Felix
After less than an hour sleep, we sped down to the location of the The Lucky Toad. We were willing to do anything to find Chasity. Alex was beginning to believe that Chasity’s disappearance was linked to the disappearance of her parents nine years ago. The Lucky Toad Casino was where Chalice and Chase had supposedly racked up a huge debt before they fled town. It seemed like a good place to start sniffing out old enemies Chasity’s parents might have. Old enemies who might still have it in for them and their daughter. Unfortunately for those old grudge-holders, I was Chasity’s mate and I would grind their bones to dust if I found out they had anything to do with Chasity or her parents going missing.
“For all we know, re-opening that investigation could be what put Chasity in danger,” said Alex with a heavy sigh as we pulled up to a large dilapidated-looking building.
“There’s a plank of wood nailed across the doors,” noted Alex, alarmed.
“Is it closed down?” Wondered Calix aloud.
I had more experience with dodgy places and shifty people than my brothers did combined. The bar I played pool at always looked closed too.
“Those fuckers are in there, trust me!” I growled.
“Maybe, there’s a more accessible entrance,” suggested Alex.
I marched up to the double doors and ripped the plank of wood off of them.
“Too late,” I said, tossing the wooden plank aside.
I pushed the double doors open and walked right through them, flanked by my brothers. Yep, they were in there all right. All the gamblers stiffened in their chairs. There were about two dozen people in the dimly lit casino, all with tired eyes. They looked like they’d been up all night. None of them dared to look our way but I could feel the tension in the room. They were hyperaware of us.
A waitress in a skimpy uniform and clunky high heels wobbled over to us. She was a bleached blonde she-wolf who looked to be in her mid-forties meaning she was likely much older as werewolves aged so slowly.
“What can I get you fellas?” She croaked.
This waitress was a chain smoker. No doubt about that. I smirked. I was here to deal with the management not sample the menu.
“The boss! Get me the boss!” I said, leaning in.
She almost fell over as she leant away from me. She hurried towards a staircase at the back of the room. I moved to follow her but Alex put a hand on my shoulder.
Let’s give them a chance to cooperate, he said in my mind.
We sat at the bar. There was a gaunt bartender staring at us with his orb-like eyes while he wiped the same glass over and over with a dingy-looking dish towel.
“I think it’s clean, buddy,” commented Calix, smiling slightly.
I stifled a snort of laughter. The bartender dropped the dingy towel and then to our surprise, he let the whole damn glass slip from his hands and shatter on the floor. He jumped, startled, by his own mistake and then bent over to hastily pick up the pieces. This place was a clown show.
Alex
I looked up just in time to spot the waitress returning. I was shocked at her appearance. Her hair was all over the place, her uniform rumpled and her cheeks streaked with runny black mascara as though she had been crying. Had someone roughed her up? Had it been the boss? What a fucking jerk! I could not stand “men” who put their hands on women like that.
“The boss will see you now, Alphas,” she said as soon as she reached us.
We simply nodded and then headed up the stairs.
Did you see the state of her? Was she like that before? Asked Calix.
Definitely not! I said immediately. Someone manhandled her.
Guess the boss is as great of a guy as we thought, grumbled Felix.
The stairs led us to a long hallway with just one door at the very end. There was a gold-plated plaque on the door that read: Chance.
We walked into a straight-up pigsty.
Fuck, was all I could think.
The room was cluttered with crap. There was a large wooden desk dominated by ornaments, old empty water bottles and yellowing, coffee-stained papers. There were so many random items all over the office, it reminded me of those Eye Spy games where one had to find a few small objects in dense mountains of stuff. Many of the items were lucky charms. I spotted several horse shoes nailed to the walls. I raised my foot from the floor, realising the ground was sticky for some reason. Disgusting. I could hear the squeaking of mice somewhere among the mounds of stuff.
The case of hoarding had almost made me overlook the large man behind the desk. He was a mature werewolf with salt and pepper hair and a thick moustache. Despite being in a dark office, he was wearing darkly tinted sunglasses along with an ill-fitting blazer over a white shirt and black tie. All of his clothes seemed a bit tight on him and he had a protruding stomach that was putting pressure on the buttons of his shirt. He was not the picture of elegance but something about his mature lined face was goodnatured. I did not think he had been the one to mistreat the waitress.
“Chance?” Asked Felix incredulously.
He greeted us with a warm smile
“Alpha Felix!” Said Chance brightly.
He had recognised us immediately.
“Sit!” Encouraged Chance.
“We’d rather stand,” I said quickly.
I could only imagine the state of the chairs in front of his desk. Chance put a chubby hand with thick fingers on a stack of papers and my eyes instantly went to the back of his hand. It was not the hairiness or the gold rings that drew my attention, it was the tattoo. A full moon with a snake curled around it.
The tattoo, said Felix, noticing it too.
