A/N: Thanks for your patience. Enjoy, and love you <3 Happy Pride Month!

Chapter 2

Vince’s POV

Clumsy? Okay, maybe emotionally. Physically, Xavier was the clumsier one, but I didn’t say that to him; after all, the wolf was still a stranger to me.

“Do I know you?” The shaky feeling hadn’t subsided as I looked at him curiously. Whether from the near-death experience or the fact that this wolf knew me and I didn’t, I couldn’t tell. 

“We’ve met before,” the wolf replied slowly and deliberately. “In human form. A few times before then as well.”

His tone was chilling, cryptic, in a weird weight in those words that only left me more confused. It was as if he was refraining from saying too much. “In human form?”

“The peace treaty you refused.” I blinked. “The one your brother sent you to sign.”

Peace treaty? Then it hit me. I had refused to sign it after I saw what Michael had done to Simon at the diner. But if he was there then that meant he was—

“The Northern pack. You’re their alpha?” A chill ran down my spine. Despite my father’s alpha blood running through me, I did not have the same title. I couldn’t even call myself beta as I didn’t take on any roles since I rescinded my title and passed it on to Xavier. And here I was staring at an alpha directly face to face. If he wanted, he had every right to attack. 

“Beta,” he corrected, almost with uncertainty. “And yes, I’m from the Northern Lights Pack.” 

That peace treaty signing—or lack of—had been a while ago. I hadn’t even remembered their names from the whirlwind of things that were happening. 

“You’re—”

“Arthur.” His voice was stern, dark, yet hollow-sounding at the same time. Why did that name seem familiar?

“Vince, but you already knew that, I guess. What on Earth would their beta be doing here? The trek from there is grueling.” That was an understatement. In wolf form, it was doable if you were fit enough to trek the whole day through mountainous and hilly terrain on top of the wide river that flowed into the lake. It was why I took a car there, and even then, it was a long and windy dirt road. 

He huffed, looking past the cliff. “I’ve always admired the view from here. With a clear night sky, you can see the glow of both our packs. It reminds me that we’re not totally isolated up there.”

I tried to spot the Northern Lights pack, but the rolling clouds and impending rainstorm made it challenging to see. “It’s not a clear night.”

“I’m aware.”

“Yet, you’re still here.”

Arthur chuffed at that. “The feeling is still the same.”

He didn’t elaborate. “You said we’ve met before, even before the peace treaty?”

He hummed, not even sparing a glance toward my direction, almost transfixed on the lake below us. Unlike our pack, their pack only had one beta, and to think he’d be out here just for some sightseeing sounded absurd. 

“I knew your father,” he said pensively before looking toward the lake. From here, it looked calm, oblivious to the storm rolling over the mountain tops. “You were a child then when he introduced me to you and Michael. You wouldn’t have remembered.”

“You knew him? My father?” I almost laughed, my father hated that pack. To think he had gone there with us, to even communicate with them was insane.

He tilted his head slightly toward me before humming. “I did. Or a side of him, at one point.”

“He’s never mentioned you before. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever mentioned anyone from the Northern pack. Only that he didn’t trust your pack.”

He huffed before looking past me. “He wouldn’t have dared to. There are things your father refused to share. With your pack, your mother, even your brothers.”

“Why, though?” I scoffed. “What could he possibly hide?”

He didn’t respond right away, almost lost in thought until he said softly, “there’s a reason our packs never got along, aside from our skirmishes and opposing values.”

I blinked, wondering if Arthur’s desire to shroud everything in mystery and obscurity was the reason our packs were in conflict. Before I could try and pry further, he was walking away as quietly as he appeared. 

“Wait—”

“You’re welcome to accompany me,” Arthur replied with a smirk, his tail swinging back and forth as he headed toward the mouth of the cave. “That is if you’d like to know more. Unless you’d rather go home before the storm hits, it’s supposed to last for at least a week; if you’d like to make it back safely, I’d suggest you head back now. ”

My feet faltered, Arthur’s taunts making it really tempting. He knew my father, knew about him and things that he had probably never shared with us. Chase had told me that searching for answers and understanding why he had done those things to our family was a step in the right direction, and here Arthur was waving it in front of my face. 

