Chapter 22

ABBY POV.

My mind was reeling as Marcus pulled me through the corridors of the huge house. I didn’t have time to admire the wooden stairs or the walls and floors. “Where are we going? And where are my parents?” I asked as I had to jog to keep up. Marcus briefly looked at me. “To the cellar… That is where they will be.” Marcus said and I frowned in confusion. “Why would they be down there?” I asked. I felt him squeeze my hand briefly as he pulled me along. There were people in the halls and in the rooms that we passed by and I got a lot of curious looks. I ignored them. I was worried about my parents being here and Marcus’s father’s attitude towards me was very unnerving. The first time we met, he was so happy and eager to invite me to dinner and now he wanted Marcus to dump me… was us being different wolves really such a dangerous thing? I wondered.

“The cellar is our dungeons. That is where we keep dangerous wolves locked up.” Marcus said and I gasped in shock. “WHAT?!” I exclaimed and turned to look behind me. His father, Marius, was hot on our heels and for a moment I saw shame on his face before he swallowed and took on a look of indifference. “You locked my parents in the dungeon?” I chastised and I noticed that my voice sounded a little rougher right then. I felt a pang of anger rise in my chest and I wasn’t sure if it was entirely my own. Before I could think more about it. Marcus came to a halt in front of a door.

Just by looking at it, I knew this was to the underground prison. It wasn’t your typical door. Instead of wood like the others that we have passed, it was entirely made out of iron. Marcus banged on the door. The sound echoed loudly in my ears. A second later, a rectangle opening slid open and dark eyes looked at us from within. I swallowed as those eyes narrowed at me where I stood next to Marcus, but as soon as those eyes landed on the man next to me, they widened in surprise. “Open the door!” Marcus nearly growled at the man and I inhaled a breath. I could feel his anger in his rough voice. The eyes behind the door widened some more and blinked. “I have o-orders from the alpha…” He was starting to say when Marcus snarled at him into silence. Marcus whipped around and glared at his father. “Open it!” He demanded. I saw anger flash in his father’s eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before Alpha Marius looked towards the guard on the other side of the door and nodded his head.

The door unlocked from the inside and it had barely begun to swing open when Marcus grabbed the iron handle and pulled it open with force. The guard inside was momentarily pulled forward as he still had hold of the handle on his side, but he quickly gained his footing and stepped aside when Marcus marched forward, pulling me along again.

We descended the cement steps and I coughed when a damp musky smell hit my nose. When we reached the bottom, it opened up into a large space and I gasped in shock at what I saw. I didn’t know what I was expecting but this wasn’t it. There were two rows of cells. One on either side with the space down the middle to walk through them. The cells were iron bars all around. There were no walls in between which meant no privacy whatsoever for the person who was locked up.

A sob formed in my throat when I saw them. My parents were in the last cage to my left and before Marius could move, I let go of his hand and ran towards them. “MOM! DAD!” I yelled as I sprinted towards them. “ABIGAIL!” My mother called out in surprise when she saw me. Her eyes darted to Marius behind me and to the others that were also coming down the stairs and she had a panicked look on her face. I reached the cells and I hugged her through the bars as my tears fell over my cheeks. I would never have thought to have to see my parents caged like this and anger stirred in my chest. My mother was the first to pull back and she took my face in her hands and looked at me intently before she spoke. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” She asked and I shook my head but my mother didn’t look convinced as her eyes darted to the bandage on my arm. “I’m fine Mom.” I said and gave her a small teary smile. Her eyes darted to Marcus before they settled on me again. He had caught up to me and he looked apologetically at my parents. “I am so sorry about this. If I had known I would never have allowed this to happen.” He said and I saw my mother narrow her eyes at her before she looked at me again. “Abby? What is going on?” My mother asked but before I could answer, the alpha made himself heard.

“That is what we all would like to know!” Alpha Marius said as he neared the cell. I shot a glare at him and for a moment his step faltered but he composed himself.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” My mother said and I heard her swallow nervously. I noticed that she didn’t make eye contact with him, instead, she looked at his shoes. “I think you do!” he said, but before my mother could retort, Marcus stepped in between them.

“I think you have done enough, father. We will handle it from here.” Marcus said with a strong voice. He looked at his father with a serious expression. I could see that his father was pissed at being told to be quiet. I could see my mother’s eyes dart between the two men and I also didn’t miss the look of realization when Marcus called the alpha father. I could see in the way that she subtly reacted that she knew exactly what they were and their titles. I just needed her to confirm it.

My father came forward and put a hand on my mother’s shoulder. He looked fine whereas my mom looked a little ruffled. “Gail, maybe it’s time…” My father said gently to my mother but she shook her head. “NO!” My mother said a little too loud. My father looked at her sadly and sighed. My mother closed her eyes and sighed too.

“Mom?” I spoke softly and my mom opened her eyes slowly to look at me. “Are you a werewolf?” I asked and a defeated look crossed into her eyes. “Am I a werewolf?” I asked and gave me a sad smile. She looked my face over and tucked a stray hair behind my ear. She didn’t say a thing, only stared at me.

“Mom, I know.” I said and she closed her eyes. She had a defeated look on her face when she looked at me again. Her eyes darted to Marcus who was standing behind me. She gave him a small smile before she looked at me. “He is your mate, isn’t he?” She asked and to hear those words come out of my mother’s mouth sounded so strange to me and it was all the confirmation that I needed. “Yes.” Was all I could get out at that moment and she nodded while she pulled her hands back through the bars.

“I knew you smelled different when you came to dinner the other night… I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.” She said and my father came forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders before dropping a kiss on top of her head. “We wanted to tell you kiddo.” My father spoke. “But when you didn’t shift on your sixteenth birthday, your mother and I decided that it was best not to.” My father said and I looked between the two.

“You should still have told me.” I said as I looked to my mom and she really looked apologetic. “I know but I thought that the Moon Goddess had answered my prayers when I begged to be let out of this type of life.” She said and I frowned in confusion.

“Why?” I asked. From what I have seen so far, these pack families didn’t seem so bad. My mother looked at my mate standing behind me and her eyes darted to the alpha. “All packs are not the same, Abby. Some packs are built on trust and love… whereas others are built on fear and obligation.” She spoke and I felt Marcus come closer to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me to him.

“Is that how things were at the Violet Moon pack?” Marcus asked and my mother’s eyes widened in surprise. “How…?” She started to ask when her eyes landed on mine before she closed them as realization crossed her face. “Your wolf has already awoken, hasn’t she?” My mother asked and I frowned. I wasn’t sure how to answer that. She must have seen the look on my face because she continued but she directed the next question at my mate. “You marked her?” She asked.

“Yes.” Marcus answered and I still felt confused. I was getting used to the terms that they were using but I was still trying to puzzle together what it all meant. “I marked and mated her the night we met.” Marcus said and the mate part I understood and my cheeks flared red in embarrassment that he just told my parents openly that he slept with me.

My shoulder tingled then and I lifted a hand to rub over the skin where he had left his love bite that night and that was when I realized what it was. It wasn’t a love bite. It was an actual bite… marking me as his.

With my cheeks still burning, I saw my mother looking at me. so awkward. I thought and I swallowed nervously. To my relief she didn’t say anything, but a look of worry crossed her face as she looked to Marcus again. “You are the alpha’s son? Which makes you an alpha?” She asked and I felt him nod behind me and her eyes darted to Marcus’s father. “Yellows can’t become alpha’s…” My mother said slowly and she looked more worried. “So, which are you?” My mother asked and that was when Alpha Marius came forward.

“We are the Blue Moon Pack.”