“What does that tattoo mean?” I asked.
“Snakes shed their skin. The moon waxes and wanes. Renewal. Death and life. Life through death. You have to fall apart, die almost, to be renewed, reinvigorated, reborn,” said Chance ominously.
Okay then, said Calix.
I can’t decide if that was sheer brilliance or bullshit, said Felix.
I had not been expecting a response like that, I muttered.
I hoped Chance would not speak in riddles throughout this interview.
“Look, you already know why we’re here,” I said, getting to the point.
The whole pack knew by now. We had announced it and the story was playing nonstop on the pack news channel.
“Chasity is missing. She’s our Luna,” I said, pausing to compose myself a little. “This is the second kidnapping. The first was unsuccessful. Someone has been after her ever since we started asking questions about her parents who fled town running from someone. All of her parents’ old friends and people at their old haunts have that same tattoo. So save me a lot of trouble and just tell me everything you know,” I said sternly.
Chance nodded. He seemed cooperative enough.
“The tattoo is from a…group of like minded individuals. A coven if you will. Werewolves who practice witchcraft. The group is called the Furina Ornata after the moon snake. All members have the tattoo. There’s about two hundred members last time I checked. There could be a million reasons why someone would kidnap a Luna. The most farfetched being related to my tattoo. And most importantly, I would never harm Chasity,” said Chance, seemingly in earnest.
He took off his shades and fixed us with a stern look, “I’m her grandfather.”
Calix
I was speechless as were my elder brothers.
Are you guys buying this? Asked Felix privately.
Alex was silent, thinking it over. Somehow, my wolf and I just knew it was true. I gave Felix the mind-link equivalent of a simple nod.
“Chasity’s grandfather?” Asked Felix, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
Chance nodded.
“So where have you been all this years?” Demanded Alex.
He was glaring at Chance. He took the words right out of my mouth. Chasity had not had it easy growing up under my Mom’s rules. She would have probably been better off with her grandfather assuming his house was not a bacterial breeding ground like his office.
“I’ve been here,” said Chance, waving his hands to indicate he’d been in this messy room. “Running the Lucky Toad Casino!” He said with another grand hand gesture.
My eyes swept over the room. My eyes were likely the only things to sweep the room in years. This place was uninhabitable.
He’s insane, concluded Alex. That’s why he didn’t come to look for Chasity even though he was nearby.
Felix and I looked at Alex and nodded.
“I’m not insane, Alex,” said Chance slowly as though responding to our private mind-link.
We recoiled a little, wondering if that was just a coincidence? Chance’s smile remained plastered on his face.
It’s probably just a coincidence! I assured my brothers.
They both nodded marginally so as not to draw too much attention to our private exchanges.
“No, it’s not, I can hear you loud and clear,” admitted Chance, leaving us quite bemused.
Was he a wizard?
“How is that possible?” Demanded Felix.
“The witchcraft?” Inferred Alex. “From the group you belong too?”
Chance nodded.
“The Furina Ornata allows each of its members to tap into…special skills…my special skill is being able to listen to any mind-link within a certain radius. I can’t explicitly read minds but I can sense the truth and a lie with perfect accuracy and I can listen in on private mind-links,” said Chance, smiling.
That was astounding! I wondered if we could learn to listen to private mind-links. That would be a useful ability for Alphas to have. I wondered if Chasity had any special gifts. My wolf immediately reminded me of just how special and sweet Chasity was regardless. We didn’t care if she was “gifted” per say. I pictured her smiling face. I pushed the image from my mind because the pain was too much. I had to basically pretend she wasn’t missing to get through the day or even just the hour for that matter.
“Ok, congrats, back to Chasity,” grumbled Felix dismissively. “You’re her grandfather how? Who’s Dad are you? Her Mom’s or her Dad’s?”
“I’m Chalice’s father. Chalice was Chasity’s Mom,” explained Chance, a sadness taking over his expression.
Was? Why was he talking about his own daughter as if she was already gone? Had he given up hope of her being found? I was never giving up hope where my Goddess Chasity was concerned.
“Was?” Asked Alex, picking up on the same thing. “So you know for sure Chasity’s parents are…no longer with us?”
Chance sighed.
“My daughter Chalice had her demons. She wasn’t perfect. The order of the Furina Ornata was trying to help her. The order helps people with a variety of things including addictions. She was never able to successfully detox. She kept falling back by the wayside. Her mate, Chasity’s Dad had better luck detoxing with our order but Chalice’s relapses were his relapses since they usually did everything together. Mates can be our saving grace or our Kryptonite, you know,” said Chance sadly.
He seemed to be holding back a deluge of emotions. He had not really answered the question regarding Chalice and Chance being alive or dead but it felt a bit harsh to push him. Luckily, harshness was Felix’s specialty.
