Chapter 11: Chapter 11

BLAKE:

He knocked on his mother's door that afternoon. Pike Baker's burial was over. He had managed to get through it. Now, he ought to have a serious conversation with his mother. She answered from inside and let him in. Blake locked the door after him.

"Mother." He called out and joined her on the king-sized bed. A large portrait of his father hung above the bed.

He caught himself staring at the image for far too long. He couldn’t bring himself to look away. It was as if his father spoke to him at that moment. His mind was in turmoil. He didn't know the next piece to move on the board. The slightest mistake would cost him at this point.

Esther wrapped him in a warm hug and let go. She hadn't been able to attend the burial. She had woken up with the weak wolf syndrome. Seeing her son now, worry creased her forehead.

She picked his hand in hers, smiling. "What's troubling you?"

"I can't seem to find my way."

"The way forward is clear as day."

Blake shook his head. "It's just that he left so soon. I don't know if I am ready."

The drapes across parted slighty, rays of afternoon sunlight laced the room, giving the space a calm, dull lighting. The afternoon weather was hot and humid, the kind of weather that would harbour swarms of insects.

Esther placed the other hand on his cheek. Blake fumbled with the necklace he had put on specially that morning. Thoughts of his father surrounded him. The piece belonged to him and more than ever, he wanted to be close to his father today.

"Son, you are, Blake. No one else. You've come a long way already."

"Someone died today! Within our pack's premises, under my very watch."

"I know. But it wasn't your fault."

Blake stared into her eyes. He knew she lied. Everything was his fault. He thought about the moon goddess' admonishment for the Norwegian chase down they had underwent. Maybe if he hadn't gone after the witches, then things wouldn't have gotten as complicated as they were now. The prophecy was another side of things to consider.

The death of Pike Baker could mean the witches act of vengeance, but this war was far more tricky. There were too many things involved. The moon goddess had told him to watch his back. It had meant the prophecy was a real as a beating heart. The Baker's kid wouldn't be the only victim, there was bloodshed darting straight at them from ahead. He needed to ready himself.

He was anything but ready at the moment.

"Do you think avenging father's death was the right thing to do?"

"It was the only thing that could be done. I know your father looked down at you with pride on that day."

He felt hot tears prick his eyes. Angst struggled with his sanity. His fingers never left the feel of the piece on his neck. "There's something you need to know."

"What is it?" She gazed at him with dread filled eyes. With the way he acted, Esther knew that a revelation like that would make or break.

"Back in Norway..."

Blake paused as his mom's eyes searched his for the unsaid. "A witch gave a prophecy before she died."

Esther loosened her hold on his palm and sat back on the bed. "Your father, my husband and Alpha, taught you to never trust those snakes."

"There's a chance that it's happening already."

His mother shook her head, frowning. "You visited Selene, didn't you?"

"I was confused. I needed answers—"

She rose to her feet and approached the window. She held her arms in her palms, looking at the magnificent view of hills and lakes, basically mother nature.

"It is wrong," Esther said. "The elder's won't have it if they find out what you've done. The festival is upon us."

"I understand, but it was just this one time. I went to the lake at the bottom of the hill because I had to know."

"What was her opinion?"

Blake scoured for the right words. "It seemed as if she held back something. But Selene gave a warning. She said I should better watch my back."

"Blake." Esther sighed.

"The prophecy spoke of a hunter in our midst. Bloodshed. A duel. A two-faced mate...it's a lot."

"Calm yourself." Esther rushed to him as he stood up, pacing in small circles. "I hear you've adopted a wolf from Norway."

The knowing look in her eyes caused him to start talking and fast. "No. She's not the villain here, mother. She's a wolf just like us. An unfortunate one. We found her battered and broken in a hunter's cage. The Velvet Moon pack saved her."

Esther appeared like she had wanted to keep up with the protests, but she settled. "You should handle this matter yourself and as soon as possible. Do not trust Neil, your beta or anyone else with it."

"But what if I can't protect the pack alone? What if I make the wrong choices?"

"Blake, you're your father's son. He wasn't the best Alpha out there but I know you. He trained you to be stronger."

A knock sounded off the door. It was Neil. He couldn't have found something yet? Blake excused himself, rushed to the door and pulled it open, not all the way. He was in his cousin's view.

"Anything?"

"There might be something. I'll grab Ian to walk with me since you're occupied."

Blake gave a curt nod. The look he bestowed on his cousin showed that he was counting on him to not mess things up.

"I'll join you two in an hour."

Neil was gone. He stood at the closed door for a minute before he turned to look at his mother. She wasn't pleased. He could see that.

