Our Hearts Collided (MxM)

Chapter 9

A/N: Hope you enjoy <3 So much tea is being spilled hehe, hopefully, it's not too overwhelming lmao. Anyways, I'm excited for their reunion, are you? :)

Vince's POV

Where did I even start? There were so many questions swirling my mind, the sheer thought of Arthur going through those things was insane. Not to mention his relationship with Clayton and the fact that his mate had been dead for this long.

"Damon was my mate," Arthur reiterated as if that hadn't already been evident. But then again, with my shocked face it was likely he believed I hadn't quite grasped the concept. Which to be fair, it was a large bombshell he had just dropped.

I merely nodded before gesturing between Clayton and him again. "And you two are merely married."

Clayton rolled his eyes. "Yes, but our bond is way stronger than anything Damon could have possibly provided."

It was Arthur's turn to roll his eyes.

"And Rina?" I voiced.

"My daughter," Clayton replied before his tone got somber. "My mate died giving birth to her."

"I'm sorry."

Clayton waved his hand in the air. "It's been a long time, and Rina's only ever known the two of us raising her."

"So Rina would take over eventually?"

Clayton shook her head. "She has no desire to run a pack. And technically, I'm not the true alpha here; Arthur is, given his blood."

Arthur curled his lip as if he wanted to argue. He settled for mumbling, "traditions."

"Is that why you've run the pack for this long. You haven't decided who would take your place?" Most wolves would "retire" after they've sired an heir, or perished in battle and the next of kin was expected to take over, like in my case. They had to have been in their sixties by now if they were around my father's age.

They shared a glance before Clayton shrugged. "Well, I suppose there is an heir."

"Clayton—"

"Chances are he's still out there," Clayton interrupted, raising a brow.

I blinked. "An heir?"

Arthur sighed before glaring at his husband. "Technically, yes. A son. However, his whereabouts are unknown. I do not know if he is even alive."

"How do you not know? He doesn't live here?"

Clayton seemed to regret bringing up, sparing Arthur an apologetic look. He turned to me, gritting out, "it's a long story, but Arthur demanded the mother to raise the child away from the pack."

"I did it to protect them," Arthur clarified, almost defensively. "I feared Damon would have used them to get to me and the pack."

"Have you tried finding him?"

Arthur looked away for a moment, his jaw tensed. His next words laced with sadness. "I have a couple of times, but it is hard when you don't know their name."

"You—you don't know your son's name?" Arthur shook his head remorsefully as if the question stirred up terrible memories. Which, considering it had to deal with Damon, I was sure of it.

"Regrettably so," he managed to say. "All I have is his mother's name."

"Her name?"

He nodded before letting out a shaky breath. "Willow."

Why did that seem so familiar?

Arthur shook his head, letting the conversation of his lost son fade as his features returned to that stoic look. "You have another meeting today, don't you? I'll show him around the clinic."