Chapter 138: Chapter 138

/Aiden's POV/

At those words, I blinked at my mate, confused lines marring my face. I took a step back, creating some distance between us, parting my mouth, breath whooshing out loudly. "What do you mean by that?"

My mother had all these years to explain herself, so I did not understand Rose trying to defend her now. Still, I was eager to know her condition, a strong feeling in the pit of my stomach. Ever since I got the call from Liam about the attack and our guards scourging for the enemy, I couldn't sit idle. I wanted to sprint into the woods and rescue Rose, tear the throat of her attacker, but before I could do any of that, the omega came to me.

The omega noisily breathed, tears forming in her eyes as she looked at me. "Your mother had no choice but to leave you behind, Aiden."

A lump formed in my throat as I thought back to the time, very specific and still burning into my memory. The day she left me all alone despite my incessant begging and did not come back. Like a fool, I waited for her everyday only to realise she abandoned me.

"What do you mean?"

I heard Rose take a sharp breath, wincing as she cradled her hand in her lap. As I tried to near her, the omega gave me a watery smile and slid back. Silence settled between us as she made herself small and comfortable on the table before talking.

No words had left my mouth by the time she was done with the story, telling me about some omega called Ronald. At the name, I squinted hard, trying to remember the person who might have ruined our family.

Suddenly I was hit with a memory.

As a pup, I heard him, but the words didn’t sink in. My mind was still replaying random scenes, snippets of memories that might be half-true or completely false. But all I remembered was crouching in the hallway, looking at the door and trying to listen in the conversation. I wondered why my mother found it so urgent that I went to bed on time that she forgot to turn on the lamp by my side. My mother also skipped storytime, and I was all alone in a room full of darkness.

Determined, I had followed her.

There were three figures in the study arguing, their voices raised, and I could pick out my father amidst the mess. I tried to get closer, wooden floor hard beneath my knees as I crawled forward. My nose scrunched at the faint smell of cigars, the clinking of glasses followed by not so quiet rustling.

Someone kept walking from one end of the room to the other, occasionally throwing a shadow out into the hall. The door was suddenly pulled open, and I was staring up at an unfamiliar face. My short legs scrambled, stumbling back at the impact, my heart pounding because that strangers gaze was penetrating and unfriendly. It sent shivers down my spine.

"And who do we have here, hmm?" The voice said, standing in a dark coat and shimmering cufflinks, something pinned to his chest, light-catching on the metallic shape, staring down at me until my father appeared at his side.

“Mom?” I quietly called, peeking through the door, lip in between my teeth.

Seconds later, she emerged, eyes red and a weak smile twitching on her lips. I held my breath as my mother bent down and ruffled the locks of my hair. “What are you doing here?”

“I looked for you…everywhere.”

“Go to bed, Aiden, right this second. Do not come back in here. Alright?”

I opened my mouth to protest, but a single glare from her silenced me, ran back to my room.

“Aiden?” A hand around my wrist, along with a voice, cut through the frigid silence, startling me. Looking up, I saw Rose with her head bent, staring at me in worry. “What happened?”

For some inexplicable reason, my heart suddenly started pounding away, painfully heavy in my chest, as if my subconscious picked up whatever it was trying to imply here. Could that person be Ronald? Still, his face was a blur in my memory, voice a faint whisper I couldn’t recall. Why did my father never mention him at all?

I could feel Rose eyes burning against the side of my neck, but I refused to look at her, lump settling in my throat. My memories keep fading, moving farther into the distance with each day that passed. There were days when I dreamed about my childhood, but I passed them off as a nightmare and never really gave it a thought.

For some reason, they had always remained in the back of my mind, sitting there quietly until I had to close my eyes. Maybe all this time, my head had been trying to tell me something, to draw my attention to what had been happening all these years ago, and I had never given it a second thought.

What a fool! I internally scowled, resisting the urge to tug on the roots of my hair, head bent down.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Rose stepping down and rushing to stand in front of me. Her dainty fingers trailed up and down my arm, stopping just above the wrist before she took my hand in hers, soothingly rubbing the back, calm and collected. “Please do not shut me out, Alpha. Talk to me.”

I was slowly coming back to reality, but that also meant that I was rapidly starting to become aware of the ordeal I put my mother through. There wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t feel shame and guilt crawling inside, face turning red with passing second. It felt unreal, my body and mind unable to process everything I learned in the past hours from my mate.

Choking on my breath, I met her eyes, heart pounding loudly in my chest. “I-I want to see my mother, Rose.”

The omega wrapped her arms around me, her head coming to rest on my chest as she rubbed my back. “I am sorry, Aiden, but they are still treating her.”

