Chapter 140: Chapter 140

/Aiden's POV/

I watched a myriad of emotions cross his face, body straightening in the spot. Lines marred his forehead, reminding him that he was getting older, mouth parted in shock. Blinking at me, he exclaimed. “What do you mean attacked?!”

My eyes narrowed at that, realising that he may be in the dark about the whole thing. Liam was busy with the guards handling, ensuring control of the members, so he did not visit my father that often. I made a face at him, suddenly my heart clenching at the image of my mother lying in the hospital bed.

“Someone shot at her with an arrow. Her wolf is not responding to the treatment, so we have kept her at the clinic.”

“W-What?” He almost yelled, trying to stand up from his bed but failing miserably. I tried to reach out, but my father held a hand in front, putting some distance between us. Gripping at the headboard, the Pack Alpha collapsed on the seat, blinking at me. “When did this happen, Aiden? Why did no one tell me about it?”

I twisted my lips, hands falling by my side. “Umm…Yesterday evening. Mom insisted on meeting Rose in the woods near the border, and someone shot at them. The guards are trying to find a scent, but there is no trace.”

“H-How is she now?” My father lowly asked, a furrow between his brows, tone still frantic and worried. Did he still care for her?

“Resting. I came from the clinic.”

He hummed quietly in the back of his throat, sitting back on the bed. “I know it must be hard for you to believe, but I do care for her. We spent seven years together.”

“Right.” I scoffed, refraining from rolling my eyes at the ridiculous situation. Things would have been a lot different if he cared enough to stop her.

A knock on the door interrupted me, head tilting towards the person entering. Beth held a tray in her hand, an apologetic look on her face as her eyes landed on me. “Sorry, but it’s time for you to take your medicine, Alpha.”

My eyes set stoically on the table. The housekeeper placed pudding, steaming tea, omelette and bread; the rich smell made me nauseous. I noticed my father wrapping the blanket sitting on his shoulders tighter around his frame to hide how deeply his fingers were digging into his arms.

“Now tell me about Ronald.” I huffed as soon as Beth exited the room.

A loud sigh slipped out of him, body reclining on the spot, fingers clasped together. “If your mother told Rose his name, then I am sure you must have heard about him already. What’s the point of asking?”

I clicked my tongue, hands coming to cross against my chest as I raised my brow. “Dad, I want to hear from you. Besides, mom did not tell my mate the whole story…I don’t think so.”

His eyes averted to the ground, silent settling over the room. The back of my neck prickled, legs tapping nervously against the floor as I waited for him to tell me his side of the story.

“Ronald…he was exactly the kind of person I had been waiting for all my life. Or so I thought.” My father grimaced, lips twisting. “You have to believe me when I say this. I respected your mother. I may have mated her only for the sake of my pack and parents, but I never crossed a line. With Ronald, it was just…different. After rescuing him, I had to teach him everything from the start. He was an omega still gave tough competition to other pack members. We spent a lot of time together. I don’t know how or when it happened, but I started to gravitate towards him naturally.”

My mouth tasted like bile, and there was still a cup of tea sitting right in front of me, one that Beth insisted on pouring, but I knew that if I were to take a sip, I would be sick.

“One day, he told me that he loved me and was ready to accept whatever came his way. I was impressed by his courage, so we started going out. Your mother knew, and we fought a lot because of that, but she did not walk away. All for you.”

My father swiped his tongue across the bottom lip, still not facing me. “Ronald used to tell me things about your mother, which I easily believed.” A bitter laugh escaped his throat, head tilting towards the ceiling for a second. “Like a fool, I ate up every lies he told me. He made me think that your mother was filling your head against me. You would come to resent your father, and I was unable to stand the thought of that.”

“So what? You let her go?!” I pressed through my teeth, eyes flashing up to pierce into my father.

“A-Aiden, I am sorry…but he convinced me she’s in the wrong. Ronald told me that he would take care of you, and with your mother out of the picture, we could be a happy family.”

“I can’t believe you, dad!” I huffed.

Wincing, my father continued, “H-He changed after your mother left. Ronald wanted me to send you away as well. I refused to do that, so he started taking out his anger on you.”

A sinking feeling formed in my stomach chills running down my spine. I cocked my brow, hands stilling by my side. “What do you mean by that?”

“He used to hit you…in secret. While I was away, Ronald slapped you, and Beth saw him doing it. That was it for me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I asked him to leave. In anger, Ronald confessed all the things—the wrong things he did for me so that he could be the Luna of this pack.”

