Chapter 52


    Chapter 52 Dying Man


    -Anna


    “Thank you,” I said to the Omega as sheid down two sses of mango juice and a tray of treats. She


    smiled at me then left the two of us alone in the balcony of my mother’s study. Much like the library,


    there were shelves of books here too, except that it didn’t feel as stuffy.


    It was a hot mid-afternoon, and Alpha Emery was seated across the round table from me. I took a sip


    of the juice, savoring the cold that ran down my throat. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he


    spoke.


    “Here,” he said, handing me the ne. “Have you seen what’s under the cap?”


    I took it from him and checked what was under. I stared at the shaped “A” on the ss.


    “A?” I asked, confused.


    Emery softly smiled.


    ery softly smiled.


    “Your mother,” he began, then cleared his throat before adding, “_ was wolf less.”


    I gulped at the juice, almost choking on it.


    “Easy, dear. I know it’s almost impossible, but it does happen on our kind,” he said, chuckling. “She


    was amazingly unique in so many ways.”


    “She was wolf-less?” I asked. I could’ve been hearing things. Two wolf-less werewolves in session?


    The odds are astronomical!


    “Yes, she was. But it didn’t matter. I loved her far before I knew she was my mate,” he replied. “Would


    you like to hear the story of how we met?”


    I nodded, choosing a brownie.


    “Hmm… are brownies your favorite?” he asked.


    “Don’t getfortable,” I answered coldly. I was yet to wrap my head around *this whole thing


    “Arabe loved them. She used to have


    rabe loved them. She used to have them almost every day when she was pregnant,” he said, with a


    tone of sadness in his voice.


    I shouldn’t sympathize with this man. However, he had nothing to gain from lying


    “They’re my favorite,” I said quietly as I nibbled on it. When was thest time I had one – I couldn’t tell


    anymore, it’d been so long!


    “It wasn’t exactly romantic, how we met. As a young boy, I was already attracted to her. She was lively


    and kind, and she always had a smile on her that everyone around her admired, including me. I always


    saw her as a butterfly – a free spirit, she was. E was four years older than me, and so you can


    imagine how nervous I was when she was about to turn eighteen. I didn’t know what I would do. What if


    she was mated to someone else? What was I going to do if she fell in love with someone else? As a


    young boy, I


    couldn’t tell her my feelings – not because I was afraid of rejection. I think I was more afraid… that she


    would misunderstand my feelings as that of a


    isunderstand my feelings as that of a child’s.”


    He reached for a brownie and finished it i n three bites. Then he drank a quarter of his juice.


    “What happened when she didn’t shift?”


    “She was… shocked. We all were. I could still remember how upset she was, standing in the middle of


    everyone, holding back the tears and forcing a smile. I was worried then, worried that m y father, your


    grandfather –” he said, ncing at me as he emphasized the word, then adding, “- will banish her.”


    ?Did he?”


    Alpha Emery smiled.


    “No. He walked up to her and announced t o the pack that we have a new healer.”


    “Healer?” Could this exin my blood?


    He leaned closer to the table and I did the same.


    “You have to promise me not to tell anyone outside of our pack. This is a secret known only to us. Can I


    trust you with it, Be?”


    WII, Denah


    I nodded, dubious that he was trusting m e, a stranger… uhm… lost daughter with a pack secret two


    hours after he dropped this bomb on my true roots.


    “In our pack, there have been eighteen werewolves who were born without wolves,” he said.


    I slowly pulled back until my back hit the backrest as I looked at him dubiously. Everyone knew those


    like me were… rare. So rare in fact that most believe we were just a story. Born millennia apart that


    there was almost no known fact about us. Stories even say that in the olden times, w e used to be


    killed, because we had no use in war.


    “It’s true. The pack records prove it. Your great, great grandmother was a wolf-less Luna. And although


    they have no werewolf, they are gifts by the Goddess. Your grandfather told me they were healers, the


    most powerful there is,” he exined.


    “That’s… impossible. They can’t even heal themselves because they don’t have a wolf. How can they


    be healers?” This could be a set-up.


    CPLL up.


