Their Marred Boy

Chapter 29

It was often unnerving how similar all the Jilani's looked, even Thalia who was not born as one shared similar features. Stupidly enough that was all that Elias could think about as he stood in front of his father after months of no contact.

The familiar scent of Gabriele Jilani's office tickled his nose, taunting his senses. Similar to people, every space had its own unique scent. Some felt safe and warm while others would upset your stomach with the negativity it represented.

Elias wasn't sure which category his father's office belonged to in his case. He had always been indifferent to the alpha as Gabriele had mostly been absent from his life. Well, in all fairness the man had always been there, but... not really.

Gabriele wasn't someone he thought of too often, so putting his feelings about him into words was proving to be difficult as he didn't really know what he was feeling in the first place.

His confidence had been severed the moment he lost his title at Lupus Medicina as the company had always been his pride and joy. His childhood was spent dreaming about carrying one of those employee cards his dad would wear around his neck, and his teenage years were spent running errands for employees in his free time. Elias hadn't had a single summer where he didn't spend an entire business day simply serving coffee and printing documents only so he could be in the building.

So as he turned his employee card in the day he resigned, he felt the weight of everything he'd sacrificed crash onto his back. He had traded many experiences, friendships, and years from his life to a company that would never appreciate him.

For years Elias had been the first to clock in and last to leave while Thalia could waltz in whenever she pleased and snatch the reins from him, leading Lupus Medicina to a ditch where he'd have to work overtime to pull them out of.

That was all irrelevant now as Elias was going to shut down the company for good. He'd simply come to give his father the good news.

However, as Elias watched his father loosen his tie and unbutton a single button on his collar he realized just how much the man didn't want to see him.

"Elias?" The man asked. His voice was so unsure that Elias cringed. How embarrassing.

"Father." He nodded in greeting. He took his time walking over to the man's desk. "I've come to ask you a question."

Gabriele raised a thick dark brow in question as he leaned into his desk. Signaling for his son to continue.

"Isn't it a bit old-fashioned that Lepus Medicina is still testing on shifters?" Elias mockingly tilted his head, "I mean don't you think it's time to evolve?"

As the words left his mouth Gabriele Jilani paled. His already pale face contrasted with his dark hair as his skin took a sickly yellow hue. The man looked nauseated. "How do- how did you find out?"

"Crazy coincidence really. My fourth mate just so happens to be one of the subjects."

"That... That's impossible. We don't..."

"Of course not. I know you wouldn't make such a stupid mistake." Elias chuckled, "Like I said. Crazy coincidence." He shook his head, still amused. He was enjoying this far more than he'd imagined.

"Why are you here?"

"Well father, on this jolly day I wanted to speak to you one last time." Elias' eye twitched with the strain he was putting on himself to be annoying. Condescending. In all honesty, he wanted to scream and beg for answers to soothe his running mind. He needed to know why he wasn't trusted enough to know the information about human testing.

Gabriele and his wolf could feel their son's true emotions. And the desperation was gutting them as they came face to face with a sliver of the damage they'd inflicted.