The Mark of an Alpha
Chapter 60

The man before me may not seem like a threat but that the moment he has an advantage.

He caught me by surprise. I never thought that I had to worry about him yet here I am.

The cool metal bites at my skin as I try to lift my arms. My wrist and ankles are chained to the platform that I am laying on.

This asshole had to chain me up.

“What do you want with me?” I shout at him as the chain clash with the table. This seems to disturb him as his face winces.

“Funny I was under the impression that you knew me well…” Derek's father's eyes burn into mine. They are as dark as a moonless night.

“Did Derek put you up to this?” I seethe at him. He has a white cloth in his hands and he lifts it to his mouth and coughs into it, gasping for air after every cough.

If it were under any other circumstances I would worry but at the moment he has me chained up his health is of none of my concern.

“No, he didn’t,” he says and wipes his mouth with the cloth.

“Manny.” Derek’s father snaps his fingers and a man in a butler suit walks out from one of the dark corners. The room is dark with the only light beaming down on me I cannot see what is surrounding me.

“Yes, master.”

“Untie the girl she is of no danger to herself.” The man bows his head and walks over to me. His hands are gentle as they unshackle me once he finishes with my wrists I sit up rubbing them. I stare at the man as he releases my ankles.

What does he want with you?

Let’s find out.

Keep me close to the surface just in case.

My wolf is ready to burst through me if there is any reason for her to come out.

Manny backs away quickly once I am free. I have no quarrel with him at the moment. He is following orders but if he tries anything I will not stop myself. I swing my legs off the platform and look at Derek’s father in the eyes.

“What do you want with me?” A growl rumbles through my words. He knows that I am not happy with this. It is sure as hell written all over my face. This old man manages to kidnap an alpha.

“I want to talk but I know that you wouldn’t come willingly so I brought you myself.” He shrugs as if it is normal to take people against their will.

“Funny I was on my way to look for you.” He looks at me amused as a smile plays at the corner of his lip.

“Come on sweetie let’s talk.” He raises his hand so I can take it but I ignore it and jump off. His eyes narrow and he turns and walks into the darkness he opens up a door letting the light shine into the room. “Come along.”

This feels dangerous.

You’re telling me. You have my back.

Always.

He walks out the door with me at his heels. He leads me into a room made of stone. Two armchairs are facing each other with a fireplace lit behind them.

This is where the alpha of alphas holds his meetings.

There is an iron smell hanging in the air.

Blood?

For your sake let’s hope not.

“Take a seat.” He motions to the chairs, “Manny," he directs his attention to the butler behind us. Manny steps are featherlike that if I did not know he was there before he would have caught me off guard, again. "Get me a glass of my favorite whiskey and for you?”

Don’t get anything.

I shake my head.

“Do you have that little trust in me? Get the girl a glass of water.” He snaps his fingers and Manny is off.

Girl! My wolf does not like the way he speaks to us.

I walk to the chair and sit down. The room is empty there are no paintings, tables, or furniture other than the chairs.

“I don’t know you well enough to trust you," I sigh. "And from the little that I do and what I’ve experienced with you I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.” He is out of my sight but I can feel his presence.

“Let’s see if I can change that.” He walks from behind me and takes the seat directly across from me. “I’m dying Melany.”

There is no reaction on my part. We're all dying.

“But I didn’t bring you here so you can pity me.” He spits to the side, “pity such a worthless emotion. I see that you have a lot of pity especially towards my son’s omega.” His eyes narrow and I narrow mine as well. I do not like him mentioning Calvin. There is sympathy for his misfortune of having Derek as an alpha.

“Call it pity or call it whatever you want but I stand up for what I believe in and I don’t like the way your son treats his pack.”

He relaxes back into the chair his eyes never leaving mine. “He rules his pack the way a true alpha should.”

“And you think that I am not doing my job correctly.” He nods. I am not surprised by his answer.

“You were never meant to become an alpha. Julian made a stupid mistake letting you become his beta.” My heart tightens at the mention of my father.

My father did everything before this fell on me. My tongue is heated as I stare at his man.

“Don’t you dare speak of my father as if you knew him,” I yell and my hands grip the armrests. I am trying to keep myself from exploding and going after him.

“Oh, dear naïve girl you know so little of our family and yours,” I growl at him. Silver wants to come out but I push her down.

“Test me.” My jaw clenches as I stare at him.

“Do know how Julian knew Mathew the Alpha before my son?” I shake my head. “He knew him because he dated, your mother, Arabella before he came into the picture. They were mates just like you and Marcus.”

“You’re lying.” My mother was mates with my father, not this Mathew.

