Chapter 7 His Memory

Xavier

Pain.

Pain was the only emotion I saw in her eyes. The way she looked at anything remained the same. She might sometimes appeared to be timid or scared, but that’s not her true feelings. I knew it as I used to see the same countenance on mother’s face before she perished. It was a face with hopelessness that they believed the rest of their lives had stretched out as a dead loop with no exit.

It wasn’t quite a pleasant feeling to be reminded of my mother. But Valerie did resembled her quite a lot.

My mother, the former Luna of Red Moon Pack, was born to be the only child of an Alpha’s, from whom my father took the crown.

Despite being mated to my father, she never seemed to love him. And in the same way, as she had told me so, my father didn’t want her either. They were forced together by the responsibilities for their pack and sacrificed their own wills.

My father Caser Murphy, growing up in a warrior’s family, was a warlike leader with great ambitions. He believed in the superiority of violence and considered the peace treaty with human beings to be a compromise from cowards.

The reason why mother resented him then was because he brutally put my pacifist grandpa, the previous Alpha condemning his decision to besiege humans’ residences in public, into jail and caused a quick death of that poor old man after being imprisoned for 3 months. And in order to keep his reputation among the pack, father manipulated the truth and falsified evidences to prove that grandpa died from chronic disease, which inevitably drove mother to the edge.

Her physical and mental health deteriorated day by day but she never gave up cursing father in coarse languages, as long as she had the energy to do so.

Yet one day, at my age of 15, she called me to her bed. She looked so feeble then that her breaths had nearly became faint gasps. She did her best to pull herself together and raised upon elbows with her back pressing against the headboard.

With a peaceful smile on her face, she said lethargically, “Come here, Zavy. Give mom a hug.”

I did so, leaning forward to wrap my arms around her. Then she rested her head on my shoulder. Mother was so emaciated. I had the weird feeling that I was not hugging a real-life person but merely skin and bone. She raised her bony finger, brushing softly on my cheek.

“Zavy, I hope you do not hate me.” She said.

“Why would I, mother?” I was confused.

“You are a good boy,” she paused before her voice sounded even raspier, “but Caser and I failed to give you a happy family.”

I was surprised that she didn’t use harsh words to call father this time, like the jerk, the devil or the scum. For the first time after grandpa’s death, she spoke father’s name in a placid tone.

“Your father,” she continued, “he wasn’t born to be like this. There’s something…something…”

She seemed to be at a loss for words and her body suddenly began to shake as she started over-breathing.

“You need to rest, mother. We can talk tomorrow.” I patted her shoulder while trying to help her lie down.

“No, Zavy, no.” She looked exasperated and grabbed my arms, “I have to tell you the truth. Your father…he will probably never let you know.”

I thought she was referring to father’s sin to grandpa, and I didn’t quite know what to say so I just mumbled hesitatingly, “Mother, I knew…”

She cut me off and shook her head, “No, Zavy. No. I had to confess something that I buried in my heart for a long time. I couldn’t hide it anymore otherwise the torture will accompany with me into coffin.”

I had no idea what she was about to say.

Then she continued, in a regretful voice, “Before your father and I got married, he had a lover. The girl was an Omega. So your father’s parents, being the most respected warriors in our pack, forced them to break up and requested my father to banish her in case of them eloping together.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she wiped them away before carrying on, “And after that poor little girl being expelled, they forced your father to marry me.”

“But you are mates. It’s a blessing from the moon goddess.” I was puzzled.

“We’re not.” She said while gazing numbly at something in far distance, “I was a shameless Alpha’s daughter who had never been able to find a mate.”

She closed her eyes with brows furrowed deeply, like her thoughts were now roaming at somewhere else, faraway but gut-wrenching.

It was the same countenance I had seen on Valerie’s face when she was trapped in the cage surrounded by blood-suckers. It was a hopeless pain with no medicines to cure and a deep numbness with nothing to expect.

That night, after our conversation, while my father was leading a troop to raid on human houses, my mother died.

---

“Alpha Xavier.” The presence of Dean the beta who strode into my office uninvited with a serious face suddenly pulled me out of my sorrowful memories.

“Armed uprising of free humans in the North area had been suppressed by our front-lines, and their leaders had been captured.” He reported.

“Good.” I looked up at him, noticing the clear hesitation in his demeanor, and asked, “Anything else?”

He pursed his lips before putting forward a question, “Alpha Xavier, please excuse me, I heard that you were at the slave auction last night.”

I frowned, “Who told you so?”

“It’s not important Alpha,” he seemed to be rather frustrated, “almost everyone in the pack had known that you bought a sex slave. That’s…” His voice trailed off.

“That’s what?” I leaned against the seatback and stared at him with a raised brow.

“That’s considered to be… disgraceful, Alpha.” He finally spoke, “It will damage your reputation.”

“So, as an Alpha, you mean, I’m not even allowed to have a sex slave?” I questioned him.

“I’m afraid so, Alpha.”

“You’re rather old-fashioned, aren’t you Beta Dean? Just like your father.” I sneered.

“Please do consider, Alpha Xavier. If you insist to keep the slave, I’m afraid…” he paused again.

“Afraid of what? Just say it.”

“I’m afraid that your father will not agree.” He said.

“My father?” I scowled as he suddenly mentioned father.

“Yes, Alpha Caser will be very unhappy with this decision because the princess from—.”

“Alpha Caser?” I raised my voice in anger and cut him off as my hands balled into fists, “You seem to forget who the Alpha is now?”

Not expecting my fury, Dean looked startled.

I lifted from the seat and leant forward, fists against the desk as I glanced at him through my dark hooded eyes and warned coldly, “Remember, I am the only Alpha of Red Moon Pack now. Anyone who lay a finger on that girl will be savaged, including my father.

“Because she is mine.”