Sins of the Father (Book 5 of Desert Series)

Story 1 Chapter 4

Story 1

Aries

Chapter 4

Third Person

“Hey, are you all right?” Lacie asked Aries. They were in the pack’s jet, along with Dorian, Allie, and Bernie. Corrinne stayed behind to take care of Meredith. Brandon and Leah would be interim Alpha and Luna in their absence while they accompanied Lacie to deal with the nonsense the Eastern werewolf Elder’s counsel had caused.

Aries had been silent most of the trip, his internal turmoil palpable. Lacie, sensing his unease, was concerned that he was suppressing his anger over the fact that some random male was trying to claim her. But that was far from the truth. Aries was wrestling with his identity and his mother’s pack in North Carolina, which was a constant reminder of his unanswered questions. She never divulged which pack it was, but Aries had a sinking feeling it was the Nantahala Forest Pack.

----- Flashback -----

“Mom, which pack is my Father from?” A fourteen-year-old Aries asked his Mother, Julia, for what felt like the umpteenth time.

“It’s not important, sweetheart. Please, I’m begging you, stop asking,” Julia gritted, her voice strained with the weight of the secret she was desperately trying to protect.

“Mom, I think I’m old enough for the truth! I know what you’ve told me isn’t the truth. I know what we are! I’ve seen you shift. I know I’m different, just based on my size. So, stop playing mind games with me and tell me what I deserve to hear!” Aries demanded, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and desperation. Julia, taken aback by his outburst, felt a surge of emotions. She wanted to retort, but when she saw the determination in his eyes, it only reminded her of the tenacity she had to leave her ex-mate and start a new life for her and Aries. She saw that he was strong and he was capable of handling the truth. She knew that in four short years, he would become a man, and he would learn the truth from his wolf anyway. Her wolf, Amethyst, would eventually tell his wolf the truth. Julia let out a deep sigh and nodded her head.

“You’re right, son. I’m sorry. You do deserve the truth. But you have to promise me one thing before I tell you,” Julia said, her voice heavy with the weight of the revelation she was about to share.

“Anything, Mom.”

“Promise that you won’t go picking fights where you shouldn’t. Okay?”

“Why would I?” Aries asked in confusion.

“Because what I’m about to tell you is going to break your heart, and I know how you react to being hurt. So, promise me. Promise me that you will not go out and be some vigilante.”

“I promise.” Aries’ promise meant something, and Julia knew she could trust him with the truth. Julia explained to Aries that she wasn’t from Utah but from North Carolina. That she was, in fact, not human but a werewolf, and so was he. This didn’t seem to surprise Aries. He knew he was different from everyone else. He couldn’t pinpoint how. Now, it all made sense.

Julia explained to him that she came from a werewolf pack in North Carolina and explained in great detail everything about the mate bond and what had happened to her and his biological Father. She spared no detail when it came to his betrayal, how she chose to reject him after everything he had done to her, and the fact that she hid her pregnancy from him. Julia never gave away his identity to Aries either, afraid that he would use the knowledge to track down his Father and exact justice on her behalf.

Aries was in utter shock to hear everything his Mother had gone through when it came to disappearing, changing her identity, and hiding the fact that he existed from his Father. Julia was afraid that if Bruce found out about Aries, he would try and take him from her, and that was one thing she would die to prevent from happening. Luckily for them, Bruce never learned of Aries’ existence.

----- End Flashback -----

“Aries. Hello! Earth to Aries Callaghan!” Lacie raised her voice and waved her hand in his face.

“Huh? What?” Aries shook his head of his thoughts and looked at Lacie.

“Where did you go?” Lacie asked.

“Sorry. I zoned out.”

“Yeah, I can see that. What’s wrong?” Lacie questioned.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie, Aries,” Allie said pointedly.

“I’m not,” Aries defended. Allie quirked a brow at him. Aries scowled, knowing he couldn’t hide anything from his Luna, who happened to be a walking lie detector. He gnashed his teeth but relented. “My Mom’s home pack is in North Carolina.” Lacie’s eyes widened at this fact. She finally understood why Aries had been off his game the last two days.

“What relevance does that have to the current situation?” Bernie asked. Aries’ mouth went dry. Lacie looked at her Father, wondering if she should tell him the details.

“Ummm…” Lacie bit her bottom lip and looked at Aries. He just nodded, silently giving his wife permission to tell her Father. “Aries’ biological Father cheated on his Mom with a chosen mate. Just like … Uhhh … Your friend, Daddy.” Allie gasped while Dorian furrowed his brows.

“Wait, you don’t think that—” Bernie began to ask but was cut off mid-sentence.

“I don’t know,” Aries told Bernie. “But the fact that you told us about this Alpha and how he rejected his goddess-given mate and took a chosen one rubbed me the wrong way. At first, I chalked it up to the fact that that’s what happened to my Mom, but after you said that it was a pack in North Carolina, it just made me think.”

“What does Cypher think?” Dorian asked.

“He’s anxious. I asked why, and he said he doesn’t know.”

“Does he not know anything about your birth Father?” Allie asked.

“My Mom died before I gained him. So he’s as much in the dark as I am when it comes to facts about my sperm donor.” Lacie could feel Aries’ anxiety as if it were her own. She held his hand tightly to reassure him that she was there with him. It helped. Aries looked at the love of his life with so much gratitude. It was seldom that Aries didn’t have his emotions under control, but whenever it came to his Mother and the secrets of his Father, he could never seem to keep himself grounded.

“We should be landing in about half an hour, Alpha,” Molly, the pack’s official flight attendant, announced.

“Thank you,” Dorian replied. Molly nodded, smiled, and went back to her area on the jet.

“Babe, I’m looking at the map on my phone, and there doesn’t seem to be a direct route to the forest where this pack is,” Allie pointed out as she showed Dorian her phone.

“Yes, Luna. There is not. That’s why this pack strives the way it does. There is absolutely no human interaction, given how far it is from civilization. We will have to land at Macon County Airport and drive about forty-five minutes to Aquone, which is a small town that is located about ten miles from the heart of the pack’s territory. From there, we will have to shift and run to the pack border,” Bernie explained.

“Oh, is that all?” Allie asked with sarcasm.

“Now I understand why you told us to each bring a small backpack instead of luggage, Daddy,” Lacie said.

“Don’t worry, Precious, I’ll do the running. You carry our bags and ride on my back,” Aries said lovingly.

“Aries has a point. No need for you to shift either, baby,” Dorian said to Allie. “With Mercury being on the smaller side, I don’t know if she would be able to go to the mountain terrain we might encounter while running to this pack.”

“Fine by me,” Allie quickly agreed. Even Mercury purred at the thought of not having to do any strenuous running.

“Are you sure, babe?” Lacie asked Aries, who just nodded with certainty. However, his thoughts were still running rampant in the back of his mind. There was no use in overthinking about everything. What were the chances that this weak Alpha was actually his Father?