Sins of the Father (Book 5 of Desert Series)

Story 1 Chapter 5

Story 1

Aries

Chapter 5

Third Person

Upon their arrival at the Macon County Airport, the crew embarked on a drive to the city of Aquone. Disguised as ordinary tourists, they attracted no attention from the locals. It had been decades since Bernie last set foot in the Nantahala Forest Pack. Yet, the route that werewolves needed to take to reach the pack's border and remain concealed from potential human campers was etched in his memory. The crew, resembling a group of campers, continued their journey, their destination shrouded in secrecy. Little did the unsuspecting locals know, these 'tourists' were about to embark on a thrilling adventure, transforming into wolves and navigating the challenging terrain of the Nantahala Forest Pack.

Bernie led the way, and when they finally came upon an embankment covered by thick foliage, trees, and large rock walls, Bernie began to strip and morph into his wolf. Aries and Dorian followed suit as Allie and Lacie grabbed their backpacks. Lacie was still capable of mind-linking with her Father, so she was in charge of communication.

“My dad says it’s going to get pretty rough, so stay close, and don’t try to rush,” Lacie informed everyone. Bandit, Dorian’s wolf, and Cypher, Aries’ wolf, both nodded. “Hold on tight, Allie,” Lacie told her.

“Oh, believe me, I will,” Allie replied. She leaned forward, resting her body on Bandit, and gripped a chunk of his fur tightly. “If I fall, you’re sleeping on the floor,” Allie warned. Bandit huffed, indicating that would never happen.

“Cypher, you better not let me fall,” Lacie warned.

We would never. Aries replied in a mind-link.

After ensuring the women were secure on their mates’ backs, Jango, Bernie’s wolf, led the way to the Nantahala Forest Pack. It took almost an hour due to the treacherous terrain. Bernie wasn’t joking when he said it would be a tough commute. At one point, Allie and Lacie both lost their grips on the fur of their mates’ wolves, their palms slick with sweat from the humid air. Lacie was unharmed; however, the same couldn’t be said for Allie. She didn’t fall off Bandit entirely but did slide off enough to where her knee was scraped, and a twig got lodged in her calf, a stark reminder of the dangers they faced on their secretive journey.

The group had to stop to clean up the wound and allow Mercury to heal Allie before continuing. Allie was grateful for her werewolf healing; otherwise, the injury would have lasted for several weeks and would have required sutures. If there was one thing Allie hated more than bugs, it was needles. Which was strange given how much she was still bothering Dorian about wanting the tattoo piece on her back. It had been years, but she could never find the time to lie still for several hours so their pack’s tattoo artist could do it.

When they finally arrived at the Nantahala Forest Pack’s territory border, they were met by two other wolves that stopped them. Bernie shifted back and introduced himself to the guards.

“Hello. We mean no harm. Your Alpha invited us.” The two guards looked at one another, and one’s eyes turned cloudy as he linked his Alpha. After a moment of silence, the one guard that linked their Alpha nodded his head to his comrade, and they both shifted back to their human forms.

“We apologize if we seemed threatening. We don’t get very many visitors,” one of the guards said.

“I can’t imagine why,” Allie sarcastically replied.

“And you are?” The other guard asked in a rude tone. Bandit growled at the guard's disrespect. The guard tried his best to hide his fear, but his eyes gave him away. Allie smirked when she saw that he wasn’t so tough. Bandit slowly lowered himself and allowed Allie to hop off before giving Dorian control and shifting back to human form. The one guard who apologized for their threatening demeanor was shocked when he saw Dorian and realized who Allie was.

“You… You’re…” the guard began to stutter. He quickly got his composure together. “Alpha, I apologize for my colleague's disrespect. We didn’t realize you were coming,” he blabbered and bowed his head.

“Alpha?” the other guard asked. The one bowing elbowed his colleague in the ribs, forcing him to hunch over as if he were bowing.

“That’s Alpha Dorian Shaw, you i***t!” The guard with a brain mumbled.

“Who the f*ck is Dorian Shaw?” The other questioned.

“F*ck, you’re hopeless.”