“Ok, we already know her parents were drug addicts,” pointed out Felix impatiently.
“Felix,” hissed Alex, nudging him and giving him an indignant look.
Chance let out a humourless laugh.
“You’re passionate about my granddaughter! I’m glad,” said Chance.
He still hadn’t accounted for anything. My wolf and I were anxious.
“This doesn’t add up,” I blurted out. “Where have you been, Chance? Chasity’s childhood sucked and I’m sure you knew that if you knew her parents were drug addicts. Didn’t you wonder where Chasity was when her parents skipped town?” I asked incredulously.
Chance sighed.
“When my daughter ran off, leaving Chasity, I followed her. I was trying to track her down and bring her back. I tailed them for a while,” revealed Chance.
This was it. A true lead regarding Chasity’s parents. He might know where they ended up after they fled town.
“And?” Asked Felix eagerly.
Chance looked away from us, sorrow clouding his eyes.
“And…unfortunately when I finally caught up to them…they were…” Chance trailed off.
He seemed close to tears. He steadied himself with a deep shaky breath.
“Please, I know it’s hard but please tell us Chance. It’s not too late for Chasity even if it was too late for her mother,” said Alex, gently, his eyes pleading with Chance.
Chance nodded. He seemed genuine in his desire to help Chasity. His eyes were still brimming with tears and his breathing was shaky. I patted him on the shoulder.
“I found them finally…I caught up to them in a motel miles and miles from here. I remember it so vividly because it was Christmas Morning,” confessed Chance.
“You know that song,” said Chance suddenly, his eyes glazing over as if he was envisioning the scene all those years ago.
“Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Dean Martin. It’s an old Christmas song,” he continued.
I knew that song. I loved that song.
“Beautiful. Chalice’s favourite. It’s so funny…the synchronicity…” he said, trailing off again, chuckling sadly.
He spoke with his hands a lot and currently, his hands were trembling.
“I…I was listening to that song on the radio…Walking in a Winter Wonderland…as I switched off the car and took the key out of the ignition but the song never stopped!” Revealed Chance.
Huh? My brothers and I looked at each other, bemused. Chance let out a nervous little laugh.
“The song was still playing on the same radio station but somewhere upstairs in the motel!” Explained Chance. “Chalice! Listening to the same Christmas song as her Dad on the same day at the same time on the same radio station!” Exclaimed Chance excitedly as tears streamed down his cheeks.
I smiled.
“That’s wonderful,” I said sincerely
Somehow I knew the story did not have a wonderful ending to match this heartwarming coincidence.
“So you followed the music?” I prompted.
“Right you are Calix, right you are!” Exclaimed Chance.
My brothers and I looked at each other in surprise. He could tell us apart! That wasn’t easy to do. Only our parents, exes, other pack leaders and of course our one and only Chasity could do that. We were mildly impressed.
“I followed the faint music. It grew steadily louder. There was an echo to it. The Marigold Motel not the hotel, the seedy motel. I went up the rickety side steps. Found one of the doors to the rooms left open. The music was coming from there. I walked in. The place was small and reasonably clean, nothing spectacular. Minimal Christmas decorations. I followed the Christmas Carol to the radio. I turned it off. I shouldn’t have turned it off. The music has been off ever since. When I turned a corner, Chalice and her mate were sitting, staring at the table in the kitchenette. Eyes wide. Just staring. There were fang marks on their necks,” Chance said, lost in a trance and trembling slightly.
“Vampires?” Asked Felix, worry evident in his eyes.
“Snake bites. Furina Ornata. The venomous Moon Snake. The order has special snakes that are a thousand times more venomous than usual,” revealed Chance.
“So it was the order! It is something to do with the tattoo!” Insisted Alex.
Had we just solved the cold case?
“No…not quite,” said Chance.
Huh?
“We give snake bites on purpose. The venom makes us stronger when administered correctly and under supervision. That’s how I got my powers. They were seeking help to get stronger. To fight whoever was chasing them!” Explained Chance.
“But?” Prompted Felix, eager for the conclusion of the strange tale.
Chance gulped. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“But the Furina Ornata member who had come to administer the snake venom was dead on the ground too with a bite bark on the neck,” confessed Chance.
I held in a gasp.
“Someone had come upon them and interfered with the ritual. The person or people they were running from interrupted the venom ritual so they couldn’t take the antidote and finish it. They died with venom flooding their systems unchecked. The antidote is usually kept in a metal briefcase with our symbol on it. I found the briefcase on the floor open and the antidote missing. Someone took the antidote and ran off. We usually bring many vials of antidote. The person took all, about half a dozen and left. Or people. The administrator of the venom, our member, she was dead on the ground near the empty briefcase with the snake still crawling about,” explained Chance very softly as though we might be overheard.
