Chapter 8
I nervously chewed and swallowed the last bite of my sandwich as I approached the front door of my parent's house.
Callum already met my dad briefly but I was taking him to my parents' house.
To meet the parents.
The same parents that he hates along with myself.
The same parents who he thinks 'killed' his family.
How messed up was this situation on a scale of one to ten?
I'd say a thousand.
Surprisingly, Callum didn't try to run. After I told him we were meeting my parents, he just started to brew silently in a Callum way.
Wasn't much he could do anyways. If he ran, I could catch him. If he tried to punch my dad, well he can't since my dad has Alpha blood.
So I didn't worry much about that.
As I opened the front door, I was relieved that Taelyn and Thor were currently at school and was going to our grandparents' house after because I didn't even want to know the embarrassment I would've faced from those two.
Especially Thor, that little devil.
When we entered, I saw dad coming out of his office while my mom was exiting the kitchen. I really hope dad didn't let her cook again. Let's pray for both the house and my siblings' stomachs.
I took a deep breath before clearing my throat, "Mom, dad. This is Callum, my victim."
Callum's body stood directly behind me and I could feel the tension radiating off of him in waves.
"Everette!" My mother scolded from across the house.
As my dad took a few steps closer to us, blocking my mother from view, Callum decided to step in front of me in an almost protective stance.
This was the second time he did that. I knew he was affected by the mate bond, I smirked on the inside before focusing on what was happening before me.
I peered up to the back of his head in weariness and prayed he didn't try to fight my dad.
I didn't want my mate to get his ass beaten but if he initiated it, I'd probably just make sure his important parts, no not that part, are bubbled wrapped before handing him over.
I noticed Callum's fist clenched as my dad played the protective father with his overbearing stance.
Their mini staring contest was interrupted by my mother clearing her throat which caused Callum to become extremely guarded.
As he stepped back to my side and my mother stepped to my father's side, they finally faced each other.
My mother's eyes widened as she gasped.
All of our eyes shifted to her in confusion.
"Mom?"
"Emery?"
My dad and I asked in concern but her eyes were focused on Callum which worried me. My mate looked over to me with questioning in his eyes so I simply shrugged.
"Mom's weird," I mumbled and dad gave me a disapproving look.
"Your mother is not weird."
"Then why is she just staring at my mate like he grew a tail?" I asked.
"She-"
But before my dad could say anything, my mother finally spoke up, "You look just like them."
I was even more confused now than I was before, "He looks just like who mom?"
She ignored me and turned to my father and I could tell she was mind linking him.
Darn werewolf abilities.
They were keeping me in the dark.
Callum, however, seemed to catch on pretty quickly, as if he were expecting it.
"What? Did you not expect your past to come back and haunt you?" He asked with a chilling tone.
My dad's eyes flashed to Callum and recognition crosses his features before rage took over.
I don't know if there something in the water but everyone was acting strange.
My father growled at Callum and I could sense what he was about to do. I quickly pushed Callum's body behind me as my dad went to attack but my mother grabbed his elbow and I bared my protruding canines at my dad.
I must have been affected by the water too...
My mother stepped between my father and myself before giving me a guilty look.
"Y-your father..." My mother stuttered as she stared at Callum in complete disarray, "what was his name?"
Callum scoffed, "You already know ma'am so don't act as if you and your pet here weren't the ones to kill him."
"And your mother?" My mom's voice trembled as she asked.
Callum looked away from her as he answered, "You sent her to her grave."
"Okay, can someone please tell me what on earth is going on right on?" I asked as I tried to pick apart their words.
Obviously, Cal's family were hunters and there was a possibility my mom knew them since she lived in Fairbairn for nineteen years, but that didn't explain why my dad's this angry. Or why my mom looks as if she's been carrying a dirty secret for ages.
When no one answered me, I turned to my mother, "Mom? You need to tell me what's going on, right now."
I caught Callum watching me from the corner of his eyes with an unreadable expression.
My dad on the other hand, looked as if he was ready to hit the ceiling. Or my mate... whichever he could get to. But as he took ahold of my mother's hand, he seemed to calm a bit of his rage.
My mom opened her mouth and some weird words left her lips, "His father was Jake Cain."
I froze as I processed her five words.
Jake Cain? The same Jake that caused the war twenty years ago? The Jake that shot my father? The mother fucking Jake that caused my pack to lose dozens of wolves?
What in the actual name of all that is holy and pure, hell is this?
What kind of curveball was this Moon Goddess?
I ain't never done anything wrong to deserve this!
Okay well, one time I did lock Thor in a room in the crypt for like two hours but it was only because he was going to tell dad I was kissing a boy.
I wasn't... I was kissing a girl in the pack and my dad would've alpha-scare the shit out of whoever was locking lips with me regardless of gender.
