**Chapter 89: "He didn't abandon us."**
The distraction Darien needed to save his skin came moments later in the form of Alora. Her words, “I met my birth father earlier,” caused a small amount of chaos, granting him a reprieve from those glares.
“Really! How did it go?!” Serenity asked.
“How did you meet him?” Ember asked.
“Is he truly who Bettina said he was?” Alpha Andrew asked.
Alora sat back in her seat, eyes wide and a little overwhelmed by these questions being directed at her all at the same time. Before speaking again, Alora held up her hands in a gesture for everyone to calm down.
“My father really is Sebastian Silver Dayblood.” Alora answered Alpha Andrew first. Those who hadn’t been there when Bettina was forced to give the name, gasped in shock. “As for how, every Vampire has a life chain connecting them and their offspring or parent.”
Alpha Andrew smacked the dining room table with an open palm. “That’s right! How could I have forgotten about that!”
Luna Ember placed a hand on Alpha Andrew’s shoulders. “It’s not that you forgot my dear. It’s that Alora has always been known to us as a Werewolf. Not a Werewolf Vampire hybrid.”
“Luna Ember is right, Alpha.” Alora said. “It was only this afternoon we discovered the lie I was forced to live by my mother.”
“The life chain, it led you to your father, didn’t it?” Camille asked.
Alora turned her head in Camille’s direction, nodding. “It did.”
“How?” Darien asked, curious about this life chain. “Is it like the mind link I have with my parents?”
“In a way, but with a little more oomph.” Alora said.
“What were you doing when you figured it out?” Serenity asked.
“I was meditating and joined Xena and Selena in our space. Now that Selena is no longer bound and separated from us, I thought it a good idea to get to know her better.”
“That makes sense.” Kain commented. “She’s as much a part of you as your wolf.” Galen and Jaxon nodded along in agreement with what he’d said.
The dining room they were in was enormous. Irregular, copper veined polished stone made up the floor. Thick wooden beams framed and supported the ceiling covered with tung and groove planks. The walls leading to the rest of the house were smooth and painted drywall.
The outside walls were made up of exposed dark red bricks and gray stone blocks. A massive bank of floor to ceiling windows gave an unhindered view to the outside for those seated at the twenty-seat heavy oak table. They had a great view of the forest as the sun started to go down.
The amber glow of the imitation candle stick lights attached to the large wrought iron chandelier, only added to the ambiance of the room. It felt a little unreal to Alora to be sitting here in this warm room. With all the great smells of the amazing dinner Luna Ember had put together with Camille.
The questions being asked of her were not filled with malice or asked to deliberately humiliate or harm her. They were asked with warmth, and genuine curiosity. Ember had personally loaded up a plate of food for Alora, piling the food high before handing it to her.
Ember had said, “Eat sweetheart, you’re all skin and bones.”
For once, Alora felt it was okay to eat her fill. No one here would accuse her of eating too much or tell her she needed to skip a few meals. It took a lot for her to hold back the tears of gratitude that she felt over something as simple as a full plate of food.
“So, you noticed the life chain while you were in your space?” Serenity asked.
Alora blinked her eyes, focusing on the question. “Yes. We noticed there was a chain, attached to all of us, that trailed off away from us.”
“What did you do after you noticed the chain?” Jaxon asked before taking a big bite of his burger.
“We pulled on it.” Alora stated simply. “First myself, then Selena, and finally Xena.”
“What happened when the chain was pulled?” Alpha Andrew asked while cutting into a large, thick, and juicy steak.
Alora took a drink of her soda to swallow down the bite of twice baked potato she’d taken. The Dr. Pepper Cream hitting her sweet tooth just right, without overwhelming the taste of the food.
“After each one of us gave a pull, there was this gong sound that vibrated our space.” Alora said, taking a bite of her corn. The corn was seasoned with salt, pepper and butter.
“Like you were calling someone or something?” Alfred asked.
Alora was a little startled at how deep Serenity’s father’s voice was. Alfred looked like Kain and Galen, only taller by two inches. Alfred was Seven foot nine to his mate Camille’s six foot seven. Where Alfred’s shoulder length hair was a bright red, Camille’s waist length hair was a deep auburn. Both had curls.
Alfred’s eyes were inner rings of light spring green with outer rings of light gold. While Camielle’s eyes were inner rings of dark emerald and dark amber. It was like Alfred was the light to Camille’s darkness. Only Camille’s skin was a pale peach, and Alfred’s a dark caramel brown.
It made Alora realize their children were a perfect balance of both their parents. It was rare to have your genetics be a perfect blend of both parents. It made Alora extremely curious about their genetic code. She had to resist the urge to ask for blood and DNA samples.
“Yes, it was exactly like I was calling someone.” Alora agreed with Alfred. “But after the first sounds faded away, nothing happened. So, all three of us pulled really hard together. Three gongs went off, louder than before, shaking my entire space.”
“I take it that something happened after that pull.” Andrew stated.
“Yes.” Alora said, shifting her gaze to Andrew. “There is a pond in my space with a walking bridge straddling its center. Half the pond and the bridge became shrouded in a thick fog. A moment later, my father walks into my space through the fog.”
“Oh my!” Camille gasped.
“Did he explain why he hasn’t been in your life?” Luna Ember asked each question with a voice full of concern and care.
Alora blinked her stinging eyes and cleared her throat. “He did. He wasn’t in our life because he thought us dead. The spell concealed our life chain making our supposed death feel real.”
Alora blinked again, her nose started to sting. She was trying so hard not to cry again. But lost the battle after saying, “He didn’t abandon us.” Alora slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to hold in the sobs that wanted to burst out along with her tears.
Ember jumped up from her seat, her fork hastily tossed onto her plate, bounced off and fell to the floor. Ember didn’t care. She just rushed over and wrapped her arms tightly around Alora. Alora let out a heart wrenching keening sound before sobbing out the words, “He didn’t abandon us.”
Ember squeezed Alora tighter. “No, my sweet girl. He didn’t abandon you.”