Alpha's Pet Book 2

EVONY

I took a step back. The shock hit me like a train, and I couldn’t speak.

I looked at the green eyes staring at me. They were filled with so much pain and sorrow. Before, there was no life left to be seen within his eyes, but now there was hope.

How could this be? Kade wasn’t my father? And my mother wasn’t even his mate but actually…the alpha’s?

“You…but how…” It felt like the air had been knocked out of me, and I couldn’t even form proper words. I could only stare into the alpha’s eyes.

He turned away, ashamed of himself.

“I met your mother about twenty years ago, shortly after Kade took over her pack. I was out scouting the area in search of the wolves who had managed to escape him with the alpha and luna’s only son.

“While searching, I came across a she-wolf scouting the border for rogues. The moment our eyes met, we both knew it was true love.”

He continued, “We spent the entire day together, and she told me about what was happening within the pack. She was worried Kade wouldn’t stop and might start a war.

“I wanted to get her out of there, but she refused to come with me, saying her sister was out there and that she would come looking for her…

“She couldn’t let her come back to the pack and get caught by Kade. I knew I couldn’t force her to come with me… So I had to leave her.”

His eyes held a deep sadness as he recalled all the memories he had tried to bury.

“I came back two days later, and we met at the same location, as planned.

“I told her my plan: I would find her sister and the others who had left and that they would be placed under my protection while their leader grew up, and then I would destroy Kade, freeing the pack from his reign.

“She agreed to help me when the time came…

“We spent the entire week meeting up and discussing different ideas, and eventually it became more intimate as we got to know each other.

“I had to return to my own pack by the end of the week, which meant that I wouldn’t be able to see her again for a while. We spent my last night there together.

“I had never expected that it would be the last time I would ever see her or hear her beautiful voice… I also never expected you…”

He looked back at me with his eyes filled with sadness and adoration, something I had not received from him before…

“A month later, I received a call from Kade. He had found out about your mother and I and threatened me to stay away or else he would have killed her.

“I wanted to rip that bastard’s throat out but could do nothing. If I had gone anywhere near the territory, he would have killed her, so I had no choice but to stay away.

“I only managed to make contact with the missing pack members once, and they tried their best to keep themselves out of Kade’s sight.

“If the previous leader’s son had died, Kade would have been able to rightfully take the spot as alpha.

“Two years passed as I waited for a chance to go back and get her out of that hell.”

His expression transformed into one of anger and anguish, and he grabbed his head and glared angrily at the ground. My heart dropped as I watched him struggle with those emotions.

Alphas were the strongest wolves around and never showed weakness. Yet, here, one stood before me, looking like he might just break into pieces…

“I was ready to try a rescue mission, to send in some men who could sneak past the borders and break her free before she got hurt, but suddenly…one day…I felt it… It felt as if my soul was torn in two.

“The pain was worse than any silver blade, whip, or bullet could ever cause, and I knew at that moment as I lay on the ground that she was gone.”

Tears fell down his cheeks, and he looked away, hiding his face.

“I never knew that she…that we…had a pup… If I had known, I never would have left her there for so long; I never would have allowed Kade to hurt you!

“If I had only convinced her then, she would still be alive, and you would have had a family!”

He fell to his knees, and I could feel my own tears starting to fall.

My real father wasn’t some abusive bastard who enjoyed tormenting me; he was the alpha kneeling before me…a man who loved and cherished his mate but lost her early on, a man who thought he had nothing left to live for, a man who lived all these years broken and dead inside…

Wiping tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand, I knelt beside him, unsure of what to do and what to say.

How would you tell someone who had lived half his life with nothing that he didn’t have to suffer anymore? I couldn’t hate him for not knowing about me and for not saving my mother.

So I did the only thing I could think of: I hugged him.

We sat there silently, letting the tears fall and letting our years of pain and suffering fade away. He didn’t have to be alone anymore and neither did I.

After a while, we pulled away from each other, and he looked at me with a new hope in his eyes. I gave him a small smile as he wiped the last tear from my cheek.

“You look so much like her… When I first saw you, I thought I was seeing a ghost. Everything about you reminded me of her…

“I didn’t know what to think. When Axton said you were Kade’s daughter, I knew something was off. I could see Axton wasn’t about to let me question you, but I needed to find out the truth.

“In the forest, I tried to connect to you through a mind-link but…”

“It didn’t work…” I looked down at my hands. “At the time, my wolf was dormant; I couldn’t connect to anyone, much less join a pack.”

He was silent for a moment before continuing. “By that point, I could feel a connection with you and I realized what Kade had done.

“I was furious that he had mistreated you so badly, to the point I couldn’t even sense your wolf.

“With Axton claiming you as a pet, I knew I needed to speak to you privately. I was worried he was mistreating you, using you…but it seems I only managed to scare you…”

“It’s my fault; I should have seen the signs. I was too caught up with other things and with how often I’ve been mistreated. It’s hard for me to trust people, and…you were also a bit sketchy.”

He sighed and stood, offering his hand, which I gladly took to steady myself on my feet.

“I apologize; my personality isn’t charming,” he frowned, looking away.

“Also, I’m sorry; I was not there for you…”

Grabbing his hand, I squeezed it in a comforting manner. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you for not knowing. I just wish I had known sooner. We’ve both suffered from this equally; the only one who’s to blame is—”

“Kade…,” he snarled the man’s name with nothing but malice. He was ready to hunt him down and make him pay for what we had been put through, and honestly so was I.

He would pay for what he had done to my mother and for the torment that we both had to suffer.

He knew I was Nathaniel’s daughter. He had kept me alive so that he could use me against Nathaniel if the time ever came. He would play the same tactic he had once used with my mother—threatening my life if Nathaniel didn’t stay away.

When I was born, Kade must’ve thought he could destroy Nathaniel by killing my mother and then take over the strongest pack in the state. Her death should have caused Alpha Nathaniel to be deadly sick or suicidal.

And I became his back-up plan if Nathaniel ever came after him.

What Kade didn’t know was that the blood bond between me and Nathaniel was enough for Nathaniel to keep living.

Of course, the sick bastard kept me alive because I was his get-out-of-jail-free ticket.

All these years, we both suffered a never-ending torment because of Kade, feeling as if we had nothing to live for…that we had nothing…

Angry, sad, and relieved that I finally found my true family, I hugged my father again. He hardly hesitated before hugging me back. We both needed this reassurance to know this was real.

Kade would pay for what he had done, for all the lives he had ruined, and for all the families he had torn apart.

“Who goes there?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

We both turned our heads to see a man standing in the tree line with two wolves beside him. They all had the same underlying scent, meaning they belonged to a pack, the Stone Pack.

Nathaniel and I looked at each other with a smile. It was time to go home and find Kade. We were going to finish this, together.