Chapter 109
Astor’s Pov
I had a lot on my mind and I should be strategizing because what I’m going to do tonight will need me to be very focused because faith is proving to be a snake and snakes turned to bite you when you least expect it.
Marco was vibrating with excitement in the back seat the entire drive. He planning on showing his new sister and his grandparents his room, his toys and everything about the
house.
When I opened the front door Faith was curled up on the sofa in the living room, fast asleep. Despite the rough night we’d had, her face looked peaceful, her hair was a beautiful mess around her shoulders.
“Isabella, come on! I need to show you the fortress!” Marco squealed. He didn’t care to bother his sleeping mother and I appreciate that.
Marco grabbed Isabella’s arm. She was looking wary but Marco’s energy was infectious. They were gone in a flash, tiny footsteps pounding up the stairs toward the safety of his bedroom. For a moment, I let the silence settle, grateful for the pause.
I stepped closer to Faith and I moved to the hall closet and pulled out a soft shawl and I draped it over her shoulders, tucking it gently around her neck so as not to wake her.
“I don’t understand why you brought her back?”
My mother’s voice cut through the peace and I turned, confused by her anger towards Faith.
“What?” I asked, meeting her cold stare.
“Faith. Why did you bring her to this house?”
I felt heat rise in my chest. I truly respect my mother but sometimes she just take things very far. “Mother, with all due respect, that is none of your business.” I kept my voice low, hoping to avoid waking Faith. “But I built this house for Faith. And you know that very well.”
“But she abandoned you, Astor!” she hissed, taking a step closer. My father remained silent watching the whole exchange between us. “Why would you accept her back, especially after the stunt she pulled hiding your son, my grandson away from us?”
“Respectfully, that is absolutely none of your business,” I stated, my tone hardening into the Alpha voice I usually reserved for Pack members.
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+25 Points
“It is my business” she fought back, her eyes flashing. “You’re my son. I only want what is best for you. I always have.”
I couldn’t help but laugh without humor “You wanted what was best for me? You should have wanted what was best for me when the two of you left me, barely an adult, to run this massive Pack without anyone to guide me. If it wasn’t for Faith back then the girl you now despise, I couldn’t have possibly done it alone.”
The words came out even though I didn’t want them to. After years of swallowing that resentment, it felt good, sickeningly good, to finally voice it.
“You decided to go on a much–needed vacation, without thinking about how that affected me. You decided I should be married to Faith and yes, it turned out to be the best decision for my heart but you did it without consulting me. I was always supposed to follow your orders, your path, while the two of you got to go around the world, enjoying the rest of your lives.”
I took a deep breath. “But I never questioned it. Because you were my parents, and if that’s
how
you decided to lead, then that’s how I accepted it.”
My father finally straightened up. His voice, cut through the tension. “Astor, you are an Alpha. You shouldn’t be complaining about trivial things like this. You had to learn. You didn’t need somebody holding your hand like a child and it made you the alpha and man you are.”
“I didn’t want somebody to hold my hand, Father,” I retorted, meeting his gaze squarely. “But I definitely wanted my father to be there.”
I shook my head, fighting back the exhaustion of this decades old argument resurfacing five minutes after their arrival.
“Look, I don’t want to fight about this. I am genuinely happy to see you. You came at a time when I truly needed my family.”
Of course, Mother wouldn’t let it go. She never did.
“It’s quite clear you needed us, Astor,” she said with a dismissive wave toward Faith. “Alice
told us everything. You’ve been abandoning your daughter because you suddenly have a son.
“I
I didn’t need to ask where that came from, Alice poisoned their minds, twisting the truth to make Faith look like the villain. I needed to protect Faith and Marco, but more importantly, I needed to protect Isabella. My parents had some strange, stubborn loyalty to Alice, perhaps because they believed her lies just as I once had. I didn’t trust that loyalty. I couldn’t tell them that Isabella was our biological daughter, the child Alice stole. Not yet.
“I will not have anyone question my parenting skills,” I stated, my voice low and dangerous. “I
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am a very good father, and I treat both my children equally.”
+25 Points
“But Alice told us you haven’t been spending time with Isabella. She said you permanently moved in here, with them,” she spat, nodding toward Faith.
“I have moved in with my mate and my son, yes,” I confirmed, stepping into the space between my parents and the sleeping Faith. “That does not make me a bad father. And let me make this perfectly clear mother, if you don’t know how to respect my mate and my son, then you should go straight back to where you came from.”
Just as those final words left my lips, Faith stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, dark and sleepy, and she blinked against the brightness of the room. She was instantly alert, sensing the hostile energy.
I faked a small, reassuring smile and mouthed, Are you okay?
Her eyes darted past me, fixing instantly on my parents. And then I saw it, the flash of recognition, quickly replaced by a cold rage in her eyes. My mother’s face was equally devoid of warmth, set in a mask of rigid disdain.
They must have met. I don’t know when, but the air was tense with discomfort I wasn’t privy to, and I knew instantly it hadn’t been under good circumstances. I couldn’t allow this confrontation to continue with Faith now involved.
My patience was gone.
“Father,” I said, turning to him, my voice firm and authoritative. “I know you are both tired since you just arrived. It would be best if you go and rest at the Pack House. I will come talk to you later tonight.”
“Absolutely not,” my mother jumped in immediately. “There are more than enough rooms here for us to stay. We are not some Pack members to be relegated to the main house.”
Faith opened her mouth, likely preparing to say something agreeable and polite, but I cut her off instantly. This was my fight, and I was done being polite.
“This is Faith’s house,” I stated plainly, looking pointedly at my mother. “Only she has the right to decide who stays and who doesn’t.”
I held up a hand before Faith could protest that she didn’t mind. “But in this case, it won’t even be Faith’s decision. I am very much fed up with the way you have been talking since you walked through that door. I don’t want you staying here.”
My mother’s face went pale with shock. My father merely sighed because he knew my word was final.
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“Astor, you can’t be serious-” She began.
+25 Points
“I am completely serious,” I cut her off. “Go to the Pack House. I will send some omegas later to ensure your comfort. We can talk about Pack matters tomorrow.”
Without another word, I turned my back to them slightly, dismissing them. My father nodded curtly to me, then placed a heavy hand on my mother’s shoulder and guided her toward the door.
But as my father reached the threshold, a small voice stopped us all dead.
“Grandma. Grandpa.”
My mother turned, softening instantly as she looked at her granddaughter.
“Take me with you,” Isabella whispered, her eyes wide and pleading. “Please. Take me home with you.”
