Chapter 03

“This can’t be right!” I blared but Irene sighed.  

“I’m sorry Aaron.” One could pick the heavy dose of sadness that graced her tone.  

“No…” I wriggled my head. “Don’t give me that crap. I am fine. My wolf is probably sick or something. There’s no way this is happening.” I asserted but my voice was lacking the assurance that should have followed suit.  

“Aaron, I need you to calm down and let’s find a solution to this.” My mother pleaded with eyes that were slightly teary, her left palm tried to stroke my right but I pulled away sharply.  

“I am fine!” I declared while I arose. I glanced between the two of them while my breaths came out like a storm. “I am the son of Barron, his only heir, there’s no way I can suddenly be wolfless. There must be some sort of logical explanation.”  

 The look on their face said otherwise instead. 

“Irene,” my mother called and the doctor wriggled her head as if she were finding the right words to say. “Are you sure about what you just said?”  

“I’m sorry Luna.” Her voice almost trailed a whispery path. I just stood there unable to find my tongue. The look in her eyes said it all, she wasn’t joking at all. What was I even saying, Irene never joked when it came to her work. She was damn serious and I hated it. I hated the way the ugly truth slammed me. I was terrified too and more than ever I wished I could just disappear from all these. No, I wished this was all a dream, I pinched myself severally just to ascertain that fact but unfortunately, this was my life now. I had become useless on the day my pack needed me the most.  

“Is there no way we can fix this?” My mother queried gently while Irene wriggled her head in a hopeless manner. 

“The last time something like this happened it was centuries ago and there were no records of a cure or something. It is a rare occurrence, one that leaves permanent damage.” She explained.  

Tears trickled down my cheeks.  

“You lie Irene.” I quoted. “You lie, there has to be a cure one way or the other. I can’t accept this nonsensical fate. I can’t just wake up one morning and find out that my wolf is gone. There has to be a solution!” I barked while my mother sighed.  

“You think I would let you suffer? I would do anything in my capacity just for you to get Aries back but there’s no way around it.”  

“There has to be a way!” I towered over her. 

“Aaron!” She arose too but I still stood a few inches above her. Her eyes were fierce at the same time they beheld compassion and it made my heart ache more. “I understand your pain…”  

“No you don’t,” I cut her off abruptly, my gaze wavering between the two of them.  

“Aaron, don't be like this.” My mother toned, her eyes were barely holding up against the tears.  

“No, don’t give me that pitiful look.” My head wriggled as another tear toured. “The both of you can’t possibly understand…” 

“Aaron…” Irene tried touching me but I pulled away like she was some kind of taboo. 

“I am the pride of this Pack.” I gestured. “I am going to be crowned Alpha today, everyone expects me to be their Alpha but look now. How are they going to react when they find out their soon to be Alpha has lost his Wolf, how do you expect my Father to react? All their hopes, every single one of them is going to be dashed tonight because of me. Because I’m a failure!”  

“Don’t say that!” My mother arose fiercely while a tear trickled across her cheek.  

“You’re not a failure.”  

“Then what am I? I have lost the very essence of my being. I am no werewolf, mother. I am nothing and that fact alone drives me nuts! Why me?! Why today of all days?! Why did the moon goddess decide to punish me this way?!” I sighed trying to hold back the emotions that surged. My mother suddenly hugged me and I instantly held her back as tight as I could. I closed my eyes hoping the tears would cease but it only worsened.  

“I have always fulfilled my duties and obligations to the Pack as best as I could. I have been a good mate, I have walked in the way of my father’s teachings. I was ready for this, ready to carry his mantle, to lead my Pack to greater heights…” I lamented while her brace became tighter yet gentle.  

“Don’t blame the moon goddess, Aaron. There must have been a reason for all this.” She soothed but for the first time, my mother’s words failed to touch me. I wasn’t relieved in the slightest. “Right now, let’s just be optimistic and focus on handling the situation properly.” She said while she separated from me.  

