Howl at the Heart's Edge

Chapter 15

Father and Son.

With a force that reverberated across the room, Lorenzo shoved open the stately wood doors leading to his father's chamber. Antonio's constant fragrance and the smell of ancient wood filled the oppressive air inside. Behind a mahogany desk, the pack leader sat in an uncompromising stance, a predator disguised as an authoritative figure.

"We must have a conversation," Lorenzo insisted, his voice low but full of barely suppressed rage.

Antonio took a moment to look up. He went on reading the document in front of him, feeding Lorenzo's raging anger with every moment of stillness. At last, he lifted his sharp eyes, his face unreadable. "Isn't Isabella the subject of this?"

“You are aware that it is,” Lorenzo retorted. She is no longer there. Her family's deaths are now the subject of gossip and whispers. You've been hiding too many things for too long.

Antonio's tone stayed calm, almost contemptuous, even as his jaw tensed. "The currency of the weak is rumors." I have no time for such unimportant things.

Lorenzo's claws were digging into his palms as his fists clenched. "Avoid making fun of me. You've always been more knowledgeable than you admitted. What became of her parents? For what reason did she have to grow up in the shadows?

Antonio suddenly got up, his massive body looming over the room like a great shadow. "It's better to leave some questions unanswered," he stated icily.

However, Lorenzo's brows furrowed as he noticed the tiniest hint of discomfort in his father's expression. With a growl in his voice, he stepped forward. "I'm going to keep going until I find out what you're hiding."

Antonio looked out the window with his back to him. "Take caution, Lorenzo. It can be risky to be curious.

"Are you aware of the nature of your issue?" Antonio's words was like a dagger slicing through the tension. His face was stern as he turned back to Lorenzo. "You allow your emotions to guide your choices."

With a firm but disdainful tone, Lorenzo shot out, "And you let power blind you to reason."

The air became heavy with unspoken accusations, and the room appeared to shrink around them. Antonio put his hands on the desk and leaned forward. "You are this pack's future. You have to consider its survival in every choice you make. Weakness is not a luxury for you.

"Do you call it that? Weakness? Lorenzo gave a sour chuckle. "What makes us strong is caring about someone and wanting to protect them."

Antonio's eyes were burning so intensely that the air might have been scorched. "Lorenzo, love is a diversion. You become irresponsible as a result. You'll ruin all we've worked so hard to create if you allow it to influence your decisions.

Lorenzo's fists relaxed, but he looked directly into his father's eyes. That's what you think? Or is that the rationale behind all of your lies and betrayals?

Antonio took a while to respond. Rather, he turned away from Lorenzo and walked to the hearth. "You have no idea how much I've sacrificed. But you will eventually.

Antonio's tone became icier and more serious. "You think I don't understand what's going on between Isabella and you? Lorenzo, she's more than simply a diversion. She poses a threat.

Lorenzo tensed. "She is my destined partner."

Antonio turned to face him and yelled, "And that's precisely why you must reject her." He had a glimmer in his eyes that was almost desperate. "Do you believe that fate is concerned with this pack's best interests? For you? Accepting her will result in disaster.

Lorenzo shot back, "You're unaware of that." But the assurance that had been in his voice moments before was gone.

Antonio moved in closer, his imposing bulk oppressive. "Yes, I do." Because I've witnessed what occurs when the past isn't sufficiently buried.

Lorenzo felt a chill as the words lingered in the air, a veiled reality. He scanned his father's face for any signs of weakness in his uncompromising exterior. Then it happened—a slip so small that no one else could have detected it.

As the knowledge dawned in his eyes, Lorenzo remarked slowly, "You know something about her family." "You're concealing something that you believe will ruin her—and us."

Antonio remained silent, but that was an answer in and of itself.

With a tempest building in his chest, Lorenzo pivoted on his heel and left the room. Antonio's palm trembled as it touched the pendant he had hidden under his shirt—a pendant much like Isabella's—as the door closed behind him.

