The Alpha of the Westervelt wolf pack was unassuming at first glance. It was the way he carried himself. He had the same height as his brothers, the same dark hair, and general air of royalty Parker had encountered from the other Kane brothers during his stay here. However, looking at Tristan was a lesson in seeing beyond outward appearances.
Dressed simply in worn jeans and a black t-shirt, he looked a little bit like everyone’s favorite English teacher. His hair was slightly too long to be called „neat’ and the three days worth of growth on his chin suggested to Parker he hadn’t had a lot of time lately to take care of his basic needs. As Parker watched, Tristan pulled his dark sunglasses off his face. That was when any thoughts of an unassuming Tristan fled the room.
Tristan’s eyes were pure wolf and if Parker’s memory was to be trusted then so had Kendrick’s been when he’d been Alpha of the Westervelt pack. It was a sign that wolf and man were one. The ongoing struggle other shifters had with their internal wolves, Tristan did not have. They were one single entity and the leader of all who resided under his care.
Parker swallowed hard. This was the first time since he’d left Westervelt that he wanted a pack.
Tears threatened to fill his eyes and he used all of his strength not to let them. It was just Tristan’s presence that did this to him. When he left, it wouldn’t feel this bad. When he left, he would rediscover his balance.
“Angel. Parker.” The Alpha’s voice sounded kinder than Parker would have imagined it would have. Angel stepped forward and took his hand.
“Are you okay?” Her voice filled Parker’s mind and pushed away some of the strange emotions threatening him.
“I am. Now.” He squeezed her hand.
“I’m Tristan.” The other wolf’s eyes moved over both of them. “My other brothers— our other brothers—will be here shortly with some clothes for the two of you. We have baskets of them all over the island but not here.” Tristan moved forward into the bedroom until he reached the window that overlooked the lake. “But not here unfortunately. This is part of the island we never come to. Maybe someday we’ll be able to move around as we’d like.”
Angel cleared her throat. “Why can’t you now, Tristan?”
Parker gazed at the two of them. They were clearly related. He would have known just by looking at them if he hadn’t been aware of their sibling relationship before. The same dark hair, the same piercing gaze. But Angel moved like she was light come to life.
Air seemed to glide around her. Tristan didn’t give off that impression—at least not to Parker.
“We’re under constant attack.” Tristan didn’t turn around to look at them, which struck Parker as odd.
He’s really stressed. His wolf, as usual, had an answer.
Tristan continued. “We have a lot of numbers now. Most of your former wolf pack from New Orleans has come here and we’re introducing them into the fold. Retraining them, if you will.”
Angel snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Parker could hear the sarcasm in his mate’s voice and he was sure Tristan could too.
Still, the Alpha didn’t turn around.
“I have to ask you something, Angel.”
Next to him Angel tensed. “Okay.”
Tristan didn’t turn around to look at them yet. “Cullen tells me that we found your parents here.” Tristan tapped the wall with his foot. “I try not to think about that time but it’s almost impossible not to.”
Parker knew the feeling. Didn’t he want to speak to Angel? Why was he bringing up that terrible night?
“When your father woke up from his magical stupor brought on by Kendrick’s misbegotten curse of a spell, he killed himself. He couldn’t live with what happened. He loved her. They all did—all of the men who were overcome that night—they all loved those women so much.” Tristan paused, which was a good thing considering Parker felt like he’d swallowed his tongue.
His father had been possessed by magic. It hadn’t been his fault. He hadn’t been evil.
I’ve been telling you this forever. His wolf sounded so relieved.
“I can feel them. I can still feel all of them like they’re here. Watching me. Waiting for me to find a way to make it right. Which is why I have a question for you, sister.”
Now Tristan turned around. He stared at Parker’s mate intensely. “Why does our father want you dead?”
Parker’s senses went on full alert. Kendrick wanted her dead? He hadn’t known this.
No one was going to cause his mate any harm. He would kill a thousand wolves if he had to in order to protect her.
“I didn’t know he wanted to kill me any more than he wanted to kill anyone else.
Didn’t he try to kill everyone? I just got smuggled away. I mean whatever his issue was when I was a baby—he can’t still have it out for me more than anyone else.”
“No.” Tristan shook his head. “He wants to kill you more. And you’re not wrong— he wants us all dead. But you specifically. That’s why Mom hid you.”
“I never knew anything about it.”
Tristan nodded. “I had hoped that you did know. It would be easier if you already knew. But of course, this is just another mystery. Another piece to place in this never-ending puzzle of our lives.”
“Ask him about the attacks.”
“My mate would like to know about these constant attacks.”
Tristan’s wolf eyes met his and the jolt of pack awareness made Parker almost fall to his knees.
“That’s right. He can’t speak.” Tristan narrowed his gaze. “You should be my pack.
You both should be.”
“Tristan, I…”
Angel’s voice tapered off and Parker wondered if she was having the same problems he was with communicating around Tristan.
His wolf whined. That’s because he’s our Alpha.
He’s not.
He should be.
“Let me ask you something, Parker. Had your father started your wolf training before you left here?”
Parker nodded. Yes, they’d been handling his education for a few years. He had been ready to join with the other young wolves. That would have put him under Cullen Murphy’s direct supervision.
But they’d never reached that spot.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Why?”
“Parker asked why.” Angel filled Tristan in on what he’d said.
Tristan grinned. “I heard him.”
Angel and Parker both spoke.
“He did?”
She gasped. “You did?”
“Yep.” Tristan nodded. “I can also bring your voice back.”
“How?” Parker’s heart pounded hard. This was what he’d been waiting for. Wasn’t it? His palms started to sweat. Something about what Tristan said rang true to him.
“I went through Mom’s spell book and nothing came up.”
Tristan shook his head. “It’s not female magic. It’s very basic.” He paused. “Do you still have that spell book?”
“It was left in Parker’s apartment, I think, in New Jersey.”
Tristan nodded, biting his fingernail. It seemed like such a normal gesture that Parker almost laughed.
Tristan didn’t notice, which was probably a really good thing since Parker was sure he already looked like a lunatic.
“We don’t need the spell book for this. I’d just like to see what Mom had in there.”