Chapter 34: The past always haunts

**Mat**

I was thinking of a way to talk to Nat about her registration in our pack. There was a council that governed the world of werewolves. She hadn't been born in the US, it was rare, a werewolf born in Japan, at least recently. She also had Russian ancestry, which aroused more interest and, with curiosity after curiosity, the council would get to her origins. They would research her mother and father, maybe even her grandparents.

So, my father wanted to know how we had met and that would involve a lot of things. In clarifying a lot of things because rumors could arise. And it was to avoid any discomfort and be prepared for everything that I needed to tell everything to the alpha, who happened to be my father and her father-in-law. So, I knew it would be embarrassing for her, at the very least. We would have to be strong, but the past always haunts us, doesn't it? She wasn't to blame for anything, she was a victim, and I thought I should tell my father first, but not before asking her permission.

I took her home and we sat in the living room to talk. I put her on my lap, kissed her, and told her that I loved her and would always be with her, but we needed to have a serious talk.

She looked at me blankly and that killed me. I explained to her about the council, how it worked, and that since she was moving to another country, we needed to create her entry record into the pack. It could be simple, or it could be more complex, since she would be a future luna. Soon, she would be in charge of the pack alongside me, and that made the council more responsible for knowing her origins and past.

It hurt me to see her eyes fill with tears. She knew where I was going with this.

"Honey, I want you to know that if this is too difficult for you, I can give up being an alpha, we can even change packs if necessary. I just won't ever give up on you again. I love you, I will always love you." — I love you, Mat, I will always love you too, that's why I can't take you away from your pack, from your parents... It would be better if I went away, wouldn't it?

"What? No. How can you think that? No, love. Let's face this together, okay? I want your permission to tell our alpha the truth. You're not to blame for anything, you've done nothing wrong, I'm a witness to that. I've known you since you were 17, Natsuke, no one will say anything bad about you. I know who you are. That's enough for me. But we all need to be united in case there's any misinterpretation and we have to win with the truth. There's nothing to be afraid of."

" Do I need to be with you? That's uncomfortable... I don't know how he might react, your mother..."

"Love, you don't need to be with us, but there's nothing to be ashamed of. You're a survivor. The victim of the story, but yes, I can talk to my father first, and then we can talk to the alpha together, what do you think?"

She just nodded and hugged me, crying. I petted her until she calmed down and fell asleep. I put her to bed. I mentally called my father and asked for a private father-son conversation. I asked if he could come to my house. He said he was on his way.

...

I greeted him on the porch. I was sweating cold, but I wouldn't put off this conversation for another second.

"Son!"

"Dad! Welcome!"

"Shall we sit in the living room?"

"Yes. Do you have a whiskey?"

" Yes. I think I'll need a shot too."

" I'm glad we moved on to this phase of talking to me first without using your mother as an intermediary. This is a man's conversation, right?"

"Yes. And I need to get advice from you before I talk to my alpha."

" I understand. I'll try not to mix things up. It won't be easy."

" Not for me either." — I said.

"Well, then, I'd better start by saying that I love you very much, son."

" I love you too, dad. And I think I made a mistake, leaving out something about how Nat and I met."

" Okay, this might be more personal than the usual encounters, right?"

"Yes, Dad. I'll tell you straight away because I'm worried, okay?" — He nodded and took a sip of his whiskey. " I've known her for a long time. Before you think. I was still an 18-year-old boy and she was 17".

It was on a trip I made, my first to Japan. She was my first sexual experience and I was hers. Although her family in Japan was very poor and dysfunctional, she fought hard to try to be different and she even managed to get into college with good grades and a scholarship, she managed to change her life. But there's no way to erase the past, right?

" Son, what are you trying to tell me? So far I haven't seen any problem. Maybe everything would have been easier if you had told us about her earlier, we could have helped..."

" But I didn't know. I didn't know what a mate bond was, not exactly. I didn't feel the bond right away, or if I did, I didn't want it to be true, I thought it would pass, that it was just a crush, a strong sexual crush... she wasn't a wolf and I didn't know if she would want to be... so, I tried to forget her..."

" You almost killed yourself because of that, you know? When you had those fevers and spent months in bed... you put your life at risk by being away from your mate, and we didn't know what was causing it... you could have died, you idiot!"

"Well, I didn't die, I'm fine now and she's here with me. So, I'm sorry, for having made my choice. I didn't want to bring a human into the pack. It was a change not only of life, but of country, of culture... she was afraid of me, I mean, of my wolf."

" What do you mean? She met her wolf?"

" It was by accident. I was ignoring Shake and I got a fever, I fell unconscious and he took over me. She found him and was very scared, she was terrified and fainted. She was a human and didn't know anything about werewolves or her father. She said my wolf was a monster, that werewolves were monsters and I didn't have the courage to tell her the truth. I decided that she would be a memory in my life and I would let her go find someone and be happy."

" Shit. I should have talked to you more about it. She already had her wolf, somewhere, she also felt the bond even without knowing it. You two could have died."

" Well, that's not a problem now."

"And what's the problem, son?"

" It's just that... well, during World War II, the Japanese army kidnapped some women, among them Natsuke's grandmother. They turned them into comfort women for their soldiers."

"Shit! I know that story."

" Her grandmother ended up being sexually exploited in Japan and did the same with her daughter, Nat's mother. One day, she met a werewolf and fell in love, but when she found out who he was, she ran away from him. She was considered crazy for talking about werewolves, she ended up giving in to her addiction, she was dependent and to maintain that addiction, she also wanted her daughter to go... to work in the field she knew."

" What are you trying to say?"

"Nat never prostituted herself, dad, I know that. |she was 16 when she started dancing, just a dancer in a club. That's where I met her."

" What were you doing in a place like that, Mateo?"

"Getting to know life, dad. Just what young people do when they're away from their parents, I wasn't alone, I was with Liam."

" Liam knows that Nat..."

" Yes, but he knows the whole story, he would never say anything."

" My son, this is complex, this is the past of a future luna..."

" I know... I'm willing to give it up if necessary, I don't need to be an alpha."

" But, this pack has been under our family's command for over a century!"

"Dad, I love her. I won't leave her."

"So, defend her. Don't give up on anything because of what others will say."

" Really, Dad?"

"Well, I know it's going to be hard. Especially for her. But I saw her with the children today, she's a loving person and has a lot of strength. However, you two must be prepared because someone can always bring up this story to use against you."

"We know that, that's why I wanted to talk to you before anyone else. I know you care about the family name and tradition."

"But she didn't seek this, she was the victim of a terrible story. There's nothing to fear, not from the council, not from your pack, not from your family, whoever wants something against you should back out."

" And what about mom, dad?"

"Well, I think that's a conversation that I, as a husband and alpha, will have to have with her."