The Ripple Effect

"Since we're going to be mates, I guess we should probably get to know each other, huh?" Daniel asked me, though he obviously didn't want an answer. After all, he had gone to great lengths to bound and gag me!

I grumbled insults, but the words were just muffled and not as satisfying as I had hoped.

"Lillian, dear," Daniel murmured, brushing his hand over my cheek. "Let me remind you about yourself, okay? I think you've forgotten a bit. Lillian, we met when you were eighteen, and you'd just come of age. We met while I was scouting the territory, being a good Beta-in-training.

"The pull was incredible. My wolf knew when he saw your beautiful wolf stumbling in the forest on such unsure legs, as newborns do. Malva was a very shy wolf, skittering away and watching me from afar as I toured the grounds—though my eyes never once strayed from you. You were afraid, I think, because you didn't even know you were a shifter. Lillian, you once told me that I was the first one to explain the werewolf thing to you, what with you never knowing your true parents. I was just glad that the Fates allowed you to find my pack, to wander into my forest at random. I would be lost without you... You've told me time and time again that I should find another, one with whom I could have pups and a large family. But you're my family, Lillian. I wish you weren't so quick to forget that."

The warmth and love in his eyes made my heart clench. This man was clearly a kind and devoted mate to the love of his life, and she was ripped from him far too quickly and far too suddenly. It was not his fault he was like this; clearly, losing his mate had made him this way. This had absolutely nothing to do with me.

He just wanted another chance with her, his Lillian.

"My lovely, you're the only reason I'm even sane. I was a mess before I met you, you know?" he mumbled, placing his hand gently on my knee. "You're my rock. Dealing with the rejection—of my own mother... It was impossible. I always told you that I struggled with seeing her every day, of knowing she would never look upon me with anything but regret. You said to give it time, but I never told you the whole story; you never really understood why she pretended I wasn't hers.

"The people who raised me until I was seven, until they passed away... They were just a random couple who had been unable to conceive. They weren't my parents, though they tried. Oh, they tried so hard. But I was never able to forget about the woman who gave me away, the look of pain and desperation in her eyes as she handed me off just as quickly as she'd gotten me. People say that babies don't retain memories so well... But that isn't something I could just forget, and Aric never forgets it either.

"I finally approached her about it when I was fifteen, and I demanded to know why she hated me—why my own mother hated her own firstborn child! She pulled me inside quickly, glancing around to see if anyone saw me come, and then she told me.

"My mother... She had a mate already, a really important one, too. So I guess that puts a target on your back—targets that power-hungry wolves seek readily. While her mate was out, she went on a run. But the boundaries weren't so defined then... She was singled out by a rogue pack, and the leader of them...

"He raped her, and then he ordered his pack to beat her within an inch of her life—to send a message that they meant business. The rogues were killed within the week, but, well..." He looked down then. "She found out she was pregnant with me, the bastard kid she didn't want anyone to know about."

Even though he was a monster... I couldn't imagine how messed up that could make a guy. No, I would not make excuses for him—but I also couldn't damn him for his past, for all of the trials he had already faced in his short life.

"To save face, she kept the pregnancy hidden from the pack. Then, she gave me away to the random couple who were to be my parents. She told them I was just a baby she found left abandoned at her doorstep." He laughed, but it was harsh and such a sad sound. "Abandoned indeed."

I tried to ask him, but the words were just garbled. He smiled sadly before reaching over and removing the cloth from my mouth.

"Maybe we can ask them to reconsider? Do I know your mother and her mate?"

Orion's P.O.V.
I smiled to my father, laughing at his antics as he raged at the council like a proper lunatic. My father... An angry old man personified. I half-expected him to start wearing exclusively button-up Hawaiian shirts while he lived it up as a retired Alpha. Yet here he was, back in the meetings.

"Dad, they're not on your lawn, so just stop shaking your fist at those damn kids," I teased, putting my hand on his shoulder.

He brushed me off and gave me a cross look.

"Kids these days: no respect! But I'm calling an early end to this meeting."

"You can't do that; you're not Alpha anymore." I raised my eyebrow at him.

He narrowed his eyes. "And?"

"Meeting adjourned!" one of the councilmen piped up, not daring to make eye contact.

I laughed with the bitter old man as we walked outside.

"So where are my grandkids? Shouldn't you be keeping them out of trouble?" he asked lovingly.

I grinned to myself. He had three grandkids already, and he made a point to see them every day with my mother. It really warmed me that he thought of them as his own blood.

My smile faltered for only a second. I guess Jonathan and Rein were his blood... But I wasn't so sure that I ever wanted to reveal that to anyone. Having to deal with the information myself was already enough to all but kill me. My mate...

"You okay there, Orion?"

I was pulled from my brooding, and I nodded quickly.

"Sorry, those meetings get me so riled," I lied without missing a beat. "Anyway, they're good kids, probably just fannying around somewhere. Brian keeps Jonathan and Rein under control."

"Do you even know where they are?"

I smiled sheepishly. Not a clue! "I should probably get on that, huh?"

My father clapped me on the back roughly, enough to make me stagger forward. He looked like he was about to chide me, but then Mom came into view.

"Melissa," my father called lovingly, such a doting look on his face. "What are you up to, my lovely?"

She smiled, but she seemed like she was miles away. The warm, contented feeling left...and a bad taste formed in my mouth.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, not caring as Rex slipped past me.

"I..." She looked around. "Has Sophie come back yet? She left with Daniel hours ago... She said she would be back soon, yet it's dark. But why are you here!"

"I just got out of a meeting."

"But you wanted to see her." My stomach churned. "Daniel came by saying that you wanted him to fetch her. But that was hours ago, like I said. And I tried to contact her using the link, but it was so fuzzy... I'm getting worried."

"Why would Daniel lie like that?" I muttered, pushing Rex back down. "He must have a good reason."

"Orion..." My eyes cut to my father immediately. "I think there's something we need to tell you, something we should have told you a long time ago."

"What?" I asked, my gaze flitting between my mother and father. They both looked incredibly tense.

"It's...about Daniel."

"My Beta? What about him?"

"Well... You know that he was Luca's Beta first."

"Yeah. And?"

"Before that... Well, technically..."

"Stephen, stop," Melissa whimpered, her eyes remaining on me. "As the firstborn, he was supposed to be Alpha."

What on earth...?

"Mom, I think you need to lie down. Are you feeling well?" I reached forward to press my palm to my forehead, but she pushed me away.

"I think Daniel is acting out because he wants his title, Orion. I don't want you or Sophie to get hurt, so I think—"

"Mom, why would Daniel ever be Alpha? His parents were just common pack members, remember? I know they passed, but that doesn't make him your son!"

I was eagerly awaiting their reasoning on this, but I was suddenly knocked backward by a blur of motion.

"Orion!" Rein blubbered, grasping frantically at my shirt and clawing at me as he scrambled to try and get up. Tears stained his little face. It didn't sit well with me.

"Rein, what's wrong?" I whispered, brushing the tears from his cheeks.

"Mama!" he cried out, burying his face in my shirt for only a moment. But then he seemed to remember something, and his cries became gentle whimpers. "You have to save Mama!"

"Where is Sophie?"

"Daniel," he whimpered. "He said that he's gonna be my Papa now, but I wanted you to be my Papa. And I think he's going to hurt Mama!"

"Mom... Dad..." I clenched my teeth. "First Luca stole my mate. But now Daniel is stealing her. Why is that?"

My mother frowned. "They say that boys marry their mothers. I guess...Sophie and I are a lot alike." She looked down to Rein with a pitying smile. "A lot alike indeed."