Suddenly Fated (Wolves of Riverton #1)

14. Ari

14. Ari

My father was dead.

We all woke up to blood curdling screams and scrambled from our rooms to find the servants running in various states of dress and undress toward my parents’ wing. Harris stopped me at my father’s closed bedroom door. Inside, my mother screamed and sobbed. I’d never heard her so emotional. Fear moved through my body and froze me to the spot. Esyn clutched the back of my shirt. Avelin and Jamie ran up behind us.

“What the hell is going on?” Jamie demanded.

“Alpha Michael, I…I’m sorry. He’s gone” Harris said in a rough voice.

“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”

“It appears that he passed away in his sleep.”

I stumbled back in shock. “That’s impossible. He’s perfectly healthy.”

Avelin and Esyn both began to cry. Jamie bowed his head and gripped my shoulder in silence.

“No, I don’t believe you!” I yelled and pushed my way into the bedroom. My mother knelt beside my father’s bed, her head on his stomach as she screeched. His eyes were closed. He looked peaceful, like he was asleep. However, his skin looked pale as a ghost and he lay unnaturally still. My father, the Alpha. The strongest man I knew. Gone? Memories suddenly flashed through my mind- Father helping me through my first shift, teaching me how to be a good leader, training me to be the future Alpha-but more importantly, all of the love that he’d shown me, the hugs and talks that we had. He was a huge comfort to me when Mother was detached and unreasonable, denying me the affection that I wanted from her as a child. I remembered running to him after I’d skinned my knee, his big arms scooping me up and holding me close. I’d never have a hug from him again. I’d never hear him say that he was proud of me. I wouldn’t be able to ask for his advice. This couldn’t be happening.

Esyn stood with her arms tightly around me as they wheeled his body out of the house on a gurney in the early morning light. He was on his way to receive an examination so that we would know his cause of death. A sheet covered him from head to toe. Esyn cried, Avelin cried, the servants cried. Jamie had tears in his eyes. I felt numb.

My mother lay in her bed, drugged out of her mind and sleeping. The Doctor gave her an injection since she wouldn’t calm down.

Word spread like wildfire, and pack members began ringing the doorbell in a frenzy. Harris turned them all away until after noon, when Elder Sheehan trudged into the formal parlor where I agreed to meet with him.

“My deepest sympathies, Michael.”

“I appreciate that, Elder Sheehan. Is there something that I can do for you?”

“No, Michael. Today, unfortunately, it is what I must do for you. I’m here to formally appoint you Alpha.”

“Elder, my father isn’t even cold yet. Can’t this wait?” I ground out.

“I’m afraid not. With no Beta to take over, a pack this large without a leader for any amount of time, no matter how short, is vulnerable. You must do your duty.”

“My duty. I always do my damn duty. So did my father, and look where that got him.” The tears started falling then. Esyn rushed forward to hold me.

“Elder, couldn’t we at least wait until tomorrow? Ari has barely had any time to come to terms with this.” She pleaded with Elder Sheehan, but he refused to be moved.

“He must do this, and it must be today.”

I chomped at the bit to become Alpha for over a year before today, but I didn’t want it this way. I never thought that it would happen like this. My father was a strong, healthy man with many years ahead of him to enjoy retirement, he shouldn’t be gone already. Nevertheless, I stood in the formal parlor with Esyn and accepted my role. I was now Alpha of the River Pack, and Jamie officially served as my Beta. At least the Elder threw us a bone by agreeing to hold off on the Luna situation as originally planned. I saw Avelin breathe a sigh of relief out of the corner of my eye.

We left the room to show Elder Sheehan to the door and nearly ran into my mother, who stood just outside. Disheveled, her hair a mess, her silk pajamas wrinkled, and bags under her bleary eyes, she stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“My boy. My son, the Alpha. At last,” she mumbled. “And my dear Avelin,” she turned to Av and stroked her hair. “She will make the perfect Luna. Perfect. Now he’ll love me.” Her words were slurred, she obviously still experienced the effects of the drug that the Doctor gave her. She swayed where she stood.

“Harris, could you please take Luna Elise back to her room? I think she might be sleepwalking.” Esyn said, looking from her to me with concern.

“I’ll help him,” Avelin volunteered. “Luna Elise, come now, let’s get you back to bed, ok? I think you need to rest right now.”

The duo guided her carefully to the second floor as Elder Sheehan took his leave. Esyn turned to me and I held her and breathed her in. She soothed my raw heart like a balm. “Ari, let’s go and lie down for a little while.” She led me gently upstairs and stroked my hair, staying silent as if she could sense that I wasn’t ready to talk.

