Chapter 67: Chapter 67
Kane POV
My mind goes blank as I stare at Mindy. What is she talking about? Why would I care if she met someone who looks like someone?
“Are you on medication?” I look at her intensely, and she cowers away, wide-eyed.
“I’m sorry, Alpha,” Maxim steps forward, grabs Mindy’s arm and pulls her behind his back. “It was her first time at such an event, and the excitement got to her.”
“I’m so sorry.” Mindy squeaks from behind Maxim. “I forgot we weren’t supposed to mention ...”
“Mention irrelevant social experiences,” Monroe finishes her sentence, giving her a warning look.
“I’m sorry,” Mindy mutters and runs off without another word.
“What the fuck was that?” Axel asks.
“Fuck if I know,” I answer. “Strange girl.”
“I apologise for our mate, Alpha,” Monroe says nervously. “We’ll have a talk with her about protocol.”
“It’s fine,” I sigh, signalling them to follow us into the office. “She’s young, and she’ll learn.”
“Anything to report on the gathering?” Axel asks as we all sit by the fireplace.
“Overall, it seemed to go smoothly,” Maxim reports. “There was one minor fight about a spilt drink, but it ended quickly. But there were no probing questions on your absence.”
“Good,” I nod. At least something went smoothly.
“There was only one thing that concerned us,” Monroe clears his throat, and looks at Maxin.
Oh goddess, here we go. Like we do not have enough to deal with. Alice’s death, a secret brother, a firstborn girl, Gregory and Lucas making our whole fucking pack question if we were murderers. I cannot handle another complication.
“And that is?” I ask, pinching the bridge of my nose. The pressure building in my head is making my teeth ache.
“There was a man there who seemed ... odd,” Monroe says. “He was mostly just speaking to rogue territory wolves who had been enforcers or guards in their former packs.”
Axel shifts in his seat and flashes me a worried look. This cannot be good. Clearly, this guy is planning something. The question is, who is the target?
“Who was this guy?” Axel asks. “Did you get an ID?”
“Yes,” Maxim nods. “His name is Mason.”
The name rips through me like a tornado, and I look at Axel.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” Axel smiles stiffly at the guards. “We’ll look into it.”
“It’s time to pay Father a visit,” I grunt.
Axel POV
Kane and I march to Father’s quarters. I am stewing with anger. It is eating at me that the man I worshipped and loved turned out to be an asshole.
“Ah, to what do I owe this honour?” Father smirks sarcastically when we enter his living room. Our relationship took a dive after we cornered him about Mason, and he is still bitter about the things we said.
“Your son was at the regional gathering,” I sneer. “And he was having discussions with rogue guards. Can you tell us why?”
“How should I know?” He scoffs, his voice sharp with irritation.
Axel and I shared a suspicious look.
“Seriously?” I flex my fists as I share a sceptical look with Kane. How stupid does he think we are?
“When Alice was on her deathbed, she wanted you to deliver a message to Mason,” Kane growls. “So clearly you two talk.”
“This is ridiculous,” Father protests.
“No!” I roar. “What’s ridiculous is that you’re still hiding things from us even though your bastard son could put our entire pack in danger.”
“Tell us the full story,” Kane demands. “Or I will kick your ass.”
Father’s jaw clenches, and his wolf dances in his eyes. Blade claws at me, and beside me, Kane’s body seems to be humming with effort to keep Hunter at bay.
Father might have been the Alpha once, but Kane and I are strong and much younger. He does not stand a chance against the two of us.
“Fine,” he finally agrees. “I’ve been keeping tabs on Alice for years, assuming the two of you would mate with her eventually. If she was going to be our pack’s Luna, I needed to make sure she could be trusted.”
“Let me guess,” I say. “She couldn’t?”
“No,” Father shakes his head. “About a year ago, she started sneaking off to a bar in the nearest human city. Every time, she would meet with the same guy.”
“Mason,” Kane snorts.
“Yes,” Father replies. “There was something familiar about him. I planned on investigating him, but as I was leaving, he came to me. And that’s when he told me about the photo he’d found, and that he’s my son. Mason is a smug motherfucker. I could tell he’d known for a while. Hell, maybe that’s why he was hooking up with Alice in the first place. To get to me.”
I rub my temples, trying to loosen the mounting pressure in my head.
“I wanted to tell you, boys,” Father’s voice is soft and shaky with guilt. “But ...”
“Bullshit!” I shout, cutting him off. “You knew Alice was fucking around on us for years. You could’ve given us a heads-up on that, at least.”
“You weren’t mated,” Father exhales deeply. “You and Kane were single, as was Alice. As much as it might hurt, she wasn’t fucking around on you.”
“Cool,” Kane sneers. “Yeah, I guess you’d know, since you’re such an expert in that department.”
“Shut your fucking mouth,” Father snarls as his claws shot from his fingertips.
“Make me!” Kane steps forward, extending his claws.
“This is not the time,” I step between them, planting each of my hands on Kane and Father’s chest.
Father breathes deeply, squeezing his eyes shut until his claws retract, and Kane follows.
“Good,” I nod, lowering my arms. “What about after the mating, and the night Alice was out with you? You still owe us an explanation for that.”
“She was saying goodbye to Mason,” Father sighs, looking exhausted. “I went with her so nothing else could happen between them.”
“Who is the twins’ father?” I ask the one question which is burning in my soul.
“I already told you I don’t know,” Father replies warily. “The last time they slept together was the day of the mating ceremony.”
Fuck. There really is no way to tell. What the hell are we supposed to do with this information? The only thing I can think of is to track down Mason. Right fucking now.
“Where can we find him?” I ask adamantly.
“You’ll find him in Stillwood,” Father replies.
