Chapter 479
Ian:
We started our journey to Haiden’s pack. Along the way, he told us a few things about how his uncle was not happy about the academy situation.
Haiden explained that when he arrived home the last day, his uncle asked him all sorts of questions, like how long they were going to stay and whether the academy was really shutting down.
His uncle also said he thought it was stupid, since there were still monsters out there. Somebody had to fight them.
“Where would the lurkers go p>
Troy asked my father that question. They had many questions for him. Sitting next to the headmaster, who had once been just a mysterious figure they could barely speak to, pushed the two of them to ask even more.
“To the organization,” my father replied, looking out the window.
That was his way of telling them he needed a break from their questions.
“Is there an organization?” Troy questioned, adjusting in his seat and turning his body to look directly at my father.
“What kind of organization?” Haiden questioned when my father did not respond right away.
“The council is the one that knows about it. I only get the lurkers at my doorstep. That is all,” my father explained dryly.
That was his way of telling them he did not know more than that.
Even I was getting tired for my father.
“How is that possible? You must know,” Haiden pressed.
As Haiden continued questioning him, I adjusted in my seat as well, and they immediately noticed me.
“Can we just wait for a while?” I asked, defending my father. “All the questions will be answered soon. And if my father says he does not know, then he does not know p>
The two rolled their eyes at me. Of course, they did not have to respect my father. In their minds, they had been wronged, and they had every reason to feel that way.
What they did not know was that my father did everything he could to be better. That was all he could do. If he had not been fighting himself, he would have ruined the entire world.
What he was today was not even his fault, just like it was not my brother’s fault to be this way.
Silence fell over us. Finally, we reached the pack’s border.
Haiden spoke to the warriors, telling them to let us in, and we were allowed to drive past the border.
As we entered the pack, I noticed that the once-flourished place I had heard about was not doing very well. I had heard things about his uncle, not blood-related, but still his uncle.
I had heard that he was not a good alpha. He wanted power, which was why he held the position, but the truth was that some people want power without knowing what to do with it once they have it.
When we arrived at the mansion, I noticed Haiden growing uncomfortable.
I knew it could not have been easy for him to return to the mansion that had once been his family’s home and was now taken over by the royal beta, who somehow claimed it when it was supposed to go to Haiden.
The first thing we noticed was Haiden’s uncle standing at the gate, welcoming us with a smile on his lips.
His royal beta and royal gamma stood beside him, holding bouquets, almost as if they were bribing us not to poke our noses around too much. That was how I took it.
“Patrick seems to be very happy to see us,” Troy commented, taking a jab to lighten the mood, since Haiden kept grunting.
“Ah, welcome to my small home. It is not every day that the headmaster himself visits,” Patrick remarked, opening his arms to welcome my father.
I remembered my father’s diary. I remembered the things he had told me about his previous interactions with Haiden’s father and the royal beta, who in this case was Mr. Patrick. Those scars might reopen when he saw this man.
My father squared his shoulders but did not accept the bouquet, which was instead handed to me. I grabbed it and slammed it against Haiden’s chest, as if telling him to hold it. He did the same, tossing it to Troy. Now Troy held all the bouquets, looking at us anxiously.
“Come on inside. We cannot have a conversation here. It is about to rain,” Patrick said, glancing at the sky before gesturing for us to enter.
My eyes lingered on the distant clouds, and I noticed their deep red color, as if someone had been killed in the north, someone who was not a monster.
“Come on,” Patrick called, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I realized I was the only one left outside.
Once I stepped in, I saw Patrick’s family come forward. His wife, Hilda, was holding her phone with the screen lit, as if she could not step away from it for even a second. On both sides of her were her two daughters, Mariana and Fauna, briskly moving toward us.
Mariana carried herself with grace and more arrogance than Fauna. Fauna was more timid, holding her hands together in front of her body and tucking her shoulders down, wearing a bright smile on her lips, almost skipping as she approached us.
“Haiden, you are back, and you brought your friends,” Fauna cheered, purring like a cat.
I did not want to admit it, but her presence did not feel negative. I could sense it in the energy around her. For some reason, even though I had not heard good things about her from Haiden, she did not seem too bad to me.
“Welcome,” Hilda stated dryly, wearing a smile that looked fake.
“Come on, do not just stand there. Welcome them inside. Help them in. Feed them some snacks. They are royal guests, almost half of the Academy, and the best ones are here,” Patrick commented, gesturing for us to keep moving.