Chapter 15
We pulled up to a large house. A teenage girl ran out and hugged Vincent before he could open the door at my side. "Vincent, I am so glad you are here! Mom and dad, I said I can't go out tonight. That we have had too many rogue attacks recently, so the human town is not safe. All I want is to go to a movie. I am 15 and deserve to go out with friends. Nikki's dad..." Vincent cleared his voice to calm the girl and opened the door so I could get out.
"Is that her??" She squealed. Jumping up and giving me a hug. I smiled at her, "I am Valerie, you can call me Val. I hope we are close friends. I have waited forever for Vincent to have Mate."
"Valerie," a stern male voice came from behind her. He had his arm around the most beautiful woman I have seen next to my mother. I can see where Vincent got his looks. His mom had jet black hair and fair skin. His dad was tall, muscular and tan with shaggy brown hair and Vincent's grey/blue eyes. They looked so happy with each other.
His mom looked me up and down and reached out her hand for me to take. I did and she put it in the crook of her arm and started to talk. "Valerie dear, run ahead. We will let you go to the movies tonight with your friends on two conditions. 1. Go to Nikki's for lunch and 2. Nikki's parents must go with you."
"Mooooommm!" Valerie whined.
"Valerie De Mallio! Last chance. » Her father said.
"Fine... Well, Fillian, it was nice to meet you, well sort of meet you. I am being sent away." She said, bowed and took off towards a neighboring house.
Vincent's mom pulled my arm to start walking to the house. "Fillian, I am Diana. This is my husband, Phillip. I think we should eat lunch and get to know each other before we get to discussing your question. After sleeping for many weeks, I am sure you are famished. Don't mind Val, she is always up to something and if I could bottle her energy, what a change to the world we could make."
I smiled while walking with Mrs. De Mallio. "Mrs. De Mallio..." I started and she stopped abruptly.
"Dear, call us by our first names. Our pack is not formal, and we treat all our members like family."
"Diana, thank you for being welcoming to me. I am sure your son has told you about the situation. I am sorry if I brought any trouble to your pack." I looked at the ground. She lifted her chin.
"My dear: Luna, royals, and even omegas are blessed by the goddess. No reason to look shameful. Keep your head high." I smiled and she opened the door to a beautiful house. Everything had its place, but it looked lived in and welcoming. There were photos of them as a family and what I assume were other pack members. This was a stark difference from the cold houses and packed houses on Dark Moon.
The lunch tasted good. Vincent sat next to me and was constantly trying to catch my glance. This happened a few times and he would always look back at his food. We ate the amazing chicken salad sandwiches with various sides, mostly in silence. Conversation was made on generic topics and the reason for being here hung in a room like a heavy, dark rain cloud.
As we finished, Vincent pushed his chair back, he held out his hand to me. "Mom and Dad, may I have a few minutes alone in your office before you come in and we can begin with answering my Mate's questions?"
I turned to look at him. He knows damn well I don't plan to be his mate. I ignored his hand waiting for mine. I stood up and motioned for him to lead the way to the office. He gave me a frustrated look but did as I suggested.
The office was large for a retired Alpha. It had books lining the whole wall behind the desk. It would be a reader's dream room. There was a couch and two large leather chairs set up facing each other. I took one of the chairs, not giving Vincent a chance to decide. "Fillian," Vincent said. "I wanted to discuss the matter of our being mated. As I'm sure you figured out, my family knows you are my mate. I have not told them that you have stated you would not accept me."
I started to interrupt but he halted me. "Please let me finish. I am 25 years old. I have waited for my Mate for many years. My parents hold mates as sacred and my father was not going to retire until I found my Mate but when I turned 22, they thought maybe Beth the Beta's daughter was my mate. She would not turn 18 for awhile, so my parents decided not to wait."
He continued and a tear rolled from his eye. "As you know, Beth died in the Rogue attack. My parents thought my rage and sadness was due to the loss of my mate, but it wasn't that it was I failed to protect my pack and an outsider did it. I knew she wasn't my mate. When her wolf came at 16, we both knew it. Our parents had been so excited we agreed not to tell them. My parents believe you to be my second chance mate. I cannot hurt them again. Please just don't tell them what happened."
He came to kneel in front of me with his head in his hands. "I am so sorry and feel horrible about what happened. If I could take it all back, I would."
I shifted in my seat. My heart was breaking for him, but it didn't change what he had done. "Vincent, I cannot forgive you for what you did. You chose violence and vulgar words instead of understanding."
"You lied about Katie. How was I supposed to react to you made me think my Mate had a child with another man and made it worse if it wasn't your first mate." Vincent roared.
"Yes, I understand what I did to keep Katie. I am not ashamed of lying to protect her. I didn't know you or what you would do." I said gently, not wanting to argue.
"You trusted Eric." He growled.
"I trusted Eric, but I didn't tell him either. The only person who knew was Dr. Rosenbaum and that is because he took the time to realize it on his own. It wasn't hard to figure out. Instead of trying to understand, though, you jumped to your own conclusion." His head dipped down. I put my hand under his chin, feeling the tingles. "I am sorry I still cannot accept you. I will not tell your parents or anyone else what took place. This should buy you time to figure out a way to let them know I will not be their Luna."
"I understand. I will get you to change your mind. I promise."
"You could try. Trust is like a piece of paper once crumpled. It can never be complete without wrinkles," I said.
With that, he took the chair next to me with a glimmer of hope in his eyes before he asked his parents to come in. It was time to find out what they knew about my father.
His parents took the couch and held each other's hands. They both looked like they had eaten something sour.
Philip looked at his wife and she nodded in approval before he looked at me. "Our son tells us you have been told I killed your father." I nodded my head. "The way you put it and the timeframe did not jog my memory, so I had to go through my binders from that time."
He stood up walked to his desk and took a black leather-bound notebook off his desk. He walked back to his wife and gave me the notebook. "I believe this is the timeframe you were referring to. I will tell you the story, but you can take this notebook and go over it later."This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org: ©.
I looked down at the notebook. "Thank you, Phillip."
He continued. "This was a hard time for many packs. Rogue attacks have been strong like what we have seen here recently. Dark Moon was being hit hardest and their Alpha sent over three wolves to discuss a plan to team up. Beta Carnell, your father, was among them. It also included two warriors. Everything was going like a normal talk. We were on track to figure out a plan to work on our shared boundaries."
Phillip got up and poured himself a drink. "Does anyone else want one?" He asked. We all shook our heads. He didn't sit back down instead started to pace. "I thought it was going well. That is until the second day. One of the warriors was sent back to Dark Moon to report to them. He did not return but Beta Carnell must have known he was sent to report. After that day Beta Carnell had a change of heart."
Phillip sat back down with his wife, and she put her arm around him. Squeezing in encouragement to continue. "Beta Carnell offered me a deal. He said he could make the rogue attacks stop if I helped him over through Adrian as Alpha of the Dark Moon pack. He said he had a special weapon that would make any pack rival shake in fear. I, of course, denied his request and sent him and the other wolf on their way back to the Dark Moon pack. I also sent a message to Alpha Adrian about the traitor. Fillian, I can tell you I did not directly kill your father and I am sorry if I played a role in your pain."
The rumors were true. My dad did betray Dark Moon pack. Was the Dark Moon pack responsible or is my father alive?