I’d be a fool not to chase after it. 

My legs stumbled forward, following him from a distance as we trailed down the mountain, Arthur walking like he’d taken this path every day, not even bothering to sniff for trails. He didn’t say much as he guided the way, the rain coming down harder as we neared the lake.

A few growls of thunder echoed in the valley, a couple of lightning bolts visible from the clearings we walked through. 

As we traversed through the denser parts of the forest, the terrain became rockier and the storm relentless. I had never ventured out this far, even for hunts. Almost sensing the hesitation, Arthur slowed his pace, occasionally stopping so I could catch up. There was a lot more climbing than I initially thought, and I wondered how an older wolf could make this look like child’s play. 

The lingering question reverberated through my head; scared to think about all the possibilities of what my father could have done. Would it change what I felt, what I thought about him, and what would I discover? Would I like the answers he had?

“You coming?” Arthur called out through the resounding rain, turning to see he was twenty feet ahead, facing me directly for the first time this entire journey here. If it meant realizing what I had done had been a result of his upbringing and why he did it, then maybe it’d help me. I’d learned that there were more things totally out of my control that I had to accept, things that could help me in moving on. What else did I have to lose at this point? 

Behind him, I could spot the faintest soft glow of lights from the Northern Lights pack off in the distance, sitting just at the foot of the mountains. The rain still made it impossible to judge how far away it was but just from the terrain alone, and it was safe to say it would be a while. Arthur waited expectantly for my answer, remaining still as the ground below us was saturated in the rain, mud splashing up on both of our coats. 

“Yeah, I am,” I replied, following Arthur through the treacherous and muddy path to the Northern Lights pack.

---

His steps were silent, just as he was for most of the way there. Despite the millions of questions I had, I wasn’t sure where to start; that, and I got the feeling that he wouldn’t give a clear answer. 

As I trailed behind, there was one question that I couldn’t let go of. My legs ached, but I jogged forward, hopping over some fallen trees to catch up to him. 

“You knew Michael too, didn’t you? You were in touch with him.” The accusation hadn’t meant to sound rude, but it only made sense given the rushed peace treaty Michael had wanted me to address. 

“Yes,” his answer came harshly, hurried like he would have continued on if he didn’t keep his mouth completely filtered.

I slowed, waiting till he noticed to ask, “why?”

He studied me for a moment before letting out a chuff. “He sought my help. Just as he did when he was younger.”

My feet were firm, unmoving, even as he turned back toward whatever invisible trail he was following. “I’m sure he’s told you of the things I’ve done then.”

“Indeed.”

He took a couple of steps forward as I scoffed. Arthur paid no mind as I followed after him. “And you don’t hate me?”

“Hate—” he nearly seethed, whipping around to face me, his eyes flashing gold. The first sign of emotion from him. “—is a strong word. I pity you more than anything, really.”

Had he not clarified it, I could’ve sworn that he exuded alpha pheromones. The sheer force in his voice made me step back, my ears flicking as my wolf seemed to shy away. Was Arthur seriously just a beta?

“Pity?” My voice came out weaker than I intended. 

The tension in Arthur’s body released as he looked past me. He didn’t reply for a while, even turning back to the trail. He took a couple of steps before saying, “for the things he made you believe.”

It had been evident that he didn’t mean Michael. Maybe it was how he hung his head or the underlying sad tone as he said it; it seemed personal. Given his age and what I had known about my father, there was something else there. My father had more than just lied about things; he had brainwashed us; led us to believe things his way. And I had only dug under the surface. It seemed Arthur knew more about him than we possibly did. It not only haunted me but also intrigued me. 