The next day, my mother behaved as if nothing ever happened. She marched from one place to the next, giving orders and receiving florists and caterers, organizing the funeral as if it were another of her pack society functions. Her eyes held no trace of tears and her demeanor no evidence that she’d had a breakdown the day before. I heard her on the phone, speaking merrily to someone about what she planned to wear. It was offensive behavior, even from her. If I hadn’t seen her distraught and nearly out of her mind with grief, I’d be very suspicious. I stayed busy from sunup to sundown, dealing with Alphas from across the country wanting to give their condolences. Alpha Blackwell remained silent on the matter, of course. He always hated my father.

On the afternoon of the third day after his death, we held my father’s funeral. We had to use the ballroom because the entire pack attended, along with Alphas and their families from nearby packs. Shifters spilled out of the doors and stood all over the lawn, crowding in to get as close as possible to the ceremony.

I stood on the stage preparing to give a speech. I remembered the last time I’d been up here, the night I met Esyn, and all the other times that I stood here with my parents as my father spoke to the pack, and wished that I could go back to happier times. I began to speak about his early life, his accomplishments, and the qualities that made him special. “As you all know, my father was a great man. A great Alpha. A fierce warrior and a benevolent leader. He devoted his entire life to serving the pack, to making sure that everyone had a good life, and to being fair and compassionate. He was wise, brave, and always knew what to do no matter what life threw his way. I have endeavored my entire life to be like him, and I will spend the rest of my life attempting to be worthy of his legacy.”

We all gathered outside as we gave his body a warrior’s burial. When a warrior dies, his body isn’t buried, but burned, his or her ashes spread on the ground and given back to the earth in tribute to the Goddess. A group of warriors, including Jamie and me, carried his coffin outside and down the street in a procession to the town square. We set his coffin on a funeral pyre and lit a fire underneath. Everyone stood silently as it burned. Slowly people began to leave in groups until the only people left were me, Esyn, and Tim, the personal guard that I assigned to her. Tim stood a respectful distance away but remained vigilant. I stood staring at the smoking ashes, my heart heavy and sad, until finally Esyn put her hand on my arm.

“Ari, it’s getting dark.”

We arrived at the manor to find it lit up and filled with people. My mother was in her element as the party hostess. If I hadn’t seen her behavior a few days ago, I’d think she enjoyed herself. She moved from group to group, chatting with prominent shifter families.

“Esyn, let’s go upstairs,” I said. “I can’t do this right now.” We made our way through the crowd, forced to stop here and there by shifters giving their condolences. I heard my mother laugh and whipped my head around to find her standing in her black dress in a circle of her friends, drinking wine and appearing to have the time of her life. I felt disgusted, and gripped Esyn’s hand harder as we escaped the jovial atmosphere.

On the fourth day, I sat at my desk, on the phone as usual, when someone knocked on my door. Esyn moved from the sofa to answer it. I couldn’t leave her at home; I wanted her where I could see and touch her and make sure that she remained safe. She’d been reading a book and making notes in a notebook. This is Avelin’s influence, I thought with a wry smile.

The door opened to reveal a shifter that I didn’t recognize–older and balding, wearing wrinkled khaki pants and an equally wrinkled shirt. He looked like he got dressed in the car on the way here.

“Alpha, I am Doctor Phillip Collins. I’m the medical examiner that performed your father’s autopsy.”

I stood up, extending my hand to shake his. “Doctor Collins. I’m surprised to see you here. Don’t the results usually come in a written report?”

“Of course, Alpha, and they will. For right now though, I thought you would want to have this information right away.” Doctor Collins’ face was pale and he gulped visibly as he shuffled from one foot to the other. “Well, it appears that…what I mean to say is…um,” he stuttered. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Spit it out, please,” I commanded. I held my breath as my stomach dropped. I had a feeling I knew what he was going to say, but it didn’t prepare me for the reality of the words.

“Your father did not die naturally. His system contained a high concentration of Wolfsbeard.”

I fell into my desk chair and Esyn shouted, “Goddess, no!”

“I’m afraid so. I’m very sorry to give you this news. I will of course inform the Elder Council.” Mr. Collins made his goodbyes and left as quickly as he’d arrived.

“Fucking son of a bitch!” I yelled, sweeping the contents off of my desk in one motion. Esyn jumped and backed away. “Ari, please-”

I turned around, grabbing the first thing I saw on my bookshelf–a glass award that I’d been given several years ago. I hurled it as hard as I could at the wall, where it shattered and left a hole. Someone killed my father, right under my nose. They came into our home and committed murder. When I found out who did this, I was going to tear them limb from limb. Rage and despair filled me as I yelled as many curse words as I could come up with. I threw every throwable object on my shelves. I had my arm back, ready to fling a heavy stapler, when a strong hand gripped it, stopping the forward motion. I turned and pushed Jamie hard into the shelves. “Fuck off!”

“Ari, man. Please stop this. You’re scaring the shit out of Esyn.”

I turned around, my breathing hard and fast. I could feel how wild my eyes were and knew how insane I probably looked. Esyn stood all the way at the back of the room, flattened against the wall, clearly terrified.