Sorry, I'm digressing. A story for another day kids. Back to reality.
How did no one tell me Jake Cain had a son?
"You're a Cain? You're Jake Cain's son?!" I asked Callum as my mind exploded with this new information. "Jake had a son?!" I looked at my parents' guilt-ridden faces for confirmation and they simply nodded.
My focus shifted to the boy next to me and I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that he was the son of the man that nearly killed my entire pack and my parents. I couldn't believe the Moon Goddess paired us as mates. But most importantly, I couldn't believe my parents didn't tell me that Jake had a son. A son who could've potentially been in the ritual that night. A son who was very much in the ritual that night.
"You know of my father as well?" Callum glared at me with strong distaste. "Does your entire pack memorize the names and faces of their victims that day? Or was my father special? Maybe it was my pregnant mother?"
His mother? From what I was told there weren't women in the war from the human side. Especially no pregnant women... except my mom who broke rules to save my dad.
"Your father was no victim," My dad growled.
"Your father was the man that started the war..." I revealed.
Callum scoffed, "I don't think so princess."
"Princess?" My father asked in an outraged tone but my mom cut him off.
"Let us explain what happened Callum, you and Everette don't know the full story." My mom said with pleading eyes.
"And how am I so sure you'll tell me the truth as oppose to my own people?" Callum questioned.
My mother looked between him and me, "Because you're my daughter's mate and I thought I was protecting her from the truth. But I didn't and if I lie now, I know it will risk her mate. So trust me when I say, I wouldn't lie to you."
"Wow, there mom." I cut in. "Protect me from the truth?! The dude nearly shot me in the forest! How the hell was that you protecting me?"
"Everette, language." My dad had the audacity to scold me now.
In this crazy-ass situation.
I turned to him with a reprimanding glare, "Oh don't you even start with me, dad! I'm so angry at both of you."
"Ev-"
But obviously, I wasn't finished so I went on, "You've been treating me like a kid since I was a literal kid and you need to stop." And it was true, sure he was probably just trying to be helpful but sometimes I had to do shit on my own...figure this out on my own. Which meant giving me full details on our enemy past and present. "You should have told me Jake had a son."
My father looked hurt but I think I earned the right to be a little upset in this situation.
If a person who wanted your family dead had a kid, wouldn't you want to know? Seeing as though your parents killed said person and this kid might show up one day for revenge?
"Everette, let us explain to you two." My mom said.
"Wow wow wow mother, a little too late isn't it?" For reference, I may be sounding like an angry sitcom character right now, angry but in a funny way. "I'm supposed to protect the pack and yet you let me casually stroll into our territory with the son of our enemy." I pointed at Callum with both hands, "I think you can see why your point is a bit void here."
"I'm actually quite curious about what lies they're about to say about my parents." Callum decided to speak up.
I stared at him, "Dude you're a Cain for crying out loud! That's as much stress as I can take for the day. My pressure can fuel a freaking hurricane right now."
"And you're a half-wolf princess. How about we listen to what your folks have to say before I kill your father for killing my own."
My father growled and Callum got ready to throw a fist but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"I did not sign up for this." I quietly sighed.
Maybe with my parents' 'truth' and whatever Callum has to add, I can piece together the actual truth somehow.
"Tell us what happened, from the start and for the love of the Moon Goddess, please tell me everything," I looked at my parents.
Callum continued to glare at my father as he said, "I want to know but that doesn't mean I'll believe you or accept your views on my parents."
My mother nodded with understanding, "We may need to sit for this."
Callum and I sat on the two single-seat sofas next to each other while my parents took the loveseat across from us.
"Jake and I were friends back when I used to live in Fairbairn." My mother started.
"You mean before you were kidnapped," Callum mumbled under his breath but not quiet enough to prevent us from hearing.
My mother continued, "We actually dated for a while before the ritual."
This was news to me and Callum too judging from his expression.
This some big joke for the Moon Goddess, I'm sure. Having my mom date our enemy and then pairing me with his son. A damn good laugh for her.
"A few days before the ritual, Jake invited me over. At first, I thought he just wanted to hang out and train me with a few weapons or a way to fight something... or someone off. But that's not all he wanted to do." I saw a brief look of horror flashed behind my mother's eyes and I gulped with uneasiness, "He wanted to slice my hand open and implant a tracking device to hunt the beast in case it took me."
"He wanted to do what now?" I blinked at her in complete shock.
"I don't believe that for one minute." Callum scoffed in disbelief.
"I knew your father for a long period of time Callum, and since we were kids he wanted to find the Beast and would stop at nothing to find him. That included implanting a chip into my hand."
"He wouldn't do that. My father wouldn't." Callum denied.