Aries rolled his eyes while viewing everything from Cypher’s eyes. He was waiting to shift back to his human form until he met the Nantahala Forest Pack’s Alpha and Luna and their ballsy son, who was trying to claim Lacie.

They waited at the border for the pack’s Alpha and Luna to arrive. Almost ten minutes had gone by, and Allie was getting restless.

“How far is your packhouse from the border?” Allie questioned the guard.

“It’s about two miles, Luna Shaw,” the friendlier guard replied.

“So, why is it taking your Alpha and Luna so long to get here?” Allie asked.

“Allison, I’m sure the Alpha was busy when we arrived. We did have a small delay due to your injury,” Bernie said, trying to place peacemaker. He knew better than anyone that Allie didn’t have a filter when it came to mincing words. Her injury from before didn’t help her displeasure, either.

After another five minutes, they finally saw a car coming toward the border. Allie huffed and grumbled “finally” to herself while maintaining a respectful façade. Lacie was standing next to Bernie, and as an Alpha’s daughter, even Lacie knew that making them wait nearly fifteen minutes to be escorted was rude and unheard of. She was just as anxious to get the ridiculous rejection over with and return home. She missed Meredith.

Aries still hadn’t returned to his human form yet. Cypher was sitting on his haunches next to Lacie. When the car showed up at the border, Cypher jumped to his feet and stood in front of Lacie in a protective stance. The pack’s Alpha exited the vehicle and held his hand out. A dainty yet wrinkled hand popped out and grabbed onto the Alpha’s. Out came a woman in her mid to late 50s, and followed by her was a younger man who looked to be in his mid to late 20s.

“Bernard, old chum! It’s been a long time!”

“Bruce! How are you!?” Bernie feigned friendliness. Even if Bruce was his friend, it didn’t mean he wasn’t annoyed that he had to bring Lacie out here for absolutely no reason.

“Good! Good! I’m sorry for the theatrics. But you know my Father-in-law!” Bruce tried to shift the blame.

“It is what it is,” Bernie said aloofly. Bruce could feel the chill attitude coming from his old friend.

“Ahem,” Bruce cleared his throat. “Yes, well. Here, you remember my mate, Colleen,” Bruce quickly introduced.

“How could I forget,” Bernie replied. “Colleen, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“I’m sure it is,” Colleen replied. Allie and Lacie furrowed their brows at pack’s Luna’s response.

Ew. What the hell kind of response was that? Allie cringed in a mind-link to Lacie.

Who the f*ck does this old hag think she is talking to my Dad like that!? Lacie replied with anger.

“And I’m sure you remember my son. This is Lynx,” Bruce introduced. Lynx came forward and removed his sunglasses. The moment he did, Allie gasped.

“What is it, baby?” Dorian asked in a low whisper.

“Babe, is it just me, or does he look a lot like—” Dorian grimaced, looked at the Alpha Bruce’s son, and that’s when he saw what Allie saw.

“Holy f*ck.”

“It’s not just me, right?” Allie asked.

“No. It most definitely is not just you. I see it, too,” Dorian answered. When Bruce introduced Lynx to Bernie, he even saw the resemblance to a particular individual. He turned to look at Cypher. Aries had yet to shift back to his human form, so no one else but those from Desert Moon and Bernie saw it.

Lacie’s jaw had dropped the moment Lynx took off his sunglasses. She was utterly stunned by the uncanny resemblance Lynx had to Aries. One could even say they were twins. The most significant difference was that Lynx had dark brown hair, almost black, while Aries had dirty blonde hair, which he said he got from his Mother.

Deep within Cypher’s consciousness, Aries’ brows furrowed in confusion and disbelief. They say everyone has a doppelgänger out in the world. And it seemed like Aries had just found his. The bigger issue was that Cypher could sense that this wasn’t just a case of finding a look-alike. Cypher could sense the familial bond between Lynx and Aries.

Aries, this isn’t just someone who looks like you.

What do you mean?

My friend. I believe that this man after our mate is your brother.

Are you f*cking with me right now?

No. I would never.

If this a*shole is my brother, then that means—

Yes. I’m afraid you are correct. That man. That Alpha… He’s—

My Father.