Just as suddenly as my anger hit me, it left. My breath whooshed out as I went to her. “My goddess, baby, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be afraid of me. You know I would never hurt you.”

“Ari, I…please, please never do that again,” she cried. “I can’t bear to see you in so much pain.”

“I’m over here behaving like a monster, throwing shit and yelling, and you’re still worried about my pain?

“Of course I am. Don’t be ridiculous. I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”

I went to her then, and she threw her arms around my neck. I picked her up in order to be able to hold her tighter.

“It’s absolutely insane how much I love you,” I told her. “Jamie, I’m so sorry to you too.”

“Don’t be. I ran into Doctor Collins on the way up. I’m almost as angry as you are.”

“You can’t be nearly as angry as I am. Someone murdered my father, and tried twice to murder my mate. If I were any more angry, I’d explode.”

“Well, please try not to, ok? There would be an even bigger mess to clean up, and no way in hell am I ready to be Alpha.” Jamie joked in a wry voice. I rolled my eyes. I appreciated him so much - interjecting his dumb humor to diffuse the situation. I felt shame for my childish outburst, especially with Esyn in the room. I didn’t usually react violently, but I’d also never been told that someone had taken my father from me on purpose, either. Esyn took it all in stride, her concern for me overriding her fear. I didn’t feel worthy of either of them at that moment. I needed to get myself together and figure out what to do next.

We went home soon after. I couldn’t look at the four walls of my office a moment longer. These feelings of being completely powerless shook me. I’d trained to be Alpha, I knew how to run this pack. I didn’t know how to deal with someone eliminating, or trying to eliminate, my loved ones.

Later, I stood on my balcony looking out into the darkness. Esyn came up behind me and massaged my neck and shoulders. I moaned, some of the built up tension leaving my body.

“I want to take my wolf for a run,” I announced. “Would you come with me?”

Esyn looked away as if shy, her face turning red.

“What is it? Surely you’re not shy about us undressing outside. You’ve seen me naked.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Well, if it’s about me seeing you naked, I’m afraid that ship has also sailed.”

Esyn giggled. “No. It’s just that you haven’t seen my wolf yet. No one has. Well, no one besides my parents.”

I didn’t try to hide my astonishment. “No one? Ever? How is that possible?”

“Well, I didn’t have a coming of age ceremony after my first shift because I didn’t want one. I’ve always been a bit of a loner. At University, there was never an opportunity because there were too many humans wandering around. Since I’ve been home, there just hasn’t been time for me to run. Well, except for…” I knew she referred to her flight away from the manor. “I guess that means that two other people actually have seen my wolf,” she said quietly.

“Oh, no. Absolutely not. Do not even think of those assholes, they’re gone and will never be able to hurt you again. They don’t count,” I reassured her.

“Well, in light of recent events, is it safe to be out there?” She asked.

“I will protect you, Little Mate. You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”

We strolled a few paces beyond the edge of the forest, removed our clothes, and left them in a pile where we could find them later. The moonlight shone through the trees onto Esyn’s naked body and I nearly forgot all about the run. Every curve and line of her was perfect.

She stood looking at me for a few seconds, making up her mind, then shifted into a wolf like none I’d ever seen–almost completely white except for a line of bright auburn fur that ringed her neck and formed a vee over her chest. Wow. She waited for me as I shifted into my black wolf, then took off ahead of me into the dark. I hurried after her, careful not to let her out of my sight.

We ran together so quickly that we nearly flew, dodging trees and jumping over fallen branches and rocks. I felt exhilarated and free, better than I had in days, and that with my Mate beside me, we could conquer the world.

We finished our run and redressed by the light of the moon. We tiptoed into the dark manor to avoid waking anyone. “I’m going to take a bath,” Esyn announced. I sat on the edge of the bed where I could see her testing the water. She stripped off her clothes again and I sucked in a breath.

“Seeing you naked is like watching the sun rise, and it never gets old.” I told her. “And by the way, your wolf is just as beautiful.” She smiled and held her hand out to me. I went to her, removing my pants and shirt as I went along, leaving them on the floor where they dropped. I took her face in my hands and kissed her gently, nibbling on her bottom lip. She motioned toward the full tub and I got in, the warm water surrounding me. She gazed down at me, her eyes drinking me in, her hair falling around her like a veil. I dipped my hand under the water and stroked my own cock. Her eyes widened and she gently licked her lips as she watched me.

I gave her my other hand and she climbed in, settling herself over me, our chests together. She slowly impaled herself on me, moaning softly. I took first one nipple and then the other into my mouth, sucking hard as she rode me, water splashing over the sides of the tub.

Later we lay in bed in the dark, her head on my chest and my arm around her body. “We’re going to have to pay the servants extra to clean up the mess in there.” She joked.

I smiled in the dark. “It was totally worth it.”