The tension in the room was palpable. I was devastated for my Chasity. Her own maternal grandfather had just confirmed the deaths of her parents and she wasn’t even here to process it for herself. Her parents had been doing whatever they could to get strong enough to fight their enemies and return to her but it had all gone wrong. Their enemies had come upon them mid-ritual and made off with the antidote, leaving Chalice and Chase to die by the very thing that was supposed to be their saving grace.
“So…what did you do after that, Chance?” I asked gently.
I was grateful that he was being so transparent with us. He had lost his daughter. No wonder his office was such a mess. He was probably depressed.
“I called the police. They came with an ambulance. I sat there and looked at Chalice staring at me sightlessly. She looked peaceful, hopeful, perhaps about the ritual. She herself had undertaken it successfully once before. We all did, numerous times. The ambulance people couldn’t revive them. They were pronounced dead and so was the administrator. The people who were chasing them. I had no idea still who they were or where they went. I buried my daughter and her mate with my own money. I even included the administrator in the funeral. It was a quiet little funeral in Marigold,” said Chance in hushed tones.
Alex
Marigold? Maze’s territory. When I got my Luna back, I would take her to her parents’ graves. It was not what we had been hoping for but the truth was always worth telling.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Snapped Felix, his blue eyes turning black.
I could understand his anger. Chasity had been in the dark all this time.
Chance looked affronted at Felix’s tone.
“Who was the administrator?” I asked instead, diverting Chance’s attention.
“The administrator was Deidre Binx, Chalice’s friend, and a fellow order member who used the venom treatments for her skin and whatnot like a beauty regime. She wanted to be a model,” said Chance flippantly.
I felt a chill creep through me. My brothers were uncomfortable too. Deidre Binx wasn’t dead so how could she be buried? Was this man a pathological liar? Or was Deidre Binx some kind of wraith? Was she a total imposter?
“Deidre Binx isn’t dead,” blurted out Felix. “She is a model, was. She’s a retired supermodel. She’s in LA, still schmoozing and again why didn’t you tell anyone? Chasity? Our parents? You left her in the dark,” complained Felix, his voice cracking slightly.
We were all grieving but I knew Felix was taking this the hardest. He blamed himself for letting Chasity out of his sight even if only for one minute when he let her use her downstairs bathroom. Chance looked flabbergasted. He truly hadn’t known that Deidre Binx had been walking runways for the past nine years. I looked around the room. Chance was probably a recluse.
“The real Deidre Spinx is dead,” said Chance firmly. “I know that with a certainty. I don’t know who that woman that models and has her name and looks just like her is. She’s not Deidre Spinx. I was never able to catch her and talk to her. She eluded me for years and I grew tired. I don’t think she actually killed anyone. Just benefitted from the death of Deidre. Took her spot in the modelling agency. Doppelgängers? I really don’t know. It’s creepy but my focus was Chalice. I buried her and I did tell your parents. Alpha Romeo and Luna Ronnie.”
I was going to be sick. A wave of nausea hit me. What? My parents knew Chasity’s parents were dead.
“I begged them to bring her to the funeral,” continued Chance. “I spoke with them on the phone. They hung up. They ignored my letters. I used to show up at the pack house after I got back from Marigold. They got a restraining order against me. Look it’s there!” Shouted Chance, pointing to the wall.
My brothers and I looked up. It was there. Chance had framed the restraining order against him. Chance laughed humourlessly.
“Your asshole parents,” he said with a shrug.
I caught Calix’s face contorting in anger out of the corner of my eye. I was too in shock to be offended.
“I sent toys and letters and things. Tried to get to see Chasity. They kept returning them. They threatened me. Told me to stay away from Chasity. The Luna blamed me and my daughter for her step-brother’s death,” revealed Chance.
He was dropping truth-bomb after truth-bomb on us. We scarcely had time to recover from any of them. Mom knew of Chase’s death and blamed it on Chance.
“I ran my casino and figured when Chasity turned eighteen she’d do her own digging and come back to me,” concluded Chance. “I became…depressed honestly.”
He wasn’t lying about that. It was plain as day. I began to feel sorry for him. Loneliness was a silent killer as far as I was concerned.
“This room it’s filled with stuff they returned. Stuff for Chasity,” said Chance, tears threatening to spill over from his eyes.
My younger brothers and I took another look around the room. My heart constricted painfully. I had thought the room was filled with random junk. Now, I could see many of the items were toys: dolls, teddy bears, tiny figurines. There were also clothes that would suit a little girl: frilly dresses and filly socks, hair bows, jewellery and even small pairs of pastel-coloured shoes. I spotted a few bottles of perfumes and antiques like a rocking horse and a little carousal-shaped music box. I realised what I had mistaken for old stacks of paperwork were letters and cards. I deciphered a few of Chance’s scribbles: Grandpa misses you, I love you, Dear Chasity, To my one and only grand-baby, I’m sorry, Hope to see you soon, I wish I could see you grow up, We’ll be together one day I promise, Merry Christmas, Happy birthday, Grandpa Loves you, Love always from Grandpa.
