Chapter Seventy-Three

Regan’s POV

It took us almost all day to finally get to our destination.

Our last place to visit was a pack whose Alpha was an important Elder on the Werewolf Council of Elders. He was one of the oldest werewolves and Alphas alive and had been a mentor of my father when he was alive.

As was expected, I sent two of my warriors ahead to request permission to enter their pack and was granted access.

We were escorted by two of their warriors to their pack house where, as was customary, their Alpha and members of their pack were waiting to receive us.

I remembered meeting the Alpha of Nighthowl pack when I was very young.

He had visited my father and I remembered thinking how strong he looked.

I had never met my grandfather or grandmother. So I had seen the way my father had treated him with obvious respect and affection and had thought he was my grandfather.

When I had addressed him as such, he had laughed fondly and ruffled my hair, even as my mother apologized on my behalf.

“There is nothing to apologize for, my dear”, I remembered him telling her. “I would be proud to be such a person to this brave little wolf”, he had said.

I also remembered calling him that throughout his stay in our pack. After he had left, my mother had called me aside and gently corrected my notion about him being my grandfather.

He had not visited again.

The attack on Blackmoon pack had happened not too long after his last visit. He had sent warriors frequently to help out in our pack over the years, until I had grown old enough to run my pack properly.

He had also sent me letters as well. Apologizing for not being able to come and telling me to reach out to him if I ever needed his help.

I never had, believing then that he would eventually come to visit.

He never did.

And I remembered writing to tell him that we did not require his help any longer and that there was no need for him to keep sending his warriors with gifts to us.

I had also told him to stop writing to me.

In my defense, I had been a young and very angry wolf after my parent’s death. All I had cared about was taking my revenge on Blackmoon pack and rebuilding my pack.

He had obeyed my wishes.

So it was quite a surprise to me when the man I had known to be strong and powerful was seated in a wooden chair with wheels.

I hid my surprise as best as I could as I approached him.

He had changed with the years.

Although his eyes still had that piercing intensity, he looked so much older. His hairs had turned grey and he had frown lines and wrinkles on his face.

As he caught sight of me, he immediately looked away.

“Greetings, Alpha Regan”, I said with a bow of respect, catching Luke’s look of surprise from the corner of my eye.

“Greetings to you as well, Alpha Regan”, He said with a nod, taking the hand I offered in a firm grip.

I heard Luke begin to cough, obviously masking his laughter in a cough.

“My apologies”, he muttered as he cleared his throat.

‘Behave yourself’, I mind linked him.

‘Well forgive me, but you did not tell me that you both bear the same name’, he said.

I sighed inwardly.

‘It is a long story’, I told him.

‘Make it short’, he insisted.

I hesitated before I finally mind linked him.

‘My father adored him’, I said and blocked him off from mind linking back as I let go of the Alpha’s hand, for some reason relieved to feel his firm handshake.

“This is my mate”, he said, motioning to the older woman who stood by his side with her hand on his shoulder.

It was only then that I noticed her. My attention had been solely fixed on him the whole time.

As I turned to face her, I was taken aback by the sight of unshed tears in her grey eyes.

Noticing my gaze on her, She looked down and took a breath before lifting her gaze, forcing a smile as she lifted her hand for me to take.

As I held her hand, her lips shook on the smile as a tear escaped her eyes and she looked away again.

Although not knowing why, but wanting to comfort her, I brought her fragile looking hand to my lips and placed a kiss upon it, squeezing gently when her eyes came back to mine.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my Lady”, I said to her with a warm smile.

This time, a real smile appeared on her lips.

“You as well, Alpha”, she said quietly before I released her hand.

We went through the rest of the introductions before we were ushered into the dining hall after cleaning up.

This time, I was seated on the left side of the Alpha, who was seated at the head seat.

His mate was seated to his right and ranked members of his pack beside her, while Luke was seated to my left alongside member of my pack.

Emry was seated beside him as the youngest.

Across from me, I noticed that the Luna hardly looked away from me, that sad glint in her eyes that squeezed at my heart.

She reminded me of Nana, of home.

I smiled whenever I locked eyes with her before continuing my meal after the Alpha had taken the first bite.

Unlike the other packs we had visited, he did not speak while eating. No one did.

They simply ate their meal, only conversing when they needed to.

The Luna made sure my plate was never empty, piling my plate high with food and refilling it whenever it was empty.

The food was delicious and we had ridden a long way to get there, so I ate with gusto.

It seemed to please the Luna who wore a smile on her face as she watched me eat.