My father's shoulders slumped, a hand rubbing down his face, and he shook his head. “You were so young…I didn’t want you to have any memory of that monster, so with the help of Jade, we made you forget him.”

I cursed under my breath, hands curling into fists my by the side. No wonder I could not recall his face even in my dreams. It made sense now.

"I know it must be difficult to accept –" I heard my father start for the umpteenth, and yet again, I cut him off, rage seething hotly in my chest, the pressure my nails so much that I could feel them breaking skin.

"Don't you dare…”

“Please…Aiden, hear me out. I tried all these years…to look for your mother, but then she walked out on us. Like it meant nothing at all. Ann had the opportunity to come back to us, but she did not.”

“No….” I gritted my teeth. “Mom lost her memories and couldn’t remember us for two decades. She recently regained it and came to find Ronald.”

A pained sound ripped out of his throat, eyes widening and face paling. He shook his head as if trying not to believe my words as they hung in the air. Then again, it’s the truth.

“Where is he now?”

My father slowly blinked at me, “I don’t know…After throwing him out of the pack, he did not contact me. Neither did I.”

Tension crackled in the air, his stare boring into mine. I could not think straight, unable to talk anymore. Standing up, I almost banged my knee against the table nearby.

"I need air. See you later.” With that, I managed to get out before turning on my heels.

On the way out, I nearly slipped on the carpet, stumbling down the stairs and rattling at the door leading out the back until the lock gave way. Stepping out, I gulped in breaths of fresh air, hunched over, trying to process everything.

The clouds were hanging low, meeting the dark hedges that give my surroundings a distinct scent, caging the garden in and shielding it off from everything around it. Everything was eerily quiet and cold.

The grass crunched slightly as I heard footsteps approaching my direction, the hair on the back of my neck standing up. It’s Liam. I exhaled loudly, turning back and looking at the empty skies.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Nothing.” I gloomily responded.

“Spill!” Liam said, raising his brows expectantly.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me.” The beta huffed, coming to stand next to me, arms crossed against his chest. “I am not going to coddle you like your mate, and I know when you're not telling me something. What really happened?”

A lump formed in my throat, a helpless sigh slipping out of me before I could stop myself. “I went to see dad," I mumbled, knowing full well that it's no use to keep that from him. "To ask about Ronald and what went down between them.”

"And? What did the Pack Alpha say?”

I dropped my gaze to my feet, starting to fiddle with the creases of my trousers where they're bunched up. The beta remained unnaturally pale and stoic, but he lifted one questioning brow.

Taking a deep breath, I started telling him everything, from the start to the end and bless his soul; Liam did not interrupt. As I was done, a litany of curses slipped past his lips, approaching me with a cautious step. “I…I am so sorry, Aiden.”

I shrugged, taking in a rattled breath and wrapping my arms around my shoulders. It's the only thing that anchored me, the fact that I was aching, still breathing; I felt removed from reality and shoved into a bitterly cruel world.

“Aiden," Liam cuts through the frigid silence, leaning forward, “Are you sure you can't think of anything that might have happened a while ago? With Ronald, I mean?”

Closing my eyes, I wanted to shrink, wanting to give in to the pressure that was crushing my chest. My body felt heavy,

trying to recall a man that abused me and broke my family apart, yet I didn’t seem to remember much of it. All I could come up with was a blurred face and a faint echo of his voice, firm but kind.

I was not sure that I would not be able to recognise him at all, memories of loss so jarring that I had shoved everything to the back of my head.

"There's nothing," I said straight away, a frown settling on my features, turning to gauge Liam’s reaction. He gave me an understanding nod, to which I continued, “Should I go see Jade? She may help me.”

“Definitely. You could give it a try.”

I hummed. Just then, it hit me that Liam was looking for me. Turning to the beta, I had my arms still around my shoulders, “Why were you looking for me?”

Confusion marred his face for a few seconds before he slowly bobbed his head. The beta made a sound, his lips quirking upward. “Right…I almost forgot about that.” Inhaling sharply, he continued, “I had to tell you something about Slyvie. An interesting update.”

A groan slipped out of me at the mention of that name. I thought that Slyvie would be the last thing annoying me, but I was wrong. Although I had no interest in learning about my ex-girlfriend, I tried to appear interested. I tried being the keyword.

“Really? What is it?”

“The reason she’s so willing to lend her guards to help us against your mother's pack is for her revenge….”

I cut him off with a throaty sound. “Revenge? That does not sound like her.”

Liam scoffed, “You do not know her at all. That Pack is responsible for the death of her father. Her old pack is under their command now. I am still unclear on the details, but that’s why she wants to help.”

***