Calix was crying. Tears were sliding silently down his cheeks. Felix actually sat down in one of the sticky chairs in front of Chance’s desk. I could see him doing his breathing exercises. He was angry. Furious. I was too. I had to confront Mom and Dad about this. If they had really done this, if they had kept Chasity and Chance apart for no good reason, then they were…they were monsters. They were villains. Another wave of nausea hit me. I felt disgusted and not because the room needed a serious decluttering followed by a generous spray of lysol.
“Chance, I am so sorry for everything. I had no idea,” I said honestly.
I wanted Chance as an ally. If he truly loved Chasity, then we had a lot in common. Chance just nodded in response to my apology. The gambling debt story was likely bullshit. Chalice’s father owned the casino. The enemies involved couldn’t be debt collectors or loan sharks, they were more nefarious than that, more sinister and their motives, more mysterious. Chasity’s grandpa could not just wallow in this room. He needed to be instrumental in helping us find Chasity. I was almost completely convinced that the people who ruined the venom ritual nine years ago had something to do with Chasity’s disappearance.
“But I need you, Chance. We need you. Chasity needs you!” I said.
Chance straightened himself in his chair. He adjusted his blazer. This was a broken but talented werewolf. A gifted werewolf.
“Your ability to tell when people are lying! Your mind-linking reading! Those are amazing!” I said, building him up.
“Danny needs you! That’s our private investigator. Team up with him, with us, please, for Chasity!” I propositioned.
We could crack this case together. I just knew it. My brothers and I stared at Chance. Despite the anger coming off from Felix in waves and the sorrow emanating from Calix, I could also feel that they agreed with me. They wanted Chance on our side. Chance’s silence was making us all a bit anxious. He looked as though he hadn’t left this room except maybe to buy the gifts that cluttered it. Would he be bold enough to join our investigation?
For those of you not on my face book page or in my face book readers' group, I had a family emergency. My mother had some right calf pain so I measured her calves (I am a medical doctor) and the right was much larger than the left which is indicative of a clot so my Dad and I took her to get an ultrasound that confirmed the clot in the leg. That same day she became breathless which was terrifying because it was likely that she now had a lung clot. We rushed her to the emergency room. A special CT scan (CTPA) showed two lung clots. The following night I found out she was covid positive so she was transferred to a special ward of another hospital. My Dad and I were swabbed and found to be positive for covid as well. My wonderful readers have been so understanding and many have sent their well wishes our way. I am still in quarantine with my parents. My mother is now home with us which is a huge relief. I just wanted to update everyone. Also, sorry for putting this in the body of the work instead of the author's note. I was told by a few readers that they can't see some of the author's notes recently. I can't set a definite update schedule just yet as I still have days where my energy level drops significantly. There have been so many concerned messages and comments from readers and I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to replying to them yet but I want you to know they mean a lot to me. I'm also sorry for the lull in updates. I am slowly getting back into a routine. Please take care. Thanks so much for reading.
Love Joanna J
xoxoxo
Chapter 62: Chasity’s Missed Chance
Alex
After a tense moment and a deep long breath, Chance finally answered my question with another question.
“What about the restraining order?” He asked.
“We won’t let you get arrested if you’re with us,” I assured him quickly.
I glanced around the room at all the gifts Chasity had never gotten. There was a chance that Chance could be a little obsessive.
“No showing up at the pack house without us,” I cautioned him. “And after I have a talk with my parents we can think about getting the order waved.”
I needed to see my parents’ reaction to Chance. I would never put them in danger. I would be present and so would my brothers in case Chance was unhinged. However, my wolf kept telling me that Chance wasn’t a danger to any of us, especially not to my Luna, Chasity. His love for her seemed genuine. His heartbreak over not being allowed to be a present grandfather for her was evidenced by his lifestyle. Hoarding was done in an effort to comfort the hoarder. Hoarders were hurting and stuff made them feel safe or loved or some other desirable feeling.
“I wanna help. I wanna help Chasity,” said Chance, nodding to himself. “Yes,” he said.
I grinned. There was a huge smile on Calix’s face too. Felix was wearing a frown and a furrowed brow though.
“Wait!” Demanded Felix. “So where is Alexi Franck and who is he to you?” He questioned.
To our surprise, Chance simply laughed. He began looking for something in the inside pocket of his snug blazer. He pulled out his wallet and slipped a card out of it, offering the card to Felix. Felix took it. Calix and I leant in, scrutinising the card. It was an ID with a picture of a less dishevelled version of Chance. The name on the ID was Alexi Chance Franck.
