Chapter 04

“Come in.” His voice sonorously blared while my mother and I sauntered inside. And there he was, on his king size bed with his hateful concubine, Maria. His hazel eyes bonded with mine immediately as if he were trying to decipher what was currently scaling my mind. His low cut brown hair seemed to glow more than usual and his full boxed beard that beheld tiny hints of grey had also been shaved nicely. His lips beheld a tiny smile, something that was always lacking when my father was with me. Although it wasn’t obvious, if one looked closely, they would notice it. 

 My eyes twitched and wavered from his and then to Maria whose countenance wasn’t welcoming as usual. Her straight black hair was a mess to begin with and the look in her eyes was more than enough to tell how tiring she was going to find today’s ceremony. He stretched his right arm across her shoulder as he sat up on the bed.

“Good morning.” My mother greeted but he barely paid any attention to my mother. He kissed Maria gently on her forehead with a bright smile imprinted on both of their faces. The fact that they were acting like a newly lovestruck couple in our presence was already infuriating enough. 

“So to what do I owe this early morning visit?” He asked us but yet he still treated my mother like she was non-existent. “Oh, Happy Birthday Aaron.” He chirped and I frowned. My father hasn’t wished me for as much as I could remember. Of course, he did the occasional party and all but never for once did those words drop out of his mouth until today. 

“So it’s your birthday?” Maria toned in surprise, staring at me with a superficial smile. 

“Oh honey, how could you forget?” My father responded while his fingers played with her hair. 

“I’m surprised too, I guess stress has been eating me deep lately.” She replied and then her gaze reverted back at me. “Happy Birthday Aaron.” She chirped with her superficial smile once again. “You must be pretty excited for today, aren’t you? It’s not only your birthday that is happening today but also your coronation ceremony. Isn’t that lovely?” 

I gulped down my saliva hoping the agonizing feeling of guilt and pain would simply fade but it didn’t. 

“Actually, that is the reason why we came.” My mother uttered. Her gaze looked stern and she had once again donned that commanding presence of a Luna. She looked this way but deep down she was burning from pain, anger and sorrow. It was her that should be on that bed with him, it was her that should be receiving the Alpha’s morning kiss, it was her that my father solely belonged to. Not Maria. 

“Really?” Maria’s brows arched upwards slightly. 

“We have a problem Barron.” My mother mumbled and that’s when my father’s frown came. 

“What problem?” His voice arose deeply again.  

My mother and I shared fearful gazes with each other. She had promised to handle it but her lips were shaking, she couldn’t say those words and in that moment I began to recollect her words. 

“My son is no coward!” Those words blared in my head repeatedly and in oblivion my lips moved. 

“A-aries is gone.” I stuttered as I locked eyes with him. His frown deepened. “I-I lost my wolf this morning. My wolf spirit is gone.”

They gasped with their eyes wide open as if they had just seen a ghost. Sweats trickled from my forehead to the floor. 

“Your wolf is gone…” Maria mumbled. 

“What nonsense are you blurting out of your mouth Aaron? Today is a joyous day for all of us and I would rather not start it with an unnecessary prank.” He growled and fear rigidly shook every part of my entirety. My eyes fell to the floor but I could feel his predatory eyes boring holes into me and it made me tremble. 

“It is true.” My mother affirmed. “Our son has lost his wolf.” 

“Look at me.” He ordered but I didn’t bulge. “Look at me!” He barked and I immediately yielded to his order. His eyes hadn’t changed yet but I could tell he was going to snap any moment from now. 

“So you’re wolfless.” He started icily and I nodded. 

“My goodness…” Maria gasped. “How could the moon goddess allow a cursed fate like this befall you.” 

My father sighed heavily and then he alighted from the bed. He didn’t even care that he was naked, instead he walked towards me. My mother inched closer to my side taking a protective stance just in case he wanted to do something stupid. He stopped a few inches before me, enough for our breaths to collide. I wished the ground could just swallow me up or that this moment never existed in the first place. He placed his hand on my shoulder and he gave me the sweetest smile. Something I had never seen him wear for a long time. I should be happy, I should be relieved but that was the problem, this was unlike my father. For even the slightest mistake, he would scold me like I was a criminal. 

He heaved a deep sigh. 

