Darcingtowne Wolves: The Misfits (Book 1)

Chapter Four: A Promise Kept

Mason and Penelope made their way into the dark brownstone. When the former ranger reached out to flip on the lights, the space lit up and so did Penny’s face. He knew that the opulence would come as a surprise, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the open-mouthed awe that his daughter openly displayed as she took in the decadent white marble floors under their feet, wide grand staircase with its rich red carpet, and enormous chandelier that sparkled overhead.

The space was much larger on the inside than should have been possible, but that wasn’t unusual for pack houses in Darcingtowne. Land might be limited, but magic made it so that those limitations were nothing but a minor inconvenience.

“W..what...the hell, Dad?! A mansion?!” Penny exclaimed, smacking Mason’s shoulder a few times out of sheer excitement. 

“Most pack houses are mansions.” Mason said plainly, shrugging a little. They’d visited a few pack houses when meeting up with Penny’s friends, and while Mason was technically correct that they were usually mansions, none of them had screamed old money the way that this one did.

“This is incredible!” Penny was nearly shouting now, and ran forward so that she could stand under the chandelier as she spun around in a circle, her arms spread wide. “Oh my god, the guys are going to lose their s**t. Wait...if I’m an alpha, and this is my territory, my packhouse...I have to register with the council, don’t I?”

Mason nodded, “I already made an appointment with the registry office. I’ll be officially retiring, and you’ll become the new alpha of our pack. I never did pick a name, since it was just the two of us, so…”

Penny stopped spinning, and Mason caught her at the elbow when she wobbled unsteadily.

“Is this real?” Penny asked, looking up at her father. His eyes were a dark blue, deep set and serious. Penelope swallowed, and said in a whisper, “Tell me everything. Now.”

Mason nodded again, then motioned toward a nearby sitting room. All the furniture was covered in dusty white sheets, which Mason pulled away so that they could sit on the plush, velvety purple chairs underneath. Penny sneezed a few times as the cloud of dust settled, snorted, then took a seat across from her old man.

It was only when he saw the serious look in Penny’s eyes that Mason felt his nerves kick in. How ridiculous was it that the sharp look on his little girl’s face made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end? How long had it been since he felt fear? Not in years. Not since he lost his mate.

His mind fought to find the right words to explain to her the depth of his deception; well, if you could call it a deception. He’d always preferred to think it wasn’t technically lying, it was just withholding information. Crucial information. Information she was going to need if she wanted to stay out of trouble now that they had returned to Darcingtowne. Then, his brain ridiculously locked into something he hadn’t done since Penelope hit double digits and decided she no longer needed bedtime stories to fall asleep.

“Once upon a time,” Mason started, swallowing back the lump that was threatening to choke him and keep him from telling Penny what she needed to know. “There was a beautiful half wolf who lived on the edge of the Bramble.”

Penelope stared at her father, her eyebrows furrowing together as she took in his words. What the hell was he on about…?

“Aurora Dawn Silvius was the daughter of the royal tutor, a retired alpha who disbanded his small pack in favor of living a peaceful academic life. As the royal tutor, Alfred Silvius was responsible for the education of the three Princes of the Twilight Promenade pack, whose Alpha ruled with an iron fist over the Dacingtowne Alliance.” Mason continued, looking down at his hands - huge, rough hands that were now folded in his lap. “Had he known that his daughter would be the mate of his youngest charge, he would surely have never brought her with him to work.”

Mason smiled faintly, glancing up at his daughter, who didn’t quite know what to say. He was telling her a story, one eerily similar to ones that he’d told her as a little girl when she was having a hard time sleeping.

But, now that she was an adult, she could see in his eyes that this was more than just a story. There was pain in Mason’s eyes; pain and fear. This was the truth of their past, a past he’d tried to leave behind, and he was relaying it to her in the only way he seemed to know how. He was telling her a story so that it would maybe hurt a little bit less; so that he could hold himself separate from a truth that cut him so deep that even acknowledging it in real terms tore at the scars this truth had left behind. After a moment, he kept going.

“The Prince was a fool. He denied the mate bond for years. When Aurora’s parents passed, she became tough - tough enough to enter the Darcingtowne Alliance Annual Wolf Race and win. That’s when the Prince came to her, no longer able to resist the pull. She thought they would live happily ever after now that she’d proven herself, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Prince’s family refused to accept her, even after learning of her pregnancy.”

Penny reached out to grab Mason’s hand when she saw that his eyes were swimming with unshed tears. She knew this story, sort of - bits and pieces told to her over years as bedtime stories were finally stringing themselves together. Still, she thought it was odd that her father kept referring to himself as ‘the Prince.’ In a way it was kind of exciting; if he was really a Prince, then she really was a Princess, it wasn’t just a cute pet name...though maybe she wasn’t if his family had never acknowledged her. Well, it’s not like she needed a fancy title anyway.

“Aurora went into labor in the home where she grew up. The home that she shared with her younger brother. With her dying breath, Aurora made her brother, Mason, promise to raise her daughter as his own.”