We didn’t say anything more the rest of the way, despite the hours of trekking it took to get there. Of course, I had hundreds of questions, but I didn’t want to anger Arthur further, especially in such unfamiliar territory. Even with our wolf instincts, I wouldn’t have been able to tell North from South. 

Just as I felt like I would’ve collapsed, Arthur had pointed towards his pack, just beyond the last stretch of dense shrubbery. The glow from afar was just a speck compared to how bright it looked from up close. After just a couple of complicated turns and maneuvers, there was his pack. 

It was only a fraction of land to our pack, nestled in the only clearing at the foot of the mountains. Surrounded by dense forestland, it appeared as isolated as it sounded. A steep dirt road was the only formal entrance into the pack; besides the forest path Arthur seemed to know all too well. A couple of smaller cottages sparsely surrounded the outskirts of the clearing, all relatively quiet as it was the dead of night. The ground was still damp and soft from the passing showers, ready for the next round that would surely come judging the looming clouds. 

The pack was eerie, quiet as most slept, completely different from the ambiance of when I had been here last time. Pack members typically roamed throughout the pack, coming and going into the forest with no guards surrounding the perimeters, something our pack never allowed. Impressive but also terrifying that a group of unruly rogues could easily ambush the place.

However, the most notable landmark was their packhouse. Since I was here, the building hadn’t changed, equivalent to a mansion or manor; their packhouse was far larger than ours. Yet, their pack size was a fraction of ours, a few hundred at best. Most of the members resided within the building itself; the traveling and hunting wolves typically lived in the cottages. 

Arthur led us straight to the packhouse, and I honestly wondered if maybe this was a trap to lure me here and actually kill me. Now that I thought about it, it was pretty stupid of me to follow a practical stranger to their home. But who am I kidding, I was notorious for doing stupid shit in the first place; was it really that surprising?

At the steps, the door opened, revealing a man and a woman. 

“You’re back late,” a man in his sixties announced from the front entrance before a frown laced his face. It took longer than I should’ve realized that man was the alpha, the same man in the peace treaty meeting; I hadn’t remembered his name either. “Oh, you’ve brought him.”

Arthur didn’t reply right away, instead of looking past him, a female with a bundle of clothes in her arms. My legs froze at the alpha’s fixed gaze; a look of contempt washed over him as he sighed, fuming at the sight of me. 

Of course, he hated me too. Well, Arthur, I still wasn’t convinced. He’d probably say anything with that straight face of his. 

The brunette didn’t say anything, running her hand through Arthur’s fur. Even as Arthur brushed against the alpha before walking up the steps to the packhouse, I didn’t move. The alpha let out a low growl in Arthur’s direction before saying under his breath, “seriously, this is your bright idea?”

Arthur halted before whirling his eyes on the alpha, mind linking him something before heading into the packhouse, the female following close behind. The air was thick with tension as the alpha watched his beta walk in before whirling his eyes on me. 

Arthur stepped away to shift as the alpha ,and the woman with the clothes stopped to gawk at me. It took a good twenty seconds before the alpha spoke, “Clayton. Alpha of the Northern Lights Pack.”

“Rina,” the lady greeted, sounding a hundred times friendlier than Clayton. “His daughter.”

I looked between them, not noticing the similarities. Clayton was sporting dirty blonde hair, intermixed with a couple of gray hairs, while her features and hair were darker. Unless she meant she was Arthur’s daughter—

“Rina, please allow him to shift and change.” Arthur walked in, his presence still domineering, almost the same level as Clayton. “He must be exhausted from the journey. We’ll have a room situated for you. We can discuss things in the morning.”

Rina grabbed a bundle of clothes from a basket off to the side before pointing to the room Arthur had walked into. “Shower’s on the left. In the meantime, I’ll heat some of the food.”

As the door shut, I heard Clayton and Arthur bickering to themselves, almost sounding like an old married couple. The alpha was much louder, and I heard him—just before I turned the shower on—say, “seriously? Another one of Damon’s spawns?”

Rolling my eyes, I wanted to joke that he got stuck with the two crazier ones.