Page 31 of Silence Falls a New Alpha
Chapter 21
A Hidden Past
Alexander’s POV
This was not how I thought things would be. Someone had mentally broken down this kid and she thinks Stockholm is love. Jesus fucking christ this is going to send Damian over the edge when I tell him. If I would have known that Tagon had struggled with all of this I would have had Derrick her some help, anything. Damian gave his orders already which means Tagon’s fate is sealed, however, we need to keep our eyes out in case there is anyone else who may be under that person’s guidance.
“Damian, we have an issue. Bigger than I thought.” I said to him my mind was blown as I entered his office. He sat there leaning over with his head firmly on his ebony-stained desk. It was mahogany and dark to match the rest of his office. He had it stained ebony to keep to his theme, some joked it reflected the color of his heart. I guess he was rather exhausted given everything that had currently happened with things. I stepped back ready to turn and leave but a groan stopped me.
“So-” Damian said groggy, he was barely awake. I guess he had heard what I started to tell him.
“Someone who lied about the attack all those years ago groomed Tagon. A male older than you who was there.” I paused, this would be a tough topic for him. “Damian, only one person walked away that day from the group of rogues. The one who killed Rose.” He shot up looking at me as his eyes fumed with hatred. The very person who killed Rose recruited spies, kids at that to try and bring this pack down. Sure, we rapidly grew but no one knew about Damian’s past, no one but Rose and me. There is no reason to hold a grudge for so long and continue to go after us. The country, aside from being far between rogue attacks, had been peaceful in late years. Honestly, it was more peaceful now than when we were ruled by the cruel twisted king we had. I don’t blame Damian for all those things he did years ago, I never will.
“Why is someone doing this?” Damian attempted to keep his calm, but it was hard. He just ordered a child to be killed due to treason against the pack only to find out that the kid was brainwashed to do this. It may have been possible to keep her alive and plan an ambush. Damnit. With how young she is the torture won't last long knowing the twins so she’s more than likely already dead. I went to leave and stop them, but Aspen walked in without so much as a knock. He had blood on him and smelt awful, like gasoline. The sick smile on his face sent shivers down my spine as I backed up towards the fireplace in Damian’s office. I knew why they came in handy to the clan but the thought of some things they do disgust me.
“Well?” Damian sharply questioned Aspen, he wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t have answers. Aspen only comes to report when the job is done, and Maddox handles clean-up. Between the two Maddox is the more fucked up one and he gets off to killing people, it’s his kink if you would.
“Do you happen to know an Orion Alpha?” Damian froze at the name, and I almost stopped breathing. Orion can’t be alive…it’s fucking impossible. Damian killed him. We both watched the castle fall.
“I take the silence as a yes?” No words needed to be said to show we both knew exactly who that was. A ghost from Damian’s past had come to the present to destroy everything we built. Why did he wait this long if he was still alive? Damian would have been easier to kill as a child not…an heir…Katie. He waited for there to be an heir to reclaim the lost throne, Katie is his target not Damian. I looked over and Damian’s face was as white as snow, as if someone had sucked the life from his body.
“He-” Damian looked absolutely terrified, and Aspen was shocked. Damian was never one to look scared unless it came to harm coming towards Katie, even then it was more anger than fear.
“I killed him. He shouldn’t be alive. I killed him alongside my father.” Damian’s hands were shaking as he stood there. We knew it was possible but never thought it would happen. Our tracks were covered, everything was covered. No witnesses. We may have been kids, but we made sure no one who knew what went down that day lived to talk about it, didn’t we?
“Do you remember the cruel king? More than likely not as you weren’t born yet, but the rumors are still there.” Damian paused and shook his head in disbelief that he was finally saying who he was. “That was my father. I’m the dark prince. I killed my father and his right hand, Orion. Well, so I thought. I killed anyone who stayed in that damn Castle then I burned it to the ground.” Damian slammed his fist on his desk. No one was ever supposed to know as there were some who wanted to bring back that way of life. A united nation of werewolves under a king. It can be a lot to bear, and Damian’s father ruled with a cruel iron fist making the twins look like saints. Rumors over the years said the prince made it out yet no one could confirm it thankfully. The only good thing Damian’s father did was keep Damian mostly hidden from the public eye for fear he would be abducted. This doesn’t make sense to me though, why wait all these years? He could have just challenged Damian and taken the throne publicly to rebuild the kingdom. Hell, Damian would have won the fight but could have refused the throne. I shook my head and sighed.
“You’re right I just know the rumors.” Aspen barely got out before Maddox joined us. He looked like he had bathed in blood and his hands had ashes on them. “So why did you kill your father?” Maddox stood there looking between Damian and Aspen insanely confused about what he had just walked in on. I cleared my throat.
“He killed his father because of Rose.” Damian shot me a look as if he would kill me next. “His father found out about their relationship. Yes, they were kids at the time, but their fathers hated each other. Damian’s father had kidnapped Rose, beat her some, and when Damian walked into the throne room his father was.” I had to stop. It was something that I would never forget.
“My father was about to rape her. I lost control and attacked him. I knew my father’s weaknesses and health issues he kept hidden. I may have only been ten, but I killed him as Alexander took Rose away.” Damian knew this was a hard subject for us to talk about. Had he been even a minute late to the throne room his father would have raped Rose and then killed her. I grabbed a terrified Rose and ran her to mine and Damian’s safe room before I helped.
