Chapter 75 Marked by fate
Alyssa's POV
"Oh no!” I murmured, immediately I saw Zayne's dad enter, his face expressionless.
It was no secret that I wasn't his favourite person and the last few conversations he had with Zayne was proof enough. I should've insisted on going along with Zayne.
Realizing that I was in Zayne's seat didn't make me feel any better. "Maybe if I didn't breathe, he wouldn't see me.” I thought and Nira snorted. “Would you like me to respond to that?" She asked, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as the man made himself comfortable in the chair opposite mine.
"Good afternoon, sir.” I heard myself say, and I was proud of myself for not stammering.
He raised his brows slightly, his eyes watching me like I was suddenly in some sort of test I wasn't aware of. I was tempted to mindlink Zayne to come and deal with his father but he had more important things to worry about than what his dad was going to say to me. It wasn't anything that I haven't heard before…except he decided to become creative in the days that he didn't show up.
"You have to stand up for yourself against him sooner or later.” Nira told me. "Show him that you're not the same person he knows."
I paused, she was right. Nothing he said would change how Zayne feels about me and if I was going to be Luna, I needed to stop letting people…his dad and mom, walk over me like I was still powerless.
Slowly, I raised my head to meet his eyes looking at me and maybe I was mistaken, but there was something that looked like amusement in his eyes.
"I was starting to worry I'd become invisible.” He said, “that pep talk definitely worked.”
My jaw dropped, and I didn't try to hide my confusion. "You were expecting me to chew you out, weren't you?” He asked, still looking at me.
I nodded, "you do have a reputation.” I heard myself say before I could stop them. I waited for his reaction and he just laughed, actually laughed.
"What's going on right now?” I thought, just as I heard him speak again.
“I do, don't I?" A sad look flashed through his eyes but they were gone almost immediately, like I imagined it. He paused, finally looking away from me. Using the opportunity, I took a good look at him. He was so similar to Zayne, both in his features and structure.
“I'm losing my children." He said again. “And trying to act like it's nothing, isn't working anymore."
Hearing him, the initial fear I felt was quickly replaced by an understanding look. But I waited for him to continue and he did.
“I spent my entire life building a pack that can withstand any attack, forming alliances with people that mattered, it was everything…or so I thought.” He continued. "And then you came into the picture.”
I shifted uncomfortably in my chair but listened anyway. "It was going to ruin everything I spent years building. My son now threatens to cut ties with us for you…he never did that with Nyra.”
"Maybe because her family was highly ranked?” I thought but didn't miss how his eyes widened. "Sorry.” I murmured, realising I said it out loud.
He shook his head, “I realised I'd do exactly the same for my mate…but things have gone far beyond repairs…he's mad and disappointed and he has every right to be.”
"Just talk to him, I'm sure he'll come around.”
We remained in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “You're good for him…I'm sorry I gave you a hard time.”
I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it was definitely not an apology from my mate's father, knowing how difficult admitting that he did something wrong was for him.
"You were trying to protect him, but I'm not with him for his status.”
"I should know, you were literally begging for a rejection.” Nira added.
Soon enough, both of us were talking like we've been friends since the first day I arrived at the Pack. He told me stories about Zayne when he was younger, a proud look on his face. For a brief moment, I was reminded about what talking to my dad when he was alive felt like.
“Now I wished I saw that…he's all mature now.” I told him, when he told me about how Zayne wasn't afraid to confront the Elder even at a young age.
“I think I can find some pictures."
My smile widened, “thank you Alpha."
“You can call me dad." He told me, just as the door opened.
(After Zayne entered and his dad mentioned the variant wolf, to avoid repetition.)
“Does this have anything to do with your research on the Variant wolf?" Zayne's dad asked, and I felt his grip on my arm tightened.
“What?”
I stared at Alpha Dorian, the shocked look on Zayne's face making it obvious he was just as surprised as I was.
“How do you know about that?” I asked, the same time Zayne asked, "what do you know?”
Alpha Dorian took a deep breath before casually explaining that the moment Xavier started digging into it, he got an alert and at first he thought it was a mistake because no one was supposed to know about it, because it was supposed to remain a myth because of how impossible the chance of it happening was.
"But guessing from your reaction now, it wasn't a mistake.”
“It’s not.” Zayne said, after a few minutes. “How come we couldn't find anything useful."
I turned to face him, “you said you found something?" I argued.
“Completely different thing, baby." He murmured, but I just rolled my eyes and turned back to his dad.
“What do you know about the variant wolf? You must know something about it.”
Dorian thought for a few seconds before opening his mouth. "Long before you were born,” he started, "there was a prophecy about a variant wolf that was going to be born. It was going to be the most powerful wolf to be known, with powers that no one has seen before and would change the course of the werewolf race if not managed properly.” He finished.
I swallowed hard, his words sounded unbelievable but at this point, I've made up my mind to accept whatever development comes up with an open mind.
“Did it say anything about her parents?" Zayne asked, much to my confusion.
He shook his head, “I don't remember anything about that."
“What are you talking about? My dad is late and my mom doesn't care about what happens to me." I said, “you know this."
His hand cupped my face gently, “I wasn't sure about it before…but they're not your parents.”
Everything stopped, I even forgot how to breathe. "You're telling me my entire life is a lie?” My voice was barely above a whisper as the image of my dad flashed through my mind, how he never fails to remind me that he loved me, images of my mom complaining about everything, comparing me to Iris. And as much as I hated to admit it, her behavior suddenly made sense.
"I'm going to find out what happened." Zayne promised, his thumb wiping the tears that I hadn't realized were streaming down my face.
“Wait…” Dorian paused, looking between us. "Why are you talking like you know who…" he trailed off, and I saw the exact moment the realization hit him and his jaw dropped.
“This is unbelievable!" He murmured, his gaze not leaving mine as if I suddenly became something else.
“I can't believe the people I knew all my life as my parents, are strangers.”
"They don't deserve you…maybe your dad but definitely not the woman you called mom." He replied, kissing my lips softly while his Dad sat there, probably wondering how I turned out to be the variant wolf.
“There's something else the prophecy mentioned.” Dorian said, causing both of us to pause and look at him.
“The variant wolf is twin born."
This just keeps getting interesting.