    Does he know about my blood? Is this what he’s after?


    “It’s their blood,” he said, then drank more juice. He leaned back and sighed. He seemed to be growing


    more tired by the minute. 1


    “Do you know the story of the witches, dear?” he asked as he closed his eyes.


    It was one of the stories Father shared while he was drinking


    “They used to be humans but their jealousy for the werewolves drove them t o search for power. The


    Goddess’s twin, pleased by their hatred, granted them power. She was jealous of her sister since the


    werewolves only knew to look up to the Moon. She was in the Goddess’ shadow, the New Moon, the


    phase where nights are darkest and werewolves are at their weakest,” I answered. It was a well known


    story, often told as bedtime


    stories to children.


    Alpha Emery inhaled deeply and loudly exhaled.


    “My father said the witches only knew to destroy, and so the werewolves, who can


    troy, and so the werewolves, who can only heal themselves, had to watch their own kin sumb to the


    witches’ power. Our kind had enough. The first Alpha prayed to the Goddess to save his people. I tis


    said that he prayed as he held his deceased Luna who was carrying their child.”


    He fell quiet after, his chest heaving slowly.


    Was he asleep?


    As if on cue, his chin dropped. I waved a hand on his face. He really was asleep!


    “He’s been doing that more often,” someone said behind me that I jumped on my feet. He looked to be


    at the same age a s Alpha Emery, with a simr build and the same tired smile. Dark blue eyes stared


    back at me; too dark it could easily be mistaken as ck. His aged face tired, and his peculiar eyes


    kind.


    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”


    “I-It’s alright. Who- Who are you?”


    “David Nate. Beta of the ck Mist Pack,” he said, smiling. “Could you…”


    Pack,” he said, smiling. “Could you…”


    “Uh… sure,” I said, awkwardly stepping t o the side. He crouched to his knees beside Alpha Emery,


    checking his pulse o


    n his wrist.


    “Is he…”


    “He’s asleep,” he said. Standing, he positioned himself to carry Alpha Emery.


    “It’s me, old friend,” he said when the Alpha stirred then went limp again. Beta David carried him inside


    the room and spotted the bed.


    “Be a dear and lift the sheets, will you?”h e asked.


    I did as I was told, and heid Alpha Emery down before covering him with theforter. When I


    looked at him, he had his eyes closed – probably talking to someone in a mind-link. I waited for him to


    finish before I asked, “What’s… uhm… What happened to him?”


    Beta David sighed. “He doesn’t want you t o find out, but I think it’s better if you know. You were taken


    here against your will. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”


    I nodded.


    1 nodded.


    “First, I would like to apologize for kidnapping you and hurting your friend. We don’t know how he is


    since you were our mission, but when we left him, he was still breathing.”


    “You expect me to take that as constion?” I spat.


    “If it’s any constion at all, yes. I won’t justify our actions, but we don’t kill for n o reason. Second, I


    understand that you want to get away from here as soon as possible. But I hope you will stay with him


    for now.”


    “With my kidnapper? A stranger who ims to be my father?” I said, my voice a little higher. “Sure. No


    big deal,” I added in a sarcastic tone.


    He sighed. “He is your true father. I understand it’s a lot to take but this is your pack, Be. You are an


    Alpha’s daughter… and his sole sessor.”


    “If I’m his daughter then why have I never known? Why was I born and raised i nanother pack by MY


    father?” I said in a hushed scream. Growing up, I watched other kids my age get called by their


    other kids my age get called by their mothers. I watched how they were pampered. Most times, I’d visit


    Mother’s grave just to talk to her, to make me feel better, or to simply cry.


    The graveyard was a quiet ce, and hardly anyone ever went there – it was where I met Flynn, the


    Alpha’s son. He was rarely seen around the yground,


    and the grown-ups said he was sick. Turned out, he was just the same as me – sneaking into the


    graveyard to meet with a deceased parent. I loved my father, but I wished I knew more about her…


    “He thought he lost you. We all did,” he said quietly. “That day, when your father felt the bond broke, he


    believed he lost his wife and child. He was never the same after that. Eighteen years… he sought


    vengeance. Then for the next two years, w e waited… waited for you to return to the White Lake pack.