“W-Why did I not forgive her right away? I want to see her now!” I said it out loud, cursing myself, eyes clenched tight and a single tear escaping past my cheeks. At least Rose got to interact with my mother and spend some time with her.

“Your mother loves you a lot believe me. As soon as she wakes up, you can talk to her and spend as much time as you want. Alright?”

I dumbly nodded my head.

For the rest of the day, my mate stayed glued to my side, refusing to leave, and I understood my mate perfectly, knowing that I would have behaved in the same manner.

***

The sun crawled up from the horizon but was barely distinguishable, contributing to a rather haunting light that filled the empty streets. Along with Rose, I visited the Pack clinic to check on my mother, but she was still unconscious. Talking with the doctors made it clear that there was nothing else they could do for her.

My mother's wolf needed to respond and start accepting the help in order to heal her damaged tissues. I told them to take extra care of her, update me if there was any improvement in her condition.

Seeing her like that, pale and unmoving, only fuelled my anger and eagerness to catch the culprit. The guards were unsuccessful in trailing the attacker, not being able to find any traceable scent.

“I’ll see you soon.” I kissed the top of my mates head, eyes fluttering shut for a moment.

“I can come with you if you want.” Rose voiced out, tilting her head to look at me; the rays hitting the side made her look ethereal.

“No, baby. You need to rest. The guards will take you home.”

She groaned, looking at the two guards standing in the distance. Ever since the attack, I was paranoid about leaving her all alone. Now that Rose was pregnant; I worried ten times more than usual.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes. Now go home and rest.”

“Alright.” Rose huffed and petulantly walked away, her steps loud and draggy as she didn’t bother looking back. I fondly watched as the guards hurried and protectively stood on each side.

Once they were out of my eyesight, I turned to the street that led to the packhouse. After I heard about Ronald and his mysterious existence, the urge to confront my dad intensified.

The street was uneven. I kept stumbling, hitting my shoulder against stonewalls and part of me knew it should hurt, and yet I could l barely feel it. A strange kind of numbness and detachment stuck to me like gum. Still, I continued moving, under no circumstances I could allow to slow down.

As the sun climbed higher, I saw the people reappearing, going about their business. I slipped away into hidden alleys, staying out of their sight, legs wet and clammy, trousers sticking to my skin.

It's bitingly cold. But I didn’t feel much of that either.

Standing in front of the pack house, I lifted my arm and threw it against the wood in an attempt to knock. My knuckles collided with the door several times, making my entire arm throb with it.

There's a commotion behind the door, and it's yanked open. I saw the blurry outlines of the housekeeper in her brown dress followed by some incoherent words that slipped past me. Thundering steps echoed through the hall, Beth coming to stand in front of me.

“Aiden?”

“Is he in here?” I grunted, slamming a hand on the open door, almost making her jump in the spot.

“Who?”

“My father.”

With that, I huffed, walking past her, my eyes roaming around the living room. As expected, there was no sight of him, only pups and unmated omegas running around and wreaking havoc.

“Pack Alpha is resting at the moment.” Beth softly crooned, following me inside, her stare boring into my back. “Is everything alright? Do you want to sit down?”

“I’ll go find him!”

Pushing past his bedroom door, his face came into focus, and my father appeared pale and tired, like he hadn't slept all night. A duvet was pulled to his chest, a newspaper in between his hands. At my presence, his eyes widened, sitting up in the bed and welcoming me inside.

“Come sit.”

The sound of Beth’s footsteps interrupted me, turning over my shoulder as she stood by the door, confused. She kept flickering her eyes between both of us, hands crossed against her chest.

“I did not come here to chat with you.” I hissed through my teeth, watching my father flinch at the harsh tone. Rage coiled in my belly the more I thought of his naïveté and foolishness to drive my mother out of the pack.

“Aiden…what’s going on?”

“Why did my mom leave the pack?”

Colour drained his face, back straightening as silence settled over the room. He spat, shifting his eyes towards Beth for a second. “I thought you already knew. What’s the point of asking again?”

“Please. Remind me again. My memory has gotten quite weak these days.”

"Should I fetch Rose?" Beth worried asked, her eyes boring into my back.

"No," My father politely replied, his hand falling by his side. “Close the door on your way out, Beth. We need to talk.”

The housekeeper nodded stiffly, undoubtedly surprised by the abrupt request but followed it anyway. As soon as the doors closed, I turned to him, raising my brow.

“She left us a long time ago. Let it go.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t, dad. I need some answers, dad. Let’s start with Ronald. Who is he? Don’t try to hide anything from me. Mom told Rose everything before she was attacked yesterday.”

***