The drive to my parents' house was a short one. I placed a soft knock on the door. I just needed to solve this problem, and that was it.
Mom opened the door. Her gaze fell on seeing me. I knew I had wronged them, hurt them, and taken away their favorite daughter-in-law. Perhaps my reminder brought pain. But what I needed right there was important; it was for the pack.
"You didn't tell us you were coming," she stated, her voice breaking. It was obvious that she was still mourning Violet.
"I needed something important," I pointed out to her, but she still stood at the door, her feminine Luna body covering the door, blocking me from entering inside.
She sighed. "I don't think your father would be comfortable seeing you here," she leaned in to whisper without budging away from the door. She stood tall and confident.
"What's he doing here?" my father growled. Mom flinched at the sound of his voice. The apple didn't fall far from the tree after all. I guess I got my cold demeanor from him.
"I came for something important. You need to listen to me," I insisted.
I heard him chuckle, an action he does whenever he is fed up with something. "At this point, 'Alpha Boy,' I'm done with your stupidity and I'd rather listen to a donkey than..." He was still talking, but I felt it was my call to cut him off. Otherwise, I knew immediately after he finished that last statement, he'd tell my mom to shut the door.
I inhaled deeply, clenching my fists, the shame and regret of my recent choices burning inside me like a raging inferno. "Hate me all you want, Father, but our pack is at risk, and the earlier we solve this, the better," I said, my words tinged with frustration.
His gray-eyed stare dug into mine, and I could tell his temper had chilled. "Let him in," he muttered to my mom, and she gave way for me to enter.
I knew the pack was his major concern. Even as a retired Alpha, he still cared about the pack.
His expression hardened, like a mask of stone. "What's wrong?" he demanded, his voice low and commanding.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "There's been something strange at the pack border. Two people were found dead." I was still talking when he cut me off.
"It's your pack. I've handed it over to you, and I thought you were wise enough to find out the cause of the attack. You used to be wise, or did I think too highly of you..." His tone was laced with bitterness as he spoke. He was still mad at me about Violet's incident. I get it, and I know he deserves to be mad.
"It's not just the killing. At first, I assumed it was an attack from the rival pack, but then surprisingly there was no print, no evidence... Rather, there was this mark." I brought out my phone, zoomed in on the mark, and showed it to him.
His eyes widened. From his reaction, I could tell he knew something about the mark. Staring at the mark for a second time, it was like a wave of nostalgia hit me. It all started to look familiar. I was right when I said I had seen this mark before.
"Violet's neck... the mark on her neck. How could I possibly forget, when I always made sure she wore a chain around her neck?"
"This has nothing to do with Violet, does it?" As a werewolf, we don't believe in the afterlife, and... could it be that she was back for revenge?
My father snickered, his gray eyes meeting mine. Anger and pain filled his eyes. For a second, I thought if eyes could kill, I'd be dead by now.
"Of course it has everything to do with Violet. Our pack is doomed, and now she's dead," he stated, his voice cold and icy.
I really couldn't tell how Violet being alive could alter the situation at hand. I mean, she was just a Luna.
"I don't understand..." I stuttered.
Mom stood to her feet. "Sit!" she urged me. One word, but I had to adhere.
I took a seat, becoming the center of attention, as both their gazes rested on me.
"Violet wasn't just your Luna. Your father insisted you get married to her because of the proclamation of a seer ten years ago."
It all didn't make sense, but I was intrigued, curious to know what this was all about.
"Violet is the only answer to the situation," Dad's tone was firm as he spoke.
I needed no one to tell me that he was hiding something from me. "I need an explanation," it was beginning to get on my nerves.
I could have rejected Violet; I wanted to. But then he made me marry her. He forced me to. I thought it had been because he wanted me to marry my fated mate, but now it seemed like they were protecting something.
"You want the truth, don't you? I don't think we owe you any, because she's gone now and we're going to be doomed." He yelled, standing to his feet. He was enraged, his eyes seething red. Anger was emanating from him.
"Twenty years ago, before the seer's death, while I was still Alpha, the prophecy came to us that only a lady born with such a mark would be mated to the next Alpha because she was the only one that could avert an impending doom."
I swallowed hard. I couldn't tell what I was angrier about: the fact that my father kept this secret hidden from me, or the fact that Violet is dead. I just couldn't place where to lay my anger.
He could have told me. I stood to my feet, my legs wobbling. I was crushed. My heart was aching. "You could have told me!" I yelled, my eyes seething red.
"You didn't tell us about your divorce plan!" my dad yelled back. I guess he was even more infuriated than I was.
"The pack is yours now. Find a way around it and save it from this mess you created. You've overstayed your welcome. Leave my house now!"