“Once my father was dead myself and Alexander killed every single person in the Castle. We didn’t even spare servants. No witnesses.” Damian’s voice grew colder with each word. What he forgot was that we killed kids, even infants. No one was left alive in that castle; it was a full massacre.
“Orion should have died. I stabbed him in the back near his spine while he and Damian fought. The dagger had wolf’s-” No. I couldn’t force the words out of my mouth. Before the merger when we got attacked someone used wolfsbane. Just a random rogue but wolfsbane is rare and extremely difficult to get your hands on. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?
“Damian, that rogue attack-” His eyes were wide as he realized the same thing I had. It had to have been Orion this entire time but why now? Why only target Damian? My hands were as blood-stained as his in that massacre.
He could kill Damian, but he would also have to prove Damian is the missing prince to take the throne. It’s been so long now that way of life is gone, and it would take a rebellion to bring it back. All the packs would either have to fall or surrender to the new king if one were to come out of nowhere. There is no promise that way of life is what anyone would want or welcome, it would turn into a nationwide massacre, a civil war.
Damian’s POV
My head was spinning, first Alexander and now the twins. Orion? How in the ever-living fuck is he alive. Anger, flashbacks, so many emotions rushed over me. No one was ever supposed to know my past, it was never supposed to catch up to me. Once my father died, I should have gone from being a prince to the king, but I ran. I abandoned the throne and that way of life; it is something I never want to return to nor does my daughter. I felt my chest tightening as if I was having a panic attack as Alexander went on about all of this. This has to be a dream; this can’t be real. I felt my breathing start to become labored as I stood there looking around the room. Not only is Orion alive but he is behind all the rogue attacks and giving them wolfsbane.
“He is after Katie” Aspen stood there with a twisted look on his face. My train of thought snapped from wolfsbane to my daughter in a split second. Wait, why would he want Katie? Alexander and Maddox looked at each other confused and then at me. It was clear everyone stood there waiting on me to respond as if I knew something they didn’t. Yet even I was clueless as to why Orion would want my daughter. Payback maybe? His mate was killed during the massacre, but he had no children. None of this was making sense, if he lived why wait all these years to kill me? He could have attacked over and over. I don’t understand the point of waiting thirteen years after killing Rose.
“What if he plans to claim Katie?” Maddox finally spoke up. His tone was less amused than normal. No one would ever dare to claim Katie unless it was her true mate. A growl echoed the room as Alexander clenched his jaws together, his left hand was bleeding. I on the other hand smashed my glass on my desk as Aspen looked at Maddox dumbfounded that his brother said that.
“Think about it. She doesn’t have a mate and he wanted revenge.” Maddox tried to explain as Aspen elbows him. No…Orion would take Katie to force her to be his? Over my fucking dead body would I allow that. This is insane what would that do for him…
“Why would he even want that?” I stumbled over my words. He almost killed her when she was a child. Why would he have a change of heart? I don’t understand. This is insane, claiming Katie won't fix anything in this nation. “No.” I shook my head as my stomach turned. “Surely he isn’t planning to produce an heir with her.” I felt myself vomit a little in my mouth as the words rolled off my tongue. The only way that Orion would want to take Katie and claim her is for the sake of having a child with her. If I died and she had a child then her child would also be heir to the throne, but Katie would have to die for Orion to put his child on the throne.
“That would be a possibility. Kill you and take her.” Aspen said with a knife in his hand. When the hell did he pull that out? I knew he always carries one but still. Alexander was fuming, almost more than I. Damnit.
“Increase patrols and also increase security around the mansion.” I commanded. This will cause concern but it’s the only choice we have. “Katie is not to be alone. If it is not Alexander or I, then she is in your care at all times Twins. From now on she will not even be alone in her room.” I don’t care if this was being paranoid or going overboard. If this was true and Orion was after Katie, nothing would stop him, not even her being on the fifth floor. I will not let anything happen to her, she’s all I have left of Rose, she’s my daughter.
“What about Dylan?” Alexander looks at me as if his heart was being ripped out. He loves her but is losing hope she will pick him, and I know he doesn’t want her to hate him. I sighed. Why the hell must things be so fucking complicated? If Tagon was a spy it could be possible there are more. I slammed my fist down onto my desk.
“Was Tagon working alone?” I snapped at the twins. This entire situation was pissing me off to the point of no return. Drake was still here with his small number of pack members, and we’ve already had one issue.
“We don’t believe so, but she didn’t confirm that before her death.” Maddox answered, sending a chill down my spine. I ordered a brainwashed child to death. I grit my teeth together at the thought.
“Dylan is not to be near her unsupervised.” I couldn’t be sure that he or anyone else was not in on this. Fuck. The only people I knew I could trust were Alexander, the twins, and Derrick.
“First thing tomorrow, bring Drake, Bradley, Katie, and Dylan here right away.” I sighed “It’s time they know the truth. Only a matter of time before it comes out now.” The twins nod as they exit my office. Alexander stood there with his face in his hands as he sat there a million thoughts more than likely running through his head. All good things must come to an end, right?
“Alex keep her safe.” My voice broke as the tears flowed. I was about to shock everyone who felt close to me. I knew this would only end one of two ways. Orion or I would die.
“Damian, we will kill him.” Alexander said to me with a look of terror on his face. The same look he had when Rose died. He got up and left as I sat down at my desk and pulled out a sealed letter. A red rose wax seal pressed firmly against the yellowish-aged envelope I held in my hands. Parts of it were almost torn due to the years it's waited for me to open it. I place it back in the drawer of my desk, I’m sorry Rose but not tonight.