“Something like this has never happened to our Pack.” He mumbled. “At least not in centuries.” He added. “I don’t know if I should curse the moon goddess or not.”

“Don’t say that Barron!” Maria cautioned, grasping onto the sheet tightly so it wouldn’t slip off her chest. 

“So what should I say then? Should I be thankful for this disease the goddess blessed me with. I am the Alpha of alphas in the entire continent of Europe and yet my son, my only heir, has lost his wolf. He is nothing but a mere mortal now. Who’s going—" His voice trailed off and then his gaze reverted to me. The pain gleaming in those hazel eyes only made my guilt peak on a higher level.

 “All these years, he’s been training hard, preparing all for this day but look what happened now.” He paused as he exhaled deeply. Who’s going to carry my legacy now?” He asked but it wasn’t one that needed an answer or even had one to begin with in the first place. His hand fell from my shoulder and then he focused on my mother whose tears were now obvious. 

“I’m sorry.” She mumbled and his brows arched upwards in a frown. 

“What do you mean? It’s not your fault.” He cajoled her with another sigh birthing alongside. “It’s not your fault too, Aaron. I don’t want you to start blaming yourself, likewise you Helene." He paused while he walked towards the window, he was staring outside but I knew better. His focus wasn’t on the beautiful view outside but somewhere else instead. 

“What do we do now?” Maria asked. “This is a big issue, it’s not something we can hide for a long time even though we try to.” 

“We met the Pack doctor before coming over. She didn’t give us much hope but she’s going to try her best to find a cure.” My mother interjected. 

“All my years, many have tried to find a cure to this disease but nothing good came out of it. And this time,” he paused as he turned to face us.  

“It might be hopeless.” He finished and it felt like a rod had pierced through my heart.  

“I want us to be hopeful.” My mother chipped in. 

“I want to be too.” He answered but his countenance said otherwise instead. 

“I’m sorry that I failed you all.” I didn’t know how but those words freely toured out of my mouth. They went mute with their gazes on me, I couldn’t even look at any of them directly. I just stood like a coward I was, staring at the marbled floors hoping that this whole thing I could walk away from it. I tried to hold back my tears but it fell to the floor in the end, my sobs were getting more and more evident to their ears.

“I already told you not to blame yourself Aaron. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.” He stated and I just nodded while the tears kept falling. 

“Aaron…” My mother softly called as she patted my back gently. 

“The son of the great Alpha Barron shouldn’t cry.” Maria mumbled. “Be the man that you are. Accept this loss and focus on moving forward.” 

Accept this loss? I just lost the essence of my being and all she could do was call it a loss, like it was some kind of small issue. 

“We have to cancel the coronation ceremony, Barron.”

“No.” He rigidly stated and we all stared in his direction with our shocked expression. 

“Aaron is no longer a werewolf, he can’t be crowned as the new Alpha of the Pack. You should just continue your reign as the Alpha.” My mother explained. 

“I wish I could but ever since I became the Lycan, the responsibility has been far too much. I can’t focus on my Pack alone and you know it Helene” 

“So you’re going to go ahead with it?” Maria’s tone came out more as a statement than a question.  

“Yes.” 

“No this is wrong Father.” I wriggled my head. “I no longer deserve that position. I’m only going to bring shame to you and the members of our Pack.”

“Do you know the amount of guests we’re expecting today? I can’t possibly turn them back with just a flimsy excuse. We will lose face as a Pack and I’m sure that’s the last thing we would want.” 

“Still it’s not enough reason to make me Alpha. These people will know that I no longer possess a wolf. It is a dangerous thing to do.” I replied hoping he would just yield to my reasoning easily. 

“I understand but it’s still going to hold regardless.” 

“Barron!” My mother pitched. 

“I don’t think this is a good idea Barron.” Maria added. 

“Never ever has it been heard of that a wolfless werewolf heads the Pack. That too, a top tier Pack. Please reconsider your decision.” I pleaded but he sighed and suddenly he donned a smile. An endearing one, one that confused me. 

“The coronation ceremony will be held. I want you all to trust me, can you do that?” He asked while we stared at each other. I didn’t know about the others but I had a very bad feeling about the whole thing, this wasn’t my father. The Alpha I know would have been raining insults on me and probably hit me but he was different today. He was nice and caring and that was something we didn’t get to see from him every day. Something was wrong. Something definitely was!