“Oh,” said Felix softly. “Oh, it is you! But that doesn’t make sense. Our…informant said you were awful and it seemed as though Chalice had a huge gambling dept,” continued Felix, his eyes narrowed.
Chance fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.
“She did have a huge gambling dept and I did yell at her a lot,” admitted Chance, the shame and regret evident in his eyes. “She was a wayward child. I wouldn’t say I was awful but maybe she thought so,” mumbled Chance with a sigh.
Chance removed his sunglasses and wiped them with his blazer. The sunglasses were wet from tears shed during our difficult conversation.
“Being a parent isn’t easy,” whispered Chance, looking away from us. “She was angry because I wanted her to straighten up. She was doing drugs and being wild.”
I pictured Chalice as an older party-girl version of Chasity. Chasity could be quite stubborn. Perhaps, Chance had never really been able to discipline his daughter and by the time she had become an adult with a family of her own, it had been too little too late.
“I tried to get custody of Chasity and after that, she swore up and down the street I was the devil. I wasn’t able to get custody. I’m a single man and I own a casino. I probably don’t seem like a good guardian either. Chasity stayed with her mother and father till they gave her to the Luna and Alpha and there was no way I would win against them. They run the pack lands,” explained Chance.
His story was plausible. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. How could Mom do this? Why would she take in Chasity only to treat her like a maid when she could have been raised by her loving grandfather? Sure, he was not ideal but he would have undoubtedly cherished Chasity. Calix took the words right out of my mouth.
Calix
“Why would Mom insist on raising Chasity if there was an alternative? Why would she subject Chasity to…” I said, trailing off.
My wolf found this infuriating. I felt sick and deeply saddened. I was already mourning Chasity’s absence. Now I was mourning the childhood she missed out on. The childhood she could have had if Chance was telling the truth about Mom.
It was hard to admit that my Mom had been abusive towards Chasity, exploitative even. The two women I loved most might never truly be on good terms. When I got Chasity back (because I was getting her back at any cost), I would have to tell her what Mom had done. Chasity was my Goddess. I could not keep this from her. Chasity would find out that she could have had a relatively idyllic childhood with her Grandpa instead of being the pack house maid. Why would the pack house have a little girl for a maid anyway? What had Mom been thinking? We could have more than afforded a regular paid maid. We used to have several maids before Chasity had come to live with us and we had hired two new maids once Chasity became my mate.
“Subject Chasity to what?” Inquired Chance, momentarily snapping me out of my own inner monologue.
He didn’t know. Of course, he didn’t know. How would he? It had been common knowledge that Chasity had been made to “earn her keep” at the Pack House among well-connected pack members but Chance lived on the fringes. Fringe-dwellers were pack members too but they were hardly in the know. The news would devastate him. It was devastating me. I was not the only one. My brothers and I all displayed our feelings differently. Alex held back. I could feel him holding back now. There were so many repressed feelings within him, it was like a dam filled to bursting. The last deluge of emotions had flown out back when he had discovered that Chasity was ours. Felix, on the other hand, rarely got sad, he got mad.
Felix
I was so fucking pissed. Were my parents maniacs or something? Who the fuck would begrudgingly raise a child and make her feel unwanted when she was wanted by a living financially-stable family member? Chance could have probably paid Chasity’s “debt” cash and raised her himself. What was the point of subjecting her to years of toil? I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t just sit here while my Baby was missing and my Mom was sitting on a hugely relevant secret. My wolf was once again pacing. He needed to know if Mom was the culprit behind it all, even the kidnapping. I needed to get to the bottom of this.
I got up and walked out of the Chance’s pigsty of an office without a backwards glance. He seemed like a decent guy but I was done talking to him for now. I needed to question my parents.
“What did I say?” I heard Chance ask as I left.
Alex and Calix followed me and Chance followed them.
“Wait!” Called Chance. “I wanna help Chasity!”
The old wolf was struggling to hold onto an armful of teddy bears and stacks of letters bound by rubber bands. He followed us out to the car.
“Felix!” Said Alex sternly.
I could hear the worry in my elder bro’s voice. He was always worried about me losing my cool. He gave me no credit sometimes.
“I need to talk to our parents!” I said as I got in the driver’s seat.
Alex got into the passenger’s seat without another word. Calix and Chance sat in the backseat. I sped off, flooring the accelerator. I could hear the tires screeching but I didn’t care. I was a man on a mission. Chance and my bros were silent for the entire trip for which I was grateful. There were so many loud racing thoughts in my mind, I didn’t need any outward noise.
I parked in front of the Pack House in one swift move. I burst through the front door. Just the people I wanted to see. Mom and Dad. They weren’t alone though. Beta Keaton was there with his daughters, Roxie and Moxie. Moxie looked almost as pissed as I felt and Roxie was crying. She was my most reasonable ex. I cared about her but I didn’t have time for whatever was bothering her right now. My Baby Chasity was my reason for being and every second without her was painful. My eyes went back to Mom.