My mother gave him a tight smile and I could tell that she just wanted to give him a hug and comfort him in the motherly way that she does, "I'm not telling you this to paint a bad image of your father Callum. He's already gone and I know you've never met him so I don't want you to regret living off of happy memories of what you've been told. What I say was what happened at the end of your father's life, that doesn't mean he wasn't a good man before. He was but then he was blinded by rage for something he didn't understand."
Callum remained passive and didn't utter a word.
"After that, I never saw him again until Thane brought me here. I had come to accept Thane and his pack as my own and it had been months before I heard from Jake. That was until a few days before our wedding, Jake showed up behind the packhouse as if he was waiting to get a moment alone with me. Which he had, he tried to lure me out alone before that but Everette's uncle Aiden showed up before that could happen.
"That day at the packhouse, Jake wanted me to tranquilize someone from my pack so that he could have a werewolf to prove to all the humans that we existed. I didn't want to agree but I couldn't mind link Everette's father yet so I agreed because I was terrified of what he would do if I didn't. If I didn't he would've showed up at any time and slaughter us all. He said so himself. I had a plan-"
"Which was the silliest thing you've ever done." My father commented to which my mother elbowed him in the rib.
"My plan fell through. I thought I would've waited till after the wedding, that way Thane wouldn't put it off and I would have been able to mind link him when I went to meet Jake. But I woke up late and Jake end up sending his friend Ian to collect the wolf. The pack found Ian before I even had a chance to meet him."
"Uncle Ian?" Callum asked in surprise. "He was dad's best friend."
"Yes, I'm sure everyone would have told you great things about Ian. He was a great man but unfortunately followed your father's orders which led to his death. He came here under Jake's orders and died for crossing pack territory, planning to steal our wolf and knowing about us." I could hear the sorrow lingering in my mother's voice and knew it was a sore topic.
On the other hand, Callum tensed up with anger and shot daggers at my father. Who I believe was the one to kill the Ian dude.
"Jake knew that I wouldn't have given up a wolf so easily so that's why Ian came. A few days after Ian's death, one of our wolves was killed while patrolling our territory. His name was Atticus and he was a great friend of mine, just like Ian. That day I found out two things. I was pregnant with Everette and that your dad was declaring war on our pack." My mother stated.
"But why would he? Just because we're werewolves he wanted us dead?" I asked baffled at the human's stupidity.
My father took over, "Us werewolves have power over humans, we're faster, stronger, more agile. That and the humans have been angry at us for years for taking their women. I'm sure Jake saw it as an imbalance of power and didn't like that."
"You kids must know that the whole ritual was bound to blow up one day and cause a mess. And that it did twenty years ago," My mother said. "When Jake and the hunters came to the pack, I stayed at Everette's grandparents' house since I was pregnant. But days before that, I've had a reoccurring dream of Jake killing Thane and I had a bad feeling that day. So with Everette's great grand aunt's help, I went to find Thane and the pack who was fighting a war that Jake brought.
"When I arrived at the scene, the forest floor was covered with blood and dead bodies of wolves and humans. It was awful. But before I could even make it two steps in, Jake saw me from across the field and before I could react he drew his gun up and shot Thane. Right in his shoulder, but it didn't matter because it was silver and even though I got the bullet out..." My mom trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes and my father wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "I couldn't save him. He died in my arms despite me being able to remove the bullet and heal him."
"Heal him? Died?" Callum looked at us like we were crazy, "I swear you all are just sounding more mentally unstable by the moment."
"My mother has the power to heal people, it's a Luna thing," I said offhandedly but he caught what I said.
"All Lunas? Does this include me, the Máni?" Callum asked.
"Máni?" My mom asked in confusion.
I waved her off, "Yeah it's our new term for him since Luna wouldn't work." I turned to him, "As for the power thing, then yes. I forgot to tell you."
"Sure you did," He rolled his eyes. "Does this mean I can heal people too?"
I wanted to tell him the truth, but our Luna has never been a hunter who wanted to kill us before. So how do I know for sure that he wouldn't use his powers against us?
Healing, I know for certain, isn't his power since it's mom's and two Lunas never had the same power consecutively. I doubt it was earth manipulation since grandma Anne had that. The other two could be dangerous if I told him.
So I decided to lie.
Strike two of being a bad mate. Listed right under kidnapping of course.
"Mhmm," I mumbled. "You sure can, but it takes practice."
My mother gave me a disapproving look while my dad looked amused. But someone had to think of the pack first and it certainly wasn't them.
"That's weird. You've made me become weird." Callum said as he looked at his hands oddly.
"Can we get back to the story now? Your father just shot mine dead remember?" I said with a bit of an edge.
His eyes softened a bit as he nodded for my mother to continue.
