Chapter 550 Athaliah’s Revelations
Athaliah didn’t give much of a damn about her father. Her mother was the one who mattered most.
“Alpha Voren, I understand where you stand, but please, be merciful. Not for me or my father, but for my mother. She won’t be able to take it if anything happens to my father.”
“And you think Sera can take it if anything happens to Espe?”
The sharp edge of annoyance cut clear through Voren’s voice. Corvine stood there at the end of his rope, every muscle tight.
Esperanza meant just as much to him, and if the roles were flipped, he knew he’d probably tear the whole world apart the same way.
The only problem was that the man at the center of this mess was about to become his father-in-law. Still, he was learning more from Voren every day, so he kept quiet and watched how his Alpha would handle it.
Over time, he has come to realize that Voren’s style of leadership was completely different from most Alphas and the reason was simple. Voren knew his strength, and his confidence was spot on.
Also, Voren was never afraid of the growth of his subordinates, because he believed in giving them the opportunity to shine.
“I mean no disrespect, Alpha Voren and Luna Sera. But my problem is, my mother is a traditional Luna. Her whole life revolves around my father, and she’ll become a burden to my brother if anything happens to him. Please, let me talk to my father,” Athaliah requested.
Though she had a run way show to host in two days, it would be worth it if she cancelled to make this trip to the silver moon pack but Voren wasn’t barging.
He had only meant to inform her, and not to accept her plea.
“I already went and served him a warning, Princess, but I feel it in my wolf that he won’t change. What would you do in my shoes?”
Voren tossed the question right back at her. He was looking out for Corvine too, as Athaliah herself wasn’t the problem.
Athaliah went into deep thoughts. There were things that remained confidential but if it would help in saving her father for the sake of her mother, then it was best to let them out.
“Alpha Voren, will it do you any good if I tell you that my father’s presence is the reason peace rests on the packs?”
That line snapped every head in the room toward her. “What are you talking about?” Voren’s voice dropped low and serious, eyes locked on her face.
Athaliah didn’t hold anything back. “Honestly, my father has always seen me as a means to an end, and that’s why I left the pack when I was young to make something better of my life in the city. During my years in the pack, I saw and heard a few things.”
She swallowed hard and sank into the nearest chair, the weight of the memories pressing down on her shoulders. Corvine was suddenly glad he hadn’t stepped in to help her and trusted Voren to completely handle it if not, who would have known all that Athaliah was about to reveal?
“My father used to have meetings with some strange people,” she began, eyes raised as she continued.
“One day, I saw them shift, and that’s when I realized they weren’t our kind. They were Lycans who wanted to dominate our race with their strength and power, all because of a crown that gave them real authority. When my father outsmarted them and stole that crown, they pulled back.”
“Is this crown the one that goes with the title?” Voren asked, another piece of the puzzle sliding into place in his mind.
Athaliah nodded. “Yes, but from what I heard, it’s losing its power.”
“How does it lose its power?” Seraphine leaned in, pure curiosity lighting her face. All her years as a Luna, she never heard something like this, not even through gossip.
Athaliah swallowed again, tighter this time. “It needs blood, but not from ordinary werewolves. A special kind from a specific breed. Before my father stole the crown, it had already been fed, but over the years he hasn’t been able to feed it, so the Lycans are trying to dominate us again.”
Something in that explanation didn’t sit right. Voren’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. From history, Lycans ruled for a time and then strangely ceased to exist.”
He remembered the old records clear as day, but Athaliah only gave him a bitter little smile.
“That’s what they say, but the Lycans have only been in hiding. Even my father doesn’t know where they live but he can identify them in human forms. However, he doesn’t know their numbers, and that’s why he’s afraid.”
“Wait.”
Voren spun toward Corvine. “Please get a pencil and paper.”
Corvine was out the door in a heartbeat. When he came back Voren took the pad and pen and handed them straight to Athaliah. Maybe she was talking about something else entirely. Maybe the creatures in her head weren’t the ones he’d been trying so hard not to believe in.
“Can you draw this Lycan you’re talking about?”
She was a designer. Voren knew she could put what she’d seen down on paper, unless she planned on lying.
Athaliah took the pencil and paper and started sketching without a word. Less than ten minutes later she set the pad down.
Voren stared at the drawing and to his dismay, it was exactly the thing he’d been desperate to convince himself couldn’t be real.
A cold wave of nervousness rolled through him. “Hurry. Get Madison and Einstein. Let the chopper heading back to the pack wait for them.”
Corvine moved the second the order left Voren’s mouth.
When Madison walked in, Voren turned to her, voice steady but tight. “Mom, the creatures you talked about. Will you recognize them if I showed you a picture?”
Madison as stunned to be addressed as mom by Voren, but the truth slowly settled in her heart that Voren was now her son-in-law.
She nodded fast, eagerness clear on her face. She’d never gotten the chance to attend the academy, so everything she knew about history came from what she’d been told and what she’d seen with her own eyes.
Voren laid the drawing right in front of her. “Is this what you saw?”