Preston, Brandon's father above
Terry POV
Ivory keeps avoiding Doggy who jumps at her. Today I'm working on her instincts so Doggy attacks her when she stays in her human form. Defending is a difficult thing to do, but my father used to train me the same way. Of course, he never wanted me to become a hunter but he believed that I should have known how to protect myself, especially from werewolves.
Pearl is sitting sulking in the corner of the basement where we train because nobody can play with her. Usually, when I train Ivory and it takes hours she can play with Doggy, but today the poor animal is essential for our practice so Pearl is left alone, and because of that she isn't happy. In the beginning, I tried to explain that to her, but I didn't manage to do it. Ivory finally took matters into her own hands and told Pearl to sit in one place and stop complaining. A little bit harsh in my opinion but...
"She plays you the way she wants and you let her do whatever she wishes every time she calls you daddy," Ivory said with superiority and we could finally start our hard work.
Maybe she is right and Pearl really does with me whatever she wants. I just can't help it, she usually asks for very easy things to give, mostly my attention, so why should I refuse her anything? Ivory is different, she rarely asks for anything but she stopped being so alert. She also seems to like me, maybe she isn't so eager to show it in contrast to her sister, but I know I have her respect and her trust now.
Aunty Mae comes down to the basement saying we have a guest we need to talk to. I sigh and leave the girls with Doggy. It's morning so the bar is closed but I'm not surprised to see Danny sitting by the counter. Actually, I wonder why it took him three days to come.
I offer him a drink and he nods, Aunty sits next to us so I also pour her.
"Actually I want to talk with Mrs. Peterson," Danny says "I want to know why you let Terry stay here?"
She smiles but it's a bitter smile. Even I don't know her full story, only a few details from my father's notebook.
"And do you want to hear the long or the short story?"
"I wish to hear the true story," he says and she takes a sip of her brandy.
"Once upon a time... almost thirty years ago the Howl Pack was ruled by Anthony Howl who wasn't a bad Alpha, but he believed like so many Alphas across this world that he was entitled to everything and I had a luck bad enough to be his mate. After he found me at first he tried to win me over. I won't lie when I say I felt some attraction to him, the bond also affects humans but it simply wasn't enough. When we met I was already married and didn't know what Anthony was. Like I said at the beginning he was trying to charm me, to make me love him and I was smitten with him, but ultimately I chose Philip, my husband, and Anthony didn't accept that."
Her face deflates and her hands start shaking a little and yet her eyes are icy-cold, she won't break down no matter how hard it is for her.
"Anthony killed Philip and dragged me to his pack as if I was a piece of meat. He raped me and marked me. For Howl Pack I was their Luna, for him I was his beloved property, for myself I was a slave, and trust me that's the worst thing that can ever happen to anybody. During the 245 days I was mated to him he tried to convince me and later to force me to forgive him, to give him a chance. But I couldn't, with every day I hated him more and more and it slowly started affecting his wolf and our bond."
"In what way?" Danny asks.
"He started slowly getting insane. Thomas, Anthony's younger brother explained to me that bond makes a wolf stronger, probably that's why Anthony hadn't rejected me, but bond demands love to give strength. The fact that I hated my mate and was marked against my will kept torturing his wolf who slowly started getting feral and Anthony started losing control. In a rage one day Anthony almost killed his own mother because she helped me to make sure that I would have no babies. We both really thought that if there were no heir I would be useless and my mate would give up on me but he didn't. I had a couple of suicide attempts but since Anthony could always feel them he always managed to save me. Finally, Thomas found a way for me to be free and for the pack to be safe. Anthony's mental state made him dangerous not only to his family and me but also to the whole pack."
She takes another sip of her drink as I reach my hand to hold hers and she accepts my touch. Danny observes her focused, but I see that he got pale. By the corner of my eye, I notice Ivory hiding behind the door, eavesdropping as always.
"That's how Aunty Mae met my father, " I say "as you remember Danny he was a hitman and he rented his services to those who needed help with werewolves, mostly humans who didn't have a chance with them but also to werewolves. Thomas Howl paid my father to kill his brother. Mae and Alpha's own mother helped him, the killing was staged as a big fire that burned the packhouse to the ground and Mae was finally free. I found her contacts in my father's notebook where he recorded all his transactions, but he marked her as a friend, someone who he could ask for help in need and that's what I did 10 years ago."
"Has anyone from Howl Pack can confirm that story?" Danny asks and Mae says:
"Pack doctor Alyssa, she also helped us to kill Anthony. Soon after the fire, Thomas gave me some money but I had nowhere to go, plus the Werewolf Council wasn't happy with the idea of me going anywhere and maybe spilling about werewolves existence so Thomas set the deal between the Council and me, so I don't have to live in Howl Pack but I stay close enough to be under their surveillance. When Terry came here he adopted the details of my husband's relative, and Natasha trusts me enough not to dig too much into it. She only knows that I was a former Luna and that's it. After Anthony's death, Thomas should've taken over as an Alpha but his wolf was too weak so the Howl Pack was at risk of civil war for the title, thankfully for him his mate turned out to be a strong Alpha wolf, a daughter of Alpha from another pack and she took over the highest position."