"Right, well after Thane was shot and died in my arms, I prayed to the Moon Goddess to save him because I couldn't do it without him. I couldn't protect the pack or raise Everette on my own...especially not with the pain I felt when I lost him." My father hugged my mother close to his chest and I would have awed but I was still pissed... though their relationship was everything that I wanted with my mate. But considering what we both know now, I doubt it will happen.
Rejection was a strong possibility from his end.
"By some miracle, the Moon Goddes saved him. The rain came down like a bucket of holy water and brought him back to life. Jake shot me right after and I almost died with Everette but luckily Dr. Adler was there to stop the blood loss and save us."
Callum's eyes held anguish but he was concealing it, but he couldn't hide from me. I could read him from his eyes alone.
"And my father?" Cal asked with caution.
My mother looked at him with pure guilt in her eyes, "He tried to escape after he shot Thane but the pack got to him first. They locked him up in the crypt we have and as the Alpha and Luna at the time... w-we had to e-end his life for the death and chaos he brought into our pack."
I heard Callum gulp and struggle to keep his breathing regular. I want to comfort him but we weren't anywhere near that stage yet.
"My grandfather said it was another man who started the war. He said that my father, Jake, went along because the beast almost killed my mother. You expect me to believe you strangers against the word of the only family I have left?" Callum asked my parents as he glared at them.
"Callum, I know that you have no reason to trust us, but we have no reason to lie to you. I knew your grandfather, he only had Jake in his life and now that he's gone, I'm sure that he only wanted to protect you from your father's past." My mother sympathized.
"Protect me? Just as you protect your own daughter?" He chuckled without humor, "Your husband killed my father. A man who was only human and trying to protect my mother who you also wanted to kill. So excuse me if I think that you being the judge and jury of father's actions was plain old revenge. Revenge that I plan to seek out myself since the man who murdered my father deserves nothing but the same punishment."
This whole situation was going to shit.
But I had one question.
"Wait, who exactly was your mother and why would my pack want her dead?" I asked my mate.
My dad took the lead on this one and blocked my mother from Callum's view, "Her name was Abigail."
"The woman you hunted down because she knew all your precious secrets right?" Callum spat.
The wires in my brain were getting crossed here. "A human knew about us? And you hunted her down?" I questioned my parents in confusion.
"No." My father sighed in frustration, "Abigail was a werewolf, she was Bailey's step-sister."
Callum scoffed, "Don't you dare lie! My mother was a human. I'm human!" Cal looked outraged by my dad's insinuations, "You knew she was alone and pregnant and instead of helping her, you all sent her to an early grave."
"She was a werewolf. Her parents died during a rogue attack and Bailey's parents adopted her. Abigail and I were together when we were younger and she always wanted to be a Luna, so when Emery came along, she didn't like it. One thing led to another and she started a fight with Emery in the bar. Everette, you know better than anyone that if someone attacks the Luna then punishment is death."
"Oh, so you decided to kill my mother for what? A few punches?" Callum accused.
"No son, I decided to let her live by exiling her from the pack. She could've done anything with her life, go live among humans or live as a rogue. She chose to go to Fairbairn and find Jake. She told him everything about us and fabricated the story that we wanted her dead. Trust me, if we wanted her dead, I wouldn't have made her rogue."
Callum pointed a finger angrily at my father, "Don't you dare talk about her like that! She was innocent. They both were!"
"Callum," I called out his name gently and his eyes flashed to my own, "how did she die?"
I could see absolute sorrow rushing over him and mixing with his anger, "She was alone with my grandfather after they fled town in fear of your parents hunting them down. They had nowhere to go except the forest on the other side of Fairbairn with no help. My grandfather wasn't a doctor and my mother was due and already had a complicated pregnancy. She died giving birth to me. Cold, on the forest floor without my father by her side."
Before I could stop him, Callum flew off his chair and attacked my father.
A/N
Chapter Update: Wednesday
Yeah, another cliffhanger because I can't seem to stop *laughs nervously*.
Also, let's address the elephant in the room... Callum is Jake's son! Holy sheet! Yeah yall are some smart wolfies 😏 So here's some cookies ---> 🍪🍪🍪
Who ready for Callum to get his ass handed to him huh? But then again he's part wolf....
Who spotted that Ev and girl kiss though 😉
The reason why he doesn't know he's a wolf (in terms of shifting) will be explained next chapter and the reason daily updates are over is because uni starts in a week and I'm so not prepared and scared as heck! So my brain and life needs some time to catch up :(
Hope you all are doing good and stick around! Things are about to get crazy! Also massive thank you for 10 thousand reads!!!! You guys rock and are the light of my entire freaking existance! Thank You all so much for making my dreams come true for a second time!!!! ❤🧡💛💙💚💜💗
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