    We couldn’t send spies, and you were never seen outside the pack territories or anywhere near the


    boundaries. Twenty years… and I never saw him as happy as he did when he saw you. Thank you,


    Anna Be. You brought my friend back.”


    my friend back.”


    He knew I was his daughter when they attacked? But he…


    “What happened, exactly? How did I end up in the White Lake Pack? How did you know I was leaving


    the Red w Pack?” I I couldn’t have been a coincidence… unless they were waiting for it.


    He scooted to a bedpost and leaned over i t. “Will it change your mind if you knew?”


    “Depends. I feel like I’m having an identity crisis, and this is supposed to be for middle-aged people,” I


    said, shrugging


    Beta David chuckled then sighed. “If you really must know.”


    He threw me a tired nce. “Twenty years ago, three of the biggest and strongest allied packs


    attacked. They imed that we were abusing the children and that your father was abusing our Luna. It


    wasn’t a rescue. It was a massacre. And their ims – their ims are just as ridiculous as their


    reasons behind it. I can’t tell you what exactly happened that night, only your father knows since he


    was with her. She


    – ows since he was with her. She betrayed me,’ was all he said. Goddess knows he loves her still.”


    “I-I don’t understand,” I mumbled.


    “She ran away with them,” he said tiredly. “I will never know why. Your father has never talked about it.


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    He didn’t give up on her, on you. He searched for her nonstop, Anna Be. He kept searching until the


    day the bond broke. After that, he was never the same. They took everything from him, and soon, the


    pack weakened and was forgotten.”


    “Father and Alpha Fraser would never attack a pack on baseless usations!


    “Alpha Fraser of the White Lake Pack, Alpha Lynall of the Red w Pack, and Alpha Tyler of the Blue


    Moon Pack. Ranked as the fourth strongest pack, the second, and the third… from our times. Now


    they’re the top three and our pack is history,” he replied. “At least your father and I lived long enough to


    watch them die. Think what you want of Fraser and your father. They kept this fact hidden from you


    since you were born – what does that say about them?”


    es unat say about TTC


    “Is that why you killed them?” I said slowly, my nails digging into my palms.” I was there. I remember


    that scar. I remember the blood. I remember everything that happened like it was yesterday. What am I


    doing here anyway? You said I was a mission. Why? What do you want from me? To fill my head with


    these stories… these lies?” I questioned, my voice getting higher, but I didn’t care. “What do you want


    from me!”


    Alpha Emery groaned. I covered my mouth while Beta David opened his eyes.


    “It’s me, old friend,” he said. “It’s just m e.”


    The Alpha turned to his side, still asleep.


    “Our mission was to kidnap the Luna of the Red w Pack, who goes by the name Anna Be Fiora.


    We were to hold you hostage until the n was executed. Don’t concern yourself with it. Your father


    and I will take care of it. With you being the Alpha’s lost daughter, this changes everything.”


    He stood to close the doors that led to the balcony. With his back to me, he


    cony. With his back to me, he continued.


    “Over the years, our pack has lost many. Some in attacks, some left only to die. My wife… she left. Our


    pack was no longer safe to raise a child. Before I could find them, my wife died on the same day. She


    was pregnant with our daughter.”


    “I’m sorry,” I whispered. He raised a hand to his face as he breathed deeply.


    “My daughter… Marianne, she would’ve been five by now. Emery and I lived for the pack. Even after


    getting revenge, it did nothing to satiate the pain. We still lost our everything. But you’re here now.”


    He turned around and looked me in the


    eye.


    “Emery is dying. His wolf has weakened. I f you want to leave, you have my word that you can walk out


    that door and drive the car parked right outside and no one will stop you. But if you have, even the


    slightest bit of pity, please stay with him. I don’t think he has a long time left.”


    I looked away and eyed Alpha Emery – m y maternal father. Was all that I had thought about my father,


    all this time, a


    pught about my father, all this time, a


    lie? Who I believed I was – was a lie? 6


    “Please think about it,” said Beta David a s he headed for the door. Who am I?