Chapter 72 Seventy-Two

Chapter 72 Seventy-Two
Consok, February 6, 1867
Drew
The suit felt too tight. Everything felt strained and tense, and I sure wasn’t happy.
It wasn’t my happiness that counted, however, so I had to suck it up and go on with today and the rest of our lives as if I am just as elated as they all were.
In a few hours, I had to walk my mother down the aisle to be married a second time. It’s not that I don’t like the guy. George was a pretty decent man who brought my mother and sisters happiness after our father disappeared. But he was also my uncle—my father’s brother, and it simply didn’t sit right with me.
My father, Consok’s Beta wolf—second to the king—disappeared over two years ago. He went to sea and never returned. My mother was crushed—we all were. My uncle, George, was always around us, never letting a weekend pass without visiting. When pops disappeared, George came around much more often with his seven boys of different women, and he was making my mother—his brother’s wife—number eight.
I noticed the pregnancy before she did. It was just like when she was pregnant with my youngest sister, Athena. First was the morning sickness, then the constant urge to sleep and cravings for odd food.
I was heartbroken, of course. Being the oldest, I was the closest to my father, and I didn’t believe that he was dead. But my mother was sick of the waiting and suffering from pain. I couldn’t blame her.
However, to avoid the shame, George proposed to her. And as much as he made her happy, I worried that he would hurt her, just like he hurt his seven mistresses.
Our home was large enough to house us all. It would be just about full with my five sisters and his seven boys.
My family’s wealth never outlived us, being the Beta family, and if I was grateful for it anytime, it was now, being prepared to live in a house with twelve siblings, plus another little one on the way. I hoped it was a boy. I loved my sisters, but I would love to teach someone who wouldn’t be bored with it to swing a sword.
The thought alone lifted my mood. I knew one thing for sure. No matter who my mother has children with, I would always adore them, no matter their age or gender. My siblings are my life.
“Drew! Make haste! The wedding bells are ringing.” Speaking of siblings, I rolled my eyes at my sister’s exaggerated statement.
Before I could even open the door, she barged in, perfectly adorned in a blue gown with her voluminous hair falling over her shoulders. Her glare, no matter how stern, still had my lips pulling into a smile.
“Julia, I have been ready for a while now. I only didn’t wish for you women to feel as if you are moving too slow.” I chuckled at her attempt to keep her frown in place. But once I was directly in front of her, she broke out in giggles.
“Oh, Drew, must you tease us always because we are women?”
“I would never,” I said, feigning innocence. “You look beautiful, by the way. It was worth every second.” I held her to my chest and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Thank you,” she said. “Now, we must go. Mother is waiting by the pack’s community center.”
I blinked a few times at her words. “Pardon me? Where is she?”
“At the wedding venue, of course,” she said, a little stunned by my reaction. “Is there a problem?”
“Who took her?”
“George did.” It all made sense then. It was agreed that I would take her in my carriage. If I had known that George was planning to take her, then I would’ve made myself clearer.
Julia sighed as she held onto my hand. I didn’t notice that my expression had gotten grim until she tried to rub the frown from my lips. It was a habit of hers since we were children, where she would try to cheer me up whenever I was down. Being the second oldest and probably the only other one who understood what was really going on here, she understood what I felt.
“It is already done, Drew. There is nothing we can do about it anymore.”
“I know,” I sighed. “It is wrong. Is it not?”
“Indeed,” she agreed. “But Mama is happy again, Drew. So that should count as something.”
“It does,” I told her. In fact, I was elated that she was happy again. But I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around the situation. At least not yet.
“You need not worry about her, Drew. Uncle George loves her. Perhaps not as much as Papa did, but he loves her. Now, shall we go?”
Without saying another word, I nodded and left with Julia. Even if my heart was telling me no to this marriage, I wouldn’t dare try to tell her otherwise as long as my mother wishes it. Besides, she is with child again. At least we knew our father, and most people had accepted that he died at sea. This new Bronmir baby will have the chance to be with his father, George. And who knows? Maybe my sisters will soon see him as one, too.
As for me, I will not stop waiting for mine to come back home. Someday.

