BLOOD TIES

CHAPTER 9

BLOSSOM'S POV

I followed Jay through the halls that were filled with werewolves. I had never been around a single wolf let alone the dozens that walked in and out of the many rooms we had passed. I had promised myself that I wouldn't be nervous but that choice had been taken from me the moment I had met the guy who was supposed to be my brother.

With one look at him even before he had spoken to me, I understood what Jay had been trying to tell me all that while. Being friendly even to strangers didn't seem to be part of his DNA. Saying that I hated him already was a strong word yet I couldn't find the one that fitted what I felt about him best.

Pushing the thoughts away, I returned my focus to my surroundings. The pack house was a magnificent building with several wings as explained. I wondered what it felt like to live with so many people under one roof and how they managed but didn't ask the question. Jay greeted them in passing, bowing to some who I figured was superior until we finally got to a door that stood independently from the other rooms. He turned to me, meeting my eyes for the first time since we left Capheus. Right then I knew that I was about to meet my father.

"Are you ready?" he asked gently with a reassuring smile.

He seemed to be the kind of person one could rely on for anything even setting aside the caring and protective nature of a mate. I wondered if he was always like that with everyone else or if it was just me but the fact that my father had decided to send him after me instead of anyone else proved my assumptions. I felt safe and protected around him. I didn't feel like I was stepping into troubled waters alone and that gave me the courage to nod.

"It's now or never, right?"

Jay knocked on the door twice then twisted the knob and pushed it open. My senses heightened as a mingled scent of sweat and perfume reached my nostrils coming from the assembled guests inside. I stepped through the door after Jay cautiously, my eyes exploring every corner of the room. The walls were adorned with tapestries and ornate chandeliers cast a warm flickering light illuminating the whole room. I didn't know what the gathering was about but the tension that hung in the air especially when they turned their eyes on us communicated a lot. I was met with both curious and blank stares that seemed to wonder what business I had that I interrupted them but I didn't stop.

As I walked across the polished wooden floor, my eyes darted from face to face searching for one person in particular who I had come to meet in the first place- my father. I became aware of the change of energy in the air, realizing almost immediately what was going on. While some of the guests whispered in hushed tones amongst themselves, others stepped aside. Yet others regarded me with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Jay had told me that I looked like my mother and that had to be the question they were holding in their heads.

My heart raced with both excitement of this highly anticipated encounter and the fear of the unknown the moment I located him. He was propped up on a chair, a figure of authority but now dull, weak, and frail. He caught sight of me from across the room and his eyes widened in recognition and relief. I saw him attempting to get up but he couldn't. I could see the joy in his wrinkled face which pushed away most of the tension I had before and I smiled.

The room was thrown into uneasy silence and time seemed to stand still. I could feel the weight of the gazes on me and the questions unspoken but hanging in the air. Would he embrace me? Would he announce to everyone that I was his long-lost daughter? How would everyone react to the story about how he had given me away to protect me? There I was, standing in front of him and I still couldn't believe that I was. After so many years of wondering what a moment like this would feel like, I was finally here feeling it. Beside the happiness that seemed to light up his whole being, I could see some hints of fear in his eyes but all that was swept away by another overwhelming look of adoration and admiration. Jay had been right. My father was happy to see me there and all I longed for was to be in his arms.

Summoning all my courage, I covered the distance between us, my powerful strides softening just a few inches from him. He reached out with a trembling hand, frail yet filled with longing. My eyes filled with a mixture of happiness and vulnerability, I extended my own hand allowing our fingers to intertwine.

A connection was forged in that instant, one that was full of love and acceptance. I drew in a breath as I felt the unwavering sense of unconditional love and all the thoughts about why he'd had to send me away disappeared.

"Alpha Caliph, who is this girl?" An elderly man asked curiously interrupting the moment briefly but my father didn't avert his eyes an inch from mine. "And why is she the spitting image of our departed Luna?"

"My daughter," he spoke for the first time, his voice feeble but filled with a depth of emotions that no illness could conquer. The room erupted into a series of collective gasps and low murmurs but he didn't focus on them. Instead, he added, "I have waited for so long to see you again."

A surge of relief washed over me, my heart swelling with a newly found sense of belonging as I gazed into his loving eyes. Sure there was not much life left in them but for the first time in my life, I felt like I had found my place among the people who had been my family long ago, only separated by a fault that didn't have to matter. I leaned to his height and allowed him to embrace me, our bond transcending the conditions that had once separated us. I felt free and accepted and even more, truly loved. Only in that one fleeting moment, I had forgotten that it was not going to be that easy.

Within minutes, questions were raining on us and there was nothing friendly about them.

"Would you care to explain what is happening right now Alpha Caliph?" the same elder from before asked again, now more authoritatively. "Who exactly is this woman?"

We pulled apart but the moment I was about to step away from him, he took my hand and held me in place with a surprising hold. The anxiety that had started creeping back in slowly disappeared and I managed to face the figures of authority in front of us.

"This is Blossom, my third child from my long-departed mate and former Luna of the pack." He went on despite the hard stares that were descending on us. "She is the one I'm naming Alpha in my stead being blood and the strongest werewolf from my bloodline."

"What did you just say?"

A voice erupted angrily from the gathered crowd. I looked up and met my brother's furious stare towering above the elders.