“You think so but how would you find out? Let me tell you the rest of the story.” I can feel my body shake as I stare into these strangers' eyes, this stranger that seems to know more about my family than I do.

“Go on.” I grind my teeth as my chest heaves with my rapid breaths.

“Your mother couldn’t handle being with someone so powerful like Mathew that she ran away from him…sound familiar?”

He smirks at me and I bite my lip to stop myself. We are not here to talk about Marcus.

“Anyways, she ran right into your father’s arms a less powerful alpha but an alpha nonetheless. A year later Mathew held the Moonlight Ball where he saw his mate once again but this time she was wrapped around the arm of Julian Blake, not his. He was hurt beyond repair and even worse she marked him as her own.”

My father was not my mother’s mate. There is a sharp pain in my chest. This feels like it is too much to swallow.

That doesn’t change the fact that he was an amazing father.

I know but if he didn’t tell me that what else was he hiding?

“Stop,” I do not want to hear anymore.

“Why? You don’t want to hear the rest of your parent’s story?” He is toying with my emotions.

“Fück you!” I breathe out and get ready to get up when the door opens behind me.

“Master,” Manny bows his head, “Alpha,” the butler walks in with our drinks he hands Derek’s father his whiskey and then hands me the water. I sit back into the chair.

Don’t be stupid Melany everyone in this castle is on his side.

Almost everyone.

“Should I continue?” I do not answer, “I’ll take that as a yes. Mathew couldn’t believe that his mate dumped him for another.” He takes a sip of his drink slowly. His eyes staying on me the entire time.

“I know that feeling.” He gives me a quirky smile.

“They went through the ball like strangers your mother by your father and Mathew by his date.”

“Sounds like Derek and Blondie.” I stare at my glass but I can feel his eyes on me. Derek left his mate and yet here he is with a girl that he doesn't care about.

“And you and Hunter.” He retorts now he has my attention back on him.

“Are you trying to say that Derek is my mate because if you are then you’re off your meds old man?” I bite the side of my cheek distracting myself.

Silver stops bursting through me.

Hey, don’t get mad when I tell him what you are thinking.

“It appears that I am.” He says in a monotone just as he sighs.

He gulps down the last of his drink and hands it back to Manny. I give him back my drink and he takes it without saying a word.

“On one particular day, your mother wandered off from your father and happens to run into Mathew. She was trying her best to stay away from him. But just like you, my child, these walls could not confide her for too long. Well, she stumbled into his office. He wanted nothing to do with her he wanted her out of his life. She left and now she can live the rest of her life the way she wanted it. Arabella left the castle once the ball was over never to return.” He pulls out another white cloth from his pocket and coughs into it.

It seems like what I have been through.

“Is that it?” My voice is calm but there is an undercurrent of anger.

“No, that is not it,” he wipes his mouth, “a couple of years later we caught wind that Arabella was pregnant."

I try to hide my surprise but I am here. In the flesh, we all knew that she had a daughter but the pain in his voice makes me the tiniest bit sad.

"Mathew worked himself into sickness. He devoted his sadness to his pack making them stronger than ever. When your mother gave birth we knew your mother had died. Mathew felt it. Even though your mother left him she was still his mate and he was hers. Mathew rushed to your mother’s side. That is when your father found out that he was indeed your mother’s mate…but instead of fighting each other they helped each other, one heartbroken man to another.”

“My father and Mathew were friends.” My father never talked to me about my mother's death. I didn't know how he manages to survive that type of pain and still carry on leading a pack.

He nods. “To everyone’s surprise. Mathew took one look at you and he knew that you were meant to do great things. I see what he saw back then. Julian wanted to die so that he could be with your mother but he didn’t want to leave you alone in the world. Mathew looked after you but when you reached the age of five he stopped visiting because you looked so much like your mother.” He wheezes and gasps for air. “I think it’s time for you to head back to your room it is almost dawn and I don’t want Alpha Hunter waking up without you there.”

Derek’s father once again coughs into the cloth and this time it slips through his finger and hits the ground. Manny the butler comes out from the shadows quickly and grabs it. He did it quickly but not quick enough I manage to see the blood on the cloth.

I stare at him and narrow my eyes. “I still have a lot of questions.”

“All in good time my dear.”

“Goodnight Derek’s dad.”

“My apologies I never gave you my name. Call me Ivan, Ivan Storm.” I nod my head. His eyes dart to Manny and he walks over to us with a cloth in his hands.

“Is that necessary?” I already know what he wants to do.

“We all have secrets, my dear girl, just like this castle. Secrets that I intend to keep away from everyone.”

Manny’s hand clamps over my mouth just as I take a breath. The sweet aroma hits me once again and I am out before my body can react to what just happen.

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