Danny nods and smiles sadly to Aunty Mae:
"I'm really sorry you have to go through this, but that's the answer to one of my questions, the second is why Terry has made an appearance after a decade of lying low?"
I gulp I'm not sure if I should trust him or not.
"Terry I can promise you that I won't say anything and the only thing you can do is to trust me. You, of course, can kill me but it will also be equal to being forced to run away and I know you desperately want to stay here. You should be honest with me, we need to establish mutual trust. Both of us."
I smirk, little Danny is no longer little, and he is right if I'm to stay we must trust each other, there is no other way.
"Ivory stop hiding and bring Pearl upstairs, we have a guest who will stay for lunch," I say.
Ivory leaves her hideout and comes closer to us with Pearl holding her hand. Danny smiles at them too as I give him the basic information about them and next we all go upstairs to prepare the said meal.
It actually takes me back to the past to the only redeeming thing my grandfather was always persistent about. It was the big dinner for all clan members every month or every time the hunting ended with a success. It was like a family feast, we cooked together, played together, and spent time together. I'm 37 years old, if the clan wasn't destroyed I would probably have my own kids by now, just a little younger than the girls.
Danny quickly gets a connection with Pearl when she shows him her drawings. She might have the mentality of a small child but she draws quite well and to my surprise, Danny shows her some tricks on how to do it saying he is an artist and that makes her adore him even more. Ivory isn't wary of him since she believes that he is no threat.
"How is Celia?" I ask him when we finished eating and he is preparing himself to leave.
"Happy, it was very good to live with them. Kathy shifted, she is very strong. Mum was actually sure you would contact us sooner or later. Why haven't you done that?" he asks.
"She needed me to stay away, she needed peace not the constant presence of the brother who was a coward and left her to die," I say bitterly and Danny doesn't comment.
"You know that the best would be to send the girls to the pack?" he changes the topic but Ivory instantly reacts:
"No, we don't need and want pack!"
"That topic is still under negotiations," I say and she gives me a glare so I have to remind her "We have a deal Ivory and both of us will honor it, I once told you I wouldn't force you into anything."
She pouts and I roll my eyes, she poses to be a tough adult but in reality, she is a teenage girl.
"Ivory doesn't like the pack, but pack was okay, sometimes kids not nice to Pearl but pack was nice only the first daddy wasn't nice, and some pack members not nice because they were scared of the first daddy," Pearl says but Ivory bursts:
"Shut up Pearl, we are not coming back to the pack ever again!"
"Don't scream, second daddy doesn't scream when he hear things he doesn't like. Mommy didn't scream either!" Pearl seems to be genuinely hurt by her sister's attitude.
"Pearl dishes and Ivory swap the floor, since you have the energy to yell you should also have the energy to help me," Aunty Mae cuts their argument and they both listen to her.
I and Danny talk for some time more, mostly about my sister, a little about him, a little about the girls. He is right though, the three months will pass fast and I should make the decision on what to do with the Jewels as soon as possible.
"Can I ask you about one more thing?" Danny asks when I slowly head with him to the door "What happened with Jordan?"
I gulp realizing why he is asking me that particular question.
"He died, although I didn't see it. But the chances for him to survive the explosion were very low."
He nods and something flashes in his eyes, probably relief.
"I don't know any details but my sister told me what Jordan had done to you, and I swear I had no idea," I say trying to sound, I don't even know how. Full of compassion, maybe?
"Nobody had any idea, especially that my father knew and allowed Jordan to do that. Don't look at me like that, my parents sent me to therapy and my shrink at least helped me learn how to talk about it. I no longer feel guilty but I still feel awful about it."
"And this Danny? What is this?" I ask as I point in the direction of bruises on his forearm.
"I train with the wolves from Howl Pack, bruises are part of the drill," he responds but he doesn't look into my eyes.
"And how is living with your mate, I mean are you happy?" I dare to ask more, Danny is an adult man but I was a leader of my clan so I feel responsible for his well-being and I can't do anything about that, and he is my sister's kid.
"Yes although I thought it would be easier," he says once again not looking at me, he seems uncomfortable and changes the subject "I can try to find out something about Pearl and Ivory. If I talk cautiously with Alpha Natasha or my father we may find out what are they running from. But you must tell me any information you figured out about them."
"I keep asking questions but Pearl avoids answering some of them and Ivory usually says she doesn't want to answer, but Ivory is a high-ranked wolf, Pearl is an Omega, the names they gave me are real for sure, Pearl doesn't lie. Their mother died, and Pearl once cried saying that her funeral was sad. Their father didn't treat them well and according to Ivory was cheating on their mother which caused her a lot of pain. She might die because of that but I also suspect that she could've killed herself. Also, I'm sure they ran away because Ivory had hurt their father to protect herself or her sister. And the way Pearl has recently described some pack members being afraid of the said father makes me wonder if he may be an Alpha."