Even though her attention should have made me uncomfortable, I did not mind it.

She reminded me of Nana too much for me to take offense.

When I could no longer eat, I lifted my hand to refuse her offer of more food, shaking my head with a smile.

“Thank you, my Lady”, I told her. “But I am quite satisfied”.

She nodded her head, accepting my refusal and finishing her meal.

Once she had cleared her plate, her mate spoke from where he was seated, his plate already empty.

“It is good to have you and your warriors in our pack for the first time, Alpha Regan”, he said. “But I am almost certain this is not a simple call on your father’s old friend”, he said.

I turned to him, suddenly feeling angry that he had brought up my father.

“I apologize for coming into your pack like this”, I said. “Perhaps if you had bothered to pay us a visit or even send us a message, this meeting would not be necessary”, I said, causing Luke’s head to snap around to me in surprise.

He was not the only one watching in surprise.

“If I recall correctly”, he said. “It was you who requested that I do not visit or send any message to you”, he said, so calmly that it made me all the more angry.

I gritted my teeth to control my words before I spoke again.

“I do not care about the past”, I said.

“Then why bring it up?” He replied almost immediately.

I clenched my fists to control myself, hearing Luke in my head.

‘I do not know what this is about’, he mind linked me. ‘But that is not our purpose of being here’, he reminded.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, glancing at his mate to see that she was shooting him a stern look, no doubt mind linking him as well.

“I am not here to discuss the past”, I said, more calmly than before. “I am here because I need your help”, I said finally.

He leaned back into his chair.

“Is this about your mate being of the Royal Bloodline?” He asked after a moment of silence.

My head snapped up to him so fast that I felt a sharp pain.

An amused smile came to rest on his lips at my reaction.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

He shrugged a shoulder.

“I was informed”, he simply said.

At my pointed gaze, he went on.

“Do you forget who I am pup?” He asked. “There are very little things that I am not aware of”, he said.

I nodded slowly.

“Then you are aware of my purpose for coming here”, I said, sure that he was.

“Well”, he said. “I doubt that anything else would bring you here, considering that you have never thought to visit in all these years”, he said.

My anger came back in full force.

“Last I remember”, I said. “You were quite familiar with the path that leads to my pack as well”, I shot back.

“Ahh”, he said with a nod and a smile. “But I have a good reason for not coming”, he said. “You told my not to”, he said.

Against my better judgment, I reacted.

“I was young!” I snapped at him, slamming a hand on the table and shattering a wine glass in the process.

I did not notice my actions, too caught up in my anger.

“I had just lost both my parents along with members of my pack!” I yelled at him. “So forgive me if I believed I could very well do without your plain messages!” I said.

His smile was gone, now replaced with glare that emphasized the frown lines on his face.

“Calm yourself, Pup”, he warned. “Did no one teach you how to properly conduct yourself when in another’s pack?” He asked.

For some reason, his question only made me angrier.

“Oh pardon my manners”, I said sarcastically. “I had only the grandmother of my dearest friend to teach me how to conduct myself”.

Before he could retort, his mate cut in.

“Enough!” She snapped at us. “Both of you”, she said.

Her voice brought me back to my senses.

I had behaved in a very disrespectful manner before my pack and that of the members of Nighthowl.

Feeling the shame creep into me, I pushed back my chair and rose to my feet.

Once on my feet, I bowed.

“Forgive me for my disrespect”, I said, mostly to the Luna. “Perhaps I am more tired then I had thought. I beg your permission to retire”, I requested.

As I lifted my head, the sight of her wiping a tear from her cheek greeted me.

My stomach twisted again.

“Of course, Alpha”, she said. “I will have someone show you to your rooms”, she said.

“Please have them shown to my Beta, my Lady”, I said, throwing a glance at Luke. “I believe I am in dire need of a run”, I said, forcing a smile I did not feel.

At her nod of acceptance, I excused myself and made my way out of the room.

As I left, I heard her teary voice say, probably to her mate.

“He is so much like his father”, she said.

I hastened my steps to take me further away before I could hear her mate’s reply.

I had always known that the Alpha of Nighthowl pack had meant a lot to my father. He was the only one he had talked about with such pride, admiration and respect.

I had never thought that there might have been the possibility that my father had also meant as much to the Alpha.

I had never truly known the story of how they had come to be in each other’s lives.

But seeing his mate’s reaction to meeting me, I wondered if there was a side to my father I had never known.

With those thoughts in mind, I headed straight for the woods.