The pack archives, a vast room of leather-bound books and fading parchment that emitted dust with each page turn, were a maze of lost wisdom. Lorenzo's footfall were subdued against the cold stone floor as he walked purposefully through the dimly illuminated chamber. A lone lantern hung from the ceiling, its dim light flashing across the shelves in rows while shadows danced across the walls.

He paused in front of an old cabinet, its wood twisted with time. His attention was drawn to a sign carved into the surface, a crescent moon crossed by a dagger, which prompted a dim memory. He took a deep breath and forced the cabinet open, the stifling silence broken by the groan of its hinges.

Scrolls and manuscripts, their edges brittle with age, were heaped haphazardly inside. As he combed through them, Lorenzo found a worn piece of parchment tied with a fading red ribbon, and his heart began to race. His eyes studied the fragile calligraphy as he gently unfolded it, each letter resounding like a thunderclap.

It was foretold.

The lines described a hardship that resulted from the union of two fated souls, one characterized by the wrath of fire and the other by the blessing of the moon. Together, they would confront a shadowy foe whose defeat would bring harmony—or devastation. One statement from the prophecy stood out despite its ambiguity and metaphorical meaning: "The path of the fated carries both salvation and ruin, and only truth will light the way."

Lorenzo's mind racing, he tightened his hold on the parchment. Is this the reason his father was afraid of Isabella? Did Antonio demand that he reject her because of her part in this prophecy?

The idea chilled him, yet a glimmer of hope blazed behind the discomfort. If this prophecy was accurate, Isabella's significance extended much beyond their relationship.

Lorenzo folded the parchment and slipped it under his jacket as the lantern overhead flared once more. He started to walk away, but he stopped when he heard a slight sound, a whisper of movement. He wasn't by himself.

Lorenzo returned to his chambers and sat with the parchment spread out in front of him by the hearth. He could feel the cold in his chest despite the warmth of the crackling flames in the fireplace. He repeated his father's comments, containing cautions and subliminal threats in every word.

The more he considered it, the more things started to make sense. Antonio's adamant refusal to accept Isabella was premeditated rather than the result of simple dislike. Additionally, his father's most trusted counsel, Alessandra, had always been overly involved in the situation.

Leaning back, Lorenzo ran his hand through his dark hair. His voice could almost be heard over the crackle of the fire as he whispered, "What are you hiding, Father?"

Without knocking, Alessandra stepped through the creaking door. She looked at Lorenzo, her black eyes glinting with an unnerving calm. Her voice was cool and silky as she replied, "You shouldn't be interfering in things you don't understand."

Lorenzo's mouth clenched. "And what precisely am I supposed to be unable to comprehend?"

Moving closer, Alessandra's eyes shifted to the parchment on the table. "Prophecies can be harmful. They convince others that they are destined for greatness, oblivious to the sacrifices that must be made.

"Is that the reason my dad is so scared?" Lorenzo's tone was stern as he asked. "Because he believes that Isabella and I will cause chaos?"

The little flutter of Alessandra's fingers betrayed her, but her demeanor remained unwavering. She avoided the subject by saying, "Your father does what he must to protect the pack."

Lorenzo said, "Or to protect himself."

Alessandra's lips formed a thin, humorless smile as the tension between them increased. "Take caution, Lorenzo. Certain truths cannot be changed.

Her warning hung like a ghost in the room as she walked out. Lorenzo's mind was racing with questions as he gazed at the parchment.

The memory of his father's mistake during their quarrel suddenly struck him. "I've witnessed what occurs when the past isn't sufficiently buried."

As reality hit, Lorenzo's heart raced. The prophecy itself was linked to his father's secrets, in addition to Isabella's family.

Lorenzo got up from his seat and clutched the parchment with a fresh determination. "They are mistaken if they believe that I will leave." He looked at the crescent moon hanging low in the sky outside the window. "We need to find the truth now."