“Felix! How could you think of me as a suspect?” Cried Roxie, tugging on my sleeve to get my attention.
“Roxie, I don’t have time for this,” I said sternly. “Get over it! Are you in jail? No. Good,” I said dismissively.
Everyone was a suspect as far as I was concerned. My own mother was a suspect. Why should my ex think she would be exempt from the list? She should be grateful she was being let off after a simple conversation. I had gotten a text from the private investigator, saying Roxie had set Chasity up to be confronted by Tonya and the girls. If Tonya had hurt one curl on Chasity’s head, I would throw two of my exes in jail. Tonya herself and Roxie. Calix’s dopey ex and Alex’s psycho ex would be joining them too.
“Felix!” Chastised Mom.
“Mother!” I hissed
I was not about to let her distract me from the main issue at hand.
“Do you know this man?” I asked, pointing to Chance and scrutinising Mom's expression as she finally noticed Chance hiding behind Alex.
Mom gasped. Dad looked livid.
“What is he doing here?” Shouted Dad, incensed.
He was one octave away from using his Alpha Voice.
“Yes, he’s, he’s a…a stalker!” Said Mom.
“Is he or is he not Chasity’s maternal grandfather?” I growled through gritted teeth.
Did they take me for a fool? The fact that they were deflecting and not simply answering the question directly was very telling.
Mom spluttered, trying to find the words to say. Dad glared at me. They wanted to do this the hard way. FINE!
“IS HE?!” I yelled in my Alpha voice, making the whole room shake.
I would let this entire pack house crumble to dust to get to the truth. It was all relevant. Every potential enemy of Chasity was guilty until proven innocent. Roxie and Moxie fled the room while they still could. Even Keaton got up to leave.
“Beta Keaton, stay, please,” implored Mom.
“Go!” I whispered fiercely, still using my Alpha Voice and eliciting a small tremor.
Keaton was compelled to leave. He could not disobey a direct order like that from one of his Alphas. He glanced back Mom and Dad, an apologetic look in his eyes. Calix and Alex were silently flanking me. We needed to put up a united front.
“Let’s sit down,” encouraged Mom. “Let’s compose ourselves.”
“I wanna stand,” I said, keeping my voice measured but curt.
I didn’t want this to be a shouting match but it would be if necessary.
“I’m gonna ask one more time. Mom, Dad, who is this man and what is his relation to Chasity?” I asked, gesturing towards Chance again.
Chance was making himself small in a corner of the room. He was clearly intimidated by my parents. Mom and Dad did not look afraid of Chance despite Mom’s claim that he was a stalker.
Mom took a deep breath. She sat down in an armchair, facing my brothers, me and Chance.
“He is the father of Chalice and Chalice is…” she began.
“Chasity’s mother,” I said, finishing her sentence.
I felt like all the wind had been knocked out of me. I laughed humourlessly.
“He was telling the truth,” I said, still laughing.
It was all I could do to keep from crying.
“He was not a suitable guardian,” said Mom, her eyes turning black.
I did not buy it. I had never seen her angry on Chasity’s behalf before. Why would she care enough to keep Chasity from an unsuitable guardian. She had been an unsuitable guardian. Before I could compose myself a little, my wolf took over.
“YOU WERE NOT A SUITABLE GUARDIAN!!!” We roared.
“You’re out of control!!” Shouted Dad, his eyes now black like mine and Mom’s.
“No! No, I’m not. What is wrong with the two of you?” I asked, empathising the word to describe this situation.
It was wrong. It was sick. It was inhumane. I pictured my beautiful Chasity going nine years without a single birthday gift or Christmas present. Nine years of cleaning floors and toilets. Nine years of hand-me-downs.
“Ok, let’s say you didn’t want him to have custody. Did you stop him from bringing Chasity gifts and cards and letters? Did you?” I demanded.
“We just wanted nothing to do with him,” said Mom.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” I said, sinking into a chair.
I covered my face with my hands. My chest was exploding with literal pain. Chasity’s past psychological pain was like fresh physical pain to me, stabbing me all over. It was unbearable.
Calix
Felix was an emotional wreck and Alex was looking pale and stressed.
“Mom,” I said, looking her in the eyes, hoping it would be difficult for her to lie to me.
We needed the truth.
“I don’t understand! Why would you do that? Chasity was little. Why didn’t you just let her have the comfort of a relative? You never liked her very much,” I said, keeping things honest.
I was trying to keep the hysteria at bay but my grieving wolf was clawing his way out. Instead of rage building, I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes.
“I didn’t realise you…hated her,” I said softly.
“No, no. I do not hate Chasity. She’s not my cup of tea but…”
Mom trailed off, ending her feeble denial of her past misdeeds.
