The journey home
982 Words
Diko stared at Marcus.
“The person who killed my father knows I'm coming home?”
Marcus nodded.
Diko felt his anger rising again.
“Then tell me who it is.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because you're not ready.”
Diko let out a bitter laugh.
“I'm not ready?”
He looked around the small house.
“Three strangers just broke into my home. You told me my father was an Alpha. You told me he was murdered. Now you're telling me the person who killed him is still alive, and you're saying I'm not ready?”
Marcus didn't answer.
Diko stepped closer.
“I deserve to know.”
“You deserve to survive.”
Diko's jaw tightened.
His mother suddenly spoke.
“Marcus is right.”
Diko turned toward her.
“You knew?”
She looked down.
“I knew someone from your father's pack might come for you one day.”
“And you still said nothing?”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing you.”
Diko stared at her.
She wiped her eyes.
“After your father died, they searched everywhere for you. I heard they wanted to make sure no heir survived.”
Diko's expression changed.
“You mean they wanted to kill me too?”
His mother nodded.
“That was why I ran.”
Marcus moved toward the door.
“We don't have much time.”
Diko looked at him.
“What happens if I don't go?”
“They'll come back.”
“And if I go?”
Marcus paused.
“You'll find out who you really are.”
Diko looked at his mother.
She didn't say anything.
He walked toward her.
“You're coming with me.”
She hesitated.
“Diko…”
“No.”
His voice was firm.
“You hid this from me for twenty-two years. I'm not going anywhere without you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
For the first time, she smiled.
It was a small smile.
But Diko remembered it.
“Then we leave tonight.”
Marcus nodded.
They packed only what they could carry.
Diko kept looking around the little house.
The cracked walls.
The old wooden table.
The bed he had slept in since he was a child.
This was the only home he had ever known.
And suddenly, he was leaving it behind.
His mother placed a small bag over her shoulder.
Diko looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“I knew this day would come.”
They stepped outside.
The rain had stopped.
The village was unusually quiet.
Marcus walked ahead.
Diko followed with his mother beside him.
After a few minutes, Diko noticed something.
“Where are the others?”
Marcus looked back.
“What others?”
“The men who came to the house.”
“They didn't come with us.”
Diko stopped walking.
“Why not?”
Marcus looked at him for a moment.
“Because I was the only one sent to bring you home.”
Diko frowned.
“Then why did they attack us?”
Marcus's expression darkened.
“They weren't with me.”
Diko felt a chill run through him.
“So who were they?”
“We'll talk about that later.”
Diko didn't like the answer.
But he kept walking.
They reached the edge of the village.
A black vehicle waited beneath the trees.
Diko stopped.
He had never seen a vehicle like that in their village.
Marcus opened the back door.
“Get in.”
Diko helped his mother inside before following.
As the vehicle started moving, Diko looked through the window.
The village became smaller behind them.
He didn't know when he would see it again.
His mother sat quietly beside him.
After almost an hour of silence, Diko finally asked,
“What was my father like?”
His mother stared out the window.
“He was nothing like the stories people will tell you.”
“What stories?”
“That he was ruthless.”
Diko turned to her.
“Was he?”
She took a breath.
“Sometimes.”
“Then what was he really like?”
“He loved his pack.”
She paused.
“And he loved me.”
Diko looked down.
“Did he know about me?”
His mother's eyes filled with tears.
“He knew you were coming.”
Diko looked at her sharply.
“What?”
“He knew I was pregnant before everything happened.”
“Then why didn't he come for us?”
His mother didn't answer.
Diko waited.
Finally, she whispered,
“Because he was already dead.”
Silence filled the vehicle.
Diko looked away.
He didn't know why, but hearing that hurt more than he expected.
A few hours later, the vehicle slowed down.
Marcus looked ahead.
“We're here.”
Diko lifted his head.
Through the window, he saw enormous iron gates standing between two stone pillars.
Beyond them was a road disappearing into a vast forest.
At the top of the gate was a symbol he had never seen before.
A black wolf beneath a silver moon.
Marcus looked at him.
“Welcome home.”
Diko stared at the gates.
His heart began beating faster.
The moment the vehicle crossed through them, something inside him changed.
He didn't know what it was.
But somewhere deep inside his body...
something woke up.
His mother suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Diko.”
He turned toward her.
She looked terrified
again.
“What?”
Her eyes remained fixed on the road ahead.
Then she whispered,
“Don't trust anyone here.”
Diko frowned.
“Why?”
His mother looked at the enormous estate appearing beyond the trees.
“Because the last time I came through those gates…”
She swallowed hard.
“Your father was still alive.”
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