Chapter 29
Asher’s POV
My mother was still crying in my arms, her whole body
shaking, heartbroken. It wasn’t easy for me to see how
desperate she was. They lied to me, yes, but they also nurtured me up. From that I knew that they weren’t some child-
abandoning monsters.
And there were still missing pieces in this whole story. Isaac was sent to my uncle’s family, but how did he end up in the forest and became a rogue?
My gut feeling as that my parent was kept in the dark just as I
was on this issue.
It took us a long time to get my mom to calm down. She fell
asleep on the couch, still sobbing in her dream. Violet
volunteered to stay with her so my dad and I could talk.
My father looked exhausted, his clothes ruffled, his clothes a
mess. He was a proud warrior. I had never seen him this
defeated my whole life.
“What happened after you sent my brother to my uncle’s? Have
you never gone to check on him?” I asked. If they had, they would discover that my brother was gone a long time ago.
My father slowly shook his head, “The council didn’t want
everyone to know that Isaac is our kid. So we weren’t allowed to
visit him often. And your uncle promised that Isaac would be
safe and happy with them…”
“But clearly he lied to you,” I said rather sarcastically.
There was a stricken look on his face, “I guess so. And he kept fooling me over the years. The only occasions that we get to see
your brother are holidays…remember your uncle’s son.
Matthew?”
I nodded, “Yeah, he visited us one time before… Wait. You
thought he was Isaac?!”
He let out a long sigh, “That’s right. Your uncle can’t have child
of his own, so when he brought Matthew to visit, naturally I
thought this one was the kid that I sent to him.”
No wonder my parents were so nice to Matthew. They were
kind to everyone, but Matthew was someone else. Now
everything made sense to me–they thought Matthew was their
son.
“But Matthew and I looked nothing alike. My brother and I are
twins. We are supposed to resemble each other. Have you never wondered about this?” I asked, perplexed.
Dad raked his fingers through hair, frustrated, “A flicker of doubt, yes. But then we told ourselves that not all twins look alike. Maybe your brother inherited the genes of someone else in the family. Bottom line was, we trust your uncle too much.”
I nodded with a frown. I could understand the blind trust that my father put into his brother. They were families, nevertheless. And before this, although I rarely spoke to my uncle, I always thought of him as someone I could rely on if anything happened.
But now I needed to reevaluate my trust again.
“But if he doesn’t want Isaac, why not send him back?” a weak voice came from our back. It was my mom. She had woken up again and was looking at us with tears.
“I wanted to keep you, both of you! I made this clear to your uncle when he took my son away!” mom sobbed, “I told him that if the circumstances changed and they couldn’t keep my son, please sent me back. Why didn’t he listen to me? Why did he let Isaac become a rogue?!”
This was indeed puzzling. I wondered what happened between
my brother and uncle in the past.
“Do you think we can talk to Isaac?” my father asked, “I won’t
blindly trust your uncle this time. If we want to know the truth,
we need Isaac’s side of the story as well.”
I hesitated, “I don’t know…he seemed pretty mad when we met in the woods. He seems to be under the impression that you abandoned him willingly. And now he is back for revenge.”
Mom let out a horrified short cry. My father widened his eyes,
“Revenge?”
“I haven’t confronted him about this yet, but I think the recent
attacks targeted at our pack are his masterpieces.”
My father looked as though he was getting a heart attack. Just
imagine his despair. He was a perfect Alpha but now one was
his son became the reason why his pack was in danger.
“Is he really that evil?” father asked in a low voice.
I hesitated again. Isaac seemed like an enemy. But he claimed
that he didn’t hurt anyone in this pack. I didn’t know if he was
telling the truth. And I didn’t want to jump to any conclusion
before I knew more.
“I don’t know,” I said to my parent. “But I do hope that he isn’t
the person who killed Patrick. Because if he is…I must do
something about it. Even if he is my brother.”
I was the Alpha. It was my responsibility to avenge my
members. I hoped that my parent would understand.
“You can’t choose your family. Don’t beat yourself too hard on
this,” Violet said softly and gave me a firm look. I looked back at
her, my heart swelled. She was the pillar of my life now. I
couldn’t have done this without her by my side.
A gentle knock came from the door. Mia walked in rubbing her
eyes and announced to all of us, “Bedtime!”
Violet went to pick her up. I nodded at my parent, “Don’t
overthink this. We will know what to do when we have more
information at hands.”
“Let’s talk soon,” my father sighed.
Violet and I took Mia back to our room. The servants had drawn
a hot bath, so Violet went to help Mia wash up first. I came into
the kitchen to cook dinner.
Mia was carried out wrapped in a towel. Her hair was still
damp. So I asked Violet to grab something to eat first, because I
could tell that she was starving, and I would dry Mia’s hair.
Mia’s hair was curly, which she got from Patrick. Every time I
looked at her, I was reminded of my best friend and my Gamma.
He left his only kid to me. And I would do everything I could to
protect her and make her happy.
Which made me even more curious about what happened with
my uncle and Isaac. If my uncle had any respect and love for my
parent, they wouldn’t hurt Isaac.
After dinner, we tugged Mia in together. Violet was telling a
bedtime story as I dimmed the light.
It was like we were just a loving, normal family. At least at this
moment, I could pretend that all those secrets, turmoil,
conspiracy, and war didn’t exist. Everything was peace and
calm.
A knock came from the door. Violet and I exchanged a
wondering glance, and I went to get it.
Surprisingly, it was Kylie.
I wanted to slam the door on her face. This woman was the sole
reason Violet, and I were separated for 7 years. Her face
disgusted me.
But she grabbed the doorframe urgently before I could shut the
door.
“I am pregnant, Asher!” she blurt out.