“What are you people saying?” Asked Chance, looking thoroughly confused and more than a little disturbed.
Everyone turned to him.
“What do you mean? Are…are you…are you saying that Chasity wasn’t happy here?” He asked, his eyes wide as he swiped his sweaty brow with a handkerchief.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Thankfully, Alex did.
“She was a maid essentially cooking and cleaning to work off debts. Gambling and drug debts that my parents said they paid off,” said Alex sadly.
“We did pay them off!” Bellowed Dad, his wolf at the forefront. “A quarter of a million dollars worth!”
“I could have paid that!” Yelled Chance, his wolf coming out too.
His eyes turned black and the angles of his face sharpened. He was close to shifting.
Dad stiffened uncomfortably.
“Your casino is..” Began Dad.
“I know it ain’t fancy but it makes money. I have my zombies. They do nothing but gamble. I could’ve paid that,” said Chance wryly.
Chance was almost breathless from the effort of holding back his wolf. I was furious with Mom and Dad but I readied myself in case I needed to jump between Mom and Chance. I knew Dad could fend for himself but I couldn’t let my Mom fight a male wolf. She was still my Mom. That was the worst part of all of this. My own mother had hurt my mate.
“Then why didn’t Chalice go to you?” Shrieked Mom indignantly.
“BECAUSE SHE HATED ME!” Roared Chance, making Mom jump.
Chance sank down onto the couch and gave way to sobbing. My heart went out to him. He had lost his only daughter and now his granddaughter was missing after nine years of them being kept apart. I patted his shoulder.
“Um…uh… don’t cry Grandpa,” I murmured.
I wanted him to feel like a part of this family. We were a lot more dysfunctional than I had ever realised growing up but we were still a family. We had to get through this together. If Mom wanted to redeem herself, she needed to put her all into helping us find Goddess.
“We’ll get Chasity back! I promise. She’s everything to me. She’s my whole life!” I declared, getting choked up.
My lip quivered.
“Then we’ll make sure she’s happy every single day and we’ll dust off those gifts and letters and she’ll be so excited to read them,” I said, smiling though there were tears in my eyes.
I had to hold onto to that future image, the one of Chasity happily reunited with us and receiving all the love she deserved.
Mom smiled at me, clearly grateful for my input. Chance slowly calmed down. We all did. Chance was taking deep slow breaths. He seemed pleasantly surprised at me calling him Grandpa.
“I can see Chasity whenever I want?” Clarified Chance, his eyes hopeful.
“Yes, Grandpa,” I said gently.
“And she can stay with me for a bit?” Added Chance.
I was not too sure about that one. Once I got my Goddess back, I wanted to be joined at the hip every single moment for the rest of forever. I didn’t care how enmeshed that was. I was never letting her out of my sight again.
Felix
I had been lost in my own tortured thoughts until I heard Chance ask if Chasity could come stay with him in future. I was going to get Chasity back and then I was going to keep her by my side forever. I wanted to make that clear. I straightened in my chair.
“You can stay here for a bit to spend some time together if Chasity likes that idea but my wife doesn’t do sleepovers,” I said in a no-nonsense tone.
Chance looked a bit peeved but he nodded wordlessly.
“So what was it about Chance that made him an unsuitable guardian for Chasity?” Asked Alex.
He had been quiet for a while now but he was livid. I could tell. I knew my brother well enough to know when he was boiling up with rage on the inside but seemingly cool, calm and collected on the outside.
I wouldn’t put all the blame on Mom. She was the greatest offender here but Dad could have stopped her. He was complicit. We were complicit too. We should have put a stop to the maid-work from the moment we had turned eighteen, three years before becoming Alphas.
Mom was silent. Was she refusing to answer the question. Chance spoke up before I could repeat it on Alex’s behalf.
“She thinks I killed my own daughter and her mate, Ronnie’s stepbrother,” muttered Chance.
That was a heavy accusation.
“Prove that you didn’t!” Hissed Mom.
Dad folded his arms, his jaw set.
“Prove that YOU didn’t!” Retorted Chance.
Huh?! My heart almost stopped. That had never occurred to me. My greatest fear had been that my own parents could have arranged Chasity’s kidnapping. However, I couldn’t bear to think they could have put some kind of hit out on Chasity’s parents. It wasn’t logical. They always acted as though she had been foisted upon them. Why would they orphan her only to find her a burdensome orphan?
Mom and Dad sighed. Calix closed his eyes as he leant back on the couch. This was probably the hardest for him. He was so close to Mom. He was missing Chasity and his old relationship with Mom. In one day, the way he viewed her had changed. I could feel his conflicting emotions though our bond as triplets.
It’ll be okay, I said to him privately.
I felt him nod over mind-link.
It’ll be okay, I said again, including Alex and trying to convince myself as well.