A scary revelation
Chapter 56
Gradel
The pangs of hatred I'd been harboring against my father for all the atrocities he had committed suddenly disappeared when I saw blood spurt out from his lips while he groaned in pain.
I shifted to my human form, dashed towards him and helped him into a sitting position. The man I called my father was on the verge of dying and here I was, looking helpless.
Silas was probably on one end fighting for his life and for that of others, and while I didn't want him to lose his life, I wasn't sure I could watch my father die like a coward as well. Besides, he had a lot of explanations to give to me.
"Just wait here for me, Father. I'll get Silas," Fear radiated from my tone but I didn't care.
The pain that came with losing another parent was one I wasn't willing to bear even though we weren't on good terms.
I'd taken a step to leave when he grabbed my slacks.
"Don't go anywhere, son. I deserve whatever is happening to me." He croaked, his face turning pale.
The poison was already beginning to circulate and in no time it would get to his heart. I didn't even want to think of what would happen if Silas didn't come on time.
"Please, let me. You might deserve whatever is happening to you, but you need to be alive first to atone for your sins," I gritted.
"Of course, he's going to be alive but not for too long." A female voice echoed behind me, her heels clicking loudly as she advanced towards me.
I spared her a backward glance and my body froze in bewilderment. She had Iris in a choke-hold with a knife pressed against her neck.
"Let her go or I'll tear you apart!" I thundered.
My claws stretched out again and the urge to tear her apart enveloped me, but a wince from Iris stopped me in my tracks. She didn't have a wolf and her fighting skills were nothing to write home about, so one wrong move could end her and her blood would be on my head.
She should have ran to the safe room when I asked her but she just had to be slow as usual. I thought spitefully.
The kidnapper made a tsking sound and rolled her eyes. "That's a wrong way to begin a negotiation, but I understand that the woman isn't important to you so I'll just go ahead and cut off her head like I'd earlier intended."
Her words were akin to the parables I read in one of the Holy books I came across when I was in the human world, but it didn't stop me from understanding that she wanted to kill my mate.
"Don't hurt her," I forced through my clenched teeth. One glance at Iris and my heart began to beat fast, knowing that she was getting weak. "Who are you and what do you want?"
A wry smirk appeared on her face. "You'll soon learn who I am, but the problem is giving me what I want. Are you sure you can do that?" She drawled.
"Get to the point," I demanded angrily, my patience running thin.
Unfortunately, I couldn't launch an attack against her because of the other sentinels who were closing in on us... And where the hell was Devin? Had he set us up?
I was so going to murder him if he had a hand in this, but my questions were answered when I saw him being dragged in by two enemy sentinels. His face was battered and his body was filled with bruises and cuts.
"Your father committed a huge offense several years ago. I'm sure you both know that your mother wasn't his mate but what he didn't tell you is that your father killed your late mother." She declared. "He betrayed her trust and poisoned her."
I darted my gaze to my father who sighed and inclined his head, a silent agreement to the accusation made against him.
"No, no. That can't be true. You have to debunk this claim, Father," Sadness and pain welled up within me as I got nothing from my father. "How did you know that?" I directed my question at her, my tone rueful.
She smiled this time, but her eyes held sadness. "I'll tell you a story," She breathed. "Years ago, our Alpha had a beautiful family. His mate was the most beautiful woman in the pack and he doted on her so much. They had two children, a boy and a girl who later became your mother. Your father never loved your mother but he pretended to be smitten by her because he wanted to be the Alpha of this pack and that couldn't happen if he didn't have a mate or an heir. So he charmed our Alpha princess and made her fall in love with him. She got pregnant and eloped with your father."
While listening to her heart-wrenching story, I looked for ways to get Iris away from her grip.
"Our Alpha was livid and heartbroken because of what your father did while his mate fell ill with a strange disease at the same time. He couldn't hold back his displeasure so he came here to talk to his daughter and possibly bring her back to the pack, but she didn't listen to him. She told her father, our Alpha, that she was an adult and Cronus here could take care of her. And that was the truth, so he let her be but he kept watching her from a distance until he heard about her death. And when we made a secret investigation, we discovered that your father was behind it. It killed our Luna and we began to hatch a revenge plan. That was why we kidnapped Iris that day."
Memories from the past flickered in my head as I recognized her face. I hadn't seen her clearly but I knew that she'd dished out orders to stop me from escaping with Iris.
"So you kidnapped her to get back at us?"
She shrugged and brought Iris closer. "Something close to that, but you interfered. Well, that's in the past because we are here now and nothing will stop us from getting what we want and if you don't do as we ask, the blood of the pack will be on your head."
I gulped and nodded in exhaustion. Hearing the truth about my father had incited the hatred I thought had vanquished. He'd lied about not being behind her death, and here I was, trying to save a cruel man like him.
"So what do you want me to do?" I asked coldly.