The wedding was short but well put together. I didn’t expect it to be so…good, but at the same time, I knew there was no turning back for my mother at that point. Before they said their vows, she had a million chances to back out. But now, it was done.
I wasn’t upset about it, or at least I tried not to be. My sisters seemed happy, and so did she. The smaller ones didn’t understand like I do, but George was their chance of a new life again. I wouldn’t dare try to take that away, but I only hoped my uncle lived up to his vows.
My jaw ticked at the swift image flashed across my mind of my mother crying in heartbreak again. I’d kill him if he tried. She can’t go through that again, not while she has another child on the way.
I needed fresh air. The room was growing far too warm for me, so I stepped outside for a bit with my glass in hand, leaning against the balcony as I gazed at the forest trees and sunset.
It calmed me. Nature always did as a wolf.
My eyes sat on the image of the perfect sea as the sun ducked behind its horizon. I stood on this very balcony numerous times over the past two years, waiting to see my father’s ship sail beyond that line and come back home to us. But I’d spend hours looking—waiting, and he never showed.
I sighed at the thought as I dropped my gaze. Maybe he really is…
“Are you not a fan of George?”
I was taken aback by the foreign but close voice that interrupted my space and thought, and I swung my head around, being met with a complete stranger, but he was certainly dressed for the occasion of the wedding. He seemed around the same age as George, so I suspected they were friends.
“Of course. He is my uncle,” I told the stranger as I took a sip from my glass.
“But you do not like him with your mother,” the man concluded, and I shot him a warning look.
He raised his arms in surrender as he chuckled a bit. “You need not worry, young lad,” he said through a laugh. “I can read people well, that is all. I’ve simply seen your mood all day.”
“You have been watching me, then? Is that it?”
“Ahh, but I have,” he admitted, taking me aback for a while. “You are young, strong and high-spirited. You would be of good use to me, Drew.”
I instinctively stepped away from him. It was odd how he knew who I was and spoke of me as if he had been observing me. I didn’t like it.
“Who are you?” I dared to ask, and the man’s lips pulled into a side smile as he grabbed onto my shoulder with his iron grip. I tried to pry his hands from me, but he would not budge. My second instinct was to shout, but then he jerked my head forward and forced my eyes to his.
“You will not make a sound,” he said, and suddenly my voice seemed like it had been shut off completely. Except, it was me who chose not to make a peep, and I didn’t know why.
I still fought in his grip, trying to figure out how to find the will to shout, make a sound—anything! But my tongue rested stiffly in my mouth, and my lips were glued shut.
He smiled. “I am Dageian, and I will be your best friend from now on,” he said as his smile grew wider. “What would you think if I told you that there was a way I could give you the speed to search this entire world in just a matter of days, and you can finally know where your father is or if he is alive?”
My eyes widened, still utterly terrified and confused. First, he somehow used some mind games against me, and now he was offering the impossible? Even with the most advanced ship, searching the world would take months, if not years!
“Oh, yes,” he chuckled, “you cannot speak. But you need not worry. I will give you this gift either way.”
Suddenly, his eyes changed colour, and his dark irises were now as red as blood. I flinched back at sight and fought even more when he opened his mouth, showcasing two long fangs, much like those belonging to felines instead of wolf canines.
“Shh. This will only hurt for a second,” he mumbled, licking his fangs before bringing my wrist to his mouth.
I tried to scream as he sank them into my arm, as the immediate pain surged through my body like a bad drug. It felt like heat was running through my veins. My body shook violently, and my eyes felt like they were being pushed from my skull as my body seized in pain. When he finally retreated his teeth, his face was covered in blood—my blood. The sight made me sick.
I wanted to shout at him. I wanted to call him crazy and ask why he had done that, but most of all, I wanted to know: what was he? But then he held onto my head with both hands, and I couldn’t even find the will to move as I watched him in anticipation.
“You know, Drew, for you to get that gift I mentioned, you will have to die first,” he said casually as if he were discussing the weather.
My mind registered quickly, and I instantly tried to make a run for it. But yet again, he held me put and wrapped his cold fingers around my neck.
A single tear rolled down my cheek as I caught a glimpse of my mother and sisters dancing together, until Dageian twisted my head in an unusual position—snapping my neck and inevitably killing me.