Avenging The Triplet Alphas

Chapter 10

Ethan’s POV

I understood her fears now. She was scarred from the past and she couldn’t bring herself to completely bask in the second chance life had given her yet because she often knew what happened when she lowered her guard down. She had been betrayed by her former mates, who had shattered her trust, left her heartbroken, and severed their mate bond and to top it all off, she was banished and left to cater for her unborn pup alone.

It seemed like love had turned its back on her, leaving her wary of any promises that echoed happily ever after and that was what I was offering her, a glimmer of hope and security.

Arielle felt her eyes water as she stared at Ethan, the strong and steadfast wolf who exuded a quiet confidence that drew Arielle closer and she had come to find solace in his presence. Despite his reluctance to put himself out in the open, she knew he was a good man. His eyes were usually filled with sincerity and warmth anytime he spoke to her, and he held assurances of a love untainted by deceit like the one she had experienced a while ago. She didn’t know how, but he understood the depths of her pain. She sensed that he too had known heartbreak and pain and he was driven by the determination to show her that not all wolves were driven by selfishness and betrayal.

“I know you’ve been hurt and broken in the past but you’ve been here a couple of months and I’ve not given you a reason not to trust me.” I began, hoping she would ease up on her fears for me to get through to her.

“I know, Ethan. It’s just so difficult sometimes to let go of the past.” Arielle began, sniffing as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I still feel hurt, you know? When they broke the mate bond, something broke inside of me that day too.”

I nodded, understanding her feelings as I had experienced the same thing as well.

“You asked earlier if I had ever been in love,” I started, taking deep breaths to calm myself as I revisited an ugly past I had buried all those years ago.

“I didn’t exactly put it that same way but yeah, I did.” Arielle’s attention was fixed on me now, her eyes were still red from the crying but she wore a calm demeanor now.

“The reason I’ve been keeping my distance from everyone emotionally was that I got betrayed sometime in the past.” I stared far off into the night, as I recounted my travails.

“I was only a young wolf, filled with vigor and youthful enthusiasm. I had the best parents anyone could ever wish for and the moon goddess deemed me worthy enough to bless me with a mate, I was only 18 at the time and there wasn’t much else I wanted.”

Arielle had fallen silent now as she sat still, not wanting to move a muscle.

“My father had gotten news of an internal war brewing from within but he had discarded the rumors, not bothering to give it a second thought.” I recounted wistfully. “In his words, my father had said, hell would be trampled upon before his brother would ever instigate an uprising against his leadership.” I laughed bitterly.

“My uncle had been my friend and my teacher, he taught me everything I knew, from basic fighting skills to complex ones. He made me this strong and despite the age difference between us, he saw me more as a younger brother than a nephew. Life was so perfect or so I thought.”

I paused for a bit and Arielle decided to ask me a question. “What happened to the girl you fell in love with?”

“Mara? She’s part of the story too.”

“I don’t understand, Ethan.”

“The warning my father had gotten about an uprising eventually came to pass and guess who was at the forefront leading the coup?”

Arielle gasped. “Your uncle?”

“My bloody uncle, the same man I trusted with my life, betrayed his family because of his thirst for power and glory. Even though the attack was borne out of surprise, my father was able to rally what was left of his pack warriors to quell the uprising but spontaneous planning has never won against a plan worked out and debated upon. After a hard-fought battle that lasted over six months, my uncle eventually won and both my parents died in my arms.”

“My lover, Mara, had deduced the fact that we weren’t going to win this battle after the first few months, and one morning when I woke up, she wasn’t by my side and she was nowhere to be found. A few days later, a message came in from her and the contents of it broke my heart. She had left me to join my uncle, not only as an ally but also as his lover. She had been an informant for him throughout our battles, it was how my uncle kept eluding our best plans to take him out. The promises of being Luna on the winning side had been too much for Mara to turn down so she turned her back on me.”

Arielle didn’t know what to say. She tried to wrap her head around how one man had survived through what he did and slowly, she was beginning to understand why he kept a wall between him and everyone else.

She still wanted to know how the story ended, he eventually became Alpha and she knew it wasn’t by some miracle. Something had happened, something powerful.

“How did you defeat your uncle, Ethan? You became Alpha at the end, how did you do it despite all you’ve been through?”

“Hate pushed me to the brink of madness, I was a raging wolf that hungered for revenge. Together with what was left of my pack, I began to nip at my uncle’s pack warriors slowly but efficiently, taking them out in packs with my bands of wolves I had divided into three deadly sections.

It had taken a while but we slowly began to build momentum much to the outrage of my uncle who was beginning to lose his allies as we didn’t leave them out of our attacks his strength began to wane but I couldn’t attack him yet, not while he hid behind this impenetrable fortress.”

“I had to look for a way to drag him out or get into the walls I once called home. My uncle had been my best friend growing up and he knew all the routes the same way I did, it would be suicidal trying to use one of them so I waited impatiently, hoping my repeated attacks would force him out eventually. The months passed and I realized that my uncle was content with letting everyone die if it would preserve his life and I knew that if nothing changed, I would have to take on the suicide mission by myself.”

“I went down to the pub one night and I met Luciana, one of the servants who worked for my mother and she risked her life to help me and my warriors get through the gate. I didn’t know how she did it and she swore never to tell me but the gates were unlocked with no guard in sight. I made my way to my parents' chambers where I knew my uncle lived with Mara, the two people who had broken me completely.”

“My warriors wasted no time in taking out the unsuspecting guards loitering in the yard and partying with loud music. I had given them one specific order, spare no one.” My eyes grew darker as I continued to speak, I could feel the hatred rising again as I clenched my fists to prevent myself from lashing out.

“I walked into my parent’s room and found my uncle and Mara making love inside. The surprise on both their faces was something I would never forget, it gave a sense of fulfillment and comfort as I saw fear in both their eyes. My uncle had attempted to distract me to shift but I knew his tricks like the back of my hand.

I flung the silver dagger straight into his chest, impaling him on the bedpost as Mara screamed.”

“I could hear him struggling to speak as I approached the bedside but I wanted nothing to do with it. I sunk my claws deep into his neck, ripping out his lungs as I tossed it to the floor and turned my attention to Mara, who had tears streaming down her face as she pleaded for her life. The love I once had for her had turned to unbridled hate, she brought me so much pain and grief and it was only right to make her pay for her sins. I grabbed her by the neck and squeezed as hard as I could, watching as life slipped out of her.”