Chapter-17

Asher

Noah and Logan were waiting outside my father’s study as I headed back to the Alpha House. It was clear from the look on their faces that it couldn’t be good. But I couldn’t care any less. In fact, it would be good for my father to not test me now.

“Any hints?” I sullenly demanded from my brothers. They both shrugged in response.

“See for yourself,” Logan said. I scowled and then, bracing myself, opened the door and stalked inside. My father was peering into something that seemed like very, very old…scripts? From what I could see, they looked like brittle pieces of paper, the color turning yellowish with age.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked. My father looked up, no prominent expression on his handsome face except for the usual somberness.

“Alpha Helius called,” he stated, as if that was all the explanation I needed to figure out what was wrong.

“Alpha who?”

“Alpha Helius of the YellowStone pack,” I still had no idea who he was talking about. But the name did sound familiar.

“Blondie’s father,” Mac said. “From last night,”

Oh fuck.

“O…kay?” I frowned. “And that concerns me because…?”

“I want to know the same. Apparently, his daughter said you mistreated her and she was very upset about it. She is his only daughter and the apple of his eyes and he wasn’t really expecting the alpha of GrayCrest to have such trash manners…” My father’s tone was condescending as always, and I clenched my jaw tightly, annoyance making my skin itch.

Why were women so difficult to deal with?

“Mistreated her? Seriously,” I scoffed. “Let me talk to him and I will help him get the facts straight. His daughter was the one begging me to fuck her. I refused and politely asked her to leave. Heck, I even offered to drive her home. What a bitch.”

“And that’s how an Alpha, the alpha of the most powerful pack in the country, should be talking,” dad snapped, looking annoyed. “You are twenty-six years old, Asher Gray. When do you plan on being responsible? Would you like to explain?”

“This has nothing to do with me being responsible!” I snapped back, glaring at him. “And my personal life is none of your fucking business,”

“It is…it very much is,” dad growled. “I am your father and I want to see you happily settled down, like your brothers. Instead, I am getting called by random people and being told that my son needs to learn how to behave. Do you even know the kind of reputation you have?”

“Do you really think I give a shit? And please…now, after twenty-six years, don’t try to be my father. It doesn’t suit you, Alpha.”

“Asher!”

“The truth always hurts, doesn’t it?” I sneered as he gave me a wide-eyed, appalled look.

It was true. Neither of my parents has ever bothered about me. My father has always prioritized Logan and my mother has always favored Noah. Nobody really cared much about me because the truth was... I was an unwanted child, an accident, a heat-of-the-moment-wrong-move on my father’s part that my mother had no option but to live with. Even if they have tried their best to hide this truth for the last twenty-six years, I did find out.

At that moment, I wasn’t sure how to feel. But I wasn’t surprised because growing up, affection was limited for me and what I got was just tidbits of whatever was left. And at that moment when my heart craved for it, all I could do to escape that disappointment was to just ignore the need for it all together. Don’t get me wrong, my childhood wasn’t miserable. In fact, my brothers adored and protected me every step of the way, but somehow that couldn’t make up for the affection I hoped for from my parents.

“This is enough,” dad said, his voice icy. “You have a mate now, Asher. And you have already screwed up with her. When you took the oath, you vowed to provide the pack with its Luna and an heir. It’s time you fulfill that vow. Whether you do it with that mate of yours or…”

“Or what? You will force me to marry some fancy prospect at the mating ball?” I mocked.

“If you already know, then I believe you might also know which option to choose,” dad said. “The pack needs its Luna and if you can’t make up your mind, then we, as your parents, will be forced to,”

“What do you think I am? A baby?” I snarled, my mind going blank with rage. “I am a fucking grown-up adult, the damn Alpha of this pack. I know what choices to make for myself. The fuck I will let you arrange a mating ball. Do you think I am some fancy item to be auctioned?”

“Then settle down with your true mate. Nobody is asking you to participate in a mating ball,” he said flatly.

“Why are you so obsessed with me having a mate? Noah and Logan have mates. They can take care of the bloodline bullshit. Why me?” I protested.

“Because you are one of the Alphas of the pack, one of the pillars that holds this pack together. And you are incomplete without your mate. It doesn’t matter what Noah or Logan are doing. You need to take responsibility for your part of the duty as well. And…” His face turned dark as he turned around and stared out of the window.

“And what?”

“And the rest your brothers will explain,” dad replied, his voice hard but somehow also lingering with a sense of…dread? “Just know…that you need your Luna and who that’s going to be… that decision is yours. But you have two days to make a choice, Asher. The Reawakening Ceremony is in two months. The pack needs its Luna before that.” I stared blankly at my father, completely at a loss.

What was that supposed to mean?

_______________

“Are you guys going to tell me what’s going on?” I mindlinked as our wolves scampered through the dense forests that surrounded the pack house later in the afternoon. We had trailed far away from the final perimeter, inching closer to the mountains and, hence, I could feel the smooth soil beneath my feet turning harder and colder.

“You will see soon,” Logan answered.

“You know how much I hate cryptic responses like that,” I grimaced.

“Goddess Ash, you have become grumpier ever since you returned,” Noah chided.

“Yeah,” Logan agreed. “Did you give those roses to Ivy?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“So you screwed up,” Noah sighed. “I don’t know how you are going to get her to marry you if you can’t get from A to B without killing each other. It’s been merely a day since the two of you met.”

“I won’t marry her,” I snapped, horrified at the idea.

“So mating ball it is,” Logan muttered. “I would have chosen otherwise,”

“I am not getting married. Period. I don’t care what dad wants and whatever scheming the three of you are doing,”

“You will change your mind once you know why he wants you to have a mate, Ash. And seriously, what is so bad about getting married and settling down?”

“Have you met Ivy?” I demanded.

“Uh yeah, and she seems fine to both of us. It’s not her fault that you fucked up,” Noah said.

“Fuck off,” I grimaced, sprinting forward without having any idea of where we were headed. But as my brothers caught up and beckoned me to follow, I could make a vague guess.

And I was right as the two giant wolves finally halted and then turned towards mine. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I could feel it was something serious. There was a somberness, not just in the eyes of my brother’s wolves, but also in the surrounding stillness. It was a very unpleasant feeling.

“What are we doing here?” I demanded, inching closer.

We were quite some distance from the GrayCrest territory. This was a forbidden place, if not prohibited, because it held the dark memories of the past that no one wanted to relive. To someone who was oblivious, it would look like an ordinary stretch of never-ending barren land right under the towering mountains. But it was more than that. The floors of this barren land were once drenched with blood, betrayal, treachery and one of the ugliest fights for power our kind has ever witnessed. You can sense the eerie, cold feeling of death in the air that lingers around this place.

“This is…isn’t it?” I mumbled because there was only one time dad brought us here, and I was way too young then. Something about this place immediately creeped me out, and I made a mental note to stay the hell away.

“The Land of Blood and Betrayal, as they call it…” Logan said. “This is where the Cold War took place thirty-four years ago,”

“I know…why are we here?” I asked, feeling wary.

“So you can take a look at this…” both my brothers moved away, and I blinked as my eyes fell on the sight in front of me, my stomach heaving immediately.

What the fuck…