are," he said, and he broke the hug.


    I fought my tears while I returned to sit on one of the couches in the living area.


    My parents sat beside each other, and my mother looked at the house.


    "You and the Riverstorm girl had never been shy people," My mother said with a smile. Then she


    looked at me as if she remembered something.


    "Leo, is she the same Tamia that married the Dark Alpha? We heard a lot of rumours about that


    bastard stealing your luna?" She asked me, and I sighed.


    It was easy to judge people when you were not in their shoes and not there for most of it.


    "Yes, but it didn''t happen that way. No one stole Tamia from me," I said, and there was a rage in my


    mother''s eyes.


    "I heard of it but did not want to believe it was the same person." She said, and I wondered where


    they were staying. Tamia had been in the news for over a year now.


    "You should have seen her on television," I said, and my father bowed his head.


    "We have been in a cell for two years. It was our friends that helped us escape recently. That was


    how we were able toe home." My father said, and I was in shock.


    "What happened?" I asked them, and my father bowed his head. Whatever he had to say might be


    shameful. I did not speak a word, but joining a psycho cult was disgraceful. I would leave them to


    confess and pretend not to know anything.


    "Son, it is a very long andplicated story, and I do not know what you think after I share it with


    you," He said and sighed.


    "Do you want tea?" I asked them, knowing that was their favourite refreshment.


    "Water would do for now, and I can get it myself," My mother said and stood. She did not want me


    to interrupt the discussion with my father.


    "Son," my father said, and I could see the difficulty in his eyes.


    "We kept you in the dark because we hoped you would have a great life. We did not want you


    burdened like we were, like my father and his father. I wanted to keep you innocent. I wanted you to


    raise your family innocently. I did not want you to be part of an agenda or a crime.


    That was why we did not kick against your rtionship with the Riverstorm Delta girl. Typically you


    should have mated with an Alpha like all of us, but I wanted to cut that chain." He said and sighed. I


    was silent because interrupting him with questions won t help.


    My mother returned with three bottles of water and handed one each to us.


    "Tell him, Richard. He can handle it, darling," my mother said, understanding that my father was


    beating about the bush.


    My father sighed and looked at me.


    "Do you know of the two ruling houses?" he asked, and I did not answer; I just stared at him. I did


    not want to say anything that would make him digress. So I remained silent.


    "Okay, the original family were the Stepanovs, then the Volkovs came from the Stepanovs," he said.


    I nodded, indicating I knew that already.


    "Very good," he said and sighed.


    "When the ruling family was overthrown, and a council was ced in their stead in the name of


    democracy, both bloodlines decided they would find ways to strengthen their race to take back what


    was rightfully theirs. Volkovs isted the Alpha genes while Stepanovs took to Alchemy." He said


    and sighed.


    "Both families gained, but the Stepanovs lost their Alpha genes because their method was extreme.


    It had to do with mutation.


    About three hundred years ago, there was a failed experiment in the East.


    A Stepanov, a first cousin to the ruling line, came to the East to mate with an Alpha and ended up


    birthing a useless beta breed.


    He left her and returned to the North.


    This experiment made Stepanov believe the Alpha genes were gone forever.


    But Sophia Stepanov, a distant rtive to the ruling Stepanov line, did not think so, so she decided


    to break their rule.


    She had an affair with the lead Alpha of the Volkov bloodline, Patrick Volkov, the grandfather of


    Gregory Volkov. Patrick knew she was a Stepanov, but the dairy ounts said he loved her so


    much that they had a child together.


    But because he was married then, he could not take her as his wife, so he sent her with her child to


    the East and bought hernd.


    He also sent her with servants and people to take care of her and her child. He would often visit


    them secretly. They never thought their son would be an alpha because she was a Stepanov.


    Their gic mutation always destroys the Alpha genes.


    When their son got his wolf, he surprised them.


    Whatever the mutation took away, the Alpha gene had been corrected by the Volkov concentrated


    Alpha gene. They had a son, and he was a strong Alpha. He also had Stepanov abilities, but his


    ability wasn''t like the full Stepanovs; his ability made it possible for him to tolerate silver better than


    other werewolves.


    Silver couldn''t keep him down for long. Seeing this, Patrick decided to hide him because he knew if


    the Stepanovs found Sophia and his son, they would take him and try to run experiments because


    that was what they did.


    He left them in the East but made sure they would neverck for anything." He said and looked at


    me.


    All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org.


    "That boy''s name was Rudolph Albert, our ancestor. It was Patrick Volkov that bought thend that


    we now call Mountain. He bought it because Sophia loved the peaks in the North, and he did not


    want her to miss home much," He said, and I remained frozen and shocked. I gulped the water a


    few times and blinked.


    It would have been easier to handle if I was dreaming, but I knew I had heard my father right. We


    were Volkov and Stepanov, descendants.