“Irene, I need you to run more tests, find out possible causes and cure. I know it’s hard but I’m entrusting you to handle this as quickly as possible.” My mother faced her in an assertive manner. Her countenance had drastically changed. The aura around her was so commanding that even I felt intimidated.  

“Yes Luna.” Irene nodded before exchanging glances with me. “I’m going to do my very best.” 

“And I also want to believe today’s incident is under tight wraps.”  

“Of course.” Irene toned once again.  

“Thank you. We’ll take our leave now.” She said and then she pulled me alongside.  

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked as we stepped out of Irene’s residence. She sighed and the once imposing look she carried now faded into that sad countenance she was hiding.  

“We have to tell your father.” She mumbled and my pace abruptly ended. She stopped too. “Aaron, that’s the only logical thing to do right now. We can’t hide it from him, you know that.”  

I gulped down my saliva whilst recalling the monstrous look that man would reward me with or the ruthless action he might take against me. 

“No mom. We definitely can’t do that.” I wriggled my head. “He’s going to be angry. So angry and that’s the last thing any of us want right now.” 

“I’ll speak to him on your behalf.”  

“That is not going to quench his rage.”  

“I can handle him.”  

“No! You can’t! We both know you can’t.” I raised my voice against hers. Her eyes twitched but no word toured out of her mouth. I could see the pain from my words clearly expressed in those eyes. But it was the truth, something she needed to hear.  

“I don’t want you to get hurt, I don’t want to drag you in my mess.” I said.   

“I’m your mother.” She held my cheek dearly. “Your mess is my mess.”  

I pulled her hand from my cheek while my gaze wavered from hers.  

“Not this time, I’m not going to allow you to face his wrath because of me.”  

“So what do you propose we do then?”  

I swallowed the lump building up in my throat, I couldn’t even meet her gaze properly. The words were as heavy as the burden looming in my chest but I had to say it regardless.  

“I’m going to run away.”  

“The moon goddess forbids it!” She yelled. “My son is no coward, I didn’t raise you to be that way.”  

“That is the only safe option!”  

“Safe?! You think running away is going to solve anything? Whether you cook up some story or not your father is going to find you and then the truth will finally reveal itself but this time everyone is going to know about it. You would only be bringing shame to our family’s name. Is that what you want?”  

I heaved a deep sigh while my palms curled into a fist.  

“Aaron, we’re meeting your father and it’s not negotiable.” She stated assertively.  

“And what will we get from telling him, it’s not like he’s going to have a solution to my problem.”  

“He is the Alpha, I’m sure in the infinity of his wisdom he’s going to find a way around this.” She replied and I exhaled deeply. She was only saying this to comfort me, my father wasn’t that much of a reasonable man when it came to his family. Unlike the façade he made everyone in the Pack to believe. “Aaron,” she held my cheek again, staring straight into my eye so I found it impossible to waver. “I want you to trust me okay?”  

I maintained contact for a while before nodding like a child. And then we began our walk back to the Pack House. The maids and other workers who were nothing more than gamma werewolves were a little hyper this morning. No doubt for the grand ceremony that was going to happen tonight. They kept flashing beautiful smiles and compliments as we walked past them. My mother had worn the façade of her cheerful self but, I on the other hand couldn’t act so well. If only these people knew about the calamity that had befell me, they wouldn’t be this way.  

With every step I took alongside my mother towards my father’s quarters, it became heavy. His quarter was much more elegant than the beauty of any other room and only the finest gamma wolves tended to him. As soon as we reached the mahogany twin doors, my heart pounded like it was going to explode, sweat crawled out of my skin and the vast majority of my entirety trembled. I glanced at my mother from the corner of my eyes but she was only faring slightly better than me. She knocked gently on the doors but no response came in. She raised her hand again, 

“Come in.” His deep voice protruded like a gentle roar. I gulped down my saliva hoping my fears would be allayed but I was wrong. I stared at my mother one last time before we pushed the doors open. I didn’t know what kind of reaction or action I might face but I was certain about one thing, nothing good was going to come out from meeting my father.