"You're not listening to me."

"Mother, I am."

She said, passionately, "I'm certain your father would want you to do this on your own. There's a rat, Blake. You can't trust anyone, not now."

"Trust me, I have a plan."

"It'd better involve mating with the fae Princess."

"I doubt that would be a smart move now." He moved to her side. "A two-faced mate, remember?"

"No one's asking you to put your trust in the faes. This is a mere alliance. Be on guard. Always."

Blake didn't look convinced.

•••

Later on, his mother had opened a journal for him to read. She had brought it from a wide wooden box hidden underneath the bed. Immediately, he opened it and saw his father's handwriting. Blake felt closer to him at that point, like he was standing before him under his stare.

He flipped through the pages slowly, caressing each stroke of the letters and curves. He wasn't reading. His mother hadn't told him why she had handed this piece over to him.

"Do you remember that day?" She asked.

Blake saw what she was doing. She was trying to manipulate his mind. Letting him think about the one thing that mattered, the day of his turning. His father had walked him through every moment of it. After training for a long while, the full moon had arrived and he was ready. That day meant so much to him in a way he couldn't understand. It was a part of him. A moment that had shaped his entire being.

"Of course, I remember it all, mother," Blake said, training his eyes on the header of a page.

His father enjoyed journaling when he was still alive. Apart from being Alpha, it was the other thing he did on the sidelines. Somedays, he would read his written works to him, telling him stories of their kind. The tell-tale history of the werewolf curse.

"It's what your father would want from you. Remember, Blake. It would give you the clarity you need." She said, leaving him alone with his father's memories. Blake knew she wanted him to discover his essence and get rid of self doubt. What he needed was to have a long conversation with his father.

Blake heard his mother softly close the door behind her. Her plans were very simple. He had to remind himself of who he was because lately, he was forgetting. He scanned through the journal in his hands. After a while, Blake picked the wooden box from the floor and set it on a stool, drawing it closer.

These were his father's most prized possessions. There were things the man could never let go of, even in his grave. He saw the watch his old man liked wearing. Blake felt it between his hands. The aluminium was cold against his warm skin. He searched through the box some more.

Blake had come across pictures of his mother and father at the beach and on random dates. They had been so happy together. It was an old photo. His parents had been married for a very long while, years actually. He traced the smile on his father's face with his fingers.

On that night years ago, when the full moon shone brightly in the sky. He had been about to lose it. The pain of turning. The activation of the curse and the feeling of every bone in your body shifting out of place and restructuring. It took hours of torture and his father had been by his side with words of encouragement. He taught him control. Even after the usual training with the pack, his father taught him the art of shifting on a deeper level.

Blake had never slipped up, not for once. He could never shift even when triggered. He had full control of the wolf within him, like they were aligned body and soul.

Blake picked the necklace from the box next. The pendant on it was broken in half. The other half of it was on his neck. His father had given that to him. He had said that it would protect him, that his own father had given it to him and now, he was giving it to his son. Blake didn't know why he had chosen to wear the necklace today. Since his father's death, he had never put it on again. But it was different this time. All he wanted was to feel close to his old man in any way possible.

He had thought of asking the moon goddess to summon him. He had questions to ask. Everyone kept saying that if it was his father, he would have known what to do. Blake wanted to ask him this and understood what he would have done in his situation. His only option was to lead right and he didn't know where to start.

Blake remembered the morning he had been given that necklace. The previous night, he had seen his father cross the pack's boundary with Neil's father. His naive mind had wondered about what they had headed out to find. The next day, only his father had returned. He never saw Neil's father again and he was gifted the necklace, as his father was crowned the next Alpha.

Blake heard the door pull open again. His mother resurfaced and he realised he had spent more than half an hour with his racing thoughts. It had been worthwhile, though. He felt much calmer inside him. Remembering his father caused him to remember himself and how to act. His father wasn't the best Alpha out there. He was ruthless and didn't always make the best decisions, but what mattered was that he had kept his pack united. Blake aligned his thoughts with that mindset. He knew what he had to do.

"Have you found your clarity, son?" Esther asked, and he looked up and smiled slightly.

"I understand the sacrifices that need to be made."

His mother nodded at him. She gazed at him with warmth and pride in her eyes. Blake knew she trusted him to her core. That she believed in him so strongly. He was thankful that she had left him to speak with his father. He had understood it all now.

His father crossed the boundary all those years ago to sacrifice for his family. The Alpha's title was something he had fought to the death for. Neil's father had been the vanquished, knowingly or unknowingly. He finally understood how he needed to act. He would push aside all other considerations, and make sacrifices no matter the cost.